Sometimes, simple looks better! Keith and Areej hosted their reception at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market (past Orlando). This is a former train station surrounded by brick, adorned sparingly but the charm is certainly visible.

They requested all white uplights and an all white light show, which blended perfetly with the venue.

Their family and guests were big partiers, dancing to everything from Top 40, club, oldies, and a large array of Arabic music, especially Dabke. Monica and I had a great time! Check out the pics and video below!

Package chosen:

Entertainment Coordinator
Uplighting
Dance Lighting
Under-Table Lighting

ArrMaz Chemicals had a fun group! Their theme, of course, was centered around Christmas as we were creeping up on the most awesome holiday ever! Hosted at the Lakeland Center, Adam and I set up my normal sound system and added some requested lighting to really light up the dance floor!

Check out the pics and video below… we had a great time! A big thanks goes to Michele for sending us this referral. (We did her wedding back in February)

Ocoee High School always knows how to have a good time! To follow up their Powderpuff game (guys cheerlead as girls play the football game), Ocoee hosted a bonfire followed by an outdoor dance.

Adam held it down during the game while I handled the 1s and 2s out on the dance floor. Check out the photos and pics below!

14′
20′
14′
70′

Those are the measurements of the screens and the truss rig. Needless to say, it was huge! They chose a circus theme this year and wanted it to be very visual. As students walked in, images and videos of the circus scrolled through the video screens as a spotlight (up over 25′ in the air) highlighted anything exciting going on in the dance floor.

Unfortunately, no haze is allowed in Pasco County Gym (yet) due to the alarms and air conditioners being tied together. Props to John Caniford for the Catwalk stage idea– EVERYONE LOVED IT!

Per request, here’s the package name and team roster:

Package: ShowStopper TripleDecker
Arnoldo Offermann: DJ/MC & Crew Chief
Monica Offermann: Media Specialist, Lighting Designer, Senior Tech
Derek Rosenberg: Tech, Lighting Operator
Brandon Franklin: Roadie, Dance Hypeman
Patrick Sullivan: Roadie, Photobooth Operator

Check out the amazing photos and video below!

And video below:

Many of you know that I believe one of the BEST perks of my job is when I get invited to eat from the food available…. so when I was asked to DJ the corporate Halloween party for Terrie Lobb Catering, you can imagine how thrilled I was, (I love their punch oh-so-much, too).

The party was held at Terrie’s backyard, which was the perfect size for the event. There was a corner set for a piñata contest (only three casualties, myself included, haha), a corner for our Snap Yourself Silly Photobooth, another for the bar (food was in the house), and of course the dance area which also hosted our game show.

Working solo, I had to set up my iPad to control the game show system. This was the first time I ran the game show and MC’d at the same time.. it was a cinch!

Check out the pics and video below! I had a blast and I know they did, too!

This is by far one of the most high energy dances ever…. it was infectious! CCHS chose our ShowStopper TripleDecker, but because of ceiling height, they opted for smaller screens and more sound. The Royal Plaza Hotel was amazing to work with again… no haze permit fees, loading dock goes straight into the ballroom, and lots of power available at no extra charge!

4SO partnered up with our laser tech, Bob Moore, to create a stunning laser show that Orlando schools haven’t seen yet.

Our Snap Yourself Silly photobooth was used nonstop and our lightup cocktail tables were a hit!

Check out the countless number of photos as well as setup time lapse and event summary below. PHENOMENAL!

TimeLapse:

Event Summary:

As the 4SchoolsOnly Prom HCx11 Tour heads to the west coast, GHS braced themselves to rock with the best. Hosted at the beautiful Marshall Center at the USF campus, this homecoming was transformed into a Winter Wonderland. Our dance floor lighting helped create the lively, club feel that the committee wanted, while the video screen showed music videos and various thematic photos.

Plus, 2000 glowsticks were tossed out!

This is my third Video Explosion package in a row– it seems to be quite popular this year!

Check out the photos and video to see more!

Our first homecoming of the year, and it’s huge. We have another big dance at Seminole High School and another one at Sunlake.

You can bet where the stress level was with three equally large dances on the same date!

No worries, because all three went well.. but since this is MY blog, I’ll chat about MY dance. Ocoee High School did it big last year with Thrill da Playa of the 69 Boyz and this year was no exception. World-famous Cupid (Cupid Shuffle) came in to party with a surprise appearance from Eliseo of Orlando Superstar group, TREAL.

