announces the appointment of Michael Finney to the position of director of technical design. Finney brings years of themed entertainment experience as a technical & lighting designer to Thinkwell’s growing list of projects.
“Michael is instrumental to the technical success of our projects,” says Cliff Warner, principal & executive producer and co-founder of Thinkwell with Francois Bergeron and Craig Hanna. “His expertise in lighting and technical design on some of the most recognized themed entertainment projects in the world make Michael a great asset to our team.”
Finney has served as lighting & technical designer for Thinkwell Design & Production since early 2001 where he worked for Thinkwell on two completed attraction projects at Universal Studios Florida. He has been actively involved in the lighting and technical design for a variety of Thinkwell projects since then.
Prior to joining Thinkwell, Finney served as senior project designer for The Ruzika Company for six years, where he provided lighting design for the company’s themed and high-end architectural projects. Some of the projects Finney contributed to include: retail environments for Universal Studios Japan, lighting for the entire Seuss Landing at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Florida and special events for Buena Vista Pictures’ Toy Story 2 and Dinosaur events at the El Capitan in Hollywood.
He also served as senior technical designer for eight years at Landmark Entertainment Group, providing technical and lighting design, large mechanical effects and architectural lighting for some of the company’s largest projects, including: Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Caesars Magical Empire at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Ghostbusters attraction at Universal Studios Florida and Sanrio Puroland in Japan. Finney has also worked for numerous productions and rock and roll tours, including stints as resident lighting designer for the State Ballet of Missouri and the Los Angeles Ballet, lighting designer and stage manager for Harry Blackstone, Jr., lighting and illusion designer for Doug Henning and many others. He is a regular speaker at TiLE, LDI, and other conferences. He has been awarded four IESNA lighting design awards for his work.
“Michael approaches projects not only in terms of how we get them done technically,” says Craig Hanna, principal & creative director for Thinkwell, “but also in terms of what’s best for the creative and budget.”
Thinkwell Design & Production Incorporated specializes in turnkey design and production services for theme park attractions, live shows, branding/corporate experiences and environments, museum and educational environments, and restaurant and retail environments. Their clients include Universal Studios, DreamWorks SKG, Nike, Paramount Parks, and others. Thinkwell has a European production and sales office located in Barcelona, Spain.
For more information, please visit the Thinkwell website at: www.thinkwelldesign.com