Every major event has an MC. Every event has an event coordinator. Many events have a production manager. But there is one role that separates a smoothly-run, technically-tight event from one that stumbles through AV failures, missed cues, and audio dropouts — and it is the role that most event briefs in Kenya still do not specifically ask for.
That role is the Technical Director.
What a Technical Director actually is
A Technical Director — or TD — is the person responsible for the technical execution of an event from the ground up. They are not the event coordinator (who manages logistics, guests, and suppliers). They are not the MC (who manages the audience and flow on stage). They are not even the production manager (who manages resources, timelines, and budgets).
The TD is the person sitting behind the vision mixer, calling every cue, managing every camera cut, cueing every video playback, communicating with the lighting operator, the sound engineer, and the broadcast director — all simultaneously, in real time, through the duration of your event. When something goes wrong on the technical side, the TD is the person who makes the call. They do not consult. They decide. That is their job.
What a TD does before the event
The work of a good Technical Director starts weeks before the event, not on the day. Pre-production is where most of the technical risk is managed. A TD will conduct a full site survey of the venue — assessing power availability, rigging points, acoustic properties, sightlines, and any structural constraints that will affect the technical plan. They will produce a full technical rider: a document that specifies exactly what equipment is required, where it goes, and how it connects.
They will write the run-of-show document with the event team, mark every technical cue — every video in-point, every lighting change, every camera cut — and brief each technical operator on their responsibilities. By the time the event starts, nothing should be a surprise. Every technical moment should be scripted, every operator should know their cue, and every contingency should have a plan.
What a TD does on the day
On event day, the TD runs the technical rehearsal. Every speaker walks on stage. Every microphone is tested and levelled. Every video plays back from the correct source. Every transition is rehearsed in order. Only when the TD is satisfied does the event go to doors.
During the live show, the TD is on comms — a headset linking them to every technical operator in the room. They call every cue by name and number. When a speaker's mic drops, they switch to the backup channel. When a video fails to trigger, they have a contingency ready. When the internet connection for the livestream fluctuates, they switch to cellular bonding. The TD is managing the entire technical ecosystem of your event, live, with no safety net and no pause button.
"When something goes wrong technically, the TD does not consult. They decide. That is the job."
Why events go wrong without one
The most common failure mode we see at events in Nairobi is the absence of a dedicated TD. Instead, you have a sound engineer who is also trying to watch the screens, a camera operator who is not sure when to cut, a lighting operator who missed the cue because no one told them it was coming, and an event coordinator who is trying to manage all of this while also managing the speakers backstage.
The result is not a disaster, usually. It is something worse: a technically mediocre event that nobody talks about because nothing quite worked right. The video lagged. The mic was slightly off. The keynote speaker's opening video never played. The livestream cut out. Each of these is a five-second fix when you have a TD. Without one, each of them becomes a five-minute scramble that your audience watches in real time.
When do you need a dedicated TD?
For events under 100 delegates with minimal technical elements, your sound engineer can likely absorb the TD responsibilities. Once you cross 200 delegates, introduce a livestream, use multiple screens, or have complex video playback — you need a dedicated TD. For multi-camera conference productions, flagship brand events, or any event being broadcast to an external audience, a TD is non-negotiable.
Every Artlink production includes a dedicated Technical Director. It's not an add-on — it's the baseline.
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