This year’s theme was Alice in Wonderland, and the school focused on making everything large… the tunnel that students walked in made them feel small, there was a giant chair from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party on the corner, giant playing card guards surrounded the gym… and this was all made by the students and sponsor, Wendy. They did such an amazing job! I was impressed.

Our spotlight was used to enhance the “larger than life” aspect, but also lit up Cupid during his performance. We also had a projection of a Cheshire Cat that appeared and disappeared, and had animated eyes that followed the students as they walked in. It looked too cool!

There are LOTS of photos, courtesy of my good friend Jenny from J-Walk Photography; the first few I shot (You can tell by the watermarks). My wife, Monica, rocked it out with the video.

The 2nd dance floor was closed due to the rain, but it’s OK because we all had a good time inside!

Click to see pics and videos.. it’s totally worth it!!

What a fun quince! Jeisy, with the help of her mom, Jamillet, wanted a fun Quinceañera that involved games, dancing, and a few traditions. One bad thing did happen: THE AC FAILED; yet that didn’t stop anyone from dancing and having a good time. Our game show system was brought in, customized with question about Jeisy, her friends, family and favorites. The screen was also used for a special slide show that Jamillet created.

Lighting was simple, but beyond effective. Our 4Bar light along with the UFO centerpiece really transformed the room; and I also go to test my new ADJ Hypnotic RGB light. Since the theme centered around the moon and stars, it was common sense that the bliss would be brought out!

Check out the photos and video below. The video is a must-watch because we had a lot of fun doing a soul-train!

4 Points Sheraton AKA Chateau Elán in Sebring could not have expected the madness of this wedding… heck, Tim Hicklin of Storybook Weddings and myself (and wifey) included couldn’t have expected it. Every song was a floorpacker and the energy kept getting higher and higher!

Several of the family and friends were either Hispanic, Arabic (Lebanese, I believe), or a little of both. This presented some challenges from my end to make sure we could fit the cultural traditions/requests while keeping everything in balanced. This also meant I was going to have a huge dance crowd.

From the Belly Dancer during dinner all the way to the fistpumping last dance, Craig and Hannah were the most energetic couple I’ve seen in a long time. Hannah was a non-stop dancer, and the joy on Craig’s face told me he was enjoying himself. THAT, my dear friends, is a mission accomplished!

Check out the photos and video (now in HD) below.. and make sure to watch the fun Garter Replacement Switch! (Since the photographer was only contracted until a certain time, I was asked to snap a few shots of the grand exit.. shared below as well!)

What an amazing reception! Kelly MC’d this one while I handle DJ duties (like the last two times) and the energy was intense!

To start things right, the location was Eaglebrooke which is always amazing. The crab-stuffed shrimp was amazing! The lakeland-based club was adorned with our uplighting, dance floor lighting, and monogram. Working with Tim Hicklin of Storybook Weddings, Kelly Day Photography, and Sassy Soiree made the night go ultra-smooth!

The music itself was very upbeat and I had a blast mixing all sorts of genres.. check out the video and photos to see what I mean!

And the video.. you can watch it in HD right on my blog now!

This whole night was absolutely unpredictable: the setup, the rig itself, the student’s reaction, and the overall energy. I knew the night would be insane based on their homecoming dance, and the 4SO team really did a good job keeping up with them.

When we first met, they had LOTS of complaints about their previous DJ who just couldn’t put their vision to reality. They wanted a REAL music experience with a light show that can keep up; they had video screens in the past, but none like what we brought out: a 22′ WIDE VIDEO SCREEN!

Black lights, glow in the dark bubbles, a beautiful projected moon, dry ice clouds, and a starry night sky pulled their fairytale theme together. Our Snap Yourself Silly Photobooth was also a HUGE hit!

Check out the photos and videos below. You will see two videos: the gig summary and a time-lapse set up!

It’s legen-hope you’re not lactose intolerant because here it comes-DAIRY!

Watch in HD!

Watch in HD!

Wow! This school may have more collective energy than my crew and I– we were drenched in sweat and worn out! Our third year there showed to be a good one before the night even started: ticket sales were higher than last years (sold out in terms of projected ticket sales); students were asking if we were back this year, and the place was PACKED the moment they walked in.

