Want to blow some minds at your next house party or event? With a huge range of lighting and atmospheric effects available it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out what lights to pair with each other for the best effect and bang for buck. Here are a few recipes that I have found to work particularly well in the past- Think Club, Disco & Hollywood baby! Hire me as your party DJ, name the package and I'll make the magic happen!
1. The big bad boogie down memory lane (Disco theme)
Trying to take your guests back through time to the disco age? Time travel ain't here yet but don't worry - we've got the next best thing. Think disco balls, bee-gees and alcoholic beverages with the little umbrella things in them... Groovy baby!
Ingredients:
- 1 x 12" mirror ball w/2 pinspots (smaller balls will work in rooms with standard height ceilings)
- 1 x fog machine
- 1 x Small bubble machine
- 1 x Chauvet partybar
- 2 x lighting stand
- 8 x Chauvet Freedom Par uplights
- 1 x Groovelicious sound system with 2 microphones for late night disco duets (ask me for suggestions)
- 1 x 120" fast fold screen w/rear projection screen
- 1 x Epson short throw projector
- 1 x set bright yellow spandex pants with flared legs
Method:
Take your guests to funky town with a mirrorball hanging in the centre of the room. This can be quite difficult sometimes with a lack of mounting options - creativity is neccesary! I can hang it off the ceiling fan.. If you dare allow it... (I take no responsibility for broken ceiling fans). I'll position a pinspot on each side of the room facing the mirror ball to light it up for "maximum Jackson" (a hee hee). Don those yellow spandex pants we all know you've been eyeing off while I disperse the uplights equally throughout the house or venue to splash some colour. Ill place the fog machine in the right spot to create a light haze in the atmosphere and give the lights a bit more "pop" without smoking everybody out - this ain't scooby doo. With a fastfold screen and short throw projector we will maximise the dance floor space for disco shennanigans - you're gonna need it with all those psychadelic visuals! Around 10pm is when your neighbours are probably starting to go to bed so its a perfect time to whack on a karaoke mix and bust out the microphones to sing them to sleep. Rollerskates are optional, but beware of broken hips - they'll put a real kink in your dance routine!
2. The Hollywood/Gatsby/Gala of extraordinary elegance
If disco ain't your style, maybe a splash of glamour will do it. Grab a martini and follow me down the red carpet to the ball room - It's time to get shaken, and stirred. This recipe is tailored to the more "sophisticated" crowd, whatever that means...
Ingredients
1 x Antari Ice-101 low fogger
4 x Chauvet Intimidator 255
4 x 2.5m Truss with top plates, base plates & white scrims
8 x Chauvet freedom par uplights set to gold & white
8 x P64 cans on lighting stands w/ dimmer packs
2 x Z1520 upright RGB foggers
Method:
With glam on the menu good taste is important when it comes to placing lighting throughout the room. Starting with the uplights - I love white and gold alternated around the perimeter but these colours can be manipulated to satisfy your every desire. Warm white makes the skin glow, which is very important should Karen want to flaunt her new fake tan - this is where the P64 lights on stands come into play (as an added bonus, they look very Hollywood in their shiny silver fittings). I'll set them up in areas of the room where they can give off a warm glow (beware: combination of martini goggles and dim lighting may lead to poor decision making as the night progresses). In small to medium size areas, the 8 will do the job and external house lighting can be dimmed or turned off. For dancefloor lighting I'll keep it lush without falling into the territory of disco. For this we bring out the big guns - Chauvet Intimidator moving heads on truss. How I place these will depend on the layout of the room and dancefloor but you can be assured that they will look real schmick. A good dollop of visual impact is important for the wow factor, and if its not already glitzy enough wait till your guests see the upright foggers come into action - yes it's over the top, but thats show biz baby! If your looking to go all in, ask me about indoor cold-spark fireworks and confetti for that over-the-top touch you desire and crave!
3. "The Rave Cave cook-up" (Bring the club to your house)
Want to set up a rave in your house?! Look no further. To see why this recipe is so effective let's do a little visualization exercise. Imagine a dark room, bass massaging every muscle in your body like an army of small hands as you baste in the soft glow of UV light, covered head to toe in luminescent paint. The music starts to build up, the drop is coming as you become a slave to the laser beams dancing above to the timeless sounds of Darude. The laser is your king now. All hail king laser. Here it is, the drop you have been waiting for... BINGO BANGO BONGO - the DJ hits you with the strobe/fogger combo. It's a left right goodnight, your mind soaring into space as your body artfully weaves between the clouds of fog. Thank goodness your hands have become tiny beach umbrellas you think, for how else could you protect yourself from the little pink dinosaurs raining down upon them?! Yes, its the rave cave cook-up baby!
Ingredients:
- 1 x small to medium pitch dark room.
- 1 x RGB Power 7 laser (double it for serious brain meltage)
- 1 x 1500w strobe w/ignitor control
- 1 x Z1520 RGB fogger
- 2 x LED CORE UV
- 3 x Tube glow paint (make sure its washable - don't ask how I know!)
- 2 x Lighting stands
- A lot of subwoofers - ask us for suggestions!
- 1 Skitz DJ (book me here) (or an Ipod with Darude's "Sandstorm" on repeat)
- 1 medium to large size crowd, well cooked
Method:
For ultimate rave-ability I like to start with a small to medium pitch dark room (for extra grit, use an empty garage). I'll add a lighting stand to each corner, one containing the laser(s), and a Core UV. On the other stand I will add the remaining Core UV and the strobe behind where I will DJ. Keep in mind that for each additional subwoofer added to the room, the wine required to commit surrounding neighbours to a vow of silence during the party increases by the square root of pi. Add crowd, turn grill to high and party until the cows come home!