Building a tree lighting around a drone show
A tree lighting has one big moment: the second the tree switches on. Everything else in the evening is there to build toward it. A drone show can make that moment bigger, but only if the night is planned around it. Here is how we put a tree lighting together with towns, malls and business districts.
Put the show after the switch, not before
The tree is still the star. We usually open the show with the countdown in the sky, hit zero as the tree lights, then let the drones take over from there. The crowd gets its moment, then a finale it did not expect.
Design for the people closest to the tree
Tree lightings draw families who arrive early and stand right up front. We place the show so those families look up and see it whole, with the tree in the same view. That is also the photo every parent will try to take.
Pick three or four scenes
A holiday show reads best when it tells a short, clear story. A few that work well: snow falling over your town’s name, a sleigh crossing the sky, a menorah lighting candle by candle, a giant ornament that turns into your sponsor’s logo, and a closing "Happy Holidays from" your town or property.
Give your sponsors a moment
Tree lightings are often funded by local businesses. Thanking them in the sky, in front of the whole community, is a stronger return than a banner by the stage, and it gives you a reason to sign them again next year.
Keep the program short
Speeches, a choir, the countdown, the show. Families with young children in December do not stay for long. A tight program keeps the crowd together until the last formation.
Plan for December weather
December nights can be cold and wet. We watch the forecast with you through the week of the event and agree a backup time or date early, so nobody is scrambling on the night.
What we handle
The design, the music sync, the approvals, the site plan and the crew are all ours. Plan your tree lighting and we will send a concept built around your tree.
