JFJ Great Xorminatory – Entertainment

Archive for July 6th, 2010

Planning your wedding is one of the happiest and most exciting times of your life. That joy can quickly turn into stress and disappointment if you don’t know where to look for quality performers or how to negotiate a fair contract. Here are some tips on how to find and hire wedding entertainers and ensure their terms are agreeable to both parties.

Ask friends and family for references, and consider the weddings you’ve attended in the past. What stood out about the performers? Were there any in particular you really enjoyed, or any you really disliked? Can your friends recommend a great band, DJ, hula dancers, fire performers, magicians  or whatever else for you’re searching?

Remember, the sky is the limit. Your wedding should express the personalities of you and your partner. There is no need to stick with a harpist and a four-piece standard wedding band if that isn’t your style.

Have a long chat with the wedding entertainers you are considering. Come with a list of questions and don’t leave until they are all answered. Ask specifically about prices and what is included, especially the amount of time they will be there and any breaks. Verify who exactly will be performing at your wedding – you don’t want a completely different lead singer showing up than the one you auditioned. Ask about experience, including how many weddings this entertainer has done, equipment and any necessary site requirements for it, what emergency backup plan would be put in place for your event, what kind and how much liability insurance the wedding entertainment vendor has, if they belong to any professional or trade groups and how they will be dressed. Make sure you receive a list of references and call them.

Talk price. If there is a wedding entertainer that you love but can’t afford, talk about it. Some vendors will offer you alternative services at a lower price – fewer musicians perhaps, or a shorter performance. Get estimates from three different but similar vendors to compare prices and services.

Once you have decided which wedding entertainment professionals to hire, you must negotiate a contract. Do not hire any vendor for your wedding without a contract, and do not let any money change hands until the contract is signed. This document should include all the information listed in the above paragraph from the questions you asked at the initial interview, as well as payment terms, deposit and cancellation policies, the specific date, time and location of your event, how long they will perform, how many breaks they can take and for how long, and any other details you feel are important.

Once the contract is signed, communicate with your wedding entertainment vendor often. If you are dealing with musicians or a DJ, provide them with a list of any songs that you absolutely do or do not want played. Advise them of all the major players in your wedding like the parents of the bride and groom, best man and maid or matron of honor, grandparents and anyone else you would like to be honored. If Great Aunt Edna is allergic to rabbits, warn the magician to stay away from her.

Choosing reputable, fun wedding entertainers, allows you to do what you’re meant to at your wedding: enjoy the day!

A well-planned wedding includes more entertainment than just a band or DJ. Raise your celebration from just another wedding to an event that will stand out in the minds of your guests for years to come by choosing additional unique wedding entertainers. Your options are nearly limitless, and there are vendors in nearly every city that can accommodate anything you dream up.

Make your reception truly unforgettable with spectacular wedding entertainment. Your guests will never forget your special day when it includes such fun activities. Some ideas are:

Magician – bring a little magic to your new marriage

Fire eaters – heat up the party
Hula dancers – perfect for a beach wedding
Lawn games – lovely wedding entertainment for an outdoor afternoon wedding
Photo booth – doubles as wedding favors
Pony rides – keep the kids busy
Photo and video shows – take a walk down memory lane
Caricature artist – a fun favor for guests
Silhouette artist – a lovely keepsake that can become an heirloom
Celebrity impersonator – invite your favorite actor, musician, athlete or politician
Belly dancers – hypnotize guests with these slinky moves
Salsa dancers – provide lessons afterwards
Tarot card reader – see the future
Dueling pianos – great for guest participation
Sky lanterns – a beautiful sendoff
Jugglers – keep kids entranced
Karaoke – guests serenade you

Choose a mix of wedding entertainment that will make guests not just ooh and ah, but also allow them to get involved. After watching the hula dancers, for example, provide and instructor to teach your guests to do the traditional Polynesian dance themselves. Kids can light sparklers during the fireworks display.

You don’t have to go a traditional route with a standard band or DJ, either. To give your reception a fun feel, go with wedding entertainment such as a zydeco band, salsa band, 80’s heavy metal cover band, or anything else high energy that will bring a smile to the faces of your guests. Ask guests to include the name of their favorite songs on their RSVP and play them during the reception.

Other types of wedding entertainment can be conversation starters during your cocktail hour. Ask guests ahead of time to provide you with copies of their wedding pictures and advice for a happy marriage and post them around your reception room. Have loved ones write down wishes for you on slips of paper and drop them in a wish jar. Provide trivia questions on index cards at cocktail tables and see who knows you as a couple the best, giving a prize for the highest score. Provide activities that keep guests having fun without becoming contrived.

