Projection
Projector and screen rental in Toronto
Screens from 8 to 20 feet, with a projector actually bright enough for the room you are putting it in, and, where the night wants one, a VJ mixing what is on them live to the set.
Sized to the room and the ambient light, not to the budget. An under-lumened projector is money spent on a grey rectangle.
From $550 · 8 to 20 ft · Front or rear projection
- Sized to the room, not to the budget
- Lumens matched to your actual light level
- Rehearsed with your real file
- Toronto and the GTA
Sizing the screen
The old rule still works. The furthest viewer should be no more than six screen-heights away, and the nearest no closer than one and a half. In a banquet hall with a back table 80 feet out, that means a screen at least 9 feet high, which is a 16 ft wide 16:9 screen, not the 8 ft one in the quote you were given.
| Screen | Room depth | From |
|---|---|---|
| 8 ft wide (16:9) | up to 30 ft | $550 |
| 10 ft wide | up to 40 ft | $750 |
| 16 ft wide | up to 60 ft | $1,400 |
| 20 ft wide | up to 80 ft | $2,200 |
| Dual screens | Wide rooms, quoted per plan | from $2,400 |
Brightness, honestly
A 4,000-lumen projector is fine in a dark room and useless in a ballroom with the chandeliers at half. We match lumens to your actual lighting state, and if the room cannot be darkened we will tell you that LED wall is the right answer even though it costs more.
What we ask before quoting
- Room
- Depth to the back table, ceiling height, window exposure
- Light
- Will the house lights be down? Are there windows? What time of day?
- Content
- Video, slides, or a montage. Text needs more contrast than photographs
- Position
- Front projection needs a throw path nobody walks through; rear needs 10–14 ft behind
Rear projection
Rear projection removes the shadow problem entirely: speakers can stand in front of the screen. It costs more, needs 10 to 14 feet of clear space behind the screen, and is usually the right call for an awards night where people are walking on stage.
VJ: music you can see
A screen with a montage looping on it is decor. A screen with a VJ behind it is part of the set. The difference is that somebody is mixing the picture live, to the record that is actually playing, in the same room, at the same desk as the light.
In production terms it is one more operator and one more feed into the screens this page already covers: a VJ rig taking the DJ's output, cutting clips, loops and camera to the beat, and handing the switcher a single locked signal. Nothing about the projector or the screen changes. What changes is that the biggest bright object in the room stops sitting still while three hundred people dance in front of it.
What a VJ booking is
- Operator
- A second person, next to the DJ, for the hours the floor is running. Not a playlist left going
- Source
- Clips, loops and stills mixed live, cut to the track instead of crossfading on a timer
- Your material
- The montage, the logo, the couple's names, the sponsor board: sequenced into the night instead of played once and forgotten
- Signal
- One locked output into the projector or the LED wall, through the same switcher as everything else on the screen
- Camera
- Optional live feed from the floor, delayed and cut in. It is the single thing that most reliably gets people to look up
- Blackout
- The screen goes dark for speeches and for the first dance, on a cue, because a moving picture behind a speech wins every time
It suits three rooms in particular: a club night, where the screen is most of the production; a corporate gala, where the branding can stop being a static logo after dinner; and a Persian wedding, where the Bandari hour is the hour the night is judged on. Quoted with the screen package rather than as a separate hire. See club event production, corporate AV and Persian weddings.
Check your date
The first question is always whether the date is open. Start there: the rest takes two minutes.
Common questions
What size screen do I need?
The back row should be no more than six screen-heights away. For a room 60 feet deep that is a 16 ft wide screen. Tell us the room depth and we will size it.
What is a VJ?
A VJ mixes visuals live to the music, the way a DJ mixes the music itself: clips, loops and camera cut to the track on the screens we are already providing. Music you can see. It is an operator and a feed, not a different screen.
Can we use our own footage and branding on the screen?
Yes, and you should. Send the montage, the logo, the names or the sponsor board and the VJ sequences them into the night instead of looping them behind it. Vector or high-resolution files, five days before.
How much does projector and screen rental cost in Toronto?
From $550 for an 8 ft screen with a projector and setup, up to about $2,200 for a 20 ft screen. Operation is included when we are running your event.
Front or rear projection?
Rear if people will stand in front of the screen and you have 10 to 14 feet behind it. Front otherwise: it is cheaper and needs less room.
Can you play our slideshow or video?
Yes, from a redundant pair of sources, rehearsed with your actual file. Send it the day before rather than on a stick at 5pm.
Will it work with the room lights up?
Partly, and worse than you expect. If the room genuinely cannot be darkened, an LED wall is the honest answer and we will quote it.
Keep reading
- Corporate event DJ and AV
- Event AV production
- Club event production: where the VJ does the most work
- Stage and dance floor rental