Why the price of live training is hard to guess
People often ask me for a single figure for live coverage training, and I understand why. The honest answer is that the figure depends on a handful of choices you make before the first day, and most of them are practical rather than mysterious. Live work is planning, cueing and filing from the field with a small crew, so the training has to look like that too. A course that only happens in a classroom is cheaper to run, but it teaches you less about what goes wrong on location.
This piece sets out what drives the cost of our Live Coverage Strategies training, so you can see where the money goes. The fixed prices themselves sit on the Prices page, and I would rather you read those there than rely on a number in an article. What I can do here is explain the reasoning behind them, so that a quotation makes sense when it arrives and you know which parts you can adjust.
One thing worth saying early: price follows time, people and kit. Almost every difference between one booking and another comes back to one of those three.
What a course fee normally includes
A fee for live coverage training pays for tutor time first. That means the planning sessions where we build a running order, the cueing exercises where reporter and crew learn to count each other in, and the filing practice where a piece has to leave the location on a deadline. Tutor preparation is in there too, because each exercise has to be set up with a believable story and a realistic schedule.
It also covers the use of our cameras, microphones and monitoring equipment during the sessions, so you do not need to bring your own. Course notes, a written summary of the exercises you ran and individual feedback from the tutor are part of the fee as well. We keep groups small, which means each person gets real time at the microphone rather than watching others do the work.
What the fee does not usually include is travel to your own location, accommodation if you come from far away, or anything you decide to add that we have not discussed. Those are agreed in writing in the quotation, so nothing arrives as a surprise on the invoice.
- Tutor time for planning, cueing and filing exercises
- Use of training cameras, audio kit and monitoring
- Written notes and individual feedback after the sessions
Group size and why it matters more than you expect
The single biggest lever on price per person is how many people are in the room and in the field. Live coverage is a team activity, so a minimum number is needed for the exercises to work at all. You need someone presenting, someone operating, someone producing and cueing, and ideally someone playing the part of the gallery. A group of two cannot rehearse a handover properly.
On the other hand, a group that is too large turns into an audience. When eight people share one live position, each gets only a few minutes of real practice, and that is poor value however low the per-head cost looks. We have found that smaller groups give better results, and the price reflects tutor time spread across fewer learners.
If you are a freelancer booking alone, we can often place you in a scheduled group rather than running a private day. If you are a small production team booking together, a private session usually makes better sense, because the exercises can be built around the stories and crew you actually work with.
Location work and the cost of going outside
Practising live coverage in a classroom tells you very little about wind noise, a failing signal or a crowd walking through your shot. So much of the course happens outside, and that is where costs rise. A day on location needs a safe, suitable place, permission where it is needed, extra equipment to move and set up, and more tutor attention because things change quickly.
The time of year affects this too. In these autumn weeks the light fades early, the weather turns and outdoor sessions have to be planned around daylight. That sometimes means a shorter working day or a second session to cover the same ground, and we say so when we quote rather than squeezing it in.
If you would rather keep costs down, a mix works well: planning and cueing indoors, followed by one shorter exercise outside. You still meet the awkward conditions of the field, just for less time, and the quotation reflects that smaller footprint.
Equipment, crew and what changes the quotation
Live coverage depends on kit that has to work together: camera, audio, a way of monitoring, and some means of sending the material back. If you want training on a particular set-up, perhaps the arrangement your employer uses, we need to prepare for it, and that preparation costs tutor time. Bringing your own equipment can lower the fee but adds testing time on the day.
Crew size changes things as well. Training for a two-person team is simpler than for a crew of four who each need a defined role and their own practice. More roles mean more exercises, more feedback and a longer day.
Duration is the last big factor. A single day teaches the core routine of planning, cueing and filing. Two days let you repeat it under changed conditions, which is where most people really improve. We quote by the day or half day, and we will tell you plainly if we think you are buying more or less time than your aims need.
- Group size and number of crew roles
- How much of the work is on location
- Own equipment or ours, and any special set-up
- Length of the booking in half days or full days
How to get a clear figure from us
The simplest route is to use the contact page and tell us who is coming, what you currently do, what you want to be able to do afterwards and roughly when. Tom, our course coordinator, reads every enquiry and passes the live coverage ones to me. If something is unclear, we ask, rather than guessing at a number.
You then receive a written quotation or confirmation that states what is included and what is not, and what would change it. If you agree, an invoice follows and is paid by bank transfer. Cancellations and refunds are handled under the payment and refund policy, which you can read before deciding.
I would add one piece of practical advice. Decide what you want to practise before you ask for a price. A clear aim, such as filing a two-minute live report on a deadline with a crew of three, tells us exactly what to build, and it usually means you pay only for what you will use.
The cost of live coverage training comes down to tutor time, the number of people, how much work happens outside and the kit involved. None of it is hidden, and most of it can be adjusted to suit your aims. Read the Prices page for the current figures, send an enquiry through the contact page when you are ready, and we will reply with a written quotation that shows exactly what you would be paying for.