No matter what kind of wedding entertainment you choose, make sure you sign a clear contract that spells out the responsibilities of each party so all you need to worry about on your wedding day is enjoying yourself! Sit back with your friends and family and watch the fireworks display, magician, fire eaters, and artists create the most memorable event your guests have ever attended!

If like most brides you are trying to plan your wedding on a budget, you be stuck trying to plan top notch entertainers at a low cost. You do not have to settle for below par entertainers just because you have limited funds. Try these tips to get wonderful professional wedding entertainment at a reasonable price.

First, shop around. Ask family, friends and friends of friends for recommendations, then spend time comparison shopping. Take a hard look at what each vendor is offering for the price. While one might come in with a lower initial bid, another’s higher price may include more free extras that you really want. Don’t be afraid to ask a wedding entertainment vendor you really want to match the price of another bid you’ve gotten from someone else for comparable services.

Tell your entertainers of choice what your budget is up front. While they might not be able to give you full service at that price, they may be able to offer you other options such as a shorter performance time or fewer performers. Have the same small band play at both your ceremony and reception – paying for extra hours is often less expensive than hiring a second band, and two of the performers can provide lovely acoustic music during your vows. Remember that everything is negotiable, so don’t be afraid to discuss the points of the contract that are unnecessary for your event but affect the cost.

Figure out your budget priorities. You can really wow your guests with a short but spectacular performance by a magician or fire eater, and find the money by providing music from a playlist you created on your iPod rather than hiring an expensive band or DJ. If you absolutely cannot live without the most popular (and expensive) wedding band in town but your budget is already stretched tight, find the money in other parts of your budget by switching to less expensive, in-season flowers or serving chicken instead of prime rib.

Save money by combining wedding entertainment with favors. Hire a caricature artist to draw your guests, or provide a photo booth with funny props. Guests get to bring their new portraits home as a remembrance of your special day.

Have a bunch of friends who love to perform? Rent a karaoke machine and let your guests provide the music! Fill in music with an iPod playlist made especially for your celebration. Use the money you saved by not hiring a band or DJ on something like a spectacular fireworks display or a juggling team – something that will really wow your guests.

Always remember to check with your facility to make sure they have all the necessary requirements for your wedding entertainment, such as fire permits and audio equipment, before signing on the dotted line. Having to provide these yourself can quickly break your budget. In addition, make sure all your vendors have liability insurance. If they don’t and the worst happens, you will be on the hook for any costs incurred. Of course, all of these things should be included in your wedding entertainers contract, which should be signed before any money changed hands.

We live in a world of fast changing technology; television was not even invented when my Grandmother was born, even when I was growing up black and white television was just doing its transition to color. Today we can watch exactly what we want when we want, with a choice of over twelve thousand Tv and Movie channels delivered at a click of a button to your computer via the Internet. Yes with the Internet, your computer and the right software it is possible to have such a choice.   In todays world not only do we have such a vast choice of entertainment, where you can tune into live sports or movie channels of your choice, but technology has changed the playing field by being able to view through the Internet people are avoiding having to pay for TV or satalite TV. One has to conclude that eventually some deal will have to be sorted out by the Internet providers and the TV channels to have some form of royalty payment.   Another addition to this new wave of entertainment technology is the introduction of 3-D imaging into TV and computer viewing. This year 2010 both Sonny and Panasonic are to release 3-D television systems on the market and Mitsubishi and JVC are said to be working on similar products. This again will be another ultimate step for technology entertainment some are comparing this advancement to the difference between black and white TV and color TV. However others are saying that the transition will need a lot of tweaking, pointing to the fact that it will require space for twice the data and will initially use to much television bandwidth making it unworkable. There are also concerns over the price as this will have to be in a new television format; however it is unlikely to be too much over the cost of some high definition televisions. One must ask how something in two dimensions can be seen in three dimensions, and if my understanding of the technology is correct, it is all about tricking your mind into thinking it is seeing in three dimensions; images are presented separately to your left and right eyes, when these images alternate quickly they trick your mind into thinking it is seeing in a third dimension. You will need 3-D glasses as well as the TV to achieve this. However with lenticular viewing you do not need glasses; the technology allows you to position yourself in a specific spot so that your left eye will see a completely different image from your right eye. The television utilises a lens that will send out these different images. The problem with lenticular viewing is, because there is a specific viewing angle that it will only work in, it limits the number of people who can watch it without crowding into the same space.  Both TV and Computers are making substantial advances in 3-D; just as in my opening paragraph, where I explained the benefit of being able to watch a vast amount of TV through your computer it will also be possible to watch the 3-D images of your TV channel. It is presently possible to view video games in 3-D, many architects, designers and contractors can now put together 3-D presentations of house plans etc to view on the computer. It is even possible to get the software for free, do a Google search for free 3-D computer software.  Truly the ultimate entertainment technology has arrived and it is hard to envision how much further it can go; looking back over the last century we have come a long way. What will the next century bring?

