J Pearce

Good point re hooks etc. 

An old wavefront system should handle whatever you can throw at it. Just make sure it's got the right drivers in it, it's old enough now that some of the stock for sale has been modified.

I'd be looking at a half decent used PA and amp rack that lives in, with maybe a DJ mixer for BGM and vocal mic. Install some CAT5 lines to any sensible mix position, then add in mixer/snake/mics as needed event by event.
Lots of the artists that do that sort of gig have their own setup in any case, and are used to either setting up their whole rig or plugging their mixer into the venue system.

An X32 compact with stagebox and basic mic/stand/cable package will sort band nights, which realistically is probably 2 nights a week at most.

Realistically, gear won't revive a venue. Good programming that engages the local population will. 

If you go with the Behringer XR range, I'd advise using a good quality external access point or router. The onboard one isn't great, and being onboard often ends up in non-ideal locations for wifi coverage (covered in cable, in a rack, under the stage, etc.).

We use a XR18 for foyer events and other pop-ups - it's a great bit of kit and works very well.

I’ve not tried it personally, but I’ve heard good things about Snipe-IT.

An ATEM mini pro will record to USB disk, and costs under £300.

The Pro ISO will record all inputs to USB and costs £450ish. If you have access to the camera feed and the laptop feed at a convenient location you could feed both in and get a presynced DaVinciResolve file on a USB SSD.

NDI is good but pricey. SDI is good but needs the right cable. CAT5 1-many boxes can be had fairly cheaply if you can site the distribution box at the appropriate switch cabinet.

We have a PTZ camera that outputs both SDI and network stream on RTSP. The locations that need low latency get SDI or composite downconverted from SDI, and the more distant spaces get screens with a NUC (recycled from other duties) or a RasPi set to load the RTSP stream on boot. 
For a cheap(ish) portable setup, you could probably happily do a wifi AP and then a set of cheap android tablets running VLC for dressing rooms and other non-latency-sensitive spaces.

You may find that the existing antenna cabling will support composite video. It'll probably do better with B&W but may do fine on colour - certainly worth a go if you have TVs with composite input, some new cable ends and a DA will be cheaper than a modulator.

Any reason not to use stage weights? If the french braces are made from 3x1 (or 18mm ply) then the notch in a stage weight secures them in place well on a french brace.

They're easier to handle so improves manual handling, they won't leak sand, won't get damp and go mouldy, they stack securely when not in use - lots of advantages. They'll cost a little more though.

Be aware of the difference between the university and the students union (which usually umbrella the societies). The dividing line between them varies at each university, sometimes they're essentially a dept of the uni, sometimes they are completely separate legal entities with very clear distance between them.

£300 won't get you very far at all. At that budget, get a tripod and phone holder and use one of your phones. You won't get a better camera for under £300.

Gopros are good, but very wide angle for POV shooting, not ideal for archiving a theatre show. 

As above - do explore what you might be able to access through the university.

I'm a big fan of a DPA4099 on lecterns, or the 4098 if you want something lectern specific - however that's probably above your budget level.

Most miniature lectern mics will want phantom power, and external AA battery boxes aren't really a thing like they used to be. A cheap mixer in the lectern podium might be a good cheap solution to supply phantom power?

The cheap CPC gooseneck mics are passable if you're happy to accept reduced gain before feedback. I wouldn't go for 2 mics unless you have someone mixing who can dynamically choose which is getting the best signal. Having 2 mics open at the lectern simultaneously is likely to cause comb filtering issues and reduce the gain before feedback.

We use the Edding pens, not sure which series, I'll check the tub if I remember.

CPC sell some good silver paint pens that we use for marking IDs onto various things.

I’d use Track I.e “Track 12 DBass Spot”

Fair correction. I love Audacity for its simplicity - the MS Paint of audio editors, but it wouldn't be my editor of choice for a podcast unless it was a record-as-live in one take with just a bit of trimming and mastering to do.

