This year, immersive themed events are hotly tipped to be the way to give your guests an exciting and memorable celebration and importantly - end the year with a bang! Some event themes are classic and will always inspire, while others trend alongside popular culture. This year Christmas event styling is focusing on creating immersive events that ‘tell a story’ with festive flair. Immersive events are about going above and beyond your typical styling treasure trove to embracing audio visual solutions that transform your venue. We want to give you a taste of what is hot this year in event styling and our top tips for really bringing your theme to life. Part 1: Vintage Circus and Carnival || Part 2: 12 Days of Christmas || Part 4: Northern Lights HOLLYWOOD AWARDS Turn an old favourite into an on-trend event experience. Bring the Hollywood award party theme to a new era and enhance with a range of stylish and decorative props and decor. Create chill out zones with funky furniture, photo opportunities with photo booth backdrops and props, or even create zones to break up the room. To create intimate and unique areas within the venue space, we recommend using curtains, lush velvet drapes, or crystal curtains. These divide the room and inspire interest. Hollywood Awards theme moodboard and props The overall aim of this interactive end of year party theme is to make all guests feel like a true star. Strut your stuff on a glamorous red carpet entrance and strike a pose in front of a custom designed illuminated Hollywood Event Backdrop. We can even set up a lighting sequence, to imitate the flashes from the paparazzi cameras. Red carpet arrival for guests with Event Backdrop at the end. Whether a professional photographer is taking shots, or guests are doing their own ‘Selfies’, it’s a fabulous way to keep your guests excited and entertained. But don’t let all of your hard theming work go to waste! Staging Connections’ audience engagement platform, Event Tweet, captures your event’s Tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts via a designated hashtag and displays them instantly on-screen. Now everyone can have their 15 mins of fame. Event Tweet used at a recent gala dinner Nothing creates atmosphere better than sound. And with this event theme you are like a kid in a candy shop – with so many well-known soundtracks and movie sound effects to blast throughout the room all night. Use large impactful props like awards to create a Tinseltown sized impact and create a high end feel. Team the event styling with theatrical lighting such as moving spot lights on the red carpet, Hollywood inspired gobo projection and ambient up lights. Bring the styling to life with unique entertainment such as interactive Hollywood actors who perform through the crowd in costume. Or use Staging Connections’ audience polling platform, Event Poll, to vote on Best Dressed. You can also use this for your end of year staff awards. Event Poll was used to vote on Best Dressed at this year's Oscars. Top tips Be bold and create a large ceiling installation which can be a cluster of chandeliers, crystal curtains hung in interesting patterns or a cluster of large exposed globes. Fresh floral centrepieces are very popular at the moment, so create a sophisticated low line centrepiece. Simple, sleek table linen will compliment this theme and the table centrepiece. For a little extra attention to detail, create movie reel menus for each guest or place small movie clapper boards as a gift at each place setting. For something more grandeur, use height in your centrepieces such as oversized candlesticks, and use it over and over. Repetition makes a statement. Foreground: Table setting with mirrors for dramatic effect, Hollywood colours and Oscar statue. Background: Gobo 'Star' projections across the wall. Want to see what other predictions we have... Part 1: Vintage Circus and Carnival || Part 2: 12 Days of Christmas || Part 4: Northern Lights ... Read More

The final part of our four-part blog series on this year's event theme trends for end of years parties is all about embracing sleek and sophisticated Scandinavian design. As you would have read from our previous predictions, this year immersive events are hotly tipped to be the way to give your guests an exciting and memorable celebration and importantly - and end the year with a bang! Some event themes are classic and will always inspire, while others trend alongside popular culture. This year Christmas event styling is focusing on creating immersive events that ‘tell a story’ with festive flair. Immersive events are about going above and beyond your typical styling treasure trove to embracing audio visual solutions that transform your venue. We want to give you a taste of what is hot this year in event styling and our top tips for really bringing your theme to life. Part 1: Vintage Circus & Carnival || Part 2: Hollywood Awards Night || Part 3: 12 Days of Christmas NORTHERN LIGHTS Minimalist stylings and a Scandinavian approach will benefit your end of year celebrations by being on trend and setting the bar for all other corporate events to follow. Be inspired by earthy natural tones and raw materials this year as we strip back layers upon layers of just awful Christmas wrapping paper and over-done LED Christmas trees. The end of year should signify the need for conversation and thoughtfulness as we reflect on the year gone by, which is why these styling tips