We live in a world of fast changing technology; television was not even invented when my Grandmother was born, even when I was growing up black and white television was just doing its transition to color. Today we can watch exactly what we want when we want, with a choice of over twelve thousand Tv and Movie channels delivered at a click of a button to your computer via the Internet. Yes with the Internet, your computer and the right software it is possible to have such a choice.  

In todays world not only do we have such a vast choice of entertainment, where you can tune into live sports or movie channels of your choice, but technology has changed the playing field by being able to view through the Internet people are avoiding having to pay for TV or satalite TV. One has to conclude that eventually some deal will have to be sorted out by the Internet providers and the TV channels to have some form of royalty payment.  

Another addition to this new wave of entertainment technology is the introduction of 3-D imaging into TV and computer viewing. This year 2010 both Sonny and Panasonic are to release 3-D television systems on the market and Mitsubishi and JVC are said to be working on similar products. This again will be another ultimate step for technology entertainment some are comparing this advancement to the difference between black and white TV and color TV. However others are saying that the transition will need a lot of tweaking, pointing to the fact that it will require space for twice the data and will initially use to much television bandwidth making it unworkable. There are also concerns over the price as this will have to be in a new television format; however it is unlikely to be too much over the cost of some high definition televisions.

One must ask how something in two dimensions can be seen in three dimensions, and if my understanding of the technology is correct, it is all about tricking your mind into thinking it is seeing in three dimensions; images are presented separately to your left and right eyes, when these images alternate quickly they trick your mind into thinking it is seeing in a third dimension. You will need 3-D glasses as well as the TV to achieve this. However with lenticular viewing you do not need glasses; the technology allows you to position yourself in a specific spot so that your left eye will see a completely different image from your right eye. The television utilises a lens that will send out these different images. The problem with lenticular viewing is, because there is a specific viewing angle that it will only work in, it limits the number of people who can watch it without crowding into the same space.

 Both TV and Computers are making substantial advances in 3-D; just as in my opening paragraph, where I explained the benefit of being able to watch a vast amount of TV through your computer it will also be possible to watch the 3-D images of your TV channel. It is presently possible to view video games in 3-D, many architects, designers and contractors can now put together 3-D presentations of house plans etc to view on the computer. It is even possible to get the software for free, do a Google search for free 3-D computer software.

 Truly the ultimate entertainment technology has arrived and it is hard to envision how much further it can go; looking back over the last century we have come a long way. What will the next century bring?

How to Set Up an Entertainment or Recreation Business

The definition for entertainment and recreation business is broad. It can be a fishing farm or a Kelong where you can fish for prawns; a karaoke lounge or nightclub; or a miniature golf park and more. If you are interested in starting such a business , you will need to first secure a premise that is zoned for commercial use and approved for entertaiment and/or recreation use by Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA). You must then register your business with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA). Your business must register as a sole proprietorship, partnership or a private limited company.

Securing a Premise

Once you have secured a space, do make sure that it is current on building codes and fire safety measures. If the existing premise is not set up to accommodate an entertainment or recreation establishment, you can discuss with the landlord to apply for a Change of Use with the Urban Redevelopment Board. Depending on the type of recreation or entertainment business you plan to have, the facility may or may not have stringent guidelines in the design and layout, so it will be worthwhile for you to do the research for the specific entertainment or recreation business you intend to set up to avoid rejection when inspected.

Any major renovation of the premise requires an application for a building work permit through Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA). When the building works are complete, you will also need to obtain from BCA: a Certificate of Statutory Completion and/or a Temporary Occupation Permit before you can occupy the space. All renovation works are to be performed by certified or licensed contractors including architects. A business signage that is to be placed on the building will require an application of an Advertisement License from BCA. You will also need a Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) prior to occupying the building. You can obtain an FSC from Singapore Civil Defense Force through a registered architect or engineer.

Additional Licenses & Permits

Depending on the type of business and how you plan to set up the premise, you may or may not need the following licenses and permits:

Two licenses are required to play recorded, copyrighted music on your business premise. You will need to apply for a Public Entertainment License from Singapore Police Force (SPF) and a Copyright License from the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore.
If you plan to have TV, you will need to apply for a Non-residential TV License from Media Development Authority for each TV or broadcast devise on your premise. Playing of music or Karaoke videos requires a license from the Recording Industry Performance Singapore.

