Image of AT&T Stadium for College Football National Championship

ETZEL Agency Truss and Gateways for NCAA Football Championships 2015

Anyone who follows college football knows about the NCAA’s decision to create a national college football playoff. That first playoff happened at AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, TX in 2015. In this historic event, Ohio State defeated Oregon in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship.

There were more players at this event than the ones on the field, however. The ETZEL Agency was in full force, one of the most recognized sports marketing firms in the world. The City of Arlington staff were everywhere making sure that attendees were safe and having a good time. And, of course, our staff were there providing sporting event production services for the very first NCAA Championship Tailgate Party!

For this show, our staff provided a list of live sporting event production services. Attendees at both entrances were first greeted by our three-dimensional gateway towers, complete with lighting and custom signage. The Postano social media tower was a three-sided video wall that projected sponsor and event information. Our staff custom designed a 20 foot tall ballast and vertical truss structure for signage in twelve locations over the entire site. Our staff also provided a laundry list of staging and scaffolding structures, including a stage thrust, camera platforms and spot platforms for the main stage performance area.

As always, our first priority is safety. When the City of Arlington required each vendor to have individual permits for every structure, the staff promptly provided the engineer drawings needed. As a Certified Building Contractor with the City of Arlington, we were able to get the permits and inspections taken care of before most of the other vendors. And In Depth Events was the first vendor to receive green tags on inspection day!

The day of the event was overcast and cold. But that didn’t stop the fans from attending the inaugural Championship Tailgate party and, of course, the game itself! we were proud to be a part of NCAA history and we look forward to working with our new friends and colleagues at ETZEL in the future.

The staff at In Depth Events has a long history of providing live sporting event production services for sports marketing firms like ETZEL. You can see our page devoted to sports marketing firms here. If you are interested in finding out how In Depth Events can provide production services for your sports marketing firm, then Ask a Question of our sports marketing events experts. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Glow Parties, Neon Parties and Black Light Parties – An Event Planners Guide

At In Depth Events, we provide large scale glow party events for corporate clients, outdoor glow runs, college events and other large events with high numbers of attendees. We work with event planners and organizers from all over the country to provide events for thousands of people. This blog post is designed for this level of event.

If, however, you are putting on a glow party for a sweet sixteen birthday party, your personal Halloween party or a backyard party for your favorite 50 people – we respectfully suggest you go to Cool Glow and order for your specific needs. They have an amazing selection of glow stuff for smaller, private events.

So, what is a Glow Party, anyway?

Glow Parties, Neon Parties and Black Light Parties can be indoor black tie corporate parties or they can be nighttime outdoor festivals. But the main thing that unites them all is FUN! Whether it’s an outdoor fun run, a Neon New Year’s party or a college party, Glow Parties are a great way to have a memorable, exciting event. There are three different types of products that are used for all Glow Parties:

1 – UV lighting. Black Light lighting rentals, also called Ultra Violet lighting, are necessary for a glow party. Using UV lighting allows UV reactive clothing, paints or other items to glow. Although it’s nice to have specific items purchased for their ability to glow, you’ll be surprised at how much stuff you normally carry around, interact with or wear will glow under UV. There are even several bar items that will glow under black Light without special treatment! The major manufacturers of conventional UV lighting are Wildfire and Altman – and, of course, there are LED products from large scale to small flashlights that project UV.

2 – LED battery powered items. It’s hard to remember a time where LED lighting wasn’t in everything – from the flash on your phone, to lights in your car dash, to security lighting – and party items! You can buy battery operated LED’s in almost any shape or size. There are wigs with LED lighting woven in them, clothing, as well as buttons, teeth, ice cubes and even furniture. More formal corporate events can use LED bars, set pieces and DJ booths. Many events use LED Dance Floors as the centerpiece of the party. Since LEDs provide visible light, they are used in conjunction with UV lighting to create vibrant, saturated colors.

3 – Chemical glowing items. These are the glow sticks that you ‘break’ to activate the glowing liquid inside. These plastic tubes are filled with two non-toxic chemicals. What you bend the plastic, a thin tube of glass inside the plastic tube breaks, mixing two chemicals that provide glowing light for 2-4 hours. You can find these most often in necklaces, bracelets and, of course, glow sticks. They are great as fun, inexpensive giveaways at outdoor and indoor parties.