will create an atmosphere that is warm, innovative and embraces modern European charm without losing luxury. Start by focusing on your table design, who is it for? Do you need to tell a story with your centrepiece? Use raw materials like Fur tree branches, pine cones and unpolished logs or branches to create the foundation of your look. Use your table as a feature and don’t cover it up! Using minimalist furniture styling and exposed wooden table tops add texture and make the space you're in more inviting for your guests. Think about your cutlery and accent glassware on the table on keep it simple, use cutlery that is understated and not ornate and create a statement by using stemless wine glasses and an accent colour to signify the water glass, it looks simple yet luxurious. Moodboard: Combine natural foliage with warm-coloured elements such as candles and copper vases. Lighting is everything at events. For this Northern Lights event theme, lighting effects are particularly important and can really bring to life the event theme. Create a stunning Aurelia Borealis skyline around the venue walls using projection blends or digital banners. On the stage you can emulate a beautiful starry night with the use of midnight blue draping with little LEDs embedded into the fabric. For the table centerpieces try and pair tea-lights, simple votives and festoon lighting around your venue and by sure to use lights that create warmth. If you plan on pin spotting make sure that you can turn down that cold harsh light. In addition, use as much candlelight on the table as you can to counter the cold winter tones the Aurealia Borealis projections are generating. Moodboard: Simple, elegant woods and natural elements in brushed paint or monochrome colours. Statement pieces are everything to make an event memorable! Whether you do this at the entrance for guests to enjoy or have hidden within the room to surprise your guests, it doesn't matter, so long as it makes the statement you want.The statement piece has to be the talking point for the evening and be worthy of a picture. We recommend a chandelier installation using monochrome and copper baubles to create a bespoke arrangement. In between the copper bauble's, incorporate beautiful hanging rustic 'Edison' light bulbs to inject warmth into the installation. To create a stunning entrance for your guests and to really set the tone for the evening, line the walkway with a fur-tree forrest, with fake snow covering the walkway. Woven into the trees will be little LED lights to create an enchanted forest feel. There are so many options to choose from when it comes to minimalist stylings and Scandinavian design, make sure you have a Nordic Christmas feature your end of year celebration this year! Moodboard: Use a colour palette of white and silver mixed with simple earthy tones such as woods, coppers and pine green. Top Tips: Use a mirror round on each table to create depth and drama to each table centrepiece. Use clean lines and a simple colour palette to start with, remember less is more! Use soft furnishings and candlelight to create warm and comfort for your guests. Don't be ambitious and create a statement piece that you can't commit too, you either go the whole way or not at all. Raw materials and timbers should be the feature but if you struggle you can opt for linen options in deep apricot and beige. Loved reading about our Nordic Lights event theme? See what else we predict... Part 1: Vintage Circus & Carnival || Part 2: Hollywood Awards Night || Part 3: 12 Days of Christmas ... Read More

For the first time, Tasmania will play host to a fun festival celebrating all things science and the International Year of Light. The very first Festival of Bright Ideas will present a diverse program of hands-on activities, science entertainment, and celebrity speakers. As part of National Science Week, the festival will take place over two days – 14 and 15 August and be held at Hobart’s picturesque Princess Wharf (PW1). Staging Connections are proud to partner with the University of Tasmania and Luminous Events in providing and managing all the audio visual equipment needed to make this event happen. The festival will showcase the full spectrum of the Tasmanian science sector and aims to offer a program that is accessible and collaborative, engaging all ages and interest levels of science. Some hot topics they’ll be shining a light on will be; What does your future look like? Why is everyone talking about robots taking our jobs? When do I get my hoverboard? Are humans going to live forever? What’s this bitcoin thing that people are talking about? Technology is moving so quickly but what does this mean for you? Speaking at the event will be Dr Angus Hervey and Tane Hunter who’ll be sharing their thoughts on what will happen as converging technologies and scientific breakthroughs ‘crunch’ together. To enhance the ‘Bright Ideas’ event theme, Staging Connections will create several hanging light-bulb installations around the venue, using the rustic ‘Edison’ type light-bulb. Over the course of the two-day festival there will be a host of family-friendly activities and presentations to attend. If you are wanting to get involved as an exhibitor and activity provider free of charge, you can still contact sustainability.learning.centre@education.tas.gov.au by 31st July to be considered. We look forward to seeing you there and becoming brighter! Here's a great video from last year's National Science Week - Tasmania ... Read More

