Maximise your event lighting

Lighting is effective and efficient in decorating a venue without the heavy cost of building props and gives an elegant and modern feel.

Lighting can make a tremendous difference in the look and feel of your event. Before you begin to hire a lighting company, take a rain check about what you need exactly. Start by asking yourself the following:

– What is the venue — convention centre, outdoor, tent, hotel ballroom? This includes room dimensions such as ceiling height, wall lengths, etc. Each site is different and subject to limitations that your lighting vendor needs to evaluate.
– What kinds of decoration are there: how tall are the centrepieces? What size are the tables? Is there a theme, and what colors relate to it?
– How many guests are attending? This will help determine how much space you will need.
– What is the program? Is there entertainment or a speaker, and what are their lighting requirements? What is the size of the stage? Will guest speakers speak on stage or on the dance floor, or do they wander? Will there be dancing?
– Power. Check to see what kind of electrical service is available and how close it is to the function space you are using. Be aware that power limitations can impact the amount of lighting you can have.

– Are there specific regulations and limitations? This includes checking where are the rigging points, the load-in limitations (some small venues may not be able to accommodate long lengths of lighting trusses, ladders, etc.,3), parking for loading and unloading,Â…

– Check for permission to use fog (smoke) and haze machines. These units greatly enhance the lighting beams and the overall effect — however they can set off smoke detectors. Some venues have policies in order to safely accommodate these machines.

– Exclusive service providers: are they a group of specific companies that you can hire who has special terms with the venue or can you contract any providers of your preference?

Once you have chart out the answers to the areas above, work with your lighting company to develop a room layout. This is usually done using a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program. It is important to include all the logistics such as tables, chairs, stage, video projection area, bars, control station, etc. The layout must also conform to all local ordinances.

Based on the look and feel and the objectives you have for lighting, you can now work out what are the lights you need for your desired effects and objectives.

Colour washes
A wash is basically projecting light onto the venue area with colours, motifs, or simply to give light to the area. The purpose of the room wash is to enhance the ambience of the overall look and feel of the event and ensure that guests can see each other. The room should never be too dark, yet nothing is worse than going to an event that uses house lighting on at 100 percent.

Set the mood

Light the walls and the ceiling.
You can wraps the theme of the event by projecting on the walls and the ceiling of the venue with colours or motifs that enhance the desired ambience.

Light the stage.
This needs to take into consideration the activities that will take place on the stage: speeches, theatre plays, concert, video projection, etcÂ… the type of lighting needs to facilitate these activities.

Light the dance floor.
When there is dancing, a properly lit dance floor permits the guests to become part of the event. We let the guests be the stars by putting them in the spotlight. Use intelligent lighting suspended from a truss over the floor in the same shape as the dance floor to optimise the lighting effect on the dance floor.

Add video projection.
Lighting fixtures and video projectors are slowly becoming one and the same. Within ten years, state-of-the-art lighting fixtures will also be a video projector and fully computer controlled. This means that if you want to put a client’s logo up or if you want to create moving snowflakes on a wall, both images will be computer generated and projected via a video projector onto any type of surface. Several manufacturers already have fixtures that do this, but at present they are cost-prohibitive.

Complement the exterior lighting
Exterior lighting sets the ambience once the guests arrive on the event site. Lighting the outside of the venue adds dramatic effect: colour washes, projection of logos or motifs, this gives a great impression on arriving and departing guests.