Their theme was Central Park After Dark (the Mac geek in me lit up at the name After Dark), and the theme was pulled together nicely thanks to the blue simulated skylights built into Disney’s Dolphin Hotel; a New York City skyline complemented by our BEAUTIFUL Moon gobo, and photos of various NYC scenes shown on our giant 14′ video screens. Black lighting really pulled the “After Dark” club-effect the students wanted. To top it off, the entire ballroom was wrapped with a beautiful combination of blue and white uplighting while stars cascaded across the entire ceiling.

As usual, the energy was through the roof and even the administration danced with us on stage…. overall, it was a blast! Check out the amazing photos as well as a time-lapse and summary video. Lots to  see!

Videos!

1) Time lapse.. 6+ hours crammed into less than one minute:

Watch in HD!

2) Video summary…wow.. the energy!

Watch in HD!
 

I love this school! Last year held high expectations for this one, and they didn’t disappoint! Likewise, I’m already getting letters about how much they loved us!

We were at the Osceola Room at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL. I can tell you now from firsthand experience that the Gaylord staff does everything imaginable not only to create a stress-free experience for their clients, but they also make sure vendors are treated well. They did EVERYTHING they could to make our experience and setup a smooth one! If you need a venue, check them out and ask for Pamela Becker; she’s the best!

So check out some photos and an AWESOME video summary showing my MC and mixing skills as well as our ShowStopper: Blacklight Edition!

Watch in HD!

TK and Jessica wanted to party and party hard. They had a big variety of tastes in music and so did their family and friends… after our last meeting prior to the wedding, I knew that Monica and I would have a blast. They did a great job planning their own wedding, as the Admiral’s Inn in Winter Haven was completely transformed; Our uplighting, flood lighting, monogram, stars, and under table lighting added the perfect final touch!

As we provided DJ and MC services for the ceremony and wedding reception, Snap Yourself Silly provided a photobooth that was used the entire time, including all the props!

Check out the photos below as well as the video summary. Though TK and Jessica left, the party continued for another hour, and several guests stayed all night… especially for a special performance of Bohemian Rhapsody from Dave and Mike.

Video summary:

Watch in HD!

…and below is Dave and Mike having a good time. No the room wasn’t empty, the guests were on the other side while others were piled up in the photobooth!

Watch in HD!

I met Brittany and her mom, Wendy, through Jillian’s Sweet 16, and also learned that Brittany is a student at Cypress Creek High and whose friends go to Freedom High . With these two factors in mind, I knew that we were going to have fun at her Sweet 16!

They chose a Cinderella theme, and having it at the Holiday Inn Castle in Orlando was the fitting choice. The former Doubletree is modeled to look like a castle, inside and out. It is definetly one of the more unique ballrooms in Orlando.

Because of the relatively size of the room (11′ tall ceilings and holds about 130-150 people max), Wendy didn’t need to order a huge Sweet16 package to impress everyone and fill the room. Our Video Explosion Lite package was perfect. The 6×8 screen was a nice centerpiece to the overall set up.

A custom grand entrance video was played (apologies to Disney, haha) to introduce her after the court came in. Check out that video, some photos, and a video summary below!

Grand entrance video…

Summary video!

Watch in HD!

Jason and Nikia wanted something that we love to do: TOTAL VENUE TRANSFORMATION. The Lake Eva Banquet Hall in Haines City, FL is already a beautiful place. This means monogram on the floor, total flooding with lights, uplights in a custom array, and of course our awesome spotlight to highlight them amongst the 250+ people there. Joanne did a great job with the coordination and linens while Maggi impressed everyone with a beautiful bride’s cake and a unique groom’s cake… see the photos below to be surprised!

A large variety of music was played from Nikia’s favorite group, Lady Antebellum (also my favorite), to lots of flashback booty music per request. This is the first time I played “Shake Ya Tailfeather” in years and even got to play Rated R – In Here Tonight! Check out some awesome photos and a video below! The video shows a before and after shot of the whole room. Thank you to my good friend and colleague, Jason Jani, for the idea!

Watch in HD!

What an amazing school– they rocked the house again! I got a text from Mrs. Chacon, the sponsor who also put together their amazing homecoming dance. She wanted to create a Sadie Hawkins-style Valentine’s Dance for the school. This would be in no way the same sized crowd as homecoming, as there’d only be 100-150 students, but she wanted to create an unforgettable night!

