Red, White and Blue in Vegas

Every five years this union holds its national meeting in Las Vegas. A mixture of business meetings, exhibits and voting in new leadership, the week-long event always ends with a great send off. But what to do for a mostly male crowd of 4,000 in Vegas?

In keeping with the clientele, AOO Events event producer Nick Gentile and I created a casual night of camaraderie at Bally's Las Vegas. As you can imagine with that size of event, two ballrooms were used. The one in the Grand Ballroom (pictured at top) was meant to be more of mellow pub feeling with a jazz band and pool tables by AGR Amusement Game Rentals.

The second area, held in the Event Center and pictured below, was more clubby and high-energy. It featured a large-screen projection, lounge furniture and oversized S-shaped lamps.

We started, as we always do, with a Style Page...





The main focal point would be the 20-foot-high, 170-foot-wide video screen that told the history of the union starting with its inception in the early 1900s to the present. The images on the screen continued to scroll through, showing highlights from the organization's history. DAV Productions, a specialty company, created the video and a process that used more than 12 video projectors synced simultaneously.

Because of the sheer size of the ballroom and the amount of guests combined with a challenging budget, any decor piece had to be designed as large as possible and made to standout as large of an element as possible. These flower arrangements helped fill the massive space.

The colors of the union's logo tied the event together through all elements down the details like this elaborate ice carving by Ice Studio.

Here we used two gobo projections from Angstrom Lighting to create the back wall treatment. A gobo pattern with one 90-degree barrel created the base of the stage treatment. A horizontal split gel of lavender and magenta gave it a two-tone look. Then a glass gobo of the client's logo was placed on top to create the finished look you see here. Overall lighting for the event was provided by DAV Productions and Freeman Company.

Working with two A/V companies on the same event was challenging but necessary due to the way that Bally's is set up. The Event Center is part of the convention hall and the ballroom is in the hotel although they are close to one another. We were literally walking the LDs into each others' rooms to make sure they understood what they were lighting and how it had to complement one another!

And other details not to forget in Vegas -- the bling! Hey, when in Vegas ... Showgirls in red, white and blue! This was just the right touch for this All-American client.

GUEST BLOG by Brooke Bonder

Here at designdawgs, we consider all types of design, even that of your own image. Creating an image these days is a little more complex with so many more avenues available to us thanks to social media. Which is why video is such a great medium for image design. So much of business is based on relationships and video allows potential clients to see more of who you are and what you offer. Plus, video is great for web optimization, yet another piece of the design puzzle when branding your company. But people still think of it as something only the “big boys” do. This is why I asked Brooke to write a few words and shed some light on the benefits of video as a marketing tool and why now, more than ever, it’s available to everyone.

David Merrell
Creative Director, AOO Events, Lead designdawg

DESIGNING YOUR IMAGE THROUGH ONLINE VIDEO

By Brooke Bonder

Everyone has a story and video is one of the best ways to tell it. When done right, it’s a great way to instantly create rapport with clients and to promote a venue or service in a fun, friendly manner.

And today, contrary to what we used to think, it’s more than just an extravagance. With the rapidly changing advancements in technology, video is an important part of anyone’s digital marketing efforts. It helps optimize your web site for better search engine results, but it also shows your personality, especially if you do it with an outside “host” who can help walk people through the space if you are a venue or engage you in conversation if you are promoting your service.

Time is luxury today and video gives all involved the gift of time. Potential clients can view a venue from their home saving them travel time. When they do book time to see the venue, they are that much more informed and interested. This video of Bar210 in Los Angeles is an example of a video that allows the client to not only see the venue but also meet all the people with whom they will be working.

And, video allows people from around the world the chance to “see” your space and “meet” you. This works especially well for venues. Think about it – a video can allow potential clients from around the world to see your space and get to know you. You can build a relationship and trust right out of the gate with no travel time! And in addition to living on your website, videos can be e-mailed to a client, shown to prospects in sales presentations and given out as marketing collateral.

The Proof Is In the Pudding

But, you say, of course I would say all this. Video is what I do. However, there are facts to back me up! According to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Vaughn Communications, video boosts comprehension and retention by more than 50 percent. Video also expedites buying decisions by 72 percent versus print. Six times as many people prefer to watch video to print for information gathering and video marketing helps increase sales of a service or product being promoted by more than 70 percent. Clearly online video trends indicate that it behooves businesses to have a strong presence in that world.

Professional vs. Do-It-Yourself
While there is a time and place for using new tools such as the Flip camera, I think that when it comes to telling your story, professional is best. I encourage creativity and support the immediate product that a Flip delivers, but production costs for professional equipment and staff are at an all-time low for many reasons.

To show you the difference in style, this is an example of a fun, DIY video that Dave and his crew made themselves at ASAE. It's perfect for what it is -- an immediate report from an AOO event that will be posted on designdawgs as editorial. But I think it's a great example of why a professional video is better as an image piece for sales!

Think of it like this – it’s fun to take quick photos with our camera phones and post them on Facebook, but when we want to impress a client, or present our work to the world, we use photos that have been shot professionally. The same goes for a video. When you consider that the world could be watching, doesn’t it make sense to tell your story in the right lighting, with the best camera angles and with someone guiding the viewer through with a well-written, thought-out script?

