Filming at McCormick Place

The rule most crews get wrong

McCormick Place's Exhibitor Bill of Rights gives exhibitors wide scope. An exhibitor employee may work in a booth of any size, using their own ladders and hand, cordless or power tools. They may also deliver, set up, plug in, interconnect and operate electrical equipment, computers and audiovisual devices.

Those rights do not extend to a freelancer. An exhibitor employee is defined as someone employed full time by the exhibitor for at least six months before the show opens, and proof may be requested. A separate notice to registered contractors is blunt: exhibitors cannot transfer their rights to contractor personnel, and a contractor who poses as an exhibitor employee risks losing its right of entry.

So a member of your marketing team may set up a camera and light in the booth. A hired videographer should not assume the same applies, and needs to know what status the show gives them.

Who does what on the floor

The venue's exhibitor pages outline labour jurisdictions. Electricians cover equipment that draws on the building's electrical system, wiring and hookups, and the page lists video and audio taping and cable TV hookups under their work. Projectionists handle load-in, setup and staging of projection equipment, including video and film. C2E2's 2026 rules add a size threshold, with projectionists building screens smaller than 10.5 by 14 feet and stagehands assembling anything larger.

Taken together, those lines mean a larger recording setup may need union labour, so ask your general contractor to confirm before you plan a multi-camera shoot. Filming permission itself comes from your show's exhibitor manual. C2E2, for example, says still pictures and video are mostly welcome but prohibits recording during screenings and concerts, and asks people to respect a guest's wish not to be photographed.

Entry and equipment limits

The facility regulations require event-approved contractors and others working on the show floor to enter through one of three Building Entry and Exit Procedure points and wear the wristband of the day. Contractors should not be given exhibitor credentials to avoid this.

• Exhibitors may not use a drone within the complex, for proprietary and safety reasons.
• Scooters, forklifts, scissor lifts, scaffolding, motorised dollies and similar equipment are prohibited for exhibitors.
• No hanging items from electrical fixtures, piping or other building services.
• Keep equipment at least six inches from floor ports and electrical cabling.

Getting kit into the building

The Automobile and Small Utility Vehicle programme lets exhibitors unload small privately owned vehicles at designated areas without hiring labour, in hours set by show management and using non-motorised, non-hydraulic hand trucks and dollies. Otherwise, park in a McCormick Place lot or garage, pay the fee and walk items in through pedestrian access.

Larger freight goes through the truck marshalling yard at 3050 Moe Drive, by Lot B, where fees apply. Your general contractor returns a dock and elevator schedule to the event manager 15 days before the event.

Shows and tips

The Inspired Home Show and C2E2 both publish rules for the venue that are useful to read as models of what your own show may require. Electricity for a booth is ordered through the show's service contractor; C2E2 uses Freeman.

Fame Crew can place a vetted local videographer or photographer in Chicago. Tell us early whether your own staff will handle any setup, and send us the show's service manual, so that the crew's role is clear before anybody arrives.