The premise may or may not include a food service. If you plan to serve food and beverages, you will need to apply for license/permit to do so. To learn more about setting up a food establishment, please see our article on How To Apply for a Restaurant License.

Article Source: Singapore entertainment business setup http://www. rikvin. com/business-setup/singapore-entertainment-recreation-biz/

Hello Parents

My name is Rabbie Kadhim, a professional Children’s Entertainer with over 500 party events experience. When hiring a Children’s Entertainer considering the three following factors in safety (entertainers take note):

1. Are they Police checked? Any one can get police checked, they pay a small fee (aprox. £12) at the police station and six weeks later will receive a certificate stating if they have a criminal record.

2. Are they CRB checked? An organisation will verify that you are safe to work with children, and will charge no more than £40, and will take 6-8weeks to receive the certificate. Schools, hospital, some companies and selected parents request this, and adds much credibility to the entertainer.

3. Insured? The actor’s union, Equity insures all forms of entertainers for no more than £110 p/a and can bill you quarterly. They are the best value for money and have been helpful. It is always helpful/professional to be insured, especially when working with children.

And now in entertainment, consider the following factors:

1. Will the entertainer be able to entertain the particular kids of ages you have? An example of this is three year olds will be too young for a magician.

2. Will they provide variety of the children? As kids can get bored easily, so one hit wonders won’t be able to keep their attention for long.

3. Will they have the kids waiting for long? Face painters can be very talented, yet very boring, and I have seen very long lines of children, sometimes with their parents and this is not fun. What I do is provide extra balloon pumps and plate spinning for the kids to have a go too, as they are energetic and excited at parties so I make use of that energy.

I hope this helps you, feel free to ask me if you have any queries.

Best wishes,

Rabbie

What are the things that come to mind when the Christmas season is near? Gifts, entertainment, travel—anything and everything that necessarily requires you to shell out not just a few bucks but even the entire contents of your bank account. But that’s when you’re lucky enough to have some money stashed away in the bank. For most people, it can mean overusing their credit cards leading to outrageous credit card balances even before the holiday is over.

You may think that talking about your credit score during Christmas when everybody should think of happy thoughts is out of sync. It is. However, it is better to be aware of how your credit rating is doing even before you have the chance to spend your entire life’s income for one season alone.

Christmas is the great time to travel as long as you do not go overboard when spending cash or worse—using your plastic. Despite the fact that majority of Americans are open to the idea of spending less during the holidays, a National Retail Federation survey shows that the average American individual projects to spend at least $817 for shopping, travel and other Christmas-related expenditures!

Americans have become so dependent on plastic that their total credit card balances amount to over $600 billion. This propensity to spend more and incurring holiday debts is evident with a 2003 survey conducted by the Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Inc. which shows that at least 54% of those who have incurred Christmas debts during the previous Christmas were still paying off their credit card balances by November 2003.

If you don’t want to be included in those statistics then here are some budgeting tips to keep your holiday travel and entertainment expenses under control.

Plan Ahead

You worked so hard the past year so you deserve a break, probably during the Holiday season. While holiday travel is good for your self esteem and physical well-being, it is best to plan your trip ahead to get as much savings from airfare and hotel reservations. Airlines and hotels provide discounts for clients who book and even pay ahead of time. The amount you save can be used for other expenses during your trip.

Save for your holiday travel and entertainment expenses

Go ahead; go to your favorite destination during the holidays. Entertain your friends and family during Christmas. But make sure you are financially prepared for your travel and entertainment expenses as well. Saving at least $100 each month and putting the amount in your holiday travel and entertainment kitty will allow you to travel and hold parties during the Holidays without breaking your bank account or adding up to your credit card balances.

Try a potluck party

If you must entertain friends or family during Christmas, why not hold a potluck party where each guest bring his own dish to be shared with everyone? This way, the whole group shares in the entertainment expenses and you avoid overspending and incurring holiday debt.

Choose bargain holiday travels

Holiday travel can be expensive considering that this is the time when most people would spend money for just about anything and the resorts and airlines will surely be cashing in on this. However, you can get freebies or even discounts if you go on a holiday travel a day before Christmas or even before vacation time.

Set a budget and stick to it

Know your financial status and make a travel plan or entertainment plan based on that. Once you have a desired budget, stick to it to avoid holiday debt and a possible negative credit rating due to unpaid credit card balances. It is ideal to list all the possible expenses as a consequence of your holiday travel and tailor-fit such expenses to your budget.

