BLOGS How a DJ Signifies the End of an Event

July 25, 2022

Some events can feel like they last a lifetime that leave many wondering, “Is it over yet?” As an event planner, it’s important to hire a DJ that not only knows how to read the room, but also knows how to wrap an event up naturally. Here’s how a DJ can signify the end of an event.

Reading the Room

It’s easier said than done, but a good DJ can signify the end of an event just by reading the room. For example, if you’re DJ’ing at a club, take note of the partiers in the room and examine their behavior. Are they high energy or are they starting to gas out? Do you notice if people are showing signs of tiredness (heavy breathing, slower movements, etc.)? Are people slowly dispersing from the dance floor?

Whichever the case may be, you’ll want to control the room’s dynamics and leave a good lasting impression before the energy fizzles out.

Verbally Communicating with Clients

When signaling the end of an event, you’ll have to take a number of different factors into account. Consider this situation: your time on stage is running out and the crowd is tiring out. How can you wrap the event up? Well, you have a couple of options here.

One of the most straightforward ways to do so: verbally communicate with your clients! As you start playing your concluding songs, give the crowd a heads up with ample time (and thank them!) that the event is coming to a close. Think along the lines of: “We’re going to be wrapping in 10 minutes, we want to thank you all for coming out and making tonight one to remember!” This will give them time to begin exiting the dance floor and gathering their belongings.

Furthermore, when talking to the guests, you can weave in a message to the event gatherers, which will guarantee a pop from the crowd. Think: “Let’s give it up for the bride and groom one more time!” or “Let’s wish him Happy Birthday once more!”

Selecting a Final Song

While it may seem like a pressing issue, selecting a final song to end an event isn’t necessarily the be-all, end-all when signaling the end of an event. Despite such, it is a concept to be aware of depending on your type of gig. Consider this: you’re DJing at a 2000s hip-hop night. After running through a selection of high-energy songs, you’ll eventually want to segue into something at a slower tempo.

Lowering the tempo, however, isn’t necessarily indicative of an event’s end; rather, it’s a prelude of. Once that lull in energy is created, you can rope listeners and guests in one last time with a track they’ve been waiting to hear all night. So if we’re doing 2000s hip-hop night, you might opt for OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” or Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” — songs that are easily identifiable by the masses. This will ensure one last burst of energy and leave a lasting memory of the event.

Tips to Signal the End of an Event

On top of verbally communicating and selecting an appropriate final song, you can begin slowly fading the music out by lowering the volume as time goes on. Eventually, that will dissipate the energy in the room and alert the audience the event is wrapping up.

And depending on the venue, once the final song of the night has been played, you can play some really low background music while everyone gathers their belongings. This is another chance to play something recognizable — like the “Friends” theme song.

Everlasting Productions’ Commitment to Excellence

At Everlasting Productions, every one of our team members brings many years of experience from under their belt. From weddings to birthday parties to school dances, we here at Everlasting Productions have done it all and have created everlasting memories for all — and we can do the same for you!

To learn more about how Everlasting Productions can elevate your next event, please visit our website and contact us today!

BLOGS How Your DJ Can Make or Break Your Party

May 9, 2022

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Every party needs a good DJ curating the soundtrack and being aware of the dynamic, ever-changing environment they’re in. In fact, ensuring client comfort and happiness are essential to the job! And despite how it looks, being a DJ is quite a demanding gig.

It’s not as easy as getting up there and pushing a few buttons on your laptop and calling it a night — your DJ must be able to bring a lot more to the table than just playing those popular tunes throughout the night. From understanding crowd dynamics to developing charisma and a persona, this article will show you what makes a DJ great and how a DJ can make or break your party.

The Importance of a Good DJ

Not only does a good DJ play the appropriate songs for any given occasion, but they also understand the fundamentals of human communication and the party environment. They can make you laugh, fill you with joy at the opportune moment, and bring smiles to everyone’s faces.

