The times on an event's Logistics tab are typed by hand, most often by Customer Support while advancing the venue. The bots, the crew schedule and the showbook all read that text. Crew shifts, truck times and the Logistics Board are built from it, so how a time is written matters as much as the time itself.
This page covers what each field means, which ones are the key ones, who reads them, and how to write them so every reader gets the same answer. For why advancing matters, see Explanation: Venue Advancing In and Out.
The short version
- One time per field, dated, on the venue's clock:
OCT10 @7:30AM. - Not confirmed yet? Say so:
PendingorPending OCT10 @7:30AM. The show stays on the advancing list until the venue confirms, and that is intended. - Extra words go in brackets after the time:
OCT10 @7:30AM (side door). Don't put a second time in the same field. Dock, parking, elevator and curfew details go in Logistics Notes. - The five key times on a show we attend are Earliest Access, Load-In Call, Show Start, Show End and Strike Call.
- Remote show? Tick Remote Operated. The on-site times then stop being asked.
The key fields
A show isn't advanced until its key times are on the record and the Venue Advancing activity is marked done.
| Show | Key times (a missing one turns the show amber or red) | Also used |
|---|---|---|
| On site (we drive gear in) | Earliest Access, Load-In Call, Show Start, Show End, Strike Call | System Ready, Hard Out (checked when present) |
| Remote (Remote Operated ticked) | Show Start, Show End | System Ready (the operator must be at the controls) |
The other times (Sound Check, Customer Walkthru, Doors Open) are optional. Record them when the venue or client gives them, but a show is never red for lacking one.
What each time means
All times are on the venue's clock, and the bots handle the time zone. Out-of-province shows are the ones that trip people up: an Alberta venue's 11:00 is 11:00 Alberta time.
| Field | Means | Kind of time | Who reads it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest Access Time | When the venue first lets us in (can be days before our truck leaves) | A limit: we can't arrive before it | Logistics Board; checked against load-in |
| Load-In Call Time | When our crew is in the room, starting load-in | A call: the crew's start | Crew schedule (on-site shift start), showbook, lead tech's morning email |
| System Ready Time | When the system must be working | A deadline: ready by | Board (aim 2 h before doors, see why); remote shows start here |
| Customer Walkthru Time | When the client walks the room with us | Point in time | Crew plan, board |
| Sound Check Time | When sound check happens | Point in time | Showbook, crew plan |
| Doors Open Time | When the audience comes in | Point in time | Board (system ready vs doors), showbook |
| Show Start Time | When the show begins | Fixes the show's first day | Everything; also printed on the quote |
| Show End Time | When the show is over | Point in time | Crew schedule (strike starts here), showbook; also on the quote |
| Strike Call Time | When we start taking it down | A call | Board, showbook, crew plan |
| Hard Out Time | When we must be completely out (covers curfew too) | A deadline: out by | Board (must be after strike), showbook |
The bots check the times against each other:
- Access must not be after load-in, and system ready must be before show start.
- Hard out must be after strike. An after-midnight strike or hard out is fine; write it with the next day's date (
OCT11 @12:30AM).
Load-in and system ready must fall after the truck leaves (the Ship Date): a load-in before the truck leaves would put crew in a room with no gear, so it's refused. The truck can leave days earlier on a show with travel days, and that's fine. Earliest access is not tied to the truck: the venue may let us in days before we leave. It only has to be within two weeks before the show. If the ship date is what's wrong, the advancing sitting can fix it (that also moves the Flex job's dates).
How to write a time
| Write this | Not this | Why |
|---|---|---|
OCT10 @7:30AM |
7:30AM |
Without a date, an after-midnight strike or a night-before access is guessed |
OCT10 @7:30PM or OCT10 @19:30 |
OCT10 @7:30 |
Is that morning or evening? It's refused as unclear |
OCT10 @12:00PM or OCT10 @noon |
OCT10 @12Noon |
12Noon (no space) is flagged as unclear and has to be rewritten |
OCT10 @7:30AM (side door) |
OCT10 @7:30AM (doors 9AM) |
A second time makes the field unclear; put doors in Doors Open |
OCT11 @1:00AM (show end) |
OCT10 @11PM-1AM |
An end or hard-out range could end anywhere; it's refused |
Pending / Pending OCT10 @7:30AM |
OCT10 @7:30AM when it isn't confirmed |
An unmarked time is taken as the venue's word |
Ranges on a start-type field (OCT10 @2-4PM for load-in) are read as the start (2 pm). That's usually what the venue means, but a single time is clearer.
Words that mark a time as not confirmed: Pending, TBD, TBA, tentative, approx, maybe, probably, "or", "-ish", "~", "?". Any of these keeps the show on the advancing list. Use them when the venue hasn't confirmed, and replace the whole text once it has.
Assumed times
When we're fairly sure of a time but the venue hasn't said so (we hold the keys to Ovintiv, for example), write it through the advancing sitting's Assumed choice, or by hand in the same shape:
ASSUMED OCT21 @11:00PM (check) — keys; confirm the room is free · Russell
- (check): plan against it, but it's on the Assumptions to confirm list until someone confirms it.
- (ok): good enough; plan it as firm.
Always put your first name at the end, so everyone knows who assumed it.
Not applicable
Some times don't exist for a show. A public park has no doors and no hard out. Write:
N/A — outdoor, public park · Russell
Always give the reason. N/A is accepted for Earliest Access, System Ready, Sound Check, Customer Walkthru, Doors Open and Hard Out. It is not accepted for Load-In Call, Show Start, Show End or Strike Call: those always exist when we're on site. An N/A there stays on the list. (If the client picks the gear up, say so in Logistics Notes and ask Planning how to record it.)
The other advancing fields
| Field | Where | What goes in it | Who reads it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Operated | Event | Ticked when we run the show remotely (nobody drives) | Every bot: on-site times stop being asked, and there is no truck check |
| On-Site Contact | Event, Logistics tab | The venue person our crew calls on the day | Showbook, crew plan, repeat events |
| Venue Constraints Details | Event, Logistics tab | Sound limits, rigging limits, curfews, specific to this show | Showbook, event audit, lessons review |
| Logistics Notes | Event, Logistics tab | Dock, parking, elevator, route, access quirks for this show | Showbook, crew plan, staffing |
| Load-in Notes | The venue contact | How to get in, true for every show there (side door, dock height) | Logistics Board (a venue without them is flagged), crew schedule |
| Ship Date / Return Date | Event | When the truck leaves / comes back (warehouse clock) | Truck check, crew schedule, Flex (a change moves the Flex job) |
| Load-in At | (retired, off the form) | Don't use it. Type Load-In Call Time instead | — |
Show or venue? If it'll be true next time too (the dock is round back), it belongs in the venue's Load-in Notes. If it's only this show (the elevator is out that week), use the event's Logistics Notes.
Checklist when you advance a show
- Five key times in (on site), each dated
MON DD @H:MMAM, or two (remote). - Anything unconfirmed is marked
Pending, and anything assumed is writtenASSUMED … (check)with your name. - One time per field. Details in brackets or in Logistics Notes.
- On-Site Contact set.
- Mark the Venue Advancing activity done. The show leaves the list only when the times and the activity are done.
Hover the ? next to each field on the Logistics tab for the short version of this page.