Australia’s first Top 100 Restaurant Awards made a huge splash on the awards circuit earlier this year. The star-studded event brought Australia’s foodies, restaurateurs’ and celebrities alike onto Melbourne’s Crown Towers’ pool terrace for the highly anticipated event, proudly co-hosted by Crown Resorts and Fairfax Australia. Event Brief Staging Connections was approached by Crown Resorts and Fairfax Australia to assist and design a concept for the launch of the first Australia’s Top 100 Restaurants Awards. The challenge being - it was to be staged over the Crown Towers pool and house 450 plus guests. If that wasn't a huge logistical challenge in itself, we also had to consider the pool terrace was on a roof top, surrounded by potentially hazardous wet zones and was also open to the public. This challenged Staging Connections to get creative by putting our imaginative and technical minds together. Staging Connections presented a solution which ended up becoming an elegant and bespoke concept which was show cased in the media from celebrities and industry veterans. Audio Visual Solution Upon entry guests were welcomed with an extraordinary edible Tourism Victoria chocolate food display, a custom designed red carpet arrangement and 6m wide media wall, awaiting the media to capture their 'Kodak' moment. Once through the pre-function area, guests were ushered onto the pool itself which was temporarily covered with clear acrylic decking, allowing the 450 plus guests to see straight through to underneath water. Vision was a key factor in designing this concept. As most awards nights tend to utilise vision as their main source of presenting awards, a large screen was required that needed be viewed from all angles of the space. We needed to come up with a winning solution to allowing Fairfax to have their vision content count down from 100 logos down to the number one winner - Sepia. We faced issues of multiple floor-to-ceiling pillars blocking sight-lines and therefore projection was not an option. We designed and presented a record sized 25m wide x 4m high LED Screen in a 4mm pixel – high resolution screen. All floor mounted, this screen was the hero of the night. Staging Connections presented a concept which was a perfect solution to showcase all vision content at a high resolution scale, which allowed us to take up as little real-estate as possible. To bring this event together styling and decor elements where added into the space, over the temporary decking over the pool, existing floor areas and into the pre- function zone. As the event was all about the food, Staging Connections designed seven bespoke food & bar stations. Including a fun and quirky Gelato Station, ice chilled Salmon and Oyster stations, Champagne & Espresso Martini Bars and a 360 degree rustic Cheese station. This allowed all chefs’s to showcase their canapés and food in a variety of ways. Copper, white, green organic elements dressed the furniture and table centrepieces, along with additional potted fresh ferns and planter boxes to compliment the existing environment and surroundings. Melbourne favourites, Mad Hatters, and roving dancers performing in zorb balls over the water created exciting entertainment for the night. This would not at all be possible without current technology, state of the art sound systems and creative lighting effects. All which complete this over all look and feel of the night. ... Read More

Feast your eyes on this stunning enchanted forest event theme we designed for this year's Victoria Racing Club Young Member's Ball. The night was a spectacular evening filled with performances including death-defying aerial-artists. Event Brief Staging Connections has been lucky enough to work closely with Victoria Racing Club over the last consecutive five years. Every year we are asked to create a fresh new creative look for each event theme that wow's and excited their guests. This year we were asked to turn the event venue, Crown Palladium ballroom, into a magical "Secret Kingdom" that continued to surprise and delight guests throughout the evening. On top of creating the overarching event theme, we had to design a themed pre-function area, as well as stunning table centrepieces and of course, the hero of the night, the ceiling installation. The Event Solution Through our clients mood board we conceptualised alternative room looks and styles together to come up with a different and a cost effect design for the ceiling installation. The idea of placing a large tree with a drooping canopy over hanging the central stage and dance floor was a key element our client wished to explore. Playing on the peacock colour pallet, the installation was made up of over 600 pieces of coloured fabric drops, fresh falling foliage and scattered crystal beads to capture the glistering light. We created a majestic 360 degree 15m x 14m border of hanging foliage which traced the outside of the dance floor. To add more depth and dimension to the installation we produced a secondary central installation above the middle stage, where a dense 3m x 3m filled arena of cascading materials hung lower, allowing this overall design to look full and luscious. Hanging garden ceiling installation By placing this installation in the centre of the room, it instantly created the wow factor and exuded an ambient forest and enchanted kingdom atmosphere, particularly