The energy was through the roof as they danced to a lot of hip-hop/Latin mashups and lots of high energy dance and Euro numbers. The biggest request, Stereo Love, made everyone go insane!

Check out some awesome photos and video below!

Watch in HD

Chrissy and Chas had some of the coolest wedding colors ever: Royal Blue and Silver. However, Sebring-based Kennilworth Lodge has a lot of brown colors in the room…. Thus they opted for our awesome blue uplighting to paint the walls as well as flood lighting to enhance the white linens and later create an inviting atmosphere on the dance floor. To complement everything, a classy monogram was projected in front of their head table.

The dance music was amazing, as I got to do a huge megamix of old-school bass music, including my favorite: 69 Boyz. The last song of the night was BEP’s “The Time (Dirty Bit)” and I got the opportunity to really mix with 4 decks as I dropped in several backbeats.. this is a must-listen!

Monica was also there handling our SnapYourselfSilly Photobooth while Jenny took some amazing photos!

Check out some of the photos and video I shot below!

Watch in HD!

Another great group! I was warned ahead of time that I shouldn’t expect a big dancing crowd, but amongst the 45 guests, 30+ danced a good bit of the night. I love working at any of the Embassy Suites in Orlando, this one being near the airport; their service is top-notch, but what else do you expect from a Hilton property hotel?

Check out the fun photos and video below!

Watch in HD!

Julie was not only the client, but she was the coordinator. She owns a styling company called Chick & Fabulous Designs & Events;  she put together an amazing display at the A La Carte Pavillion. While A La Carte handled uplighting, she chose to go to us for the snowflake projections. The low ceilings presented a challenge, as the bright lights could blind someone, but we managed to get the look she wanted without compromising safety.

Not a lot of video footage since I worked solo… but you’ll see that the kids loved dancing NON-STOP!

Watch in HD

What happens when you take our popular Video Explosion package used for homecomings and proms and modify it for a Sweet 16 to blow out all Sweet 16s?

Let’s talk about the decorations- beautiful! All done by Jillian’s mom, Judy. Judy gave us a very detailed planner that was beyond professional. All the vendors were impressed by her thoroughly thought-out planning! Speaking of vendors, the Embassy Suites on International drive couldn’t have been more accommodating. Monica and I were beyond impressed by all the work they put in to make things easy for us and the client. If you’re looking for a Sweet 16/wedding hall in Orlando– this is THE place!

We brought out lighting; uplighting; dance on the clouds; projected stars with our Source 4s; monogram; uplighting; table lighting; a 12′ video screen for music videos, custom videos, and photos; and of course, a crazy amount of bass. The entire hotel could hear the bass rattle so we had to keep the bass down, haha.

The choreographer, Billy, was incredibly easy to work with and adapted his ideas and work with some last-minute changes and ideas for lighting. The overall production was very VERY sharp!

Check out the photos I took below as well as three video clips. The first video is the custom video we did for Jillian’s grand entrance; the second video was shoutouts from her friends and a couple music artists; the third video is the event log!

Amazing stuff! Check it out!!

Shortly after we calle Jillian’s court in, the lights dimmed and all attention was focused on the screen.. check out her CUSTOM intro I made to hype everyone up before she walked in!

Watch in HD!

Next video shows some special shoutouts played on the big screen at Jillian’s Birthday from her friends… and a few music artists too:
Acafool, from the hot track Hatablockas.
TREAL (Not Locked Down, Swag On, Spaceship)
Thrill da Playa (With the 69 Boyz, makers of Tootsee Roll, Kitty Kitty… helped with C’Mon Ride the Train, Whoot There It Is, Space Jam)
And another shoutout from Cupid from the world-famous Cupid Shuffle!

Watch in HD!

And the event log!

Watch in HD!

I had the absolutely pleasure of hosting the last homecoming of the 4SchoolsOnly HCX Tour. East Ridge High School tore it down like none other. With over 700 students and AMAZING staff with a unique theme (80s!), Monica and I knew that we were going to head out with a bang.

The students LOVED the lighting featured in our video explosion package as well as the large-range of music mixes. The admin were easy to work with and treated us like one of their own!

