Professional Lighting & Production - Spring 2020 | Page 25

LASERS & LIGHTS DANCE AROUND THE
TERRAIN IN THE LUMINOUS FOREST
of that because it was something we’d chal-
lenged ourselves with from the beginning.”
Another example of that “mixology”
comes from the projection-mapped Wolves’
Welcome. The experience begins with the
wolves mapped onto the natural rock face,
though as they leap from the rocks into the
“forest,” it transitions to projection on a mesh
canvas. “So we’re not only mixing technolo-
gies together, but also different techniques
with the same technologies to push our
narrative forward,” Delage notes.
The last feature she highlights is the Circle
of Life – the most interactive and communal of
the journey. In this case, the Moment Factory
team uses drumming as a vehicle to establish
a sense of community and togetherness.
Remember, they “do it in public,” and part of
that communal experience is figuring out how
it actually works in real-time.
The company takes pride in building a
high degree of adaptability into their proj-
ects, which is critical to the integration and
testing phase. “We had the tools, we knew
the sequence, but we also had a very agile
approach to the installation, where we’re able
to modulate and change things as needed,”
Delage shares. “Everything is ready, but
nothing is locked in to the point that it can’t
be tweaked or adapted to make sure we’re
creating the best possible experience.”
Before the official opening, the Toronto Zoo
hosted several days of “rehearsals” where thou-
sands of guests embarked on the journey while
Moment Factory team members observed,
ready to make any and all changes necessary to
maximize the experience and its impact.
That comes back to Moment Factory’s
emphasis on the human element of their
work. “We know how people behave when
they’re in a theatre or going grocery shop-
ping, but with a Lumina night walk, it’s still a
very new type of experience. How do people
enter the environment? How do people be-
have while they’re there? How do they enjoy
it and interact with it? We’re always asking
those questions about our work,” Delage says
– and that continues through the project’s
entire life cycle.
through their entire life span, they evolve
and settle into their environment; the nature
changes, so the experience changes with it,”
Delage says. “So even if you’re going twice in
the same season, you always end up with a
different experience – one night it might be
snowing, one night there might be no snow
at all. It depends on the people you’re with,
the other people that are there… As the envi-
ronment changes, the experience changes.”
Of course, that – like virtually every other
detail of Terra Lumina, no matter how trivial
– is by design. The experience is entertaining,
even enthralling, but it also relays an import-
ant message – one that grows in power and
prominence as more people receive it and
share it with others.
“Every chapter of the story is created to be
incredible on its own, but the purpose is
for everything to come together to relay a
story and generate a big response,” Delage
emphasizes. “The Arch Passage, for example,
is very beautiful on its own, but gets all of its
significance and importance from what you
experience after passing through it.”
It comes down to the cliché of something
being greater than the sum of its parts, and
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
that’s an ethos that has defined Moment
Professional Lighting & Production.
Factory’s work throughout its history.
Terra Lumina runs
until mid-April 2020 at
the Toronto Zoo, and
Delage and her team
are excited for more
people to experience
it for the first time. Or
the second, or third…
It’s a living and breath-
ing entity, which is
especially fitting con-
sidering how deeply
it’s rooted in nature
and wildlife.
“What’s very
special is that the Lu-
mina night walks, from
A GLOWING GARDEN RESPONDS TO RHYTHMS
FROM FOUR DRUMS IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
the time they open
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