A Few Articles by the Team at Sonav Inc.
In order to provide you with useful information regarding event organization, the team at Sonav Inc. has prepared the following relevant articles to share with you. As true professionals in the event lighting and sound industry, we are proud to be able to assist you with the elaboration of your projects in the Greater Montreal area. Give us a call!
Practical Tips to Ensure Your Event is a Success
By Pascal Imbeault
Conventions, press conferences, employee trainings, shareholder meetings . . . all of these events share the same objective: to get a message across. But how can you make sure you achieve this without a hitch? Here are a few useful tips to ensure your event is no ordinary affair.
Be Heard
Make sure you have the following elements:
- A sound system that’s adapted to your event
- The number of attendees
- The room’s dimensions; its materials (i.e., wood, rug, concrete) will also influence sound distribution.
If your sound system isn’t powerful enough, it will go into overdrive and deform the sound. Conversely, carefully stacking a larger number of speakers that will not be pushed to their full capacity, combined with effective signal processing gear (equalizers, dynamic compression and delays), will allow you to achieve the very best results in any room.
Be Seen
Obviously, you’ll want to use a multimedia projector and giant screens to broadcast your information. That being said, try to avoid common mistakes:
- Don’t overload your presentations
- Use contrasting colours (choose pale text over a dark background rather than the reverse)
- Make sure your projector is powerful enough for the screen size you chose
- Your presentation should be easy to read from a distance, even if you’re projecting it onto a 120-inch screen.
Make an Impact
Assigning a theme to your event is the best way to ensure your guests will remember its message. Try using:
- Fire to represent a passion for the work
- Water for rejuvenation
- Stars to underscore award winners
These themes can also be reproduced with:
- Lighting
- Decorations
- Staging that transforms the environment
With a bit of imagination and know-how, even the most boring, monotonous room can become a warm, welcoming environment!
Choose a Theme for Your Event
By Mijanou Paris
Before you choose a theme for the fun event you’re looking to organize, you need to understand what your guests enjoy, or advertise to attract people with common interests. You can also ask friends, family members, or anyone else you might want to invite to complete a short survey proposing two or three possible themes.
To help you with your decision, here are a few ideas for popular or original themes that can help make your event a success.
Classic Themes
- Throwback to the 50s and 60s (have the men gel their hair; women can wear Pink Lady jackets)
- Throwback to the 70s and 80s (flashy colours, a wide musical selection, Travolta-style disco dancing)
- Casino night (Las Vegas, Poker, Black Jack, Roulette, etc.)
- Halloween or masquerade night (ask guests to wear a costume or even just a mask; have a best costume contest)
- Beach party (to forget the cold – play Latin or island music, wear flowered necklaces or Luaus)
- Karaoke night (for some people, this means singing even if you can’t sing. Laughs, fun and humility will ensue!)
Original Themes
- With a special guest (i.e., a singer, comedian, circus clown, or actor [if you really want to show off])
- Murder mystery night (with a team of actors) – What to expect: humour and suspense
- Country and Western (with a saloon-themed event, you can play cowboys and Indians, or try new styles of line dancing)
- Glamour/gala (be fancy and make a good impression by rolling out the red carpet and serving champagne or bubbly wine)
- One colour only (you get to choose)
- Colours (each guest must choose a single colour and dress in that colour from head to toe)
- 1001 nights (think Princess Jasmine, Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba, flying carpets, magic lamps, and a genie)
- The roaring 20s (think Chicago, gloves, feather boas, pearl necklaces, cigarette holders, suspenders for the men, jazz music and doing the Charleston)
- Prohibition era (1930s) (Gangsters, Al Capone, the Untouchables, Elio Ness, the Charleston, Jazz music)
- Carnival (bright colours, feathers, masks, makeup, multi-coloured umbrellas, sequins)
- Hats (all shapes, colours and styles, large or small . . . be original!)
- Pirate (Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow, eye patches, black and white striped pants, treasure chests)
- Around the world (choose a country or tradition, i.e., China, Brazil, Ancient Rome, Italy, etc.)
- Film (general or specific, i.e., animation, geek, classic, superhero, old Hollywood)
- Gods and goddesses (Celtic, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, or more simply, have your guests dress in black and gold)
- Cabaret/burlesque/Moulin Rouge (i.e., Parisian-themed. Similar to the roaring 20s and the prohibition era)
All in all, there are essentially as many themes as there are words in the dictionary!
No Theme
Yes, this choice is valid too! It’s neutral and people like it. Especially those who don’t like dressing up! Just put on some music and dance. Adjust your musical choices to your guests’ age and preference. People can also make requests and you can even create a daily top 40 playlist.
As for us, whether or not there’s a theme, we like creating the best mood possible for an enjoyable evening.
Call on our services for your next event!