On the other hand, a subpar DJ won’t adhere to these elements. It may be easy to “fake it till you make it” by playing the latest hits — but chances are the crowd won’t be left with any lasting memories beyond the tunes.

However, with these elements in mind, a good DJ can supercharge a party with the proper know-how.

Understanding the Crowd and Pop Culture

Reading the room is crucial to being a good DJ! Are you at a wedding? Are you at a Sweet 16? Taking stock in what kind of environment you are in, along with the crowd demographics, will help you dictate the culture and ultimately your own actions as a DJ.

Who’s in the room? Take into consideration key elements like gender, age group, race, and ethnicity. This will come in handy as it’ll help you choose your setlist for the night. For example, if you’re playing to a group of younger people, you’ll probably want to check out what’s trending on TikTok and Spotify to get a grasp of what to play. Tokboard is a great resource to see what’s popular on the Tok in real time.

If you’re at a wedding, throwbacks are certainly a move! Throw on some of the biggest hits of yesteryear (maybe even bring along a Walkman for the aesthetic) and you’ll be golden. It also helps if you have a playlist of “safe” songs that are instantly recognizable to the majority of people. Who can’t get down to The Killers’ classics “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside?!”

Incorporating Dynamics

If there’s a DJ at a social gathering, chances are people want to turn up. Bring the energy with songs that are fast in tempo! Songs that are 170 BPM and above are good for getting the energy flowing in the room.

But, of course, people are people — and people get tired after a while. Some DJs probably won’t read the room and take this into account, but not Everlasting Productions!

A good DJ won’t have an endless barrage of noise throughout the entire party, so turn it down a notch with some slower jams once you see people filtering away from the dance floor and getting tired. Songs from 65 to 85 BPM are good.

And don’t be afraid to consider the “bathroom break.” As the night progresses, people will filter in and out of bathrooms — a good DJ will take notice of when people start disappearing for longer periods than not. At this point in the night, save all of the big banger tracks and either play some lesser known music and/or slower music. You don’t want bathroom-goers to miss out on a big moment when you’re three-quarters into the night and front-loaded the soundtrack.

Bringing the Charisma

Of course, a good DJ transcends the music. A good DJ knows how to speak to a crowd — speak their language, provide witty banter (depending on the circumstances), and listen to their audience in what they want. They also know what the crowd wants before the crowd wants it.

This means doing your due diligence in studying your audience and your upcoming gig — that way you can cater your personal performance to them. Not doing so can create a dull, drab performance — which a crowd can sniff from a mile away.

Smile, laugh, and be able to push the envelope with your radiant personality!

What Separates Everlasting Productions From the Rest

At Everlasting Productions, we boast a selection of seasoned DJs who have been honing their crafts for years on end. All avid music listeners, our charismatic crew here incorporates a multitude of music genres and backgrounds that will spice up any special occasion you may have. But don’t just take our word for it — just listen to our happy customers!

One client described Everlasting Productions as “An Excellent DJ Service” and wrote, “It is very easy to recommend Everlasting Productions … The flow of the reception was perfect, and they definitely brought the party and atmosphere we wanted. We only heard positive feedback from our guests, and we would choose them again in an instant.”

To learn more about Everlasting Productions, please visit our website today and contact us to turn your next event up!

BLOGS 5 Event Planning Skills You Need for Success

April 17, 2018

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By Melanie Woodward

Source: The Balance

Skills You Must Have to Be an Event Planner

If you are contemplating a career as an event planner, whether that be with an event planning company, in an event planning position within a corporate organization, or starting your own event planning business, it is smart to make sure that the event planner job is a good fit. In addition to learning the ins and outs of event planning and what the work requires, it is equally as important to be sure you have the event planning skills you need for success.

The most successful event planners have a toolbox filled with an impressive skillset. Of those, these are the top 5 event planning skills you will reach for on a regular basis and the ones that can make or break your success.

