Production crew slang: from "radio check" to "standby" //
On a load-in, everybody speaks the same language: call time is when you are due on site, the dock is where the trucks unload, a radio check tests the radios, standby means get ready, and the cue (the French say "top") is the signal that triggers the action. Gaffer tape holds everything together.
Before the load-in
Call time: the time you are expected on site. Not the time you leave home.
Load-in: bringing the gear in and setting it up. Its opposite, the load-out, is the strike.
Dock: where the trucks back in to unload. At a new venue, the first question is often "where is dock B?".
Flight case: the reinforced road case that protects the gear. You spot yours from a distance by its markings.
On the radio
Radio check: making sure everybody can hear each other. The first one is rarely the last.
Copy: heard and understood. A short answer, to keep the channel free.
Channel: each department often has its own. Switching without telling anyone is how you disappear.
Radio silence: the channel goes quiet, usually because the show has started.
During the show
Running order (cue sheet): the document listing, in order, everything that has to happen during the show.
Standby: get ready. The stage manager calls a standby before every cue.
Cue: the signal that triggers an action, lighting, sound, video or an entrance. A cue called too early shows straight away.
Control room (FOH, the desk): where the show is run from, and by extension the team in it.
The lines everybody knows
"Ask prod.": not my department, go and see production. Hence the brand's name: not my dpt.
"Quick question.": it is almost never a quick question.
"Back in a minute.": a time slot, not a promise.
"Final final V27": the file name everybody has opened at least once.
Gaffer tape, the universal tool
Gaffer tape is a matte cloth tape that holds well and comes off clean. It fixes a cable to the floor, marks a spot, labels a case. And it always disappears the moment you need it.
FAQ
What does "call time" mean?
The time a crew member is due on site, ready to work.
What is a cue in a show?
The signal that triggers an action during the show: a lighting change, a sound, a video, an entrance.
What is the difference between gaffer tape and packing tape?
Gaffer tape is cloth and matte: it holds, does not shine under lights and comes off without leaving glue, which packing tape does not.
Published 29 October 2026