Graduations
Sound for graduations and class photo ceremonies in Seville
A graduation ceremony means reading out two hundred names in a row and making sure every family hears theirs. Everything else (the music, the photos, the speech) comes after.
- Institutions
- Schools, sixth forms, vocational colleges and universities
- Key
- An intelligible PA system for reading out names
- Venues
- Courtyard, assembly hall, university great hall or celebration venue
- Extras
- Projection of class photos (orlas) and pictures
How the ceremony runs
Speech, presentation of class photos, pictures and party
The pattern is the same at every institution: a few words from the head, a speech by a student, the reading of names with presentation of the class photo (orla) or sash (beca), the group photo and then the celebration.
Reading out the names is the most important part
It seems the easiest part and it's where things most often go wrong. Every family has come to hear one particular name among two hundred, and if the PA isn't clear, it gets lost. You need a PA system tuned for speech, a lectern microphone with good rejection of ambient noise and, in large courtyards, speakers spread out so the sound reaches the front and back equally. The person reading usually goes fast: reducing reverberation and boosting clarity matters more than volume.
The lectern and the speeches
The head, tutors and the student speaking on behalf of the year group. It's worth setting the lectern microphone to the right height before starting and having a spare handheld wireless mic, because at graduations there's always someone who decides to say a few words off-script.
The year-group video
Almost every class prepares a photo montage. It's shown with a projector and screen if the ceremony is indoors, and with an LED screen if it's outdoors in afternoon light, because a projector can't compete with the sun. The audio goes through the sound system, not the laptop.
After the ceremony
The graduation usually continues at a venue, with dinner and dancing. That set-up is the same as for a party: a system with subwoofers, a DJ booth and lights.
Venues
Where it's held and what each venue involves
School courtyard
Outdoors, with echo off the building walls and street noise. Speakers need to be spread out and the system strongly tuned for speech. The power socket is usually far away: we bring an extension cable.
Assembly hall
An enclosed space, often with a fixed PA designed for announcements. It's almost always best to set up a dedicated system for the ceremony and keep the venue's own as a backup.
University great hall or auditorium
High ceilings, lots of reverberation and formal protocol. What matters here is the type of microphone and positioning the system to reduce echo, not to fill the room more.
Celebration venue
The ceremony and the party in the same place. It's set up once, with the speech section first and the dancing afterwards.
Sports hall
The worst possible acoustic setting: lots of reflected sound and zero absorption. It's solved with speakers close to the audience at a low level, never with a big system at the back.
Outdoors with grandstands
If there are lots of families, it's worth adding grandstands and separating the stage area with crowd barriers.
What to plan for
Before the day of the ceremony
- The running order in writing. Who speaks, when the music comes in, when the video plays. With the script in front of them, the technician doesn't have to improvise.
- The list of names and the presentation music. Many schools play a background piece while the names are read out. It's set at exactly the right level so it doesn't drown out the voice.
- Set-up time. At schools there are lessons until midday and the courtyard isn't free before then. It's best to agree this with the school management and the caretaker's office.
- Sun and heat. Graduations fall in May and June, almost always in the afternoon. Equipment and people both need shade; we never set up the gear in direct sunlight.
- Who pays and how. Sometimes the school books, sometimes the parents' association (AMPA) and sometimes the parents' committee. We invoice whoever is responsible.
If the ceremony involves dignitaries or an official awards presentation, take a look at institutional events too. And if the party afterwards is in a large function room, this set-up is very similar.
Courtyard, assembly hall or ceremonial hall?
Tell us where the ceremony is, how many students are graduating and how many family members you expect. We'll plan the set-up and send you a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Questions from schools and parents' associations
The school has a PA system. Will it do for the graduation?
For announcements, yes; for reading out two hundred names in front of the families, hardly ever. They tend to be low-quality systems with poor coverage. The usual approach is to bring a dedicated sound system for the ceremony and keep the school's as a backup.
Can you show the year-group video outdoors?
A projector struggles in daylight. Outdoors in the afternoon, the answer is an LED screen, which stays visible in sunshine. If the event is at night or indoors, a projector and screen will do.
How many microphones do we need?
At least two: a lectern mic for reading out the names and a wireless handheld for speeches and anything unexpected. If students are performing music, we add whatever the band asks for.
Can you also set up the party afterwards in the function room?
Yes, and it works out better to book both together: same equipment, same van and a single point of coordination. We set up both venues in the morning, or move the gear from the ceremony to the dinner if the timings allow.
Do we need a technician during the ceremony?
We recommend it. A graduation has music coming in and out, microphones opening and closing and a video in the middle. With a sound technician, nobody from the school has to keep an eye on a button.
Quote
Get a quote for your graduation
School, date, ceremony space, number of students and whether there is a video or a party afterwards.
How it looks
Set-ups for this type of event
Examples of the equipment and set-up an event like yours usually needs.