Even when the lights went on 5 minutes prior (but the admin said the students could still dance, as the lights were on a timer), the students danced NONSTOP! A few brought whistles and we had a blast going back and forth with them! Check out the photos and video!

And the video!

Watch in HD!

Dances can’t be much tougher to beat. Not only did they exceed their “we hope we can sell this many” ticket count by 500 (1200+ total!), but the energy was BEYOND intense. Lots of fistpumping, and sing alongs. Yes, these students sang along to every song!

So what did we provide:

Infamous Original Showstopper:

2 Big Screens
Lots of lighting
Live Video
Insanely loud system

And how did we create the theme?

500 Red Glowsticks
500 Blue Glowsticks
Leiko projections of fire and ice on either wall
Red and blue uplighting
Custom ambients
Lobby had a “tunnel” made of two screens with Fire and Ice on it
Lobby had Fire and Ice effects on the floor
Lobby was flooded with red and blue washes

I was told this school had a parent DJ beforehand. Looks like this year they ROCKED WITH THE BEST!

Watch in HD!

What a fun group… then again, I know most of them!

Adam used to come to my skating rink all the time and is also a good friend.

We’re also doing his wedding on October 16th…

He’s also a DJ for our company.

So of course his fiancé, and guest of honor tonight, Bethany became part of the gang.

As for everyone else? Quite a few worked/went to the skating rink and the rest I saw at Casey and Jeff’s wedding!

The setup was simple… couple of black lights, a Bliss, FatBeam lasers, Triphases… but the results were spectacular thanks to our amazing Hazer. This was held at the Bramble Ridge in Lakeland, where my wife‘s party was also thrown!

People drank. People danced. People drank. People danced more. People drank even more. You get the hint. Luckily, my good friends here are party drunks… they more they drank the harder they partied!

I will give you a warning on the video below.. it has some unedited music. Be careful watching this at work!

Video! (WARNING)

Click here to watch this in HD!

Well…. my last prom for this year was also 4SchoolsOnly’s last PromX stop as well. LPHS had a similar package as Hardee High’s Prom except that the screen filled the Chateau Elán’s LeMans ballroom from floor to ceiling. This was another smaller crowd, with numbers around 150– but that didn’t stop them from dancing.

They were a unique bunch… we had two guys that literally had a routine dance to every song I played. I lost count of how many times a circle was made around them– thank God for live video– it really made things more interactive! Their principal announce the king and queen and as I played various instrumentals for introductions, the entire room broke out chanting the lyrics!

Meanwhile in the corner, Jenny with SnapYourselfSilly Photobooths was holding down  a line eager for the photos that print in less than 15 seconds!

Adam, a longtime friend and wedding client joined us for this one. Methinks he wants to be part of the 4SO crew. Time will soon tell! Check out the photos and the now-improved (I did color correction) video below!

Hardee High School is one of my fave schools because I truly feel welcomed there– the students and teachers always call requesting me by name. As a DJ, I love that feeling! (They email me every year asking what I would like for dinner… such a wonderful gesture!!)

Being a smaller school, their prom is not one of my usual 500-700+ crowds, but rather a modest 100-150; However, these 150 students came in with only one thing in mind: PARTYING. Just like every year, they create their own decorations and always surprise me with the amazing stuff they come up with. They’re a very creative bunch!

Check out their Video Explosion BLE (Black Light Edition) complete with Glow-in-the-Dark Bubbles and lasers. Photos were done by the amazing Alex Gilliard. Not only is he an outstanding photographer, but a close friend as well!

And as usual, Alex shot some bonus HD footage!

Wow! What an amazing set of students, they were so well-behaved that even when the alarms tripped (small technical error) they behaved accordingly and didn’t cause any riots!

The overall setup looked amazing: from the beautiful Peabody Hotel (with an AMAZING staff that accommodated all our needs) to the amazing décor created by the students and teachers, to our light-up cocktail table arrangement, and ending with the amazing ShowStopper (our most popular package, of course)… but this one was the BlackLight edition. The difference?

BlackLights, duh. Add a couple more lasers and GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BUBBLES and this Alice in Wonderland theme really took off!

The best part? THE PHOTOBOOTH! Snap Yourself Silly, our sister company, brought in an awesome photobooth that delivered a top-notch experience. The photos streamed LIVE to the big screens!!

Check out the amazing photos and video below!