Q&A With Manny Treeson: Howling At The Moon

Live Design caught up with Treeson to take a closer look at this project.

Live Design: What was the brief from BRC on the lighting for the project and how do you collaborate with them in terms of process; design approval, etc?

Manny Treeson: The brief from BRC’s creative directors, Matthew Solari and Edward Hodge, had two main elements: First and foremost, to create an immersive and flexible canvas across the entire lobby of the new Lodges to support the Legend of Luna evening show that BRC was creating for the resorts. Second, architecturally light the lobby. As the design process developed these two elements began to merge in the tool set. Together we landed on the idea that if we were careful in our fixture selection and design, we could achieve both aims with the same set of tools just used very differently. We also decided early on that we wanted to hide the technology used to light the lobby as much as possible. So integrating the lighting into the overall architecture became the core technique we leaned on when developing the overall approach to the lobby.

Our chandeliers are an excellent example of how this played out. Great Wolf Lodges have, for many years, had double hoop chandeliers in their lobbies. This was a look that they wanted to keep, so we decided to conceal three different technologies into this familiar form: a downlight, warm glowing glass shades, and a full spectrum up-light for the ceiling. To the guest, these look like regular, large chandeliers, but in actuality, they are full packed with theatrical tools. This was our approach across the whole project: to conceal technology from view to to amplify the narrative power for the audience and allow for moments of surprise and delight.

LD: How did you choose the fixtures and what are you using where?

MT: We chose the fixtures with integration into the architecture in mind. Fixtures often had to fit into the very limited space we had carved out of the architectural elements. For instance, the chandeliers were custom designed to accommodate all of the features we needed them to have. We selected One Eighty One from the Netherlands to build the chandeliers, who we also looked to for additional fixtures that could light other elements we had within the lobby. It was also important for us to have the color output of the various fixtures match as closely as possible. We used One Eighty One’s G36 grazer to light the façade of the grand fireplace in the center of the lobby.  We also asked them to create custom wall sconces that live along the perimeter of the lobby.

Another challenge for us was the faux fire effect within the fireplace. This fireplace is active through the day, however during the show it needed to become something that felt magical. We solved this by first choosing the type of faux fire we were going to do. Here we chose an ultra-sonic water vapor effect. Once we started looking at these types of fixtures we quickly learned that they used fixed color amber LEDs. For this project we needed many more colors and so we turned to our friends at GLP to create custom RGBA LED boards that we could retro fit into the machines that were being purchased. This way, we not only had full color control, we also had pixel-by-pixel control to create a much more organic fire effect.

The next layer of light in the space was the overall room wash. Here we started with high powered XL Inspires pendant down lights from Chroma-Q. These were laid out in a grid mounted to the high ceiling. Then in the lower ceiling we chose the Navis recessed downlight from ETC. These two fixtures used together allowed us to paint tones of color across the entire lobby.

To add texture and lighting animation to our pallet we chose a combination of Ayrton Diablos and Mistrals. The lovely thing about these two lights is that they share the same light engine and color system, allowing us to match color and tone across the lobby. We used Diablos where we needed shutters and Mistrals where we did not. The Mistrals are also located in recesses in the lower ceiling. We worked with Ayrton to make custom RAL-colored bodies for the fixture to blend into the overall ceiling color pallet.

The last major form of light is the generative digital light/projection mapped animation. We worked very closed with Nils Porrmann of Dandelion + Burdock to create a custom Notch block that runs on our Disguise servers and is controlled from the lighting desk. The block creates generative content using elements of the show’s hand drawn animation to create imagery that spans the entire lobby both through projectors and LED screens that were built into the architecture. This imagery also naturally creates ambient light and color. When cuing it with the rest of the room’s lighting, we can balance all the ingredients into a single, immersive whole.

LD: How does the quality and intensity of the light vary throughout the project? Can you describe how various spaces "look"?

MT: The two words I would use to talk about the look of the lobby are warm and comfortable. For most of the day the tone of light is warm, and its intensity tracks time of day to ensure the lobby is always shaped by light but is not over lit. The resort lobby has the architectural look and feel of a north woods lodge gathering room, harkening back to the tradition of America’s great national park lodges. Large wood beams make up the overall structure and the room is anchored by a massive central fireplace on which the evening show takes place. So, our first goal from a lighting point of view was to create a warm comfortable space to gather in.  We leaned into a very warm color temperature with a low level of intensity as a base. We then added the layer of a circadian rhythm to allow the lobby to change over the course of the day. Using a combination of the overhead lighting fixtures and the LED screens that surround the lobby, we shift the color and the intensity of light throughout the day. At dawn, the Inspire and Navis fixtures shift a to a more amber tone, capturing the sense of the rising sun. This idea plays out throughout the day with the assist of the astronomical clock in the EOS.

For the show itself, our lighting pallet becomes reactive and fluid to expand the setting and tone of the animation which is centered on the massive fireplace. Our goal was to take the color and texture of our story and have it flow across the architecture and audience. One of the major lighting gestures comes from the projection mapping on the central fireplace, and the layered in images that appear on all of the graphic LED screens. This allows for the color and motion of the animation to embrace the audience.

LD: What was your biggest challenge on a project like this?

