6 Keys For Creating Immersive Environments
Long gone are the days of hiring a company to set up a simple PA system a couple of lights and calling it good for your event. Today people are expecting an event that is going to be interactive, impactful, and immersive. They want to be submerged in an experience not just splashed with AV.
Side note - If I can be honest for a moment you can certainly only have a basic AV package but your E-ROI (Event- ROI) is going to suffer greatly. I'll be posting a two part blog on E-ROI later on this month and I highly recommend you check it out. Now let's get back on track - today I want to share with you 6 keys that can help you immerse in pure event bliss.
These keys will help you unlock unlimited potential for your event. Our home base Lincoln, Nebraska really only has 2 venues (aside from the arena in town) that can facilitate gala's, fundraisers, and other events of around 500 people.
More than likely the people attending your event have been in these venues dozens, if not hundreds, of times. Don't bore them with the same old beige walls, center pieces, and poorly lit space.
#1 - Color
Humans by nature receive the most amount of information visually and to take it to another level of nerd certain colors evoke specific emotions. Use this natural human wiring to your advantage and pull out all the emotions with color.
Chose wisely as color is the base of your design. Invest in uplighting, color washes, or colorful pipe and drape and watch how it immediately change the atmosphere.
#2 - Highlighting Important Elements
Once you've washed your entire room in color it can be easy to lose sight of important elements like center pieces, signage, head table, auction items, etc. There was a ton of work in prepping all of those items why leave them in the dark! This is where using lighting like pin spots it utterly important. It grabs peoples attention and redirects it to the important items or people in the room.
#3 Textures & Patterns
Now that we've got the walls covered in the perfect shade of blue and everything highlighted that we want the guests to focus on lets give them some visual interest. This is a great time to use gobos, wash patterns, video projection, or even the logo of the event sponsors projected on a wall--these can all be a great touch. Textures and patterns can take that boring wall and turn it into an art piece that your guests will absolutely love.
#4 Movement
Even with everything I've mentioned above event spaces can start to feel old depending on what type of event you're hosting. This is a great time to look at adding some type of movement to the room. When we say movement most people almost always think that we need to add moving head lights but that is not always the case. This is where having a lighting operator present can have a huge payoff. We can create some really unique movements by slowly chasing the uplights in the room between two colors, using video projection to make the walls look like moving water, or having an animated logo start to move. Your event is always moving forward, shouldn't the space you're in match that? Another incredibly exciting way to create movement is with controllable LED wrist bands. Have them pull double duty as a way for you to identify who is a guest at the event and to a really unique and immersive experience.
#5 Sound
In the immersive experience pie sound might be one of the large pieces. Good sound matters no matter what type of event you're hosting. If the guests can't hear the announcements, the key note, or the music helping set the mood then we've lost a great opportunity to connect with them. Remember how I mentioned earlier that humans primarily absorb information with their eyes? A close second is using their ears to capture information. Everything from playing the right kind of music, having unique sound effects, to having clear presentation sound plays into the immersive experience.
#6 Smell
Maybe the most unique key but most fun out of all of them is smell. While it isn't one we use a ton when we get to use it as a tool to create an immersive event it is incredibly fun! Imagine hosting a Christmas party and your guests walk into a room that smells just like fresh cut Christmas trees. Maybe you're hosting a tropical event and you want the smell of the ocean to fill the room at a specific point in the night. It is a nice subtle touch to really help take your event to the next level and connect with your guests--even if it is subconsciously.
Ready to dive in and plan your immersive event? Our event professionals are pro's at making sure you and your guest get the best event around. Contact us today at info@stratumpro.com or 402-882-1691 to schedule your free event consultation.