when guests where up and dancing underneath. To depict the feel of a forest, the centrepieces and table design was a key factor in assisting this theme to fruition. Alternating heights of alike floras and foliage stood 1.5m tall and 40cm high wooden centrepieces filled the room within. Dark black linen and chair covers acted as the backdrop for the centres, coloured table pin spot lights allowed the florals to pop. Candy buffet by Hey Suga! The room was finished off with a brand new gorgeous navy blue drape line surrounding all four walls and with the use of gobos, were lit beautifully with silhouettes of moving branches upon entering. Large real-life potted trees were placed in-between tables, corners of the room and in the pre function area portraying the mystical forest guests were surrounded by. The over all style of the room would not be complete with out the use of technology. We where able to create this mysterious environment through the use of innovative lighting, and pioneering special lighting effects. Up to date technologies in audio visual, including sound, vision and lighting was the platform for this space to come alive. Performances by Applause Entertainment Placement of lighting within the ballroom was challenging and many plots were drawn up to ensure that highlights and shadows were cast in the right areas so the entertainment were clearly seen for all the audience to enjoy but the shadows cast from the trees and foliage created atmosphere for the theme. The gobos on the draping created a depth as if the forest extended into the night and the movement programmed by the lighting designer opened and closed the forest canopy beyond the ballroom. To start the proceedings a thunder and lightning storm erupted to silence the crowd and the trumpet call introduced the MC for the evening. Performances by Applause Entertainment Throughout the night acts entertained the crowd form a central stage and the sound system was placed in and around the foliage to disperse evenly on the audience. This dispersal was mapped out using software to find hotspots and flatspots and adjust accordingly. At any point through the ballroom the even quality of sound has to be maintained to give the MC and the acts the best possible coverage. Ian Howard, the Technical Director and lighting designer for the event, ensured the crew were on point and cued for each part of the evening. Being a dramatic event with heavy use of audio visual techniques his role was to ensure everything ran seamlessly from changes in room looks, to sound requirements and camera shots as well as managing lighting coordination with stage-hand movement on stage. The key to running a successful audio visual event is communication. To ensure a flawless and safe event all crew use talk-back radios and are clearly briefed prior to the event as well as participate in a full dress rehearsal to iron out any potential issues. ... Read More

Our General Manager of Digital, Tim Chapman, shares his two cents on why we should be webcasting our events and how it can actually generate you a profitable outcome. Making money from webcasting is not a new concept, the real challenge is producing content that people are willing to pay for. Asking people to pay for a low quality video with little or no interactivity simply does not work. Over the past year Staging Connections has taken a new approach to monetisation in the webcasting market by offering consultative sessions with our clients. We start by addressing the key outcomes required from the webcast which are most commonly an extra source of event revenue, catering to a wider paid audience and a cost efficient way to provide an engaging archival representation of the event. If the event attracts a fee to attend then a natural progression would be to charge for viewers to watch the webcast. The key is replicating the event in broadcast quality vision with a high level of audience interactivity to rival being there in person. The plan starts with the monetisation options and which will work best dependant on the event. Options include a pay wall using PayPal for attendee viewing, webcast sponsor(s) to offset the cost of the webcast equipment in return for static and video advertising, in webcast purchase of products or services and affiliate marketing opportunities. A rising trend is the use of paid webcasts for CPE (Continuing Professional Education) as many professionals must acquire a set number of points per year to maintain their qualification. The Staging Connections webcast platform differs to others on the market and makes the monetisation task much simpler. We start with a blank canvas and expertly design a HTML play page that incorporates all manners of monetisation opportunities. It starts with a branded registration page offering seamless integration to the pay wall feature. You are then transported to the play page where advertising loops in the video and slide windows surrounded by attractive branding with active links to sponsors showcasing their products or services that can be purchased directly. The page has a social media feed running and a chat room to keep everyone entertained during breaks with the chance just for the webcast viewers to win a prize in one of the pop up polls towards the end of the day. As the webcast draws to a close the viewer is redirected to information regarding the clients next event. The viewer leans back in their chair at the end of the