MT: Both Matt and Edward wanted to create a seamless canvas for the show, blurring the line between what was video content and what was lighting cuing. Additionally, our design was not a single installation for one building, but rather a whole new concept and design for all of the Phase IV lodges that Great Wolf is building.  This all led us all to a generative solution, programmed from the lighting console, for much of the immersive imagery and lighting cues.

Not one of the new lodges exactly matches another. For instance, one fireplace might be a little taller, while another might be a little wider. We knew we needed to have adaptability in the design to allow for fine tuning the design to fit each separate installation.

Visually, the show is built out in layers. The primary layer, that everything else keys to, is a framed portrait screen on the central fireplace on which the main, hand-drawn animation plays. The next layer flows out from the portrait screen. We used individual hand drawn elements and backgrounds from the primary animation to expand the world of Luna to the rest of the lobby. We projection-map these elements on the fireplace facade and flow them out on to the 10 separate LED screens surrounding the lobby that are built into the architecture. 

There are big narrative moments throughout the show where we wanted various animated effects to play out across the fireplace and the rest of the lobby. Butterflies burst out from the screen, autumn leaves slowly fall and flit in the wind, it rains, it snows, and in the show’s finale, the whole lobby is overtaken with aurora borealis. Working with longtime collaborator, Nils Porrmann, each of these moments became a live generative real time effect controlled from the lighting desk.   

We began by making the choice to use the Notch environment to craft all of these moments. Next, Nils, working with our media team, incorporated the hand drawn animation into unique particle systems for each moment of the show within Notch. Then, specific attributes, particles per second, emitter location, particle size, wind and gravity, etc were exposed to the lighting console. We approached programming Notch in the same way as if it was a moving light. First, we positioned or focused it  (X,Y coordinates for the particle emitter); then we chose which texture to use, not unlike a choosing a gobo (leaves, snow, rain, butterflies or magic, for example). Next, we effected the animation of the particles by using gravity, wind and other parameters. While these parameters are different in name, the process of the visual choice at its core is the same. Once we had this level of control, we could install the show in a new lodge and edit the parameters to adapt to the slightly different architecture, with the end result being the same visual show in a slightly different environment. This technique has allowed us to create a beautiful show that can be adapted across the many lodges very gracefully. Our collaborator, Josh Selander, was able to program an amazing show at the first lodge in Perryville MD. Since that time, he and Edward have installed the design in two more lodges that opened this year with another to follow in 2025.

LD: Is there a specific problem/solution you can describe?

MT: Earlier I mentioned the custom chandlers that we had built by One Eighty One, specifically for this project.   For us, the key things they needed to do included creating a general warm, indirect ambience for the lobby, provide direct downlighting, create a candle flicker effect, and casting pixel based colored up-light for the lobby ceiling that could create animation.  That is lot of work for one fixture. 

I think we were successful with this fixture, because we chose to hide three separate lighting systems within it, that fulfilled all the tasks above. For the downlight and the ceiling color we were able to utilize One Eighty One’s existing products and incorporate them into the physical design of light. The glass shades, however, were much more challenging. In order to create the flicker effect we wanted, we needed to create custom LED boards.  Each glass shade had four boards in a rectilinear arrangement. Each board has five emitters in a line heading up the shade and each emitter had three colors (amber, 2700K and 8000K).  As such, each shade had 20 emitters in total with three colors each or 60 elements that we could animate to create the flicker effect.  With 24 shades for a double hoop and 16 for a single, the DMX universes can really start to add up, but this much control allowed us to move the light around the room in many different ways. This helped our storytelling immensely.  

In addition to the static warm glow and the candle effect, we could animate the lights in a directional way. Our show featured magic and at times we want to twinkle our shades. At other times we had the light flow in a wave from the rear of the room forward, or left to right, over the audience. Having so many different patterns and color available to us allowed for so many different combinations. We could also glow the shades in saturated color when combined with our ceiling up-lights, which also lit the shades. This allowed us to create even more magical combinations of light and pattern. Although we spent days programming our chandeliers, the result is surprising, magical, and immensely important to the story that is being told.

LD: What makes this project successful for you.

MT: I think the team that came together for the Legend of Luna is just beyond fantastic and fills us with joy.  Folks like Adam Raugh and his whole team from X-Laser. Kurt Schnabel, Mike Jonas, and their entire team at Clearwing Systems. I also cannot heap enough praise on one of my closest collaborators on the project, Josh Selander. Josh was not only was truly creative and inventive in getting this show on it its feet, he and Edward have continued to find ways to improve and tighten the show every time it is installed in a new build of a lodge.

Great Wolf Lodge is a family resort and the evening show is where all ages gather together. The room transforms itself into an immersive storytelling space in the most graceful of ways. I love watching people of all ages react and enjoy the show in different ways.  It is priceless to see a 4- or 6-year old child get up in the middle of a show and dance in the falling snowflakes or to see their parent delight in a story that is so full of heart. Success for me is that the story resonates with everyone for different reasons. While we use a tremendous amount new and different technology to create the show, none of this is obvious to our guests. They don’t care that we layered projectors, LED tiles, custom created lighting fixtures, and automated lights together to create Luna’s world. Nor are they distracted by the technology used to create the magic because  we worked very hard to conceal it. Rather it is story and magic itself that takes them on a journey.