We are fortunate to live in an era when such a powerful marketing tool is at our disposal. And there is no time like the present to put that tool to use. There is a large audience waiting to be told a story...let them hear yours.

About Brooke Bonder

Brooke Bonder is Owner and Executive Producer of The Event Nut offering custom video resources for the events and hospitality industry. Brooke began the company as a way for those in these industries to promote their venues, products and services; to stand apart from the competition in an engaging, entertaining fashion. In addition to covering events, The Event Nut creates custom, hosted videos for venues such as the Beverly Hilton’s new lounge, Bar210. And in 2010, Brooke was awarded the ISES International Award for Best Event Entertainment Concept and Execution Award. www.TheEventNut.com

GUEST BLOG by Nick Gentile

Ready for a monster mash!

Orchestrating A Gory Halloween

By Nick Gentile

Halloween is not usually a big holiday for event planners but there are certainly those rare individuals for whom it is an important personal expression. The hostess behind this long-running Halloween event is one of those people. Founded in Las Vegas, a town that has blurred the line between the real and imaginary so well that it's hard to tell the difference, Gory Girl had made an art form of ghoulish productions. Yet, this past year, when the founder moved to Los Angeles, yet another city made famous by fantasy, the stakes became higher.

Because the new location held many unknowns -- permits, noise ordinances, neighbors -- planning began a year out. AOO Events was called in only a short time before the event thanks to some of those unforseen circumstances. But we quickly got up to speed.

Logistics were the biggest part of the event which was being held in the residence of six people who would be living there during the four-day set up and two-day strike. We found ways to work around this as we cleared out everything on the first floor as well as the entire pool area and created faux walls that would create more environments. We also immediately began a master timeline for the caterer and entertainers.

The Event

Guests entered through a graveyard.

The entire house was transformed into a haunted mansion. Guests entered through a graveyard into a main area for cocktails. Here, a mad organist and a plethora of his frightening friends welcomed them. Gory Girl had built up a huge prop collection from which to design. Guests encountered animatronic vampires, giant spiders who had caught a body in their giant web, crazed killers, coffins, caskets, and murder victim all made their appearances and this was before the first cocktail!

COCKTAILS

The cocktails were a story unto themselves. One of the event's sponsors was Lucid Absinthe that wickedly delightful green potion that had been banned in the U.S. for almost 100 years. The other was Red Bull. Needless to say, a "killer" combination! And to serve drinks such as the Scary Berry Martini and Liquefied Ghost were models airbrushed head to toe as Absinthe Fairies. Just perfect for this racy event.

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder!
Event producer Nick Gentile with the "Painted Lucid Absinthe Nymphs"

The Lucid Absinthe bar

To keep the event on track with the timing of the entertainment, the cocktail hour really was an hour. Once the bars closed in the living room, guests made their way to the backyard where the pool had been covered and dry ice created an eerie environment. Here, a custom ice bar was set with the Gory Girl logo. Lounge settings created by AOO Events were created throughout the party and Images By Lighting went all out to create a beyond-the-grave ambiance. As the fog dispersed custom gobos of spider webs and other ghostly patterns could be seen as well as a central stage built by Town and Country Event Rentals.

Outside, an ice bar by Carving Ice. The Gory Girl logo was in the center.

The stage was set for a performance by Los Angeles' Cirque Berzerk, what can only be called an adult, after-hours take on the circus. The hour-long custom show enthralled guests with acrobats, fire-eaters, aerialists, trapeze artists, and creatures of the night.

Performers from Cirque Berzerk

DINNER

The devil made me eat it! One of the sinfully good buffets

Guests had certainly built up an un-humanly hunger and the caterer was ready to oblige their most sinister cravings from fresh meat to luscious desserts.

We knew the event was a success when the police showed up, with a helicopter no less! Now, certainly at AOO we try NOT to have the police show up (we work with the fire marshals, and pay attention to crowd control). But in this case, it was certainly the stamp of approval our client was looking for from the event's new home base!

With only limited planning time, what started out looking like an event that didn't have a ghost of a chance, ended up being one of the most talked-about of all Gory Girl's parties, and given this event's history, that's saying a lot.


Nick Gentile
Nick Gentile has 10 years of experience as a top producer in the events industry. At AOO Events he specialized in producing social events such as exquisite weddings, charity fetes and frighteningly fun parties like this Halloween production.

October Fests

It's October!

Today is the first of October and so begins my favorite time of year. Although we don't get many seasons in Los Angeles I still notice a slight chill in the mornings, a change of light at daybreak and the rustle of leaves in the evening. It means that soon holiday parties are on their way; a time to celebrate with friends, family and colleagues and usher in the New Year.

But before we get to those events, we start with one near and dear to any event designer's heart (and imagination) -- Halloween. As Creative Director of AOO, I live and breathe fantasy and transformation every day. But Halloween is that one day of the year when everyone joins me and my peers in this activity. It's a time when all the world becomes an event. And of course, some more elaborate and dramatic than others.

So grab your candy corns and come back next week when AOO's Event Producer Nick Gentile takes you on a tour of a house (pictured above) that is haunted every year by the spirits of design and ghouls who just want to have fun!