The way you spend your money or use your credit card (along with other factors) will determine your credit score. The higher your credit score is, the more attractive you are in the eyes of creditors. You have time to prepare for your holiday travel so why not allocate money for such purpose ahead of time? It is better to develop good budgeting skills and keep your credit ratings high in case you need credit for more important matters when the holiday is over.

The main purpose behind going in for a home entertainment center is to place your television, be it a 29 inch monitor, your plasma Television or the home theater system. The television size needs to be taken into consideration before you select on the entertainment center. Check out the dimensions of your television and see whether they feel snugly into the cabinet.

You could do your research and look for the best deals either online and by visiting your closest entertainment shop. Before buying the set, you need to make sure it would fit in your drawing room and all the things would comfortably fit in the entertainment centers. Check for discount schemes online so that you get a really good deal. The unit also has to match the living room aesthetically and should not look really huge for the living room. Speakers need to be placed properly so as to get the perfect sound effect. Speakers are ideally placed adjacent to the walls so as to reduce the echo effect.

TV entertainment cabinets are a new concept and it is gaining fast popularity, thanks to the space constraints people are facing nowadays. A TV cabinet is a very important part of the living room furniture nowadays. The cabinet size would depend on the TV size. You could either go in for an open cabinet or a closed door cabinet or entertainment center. Depending on the layout and the furniture you have, you could choose either a wooden cabinet door or a glass cabinet door.

Nowadays most of the televisions are remote operated and hence cabinets with glass doors are in demand. Ensure that you place the entertainment center at a place where the heat gets spread so that the receptive circuits and wiring get enough breathing room.

You could get very good home entertainment centers at http://www. milesgershon. com/.

Jobs Classifieds is the right place to post your requirement in specific words to get attractive offers from individual or companies related to entertainment jobs listing. The selections are unlimited, and you will be able to obtain almost anything you want or have need of.

Initially many people who are searching for a job get stuck up if they don’t get the job of their desire. Some take up the job and then repent taking wrong decision. Some decide to do the job even if they are not interested in the same. Due to this their productivity decreases and so does their outcome which leads to no promotion etc. There are various kinds of jobs for different people in the market. At jobs classified you can search the job of your own choice. Also you can search jobs in various categories such as jobs by industries, jobs by specializations and jobs by locations.

Many people are interested in getting into entertainment industry. Here there are many opportunities and various fields to make your career. So to get into the right and desired field at jobs classifieds you get complete entertainment jobs listing which helps you a lot. Entertainment jobs include jobs related to production companies, record companies, TV and radio stations, animations and broadcasting. It also includes internships at studios and networks. At jobs classified one will always find genuine postings for entertainment job listing.

The job of his/her choice gives an individual lot of pleasure from all-too-hectic world. In today’s world the time for entertainment is limited and so very valuable. What follows is a collection of the best job resources for jobs in the arts, entertainment, graphic arts, and related fields. Through this overview of entertainment jobs, the hope is that you will have enough information to think over this. Jobs Classifieds is an Indian based free classified portal targeted at all India. This site provides lot of information on entertainment jobs. To get complete details just post your ad on India classifieds that too for free. It is all for you. So now without wasting your time just go and search your dream job.

No matter whether you wish to hire any clowns to make any animal balloons, children’s disc jockeys, magicians, or combination of three all along with giving game time for children in birthday entertainment, your party can definitely be one hit in case you make use of some suggestions that are listed above! Kids are simple to please, so even coloring book and small box of the crayons can do in birthday entertainment.

Contrary to usual impression, holding kids birthday party and have birthday entertainment is not actually very expensive to pull it off. With right type of birthday entertainment, little creativity, you can come up with the party that may have everybody raving about that for days. Also fun is not at all measured by how much that you have spent on particular event. It is with camaraderie, which is developed during.

During this birthday entertainment, child is invited to assist magician & magician usually put a few velvet caps on these children to have more fun with the kids. Then the birthday entertainment magician hand over the wands that can collapse, and multiply thereby makes kids enjoy with some funny scenes and music. At second time, some other assistant are handed 3 silks of red and yellow color, which will change place in front of kids.

Then again birthday entertainment magician gives highest level of fun to your children when all audience keeps attention on them. Magician as well offers some funny events such as aliens running along floor & disappearing before eyes of audience. Your kids can get stunned with all these birthday entertainment that is arranged for them on their birthday and they will feel very special about it. Magician then keeps turning objects to other and your children seem to be happy watching that and having pleasure on their birthday entertainment.