Production rentals for large scale Glow Party Events

As you may remember from your college dorm – Black Lights don’t produce visible light. As a result, you need a combination of UV lighting, LED lighting, and theatrical lighting rentals to provide the perfect glow party. Wall washes work well, but why stop there? Moving light rentals, LED Dance Floors, gobo projection – even special effects like confetti and cryo bring a Glow Party together for your attendees!

It’s incredibly important to find the right vendor for your Glow Party Events. Whether it’s a thousand people in a hotel ballroom, ten thousand college students in an auditorium or twenty thousand people at a 5K fun run, you need a vendor with specific experience in Glow Party events rentals. Not only will an experienced vendor have the rental UV lighting fixtures, special effects equipment and rigging equipment in their rental inventory, they will also have the knowledge and experience for rigging in indoor environments, working with fire marshals to provide engineered drawings and working with electrical power necessary for both indoor and outdoor Glow events.

The right vendor will be able to provide pictures of previous events – and pictures of more than one event! Check references of both clients AND vendors. Finally, get a Certificate of Insurance. A reputable vendor will have no problem providing a CoI to your organization and your selected venue.

The Shameless Sales Plug

The staff at In Depth Events has been involved with Glow Party events and Black Light production rentals for several years. We are one of a handful of companies that provide large scale UV for all types of events. You can visit parts of our site that deals with production rentals for Glow Parties – from Glow Party Experts to our All-Inclusive College Glow Parties. Make sure to visit our LED Dance Floor pages – once there, you can even get an instant rental quote!

Once you’ve checked us out, then make sure to Ask Us a Question about your upcoming event. Our experts will work within your budget and vision to make sure your Glow Party Events are incredible for your attendees. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Image of Holiday Concert Production Rental

Selecting the Best Production Vendor for your Holiday Concert – An Event Planners Guide

There are plenty of blog posts you can find that will talk about china selection at a small, private, home-based Holiday gathering. You’ll find page after page talking about how to make your own centerpieces. I’m sure there are entire databases dedicated to the perfect napkin ring complement to your curtains and how they match your Holiday scarf. This is NOT that type of blog.

We are NOT talking about Holiday Decor here – we need Concert Production Services!

Large, ambitious Holiday events with thousands of attendees need live holiday concert event production services and rentals to get the party off the ground. Maybe you are a casino doing a Neon New Years event, or possibly a municipality having a Christmas Tree lighting festival. You could be organizing a Holiday themed 5K run, a corporate Christmas Party or a college Holiday party. Whatever your Holiday responsibilities, you are going to have to find a vendor to provide staging rentals, professional audio rentals and concert lighting rentals – quick! Depending on the party, you might also need Christmas lighting rentals, special effects such as confetti or lasers or even an LED Dance Floor! Whether you have a 20 piece swing band, a rock and roll cover act, or just a DJ – you need to make sure that all your production needs are covered for your event by choosing the best live event production rentals vendor possible.

Each Holiday event is unique, but the steps in vendor selection are largely the same for all these types of events. First rule – take the time to research and select the right holiday concert event production vendors! Finding your choice vendors will make you the Holiday hero. The wrong vendors can turn your event into a real Nightmare before Christmas. Never fear! We’re here to give you a few pointers to find the perfect vendors for production rentals for your Holiday event – and along the way, maybe a few pointers for your other vendor needs as well.

Selecting a Holiday concert event production vendor for large scale events

Step One – Recognize you are in a different league. The simple fact of the matter is that once you get past the 1,000 attendee mark, the whole game changes. At 5,000 people, it changes again, and at 10,000 people, it’s a REAL party! You need to have professional audio and lighting services that fit your crowd size, and your expected number of attendees. Many times, this will necessitate bringing in additional power to handle the needs of the equipment, especially in outdoor environments. In some venues, it may be advantageous to ‘rig’ equipment; that is, hang it from ceiling supports to increase the look and feel of the space and the equipment.

The successful concert production services vendor will have experience in producing events relative to the amount of attendees you are expecting. If rigging is an option, choose a production vendor with rigging experience. Understand the venue you have selected may require insurance information from the concert production vendor – this is something a reputable vendor will be happy to provide. Likewise, a reputable concert production vendor will be happy to supply the power needs and requirements they have for their own equipment.

Step Two – Go with your instincts! Did the vendor listen to your needs on the phone? Did they ask questions and pay attention to your responses? Did they offer to do a site survey? Did they offer to provide you pictures of past events? In many cases, you want (and NEED!) a vendor who you are comfortable with. You’re not hiring a plumber here!