When I was at Symphony Hall (2262 seats), anywhere from a splitter van to multiple artic trucks, but most commonly 1 truck of lights/sound/backline, sometimes 2 - for touring music acts bringing PA, 2-3 trusses of LX plus floor package, and backline. 

I've had 5 trucks into Symphony Hall before, on a large opera project. BBC Young Musician also had a lot, but some of those were OB trucks, which probably isn't the info you want.

Reaper isn’t too complicated, especially if you’re not seeking to do advanced things - and yes, costs a small amount for a licence.

Basic trimming and levelling is fine in audacity, but heavier editing rapidly gets awkward as you can’t drag audio tracks around.

Yep. You can make very effective baffles from 100mm mineral wool insulation 'batts' in a frame made from 4x1 (or ripped down from ply), and covered in a cheap flame retardant fabric.

I made 12 for a brass band rehearsal room for under £20 per panel. I have some slightly fancier ones at work that our workshop made up, and they get regular use both for voiceover recordings and for acoustic control in orchestra pits.

Software wise - Audacity would do, but Reaper might be a more efficient workflow. 2 dynamic mics, and a small mixer with USB interface, plus stands and cable would sort you out, probably inside £200 with careful choices.

Make the backing track mono on L and the click/guide mono on R. Use any convenient playback software or hardware that suits and pan/route on your console.
There's a few windows options. I've not got on with any of them, since I moved away from FX-Live in 2006.

Or buy a mac mini, a 4 output soundcard, a QLab licence, and use the industry standard solution. QLab costs $5 a day to rent a licence, and they'll give you a full time licence after 100 days of renting.

Why faff around with IEMs and mics when you could rent a proved system? 

A lot of the off-the-shelf solutions support 4 wire audio, so could probably work with the system as described, perhaps needing some attenuation or gain.

Expensive solutions will have good coverage, the less you spend the patchier the coverage will be. Something like Freespeak has astonishing coverage in my experience, but is equally astonishingly expensive. Clearcom/HME DX210s might work well for you, you might find a cheaper used package perhaps.

42 minutes ago, ImagineerTom said:

Just to be the grinch here... what you're making is ultimately a piece of automation so in-show-use it will need lots of safety switches / crash sensors on it, some heavy-duty safety assessment paperwork and probably a dedicated member of backstage team responsible for checking it and operating (or overseeing its "automatic" operation) in the show. This is something that will require $00000's of equipment (that admittedly you may be able to rent rather than buy) and a weekly operating/staffing cost of at least $1000 so before you get your heart too set on this its worth stopping to make sure the show has a budget that can absorb those sorts of costs?

Caution is always wise, but I think you're overstating it. Yes it will need some looking after, but there may already be someone on the show who can do that for this cue. Lots of shows have automation, or indeed flying - it's not that cutting edge really.

I can think of a few ways to do it from low tech to high tech, both human powered and automated. The simplest is probably a vertical truss/frame with a trolley that rides up and down, a pulley at the top and either a counterweight or a motor to control it. The cost of that would be into £000s, but not 10s or 100s of them. You could build it inside a frame style 'ballet boom' with caging on the outside if your RA called for it. A bit more weight and stuff than flying, but it eliminates wobble and means you're less relient on venue infrastructure if you're going to places with minimal flying setups. At most fly tower equipped venues you'd probably just trapeze or scaff it off a fly bar (with perhaps some consideration to weight at the other end to avoid unbalancing the bar).

For off the shelf bits - the camera lift poles that are fitted to remote operation cameras might be a solution. I was playing in my head with keeping the light source on the deck and moving a mirror, but I think that would cause too many issues with the focus. Or as above, a 1m stick of truss and a couple of automated hoists with a 'safe zone' below. A member of crew just outside the safe zone with an estop is a simple control measure for that scenario.

Party line analogue comms are unbalanced, so using unshielded twisted pair cable may result in noise/hum. Or you may be fine. 

Is the AD903 on a different comms circuit to the pack? If not, could the AD903 be located at the remote end?

I actually have no idea on those queries - it's run by the creative learning dept, and my involvement is purely on the technical side.