day having downloaded the conference notes, met some new people on the web chat who have now become contacts on LinkedIn and generally been impressed with how good the camera quality and slide integration were all making the investment as a viewer very worthwhile. Written by Tim Chapman, General Manager - Digital, Staging Connections. Tim has an extensive background in combining technology into the event space. He is passionate about being at the forefront of digital trends and utilises this knowledge to build product offerings for the Staging Connections Group of Companies. Tim has developed a new webcasting platform recognised as one of Australia’s most advanced in functionality and continues to develop solutions using leading edge technology custom designed for the events industry. Want to know more about webcasting? Download our latest Event Insights white paper on Making Money from Webcasting Related Articles Launching Hobart 39 - webcasting The Benefits of Event Webcasting Take your event from stage to screen ... Read More

Generation Y and Millennials have more decision making power than ever before and it’s not just the generation that’s changing; it’s the way they consume technology that’s prompting the events industry to change. It's time to get up to speed. You might think they’re asking too much, that they have ‘big’ ideas or maybe you just get annoyed that they don’t answer their landlines, but don’t underestimate what they’re capable of. It’s time to get in touch with the next generation of event buyers. Generation Y and Millennials have more decision making power than ever before and it’s not just the generation that’s changing; it’s the way they consume technology that’s prompting the events industry to change. The opportunity is here. Adapt or die. The next generation are demanding, they do have ‘big’ ideas and they don’t like taking your sales calls. Get to know them, their priorities and their love for all things tech, and you’ll be way ahead of the rest. In the first ever Australia Asia Pacific survey conducted by the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC), Generation Y and Millennials, those aged 18 to 32, placed more importance on the technology capabilities of a venue than any other generation. Why? Because technology isn’t an add-on for them. It’s not even a ‘part’ of their life, it is them, it is their life. There’s an opportunity here for venues and event suppliers. When the future of meetings and events lies in the successful communication and collaboration of buyer and seller, all parties must understand the needs and wants of the other. For venues, attracting event buyers lies in communicating their unique technical facilities and strength of their team. For event suppliers, attracting buyers lies in the technology they offer and success of past events delivered. We’re in house at 70 venues across Australia and New Zealand, and as the only supplier to hold this accolade, we feel privileged to be able to offer innovative technical solutions; through the people with the know-how and the boundary-pushing products and services that we’ve tailored to each of our venues. Our technology includes the latest webcasting and live streaming technology, Event Feed – our real-time social media platform to boost event engagement, Event Poll which allows live voting, contests and question submission at events like conference and of course event apps. Plus we have the latest and greatest multimedia 3D mapping programs which project onto any 3D surface, offering phenomenal impact and uber-widescreen technologies to truly transform events. We’re seeing that generation Y event buyers are more interested in these technologies. Priorities of the decision maker have changed. Baby Boomers and Generation X had top priorities like quality, dedicated service teams and a superior food and beverage offering. Generation Y and Millennials are placing greater importance on location, technology and experiential learning aspects like team building. Each of these priorities open the door for venues and suppliers to be more innovative. Together, we’re set to see more and more creative and high-tech events, what better way to get that immensely satisfying wow-factor for you audience?! We’ve invested in all sorts of engaging solutions, ones that integrate technology into the heart of events. Engagement for us is not just a buzzword, it’s a critical event component that can allow you to transform attendees into a community of brand ambassadors. With society in general placing greater importance on digital communications and technologies, it’s no surprise that it’s a key desire for Generation Y and Millennial event buyers. This generation has grown up with limitless information literally at their fingertips, wherever they are, whenever they need it. Google, Facebook, Snapchat are all instant technologies that give the user exactly what they want. This generation is not waiting for the best sales call, they’re actively searching for thumb-stopping digital content, and they’re integrating it into their events at the speed of light! Recognising the pace at which technology changes, we’ve got a dedicated team whose sole purpose is the discovery of the latest technology from across the globe. It’s these technologies that can transform events and make them stand out from the crowd. We’re onto it. This article was written by Tim Morgan, General Manager of Venues for Staging Connections. Want to know more about event trends? Download our range of free White Papers today. ... Read More

