This is where budgets usually break.
Common “surprise” items:
- transport & freight (especially cross-city touring)
- rigging systems
- power distro + cabling
- on-site LED technicians
- backup modules / spare inventory
- overtime for load-in / strike
In real production, total cost is often 20–40% higher than the LED wall quote alone.
This is something every production manager learns once, usually the hard way.

