Hi everyone, I wanted to post some thoughts on a question that almost always comes up in my conversations with clients. "Do I really need Dance Floor Lighting at my event?"
I wish it was an easy question to answer...but I can break it down like this.
No......Maybe......Absolutely!
Confused??
Don't be.. here are some questions, facts, ideas and honest answers.
Is your event going to be outside or in an area that will be brightly lit for at least 80% of the time during the event?
What do I mean???
Well the 1st scenario is easy...if it is going to be outside in the middle of the day the sun will wash out any type of lighting effects. In this case...no lighting would not be needed and be a waste of money. That's a no brainer and easy Right?
The 2nd scenario would be if the party is inside and the area that you were going to use as a dance floor had a lot of windows near it and the windows had no shades or curtains that could be used to block the sun. Now you are probably saying to yourself...why would anybody have a dance floor, with a lot of windows, and no shades! but you would be surprised at how many times and places in the past 20 years we have run into this hiccup.
(My guess is that the owner's or the venue management believe that people would rather look outside and see their landscaping while dancing than have a darker, more comfortable and inviting place to dance. Another answer may be that whatever was being used to cover the windows is broken or missing.)
What we have observed at previous events is that people tend to dance more and the dance floor fills up quicker if it's a darker space that if it's a brightly lit space.
This brings me to why dance floor lighting is so important. If you have a nice darker area set aside for a dance floor...great! If that's all you have ..well not so great.
WHAT? WHY?
Well the simple answer is that it's boring. I know, I know, I said darker is better....but too dark is not good either. Why? Well for starters no one can see anybody on the floor having a good time and when people see others having a good time it's sorta contagious...it makes them want to have a good time too. But if you turn up the venues big bright lights or worse.... those damned florescent lights.....everyone clears the floor. Thank goodness most places have their lights on dimmers but what else can be done?
Enter the DJ and his or her dance floor lights. A good DJ will have a nice mix of lights that's appropriate for fast and slow songs, they will have done their homework, and have the lights needed to light up that floor. A great DJ on the other hand will have lights and the knowledge of how to maximize their use almost like a lighting director. They will help take your party from nice....to WOW!
"Lighting is like a recipe...1 part lights, 1 part creativity.... add a few dashes of experience and poof...success. Well almost....."
Dance floor lighting bridges the gap between too bright or too dark giving you a floor with a Goldilocks Zone that provides the correct atmosphere and excitement to help keep your party moving...and help make it a success.
"But my venue is the best and already has lighting"
Most places like this are few and far between. They do exist but they are rare. The truth is that most venues have so much else to do between preparing food, staffing, cleaning, maintenance, décor and everything else necessary in making their place a success that is logistically impossible for them to keep up with what hot and what's not in lighting.
"I talked to another company and they said they are such great entertainer's that they don't need lights"
You may find a few DJ's out there that will tell you that you don't need lights and if you have one of the scenarios listed above ok...no problem. But beware some DJ's don't have lighting and in an effort to get you to book them may tell you it's not needed. Maybe they are just starting out, maybe they don't want to invest the time and $$$ into putting a light show or shows together. Maybe their just lazy? For whatever reason......stop.....take a breath....remember what you have learned about lighting and call a few other companies because chances are you will find exactly what you are looking for....and isn't that what's most important here....you being happy.
"I really don't have the extra $$$ for a light show"
I can really get behind this one. Lets face it the economy is still sluggish and people sometimes don't have extra cash laying around collecting dust...at least I don't. Now I can't help you with your income but I can tell you a trick that's as old as time. The saying goes "Rob Peter to pay Paul" or in other words...take $$$ from something you may not really need and re-allocate it somewhere else. From where you may ask???
"I have a story and an example"
Not too long ago I was a guest at a wedding and the Bride and Groom had gotten everyone that had attended the reception a gift. They were on everyone's tables. Now don't get me wrong it was very thoughtful for the happy couple to do this for everyone...but at the end of the reception and after most of the guests had left.... I looked around the hall to see most of the gifts that the Bride and Groom got for everyone and without a doubt paid quite a bit of $$$ for........were left on the tables...............to be collected by the halls staff and thrown away!
Were the guests that insensitive and uncaring......nope.....they simply had a good time and forgot to take them when they left........ all that $$$$ wasted.
Another example is disposable cameras. You know the cameras that people will sometimes put out on the guests tables. Hoping that their family and friends will take some great pictures with but in actuality the kids at the party will grab and take like 20 blurry pictures of floor. If your having a photographer at your event consider letting them take all the pictures...the quality and composition is 1000 times better...no wasted $$$$ and isn't that the reason they there for in the 1st place? The moral of these stories.....you can always find something that you really don't need...cut it from the budget...and use it for something else that you may want or even need.
One last thought.....for everyone that tells you lighting is not important...ask yourself this. Have you ever gone to a concert, a church, a mall...saw a movie or a commercial or even a home shopping channel....visited a store, a museum or even a mausoleum that didn't use some type of lighting to make whatever it was you were looking at look........better?
Nope....? Me either.