A good relationship between you and your vendor is key. Meet the potential vendor on site and perform a site survey with them. Asking for both customer AND vendor references is perfectly OK – in fact, a reputable vendor will welcome your request. A reputable vendor will be happy to provide photos of recent events. You should always take the time to check references with any vendor, but especially when choosing a concert production vendor. Obviously, avoid vendors who are condescending or rude.

Step Three – Ask your concert production services vendor for design advice. This is an often overlooked step that can really help you select the best concert production vendor possible. During the site survey, ask the vendor what other services they may be able to provide that will bring your party to the next level. A good vendor will be happy to brainstorm with you on design ideas. After all, they do hundreds of events per year – they might just have some ideas that will be great for your event!

A good holiday concert event production vendor can help with design. The best production services vendor will be evaluating the venue during the site survey for potential roadblocks as well as design ideas. Look for concert production vendors that are knowledgeable with fire codes and building codes. The best way to do this is to ask if they are Certified Building Contractors with any municipalities. Your vendor should be also able to help you with ideas for crowd movement and making sure your attendees are safe during your event.

The Shameless Sales Pitch

The staff at In Depth Events has provided holiday concert event production services and rentals for hundreds of large scale Holiday events – from huge corporate Christmas parties, to Neon New Years events for casinos, and everything in between. In our regular season, we’ve provided live event rentals for thousands of events of all shapes and sizes. We’ve also got some great production services that are ready for your guests, including the largest LED Dance Floor in the nation, as well as being one of the most experienced Glow Party Experts in the world. Our clients rely on our production experience – shouldn’t you? Make sure and Ask Us a Question to see how we can help with your next Holiday event. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Swimming Pool Covers – An Event Planners Guide

Create an amazing look and maximize event space!

A stunning clear acrylic pool cover at a private event

In the production world, swimming pool covers are used as temporary flooring for a live event. There are a lot of options available to the event planner when it comes to the rental and installation of swimming pool covers. But first, let’s talk about some scenarios where a swimming pool cover might be used:

A marketing firm or DMC may rent the pool deck at a hotel for an evening, open-air cocktail hour. The client doesn’t want a ‘swim party’ atmosphere; rather, a semi-formal sophisticated gathering is the goal. By covering the swimming pool with flooring, additional space is made available for cocktail rounds and seating.
At home wedding receptions can benefit from pool covers as well. Many times, the bride’s family will have a pool cover installed when the reception is to take place in the home. Not only does a rental pool cover allow additional space for guests, it also keeps younger guests from exploring (and possibly, falling in to) the edges of the pool.
Corporate clients as well as family clients can both benefit from using swimming pool covers as dance floors. Imagine an effect where your guests appear to be dancing on the surface of the pool and you’ll see why a see-through acrylic pool cover provides your guests with a truly unique experience.

The three types of flooring available for rental swimming pool covers.

Swimming pool covers can be customized by changing the actual surface of the flooring. Below you’ll find the surface options available for swimming pool covers.

Wood Surface – most wood topped swimming pool covers have a black surface, although vendors can provide a white wood surface or other color to client specifications. This is the most cost effective option for rental swimming pool covers.

Frosted Acrylic Surface – this surface consists of a semi-opaque acrylic. It allows light to project up from the pool to the floor itself. This surface is best suited for cocktail and casual atmospheres.

Clear Acrylic Surface – this flooring type is used in black tie and elegant events. The surface is completely clear, allowing guests to be able to see through the floor into the pool.

Clear Plexi Pool Cover at Hotel Grand Opening

This clear acrylic swimming pool cover was used at the grand opening of a hotel.

NEW – Flush Mount pool cover rentals – With the previous three types of surfaces, pool covers had to built up over the surface of the swimming pool which creates a “step up” onto the floor. No more! In Depth Events can now provide a flush mount swimming pool cover. This means that the swimming pool cover is inset in the pool and custom made to be at the same height of the pool surround. Take a look at this blog post for Flush Mount Pool Covers to see how a custom pool cover might benefit your event!

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At In Depth Events, we are swimming pool cover experts with experience doing LOTS of them all over the United States! In addition to providing wood or acrylic swimming pool covers, we can also provide the decor lighting, audio needs and other production elements your clients demand. Make sure and Ask Us a Question about how a swimming pool cover can add to your next event. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Author: Robert Chapman