Whenever there’s a big, high profile and technically demanding event you can bet on one thing - Staging Connections is behind it. One of the biggest events on the Australian sporting calendar is the launch of the Spring Racing Carnival, which coincides with the Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards. This year the two-fold event was hosted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and was attended by the racing industry’s elite. Staging Connections were engaged by Racing Victoria, a valued client for over 10 years, to deliver the event from brief to execution including all audio, vision, lighting, stage set and styling. As the event was to be broadcast the following evening on Channel 78 and streamed via Racing.com, it was imperative the event environment was technically flawless and tailored for this purpose. The Launch of the Spring Racing Carnival is a media event that highlights the start of the Carnival and the upcoming feature races – Caulfield Cup, The Cox Plate, The Melbourne Cup, The Oaks and Stakes Day along with the regional cups. This year the Launch took place on the MCG arena with racing legends being the feature – horses, jockeys and trainers paraded in front of the assembled guests and a huge contingent of media. Renowned Australian sports broadcaster, Hamish McLachlan, MC’d the Launch parade and interviewed the racing legends. After the official launch concluded in the MCG Arena, guests were moved from the Grandstand into the Members Dining Room for the presentations for the 2015 BMW Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards. The Staging Connections styling and design teams collaborated with the AV technicians to create an elegant room look that supported the presentation purpose. The awards stage was centred at the front of the room, and housed an impressive 3 x 6m Event Backdrop (pictured above), flanked with large 16:9 screens that projected the award ceremony to the 200 guests. The Event Backdrop was custom designed by Racing Victoria with a collage of images that reflected the invitation to the event and the marketing campaign for the 2015 Carnival. Across the room we installed 2 projector screens and a high-quality audio system to compliment the many fixed televisions to ensure all guests had perfect line of sight of the presentations and could clearly hear the announcements. Guests were sat round banquet style with sophisticated centrepieces comprised of a large martini glass with mirror balls that were up lit using an internal light box. The end result was a first-class launch event, fitting for the prestigious occasion. What did the client say? Nicole Coughlan, Racing Victoria Marketing Manager An amazing team effort pulling off last night's SRC launch and AROY awards. Thank you so much for your time and effort. Everyone contributed to something that was very special and you should be very proud of what was achieved. Bernard Saundry, Racing Victoria CEO We are very lucky to have a team that has passion, creativity and commitment to deliver an outstanding event for Australian Racing. A big thank you - no better way to launch the spring racing carnival - the greatest show on turf. View more recent work Contact us to discuss your event Back to our Blog ... Read More

Staging Connections recently produced the launch event for the newest Chinese auto company to enter the Australian market at the Carousel Albert Park in Melbourne. The launch event saw Haval Auto introduce three new models, the H2, H8 and H9. Haval’s brief was to impress its dealers with a new way of presenting the cars. The standard launches for the auto industry have been car under cloth reveals, with run music and pretty girls to pull the cloth from the car. Haval wanted to break this mould and show the world that this was no ordinary car launch. Because each of the three models launched had very individual personalities there was a great opportunity to produce a different atmosphere and theme for each reveal to give each car a chance to shine. Haval wanted to open up the room to allow the audience to be part of the theme and experience each car’s personality. As well as the car launch, there was also a unique ribbon cutting ceremony by company VIPs to introduce the Haval brand to Australia. To achieve the three individual themes, the Carousel was split into three areas: Welcome and elegance – delivering a classic feel, with red up-lit walls, the Haval logo projected and a stylish chandelier, with styling elements in-keeping with traditional Chinese influence. Guests were photographed alongside a huge media wall and encouraged to sign their name on it and encourage engagement. A dramatic performance of Chinese dancing drummers then commenced. Presentations by the Haval CEO and team and ribbon cutting ceremony followed, to reveal the new H8 driven by three Bachelorettes (2 pictured above) from the latest season of Bachelorette Australia. Champagne and oysters were then served while guests viewed the new car. Outback Australia – providing an adventure feel and rugged looking visuals. As the music stopped the soundtrack of adventure grew as a curtain pulled back to reveal he H9 car. The car was spot-lit by floor to ceiling LED walls with a backdrop of mudflats, mountainous peaks, snow clad glaciers and sand dunes. This reveal included food