The key to any great party event, even a great movie, is to stimulate the senses. For an example; the reason so much time and effort is taken to plan a good menu for such a special event is that the planner wants to be sure they have stimulate the guests sense of taste. Otherwise, burgers, chips, pizza and soda would satisfy the guests hunger but would not provide the experience that a nice elegant dinner would create. While burgers and hot dogs would be acceptable for a back yard pool party, this same food being served at the company dinner party would raise a few eyebrows.

Much like the menu, the entertainment and options you chose should be complimentary to the goals that you wish to achieve. Although the food and the way it is presented is an important item for the experience it creates, the entertainment has the opportunity to stimulate more of the senses and have an effect over a much longer period of time. While a basic sound system has the ability to stimulate ones audio senses, special lighting and sound presence can add a visual and a "feel" experience that the audio alone just can’t provide.

There are two different types of lighting effects that can be used to create these visual experiences. The first one is of the theatrical type. These are dimmable colored lights which are strategically placed around the room to give it a warm and rich feeling. As the guests enter the room they will immediately notice that this event is different from the rest as the generic "white lights" are absent and have been replaced by warm subtle colors, accents and shades already creating the memorable experience. Although this effect doesn’t "scream" attention, it subtly transforms the mood of the room from a meeting environment to an intimate one. The significance of this is that the intimate environment encourages the guests to engage in more personal and relationship exchanges while the meeting environment promotes more general and work related exchanges. One of these can be attributed to an experience while the other one sound just like another day at the office.

The second type of lighting available is called Interactive or Intelligent Lighting. This type of lighting is utilized during company awards, big announcements and the dancing element of the event. Unlike the theatrical lighting mentioned above, these lights DO SCREAM ATTENTION. These lights are used to create a high level of energy as they stimulate everyone’s visual senses by sending beams of brilliant colors of light around the room in defining patterns to the beat of the music. They work best in pairs and are all linked together to a computer or controller that create these effects. This effect is priceless if your goal is to make an important statement about your awards or announcements or to create a party experience that won’t soon be forgotten.