Four Out-of-the-Box Scenic Elements for Your Events

by Katie Nesbit-Blackburn

Tags: Event Design

With live events making their return, many people are looking at new ways to increase the production value of their shows. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to blow your budget out of the water to create a stand-out production experience for your audience. There are a variety of ways to enhance your stage sets just by making some simple changes. In this post, we share four ways to take your event's production to the next level.

1. Larger or Unique Screens

The 16:9 onscreen stage has become the industry standard, but it's not the only option. Try extending out the size of your stage screen. Not only does this help fill the space, but it also gives you more real estate for important content such as sponsors, board and committee members, and speaker presentations — all while still being able to show your talent on IMAG. Alternatively, create some unique shapes that can be utilized for speaker headshots, award categories, sponsor logos, and other supporting content. When partnering with our clients on event production, we've designed scenic with custom circle screens, overhead curved blends, parallelogram projection surfaces, plus arches utilized for projection mapping.

student and alumni scenic

2. Printed Panels

Supplementing your stage set with printed panels can provide unique branding without having to add rigging cost. There are a variety of ways to incorporate prints outside of the common signage or step and repeats. You can apply them to light boxes, with the ability to switch out between sessions or include them as support pieces for the custom scenic and slide decks. Depending on the print, many people even ship them back to their offices and put them on display until their next meeting.

3. LED Screens

LED screens are a great alternative to avoid rigging costs, or when working with challenging spaces. Being individually assembled tiles, they provide the flexibility to be staggered in height, can easily be designed to comfortably fit under low ceilings, or can even wrap around columns without having to create a custom unit. You could also just include them as structures at entrances, each with its own graphic; or they can be tied together to create a continuous look over multiple units.

empower scenic

4. Hard Scenic Elements

Hard scenic pieces — such as dimensional stage flats, painted panels, and unique cut outs — can be used as an alternative to projection screens and LED screens. These options offer opportunities to create a centerpiece that highlights your messaging, the city of your event, or a symbol that resonates with your audience, all supported with custom graphics.

Our team understands the importance of the first impression your attendees get when arriving at your event. That's why we work closely with our clients to identify the best scenic options to fit the theme, messaging, and budget. We also host Event Design Workshops with several clients, aimed to help build events from start to finish and ensure there’s a consistent conference arch.

More examples of our scenic work for client events can be found here.