and drink changes an outback feel with roasted meats, salads, beer and wine. During these reveals, the other side of the room is still dark and covered... Funky urban jungle – An electrical noise sparks the attention of the crowd. Pixpads blast light through the drape and urban beats starts and the curtain is pulled back revealing a plasma wall showing graffiti multimedia. LED lit furniture is placed around two H2 cars with a Gin and Whiskey bar theme. On either side are city scapes and modern art as a backdrop to the cars. To further engage with guests Event Feed was used so that they could display their tweets, photos and social media posts on large screens throughout the event. (Pictured above next to female performer). Guests, car dealers and media were enthralled by proceedings. A truly new-age car launch was born, raising the bar for all local car launches. View more recent work Contact us to discuss your event Back to our Blog ... Read More

Staging Connections were delighted to work with Hairhouse Warehouse in delivering their annual conference for another year at RACV Royal Pines Resort. The conference ran over 4 days, comprising seminars on the latest hair products and trends as well as workshops and of course, various social networking functions in the evening. Staging Connections were on-hand to support the entire conference with all stops being pulled for grand finale - a 'Glitz & Glamour' themed gala dinner held at the Royal Pines Ballroom. Client: Hairhouse Warehouse Event: Hairhouse Warehouse Gala Dinner Venue: RACV Royal Pines Resort - Ballroom Date: 10/09/2015 Pax: 300 Event Brief Staging Connections were asked by leading PCO Baldwin Consulting to design a glorious gala evening, representative of the style, glamour and beauty brand, Hairhouse Warehouse. The evening was the grand finale of a 5 day national conference for franchisees, and their last opportunity to network and experience industry information and trends. Mandatory to the success of the elegant theme were distinctive key elements, including: Glitz and glamour Impressive centrepieces and feature pieces A show-stopping main feature Not just a gala, the evening was to consist of a gourmet dinner, formalities including an awards presentation, and a high-fashion runway show. Audio Visual & Event Production Solution For the second year running, the gala dinner was held at the Royal Pines Resort in their large ballroom – a venue the Staging Connections team were already familiar with, having successfully delivered the event the year before. After receiving the brief, the Staging Connections South East Queensland team quickly realised that intelligent lighting, flawless AV and production management was required to underpin the extravagant styling and design. Leading up to the final gala dinner, Staging Connections were also tasked with delivering creative concepts for the mid-week social events – including a relaxed market style dinner out on the golf course and a crazy 90’s inspired night held on the tennis courts. With the styling for the social events setting the benchmark, our stylists pulled out all stops to make the final gala dinner a spectacular evening that stayed true to the glamour of the Hairhouse Warehouse brand. Pairing dark table linens with sleek black lycra chair covers and inky soft furnishings created an decadent room canvas. LED lighting cast an alluring and elegant backdrop to the crystal beaded accessories which made the darkened room “pop”. In a move designed to embrace and celebrate opulence, one metre tall asymmetrical spiral crystal bead centrepieces decorated the tables under a spectacular seven metre crystal beaded chandelier, suspended from the ceiling. The room look oozed glitz and glamour. With the styling covered, the production crew made the grand ballroom functional to accommodate the formalities, the fashion show and the key brand messages to be communicated to the audience. An audio visual structure comprising of cameras, data projection and screens enabled everything to be seen and heard by the 300-strong crowd, and staging structures including a custom catwalk were brought to life with haze, moving lights and dual projection screens with elite IMAG technology. Style and substance worked harmoniously to ensure every moment of the guest experience was practical and functional without detracting from the ultra-luxe surrounds. Even from the pre-dinner drinks in the foyer guests were wowed by the LED flood lights that changed colours and lit up the large glass walls and chrome wire dividing the foyer and main ballroom. The fashion parade used clever lighting throughout the proceedings as a subtle cue to direct and unite the evening’s program. The large ceiling chandelier slowly changed colour with the tempo of the room and intelligent lighting drew the crowd’s focus to the catwalk for a truly glamorous and unique array of fashion. Smart use of world-class lighting equipment and techniques and strong theming produced the glitz and glamour that the client requested, without the expense usually associated with luxury. The end result was a stylish, seamless gala dinner delivered on brief, on brand and on budget. Related Articles LED yo-yo ceiling installation wow's at this year's The Million Dollar Lunch 6 Conference trends you need to know Event Styling Trends for 2015 For more styling ideas visit Event Styling and Theming or view examples of our Recent Work. ... Read More