5 Event Planning Skills You Need

Highly Organized
In event planning, success is in the details. And there are many of them! Keeping track of numerous tasks, multiple vendors, and constantly changing to-do lists all at once – while keeping your client happy — can be challenging for some and daunting for others. Being highly organized is a must for successful event planning. For those who make and manage to-lists to keep their personal lives running smoothly, being organized may come naturally. For others who struggle to remember deadlines or to pick up the dry cleaning, being organized may require more effort.

Event planners may manage one event at a time or be in the planning stages of multiple events simultaneously.

Some events, such as annual conferences, take more than a year of planning so event planners must stay organized over the long haul.

Organizational tools for event planners abound, from software that tracks registration to templates for forms and spreadsheets. An event planning checklistthat is customized for each event is one of the most valuable event planning tools regardless of your natural organizational ability.

So figure out an organizational system that works for you because this is one of the most important event planning skills you can have.

Personable
What do all events have in common? People! Who do you interact with and work with in the process of planning events? People! Successful event planners are personable, engaging, good conversationalists and excellent listeners. Event planning is a very social profession in that the end result – the event itself – is or a group of people, large or small. Understanding people and enjoying talking to them are part of the job. This does not mean that, as an event planner, you will spend most of your day out at client lunches and having cocktails at social events. Not at all. Event planning is hard work and much of it is spent at a desk with a phone or computer. But being personable is a must when tackling one of these common event planning tasks:

Negotiating with hotels
Discussing menus with catering managers
Meeting with vendors
Pitching your event ideas to a prospective client
Networking anytime and anywhere
Supervising event staff
Working your event and interacting with guests and workers

After all, in day-to-day life, most of us remember the pleasant, helpful people we interact with and that interaction can make an experience that much more enjoyable for both parties.

Knowing how to relate to different personalities, how to connect with someone whom you want to do business with and being someone that makes a positive impression are keys to success so consider this one of those essential event planning skills. No one wants to work with or assist someone who is difficult to talk to, hard to understand or rude and unprofessional in any way.

Excellent Communicator (Which Includes Listening!)
Excellent communication skills are essential in many professions. In event planning, miscommunication can result in numerous problems for both the event planner and the client, and a simple misunderstanding can have catastrophic results. Being able to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas is a very practical skill that is used on a day-to-day basis by event planners of all experience levels.

Here are a few examples of how these event planning skills are used when planning events:

Written communication:

writing event proposals for a prospective client
creating materials to market your firm
writing contracts with clients and vendors
drafting thank you notes to guest speakers and VIPs

Verbal communication:

ability to explain the scope and purpose of an event
effectively communicating your ideas to a supervisor, client or vendor
understanding and processing information that is provided, such as the concerns of a client or questions from a caterer
skillfully negotiating hotel rates, contract details, or extras from a vendor

Creative
Successful event planners have ideas. Lots of them. And with that creativity, the ability to transform the idea into something tangible. They can take a vision and bring it to life. From developing a unique theme for a party to coming up with an affordable decorating solution that meets a small budget, creativity is essential when planning an event.

Creativity also comes into play when facing the inevitable problems that arise during even the most diligently, professionally planned event. In this scenario, creativity takes shape in the form of problem-solving. Being able to think creatively to develop solutions to problems can positively impact the success of your event.

Multitasker
At various stages of the event planning process, there are numerous tasks being managed. You may be negotiating a hotel contract, meeting with the client to discuss potential guest speakers, booking a caterer, interviewing rental vendors and exploring entertainment options. And that is just for one event. Add multiple events in the planning stages all at once, and the result is a juggling act. Successful event planners need to know how to effectively multitask and keep many aspects of the event moving along simultaneously without any of those tasks falling by the wayside.

Success lies in the ability to prioritize and focus on each task in that priority order without becoming distracted by other things that need tending to or becoming overwhelmed by the numerous things that need your attention. Staying calm, focused and flexible are attributes of the successful multitasker.

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Tag: event management