Seth Dolan
Photo: Tressa Matthews
Seth Dolan is the director of events for M.A.C. Cosmetics on the West Coast. Dolan works on a diverse slate of events each year, including product launches and retail and consumer events.
Video Production: “We work closely with Gadgethouse for nearly all of our projects. They can supply any video-related event project including plasma setup installations, live-feed screens for presentations and event projections, and production for animated video displays or event records. Gadgethouse always cuts incredible sizzle videos so we have exciting records of our events that can be used for anything, including at the events themselves.”
Catering: “My favorite vendor for catering is Good Gracious Events. Our events are very theatrical—they always tell a story, so everything needs to represent that story, including models, waitstaff, costumes, and the food. Every single detail needs to be consistent. Good Gracious is able to take a guideline or a menu that our creative department has come up with and translate that to the L.A. market in a beautiful way. They produce all of our events for food in Los Angeles, Orange County, and even Las Vegas.”
Staffing: “Clear Talent Group. We've worked with them for incredible stiltwalkers, dancers, and performers, for shows with concepts like heroin-chic ballerinas. They’re really resourceful and fantastic.Video Production: “We work closely with Gadgethouse for nearly all of our projects. They can supply any video-related event project including plasma setup installations, live-feed screens for presentations and event projections, and production for animated video displays or event records. Gadgethouse always cuts incredible sizzle videos so we have exciting records of our events that can be used for anything, including at the events themselves.”
Catering: “My favorite vendor for catering is Good Gracious Events. Our events are very theatrical—they always tell a story, so everything needs to represent that story, including models, waitstaff, costumes, and the food. Every single detail needs to be consistent. Good Gracious is able to take a guideline or a menu that our creative department has come up with and translate that to the L.A. market in a beautiful way. They produce all of our events for food in Los Angeles, Orange County, and even Las Vegas.”
“We use L.A. Models all the time. They’re the powerhouse of modeling in Los Angeles; they have a huge, diverse database. Models at our events aren’t just standing there and posing or handing out a pamphlet—they have a character that they are taking on, and L.A. Models has great people to do that with.
“I love Beautiful Bartenders. We are a beauty brand, so we need beautiful people wherever we go. They tell as much of a story as our food and our environment do. We happen to favor male waitstaff most of the time, and Beautiful Bartenders gives us gorgeous model guys who we can costume and who are also very talented in serving."
Rentals and Tenting: “Classic Party Rentals. How can you not? They’re just amazing. It’s pretty much a guarantee that what you’re going to get there is consistent.”
Set Building: “One of my favorites is Set Masters in North Hollywood. We’re always trying to reinvent the wheel, and they’re able to give us a really high-quality product.”
Lighting: “Entertainment Lighting Services. They have helped us translate some incredible events through lighting. We did an event called 'Smoke Signals' in the fall, and it was basically bringing out the textures that you [experience during the fall season]. There was a lot of gray going on, smoky textures, a lot of charcoal, reminiscent of a '30s jazz lounge. ELS was able to give us these smoky, sultry environments and really make [guests] feel as if [they] were stepping into this world that was both retro and modern.”
Printing: “We work with MBC Printing. They are so competitively priced, they can do things so quickly, and they produce beautiful printed materials.”
