Being a event planning novice, you’re probably wracking your brain over the type of outdoor aluminium structures to utilise for your event. While there certainly are plenty of options to choose from in terms of multi-purpose tents, if you’re looking to have an outdoor event that feels like it’s held indoors, why not consider utilising blackout tents? In the article below, we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of blackout tents as well as the types of events it is suitable for. But before that, let’s talk about what exactly is a blackout tent.
In a nutshell, blackout tents are engineered aluminium that come with a thicker layer of canvas to help prevent any light from passing through. While standard tent canvas is usually thin and unable to block sunlight, the canvas of blackout tent uses reinforced opaque material that is used to entirely block out any traces of light. Hence, allowing complete darkness in the interior.
Now that you have a better understanding of what a blackout tent is, let’s take a look at its pros and cons.
Pros
1. Blocks off Sunlight
In a scorching hot midday afternoon when the sunlight shines brightest, the blackout tent is able to block out total sunlight and prevent harmful UV rays from streaming in. This can be a very useful characteristic for an event with outdoor movie screening session. With the help of black lining, the fully dark interior can make resemble that of a cinema, and guests can comfortably settle down on the floor with either picnic mat or bean bag to enjoy the film screening. In addition, a blackout tent can also be used as a light deprivation greenhouse by gardeners to artificially alter the plant’s light schedule with shorter light period. It can be used similarly for growing light-sensitive plants.
2. Great use of lighting
There is a reason why light-related events only take place at night – lighting and the outdoor don’t really go well in the day, especially for a sunny island like Singapore. Even in a enclosed tent, it will be impossible to create a fully blackout environment if the roof or wall does not have blackout capability. Why hold a night-only event, when you can maximise the turnout and hold a full-day event?
When the interior is completely dark, blackout tents allow great control of lighting. Depending on the type of outdoor event you are planning, you might want to get creative with illuminating the interior with LED lights, fairy lights, festoon lights, chandeliers or even UV lights. To provide an extra dose of surprise and engagement, use video mapping technology to display fun patterns on either the floor, walls or the ceiling!
3. A unique look and feel
Blackout tents may look the same as conventional tents on the outside but offers a whole new on the inside. For events that take place outdoors—be it weddings, parties, fashion runway and corporate events, blackout tent provide guests with the much-needed wow factor in impressing your guests, or simply help in making an event feel more intimate. Not to mention—once you illuminate the interior with lights, the contrast will make for great ambience, aesthetics, and amazing-looking pictures!
Cons
1. Takes time to fabricate the canvas
Reinforcing the canvas is considered a form of customisation, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it takes some time for the canvas to be fabricated. In a fast-paced event industry, time may not always be on your side—but as always emphasized to our clients—it doesn’t hurt to plan in advance. As long as the lead time has been properly scheduled and factored in, the progress should be going as planned!
2. Higher cost due to customisation
Depending on your budget, this may be a good or bad thing—but the hard truth is, customisation comes at a slightly higher cost. You can expect to fork out more for a blackout tent. But nonetheless, for an event experience like no other, in addition to the intimacy and functionality and aesthetics it offers, these tents are probably worth their weight in gold.
In general, blackout tents have been opted for in multiple events which include prestigious red carpet events, pop-up cinemas, greenhouses, parties and even award ceremonies. Other than blackout tents, if you want to have an outdoor experience but without the blackout feature, consider the Dome-shape Series, A-shape Series or the Multi-storey Series instead.
