Any company can hang a point. The difference is whether somebody calculated the load, checked it against what the building can carry, and documented it before the crew arrived. Ask a rigging quote three questions: who does your load calculations, what certification do your riggers hold, and when does the venue see the rigging plot. Vague answers on any of those are the answer.
| General session | Breakout rooms | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical load | Line arrays, LED wall, full lighting rig | A few fixtures, a small screen |
| Rigging approach | Engineered points, motors, full plot | Often ground support instead of flown |
| Venue involvement | Rigging plot and load approval required in advance | Usually lighter, but ceiling limits still apply |
| Where it goes wrong | Assuming the ceiling grid has capacity it does not | Assuming small loads need no plan at all |
Breakout rooms are where corners get cut, because the loads look trivial next to the main room. Ceiling structures in breakouts are frequently weaker than in the ballroom, and a hotel’s own limits often say so in writing. The plan scales down. It does not disappear.
More depth on each of these: why professional rigging matters, rigging general sessions against breakout rooms, and truss for corporate events.
The crew on the ground from load-in through strike.
