Meet the Visionaries: Lightology Australia at Vivid Sydney

An interview with Lightology: behind their immersive work at Vivid Sydney

What is your full name and job title?

We're Shaun and Aaron, and we lead the team here at Lightology Australia. We specialize in bringing ambitious visual experiences to life!

 

Can you tell us how you got involved in this project?

Our friends at Eat the Elephant, who were the technical directors for this project, invited us to join their team. They asked us to develop a system that could transform audience input from a handset into a vibrant and moving light display.

What is your full name and job title?

We're Shaun and Aaron, and we lead the team here at Lightology Australia. We specialize in bringing ambitious visual experiences to life!

 

Can you tell us how you got involved in this project?

Our friends at Eat the Elephant, who were the technical directors for this project, invited us to join their team. They asked us to develop a system that could transform audience input from a handset into a vibrant and moving light display.

How did you first hear about SMODE?

We discovered SMODE while developing a project for Vivid Sydney, the city's annual light and art festival. Our client had a bold vision for their exhibit: they wanted a truly immersive and dynamic experience that could also be shaped by audience interaction. This led us to explore new tools that could help us create not just a stunning visual environment, but also a way for people to engage with the exhibit. After looking at various options, SMODE quickly stood out as the perfect professional solution.

 

How long have you been working with SMODE?

This was our very first time using Smode, and we were absolutely thrilled! We had a basic working concept up and running within an hour of installing our trial – it was incredibly intuitive.

 

Meet the Visionaries: Lightology Australia at Vivid Sydney

How did you first hear about SMODE?

We discovered SMODE while developing a project for Vivid Sydney, the city's annual light and art festival. Our client had a bold vision for their exhibit: they wanted a truly immersive and dynamic experience that could also be shaped by audience interaction. This led us to explore new tools that could help us create not just a stunning visual environment, but also a way for people to engage with the exhibit. After looking at various options, SMODE quickly stood out as the perfect professional solution.

 

How long have you been working with SMODE?

This was our very first time using Smode, and we were absolutely thrilled! We had a basic working concept up and running within an hour of installing our trial – it was incredibly intuitive.

 

The project sounds like it had significant creative challenges. What made you choose SMODE?

Right after our initial meetings, it became clear that this project would require diverse tools and workflows. We considered building a custom system or heavily modifying our existing software, but neither option fully met the client's needs or provided the immense processing power required. We also had to think about reliability and backup systems. SMODE simply ticked all the boxes, offering the power, stability, and flexibility we needed.

 

What was particularly challenging about the project, and how did SMODE help solve those challenges?

The list of challenges was huge! Our team worked hard to meet the needs of everyone involved in the project. Shaun's team handled the technical integration and the flow of information between the audience's devices and SMODE, then seamlessly transferred that information in real-time to the lights. Simultaneously, Aaron's team collaborated with the event producers to create and refine the visual content based on the artist's creative direction. SMODE's ability to create complex visuals in real-time and manage a massive number of lights efficiently, all while providing built-in reliability within our tight six-week timeframe, was exactly what we needed to deliver the client's vision without compromise.

 

Meet the Visionaries: Lightology Australia at Vivid Sydney

The project sounds like it had significant creative challenges. What made you choose SMODE?

Right after our initial meetings, it became clear that this project would require diverse tools and workflows. We considered building a custom system or heavily modifying our existing software, but neither option fully met the client's needs or provided the immense processing power required. We also had to think about reliability and backup systems. SMODE simply ticked all the boxes, offering the power, stability, and flexibility we needed.

 

What was particularly challenging about the project, and how did SMODE help solve those challenges?

The list of challenges was huge! Our team worked hard to meet the needs of everyone involved in the project. Shaun's team handled the technical integration and the flow of information between the audience's devices and SMODE, then seamlessly transferred that information in real-time to the lights. Simultaneously, Aaron's team collaborated with the event producers to create and refine the visual content based on the artist's creative direction. SMODE's ability to create complex visuals in real-time and manage a massive number of lights efficiently, all while providing built-in reliability within our tight six-week timeframe, was exactly what we needed to deliver the client's vision without compromise.

 

Can you give us some details about the setup?

The physical structure for the exhibit was impressive: 15 meters deep, 30 meters wide, and 10 meters high, featuring roughly 18,000 LED lights. We used Smode Live v10, running on hardware that is accessible to everyone, and a networked Smode Compose license for our collaborative work. The audience interaction experience was custom-designed by a very talented programmer, which translated audience input into real-time visual changes within SMODE.

 

Can you give us some details about the setup?

The physical structure for the exhibit was impressive: 15 meters deep, 30 meters wide, and 10 meters high, featuring roughly 18,000 LED lights. We used Smode Live v10, running on hardware that is accessible to everyone, and a networked Smode Compose license for our collaborative work. The audience interaction experience was custom-designed by a very talented programmer, which translated audience input into real-time visual changes within SMODE.

 

Did you get any support from the SMODE team for this project?

Yes! And this project wouldn't have been possible without their help. We especially valued the private lessons we had with Erwan each Monday night leading up to the project. The SMODE team's support and responsiveness throughout were excellent, and we truly felt like valued customers.

 

How often are you in touch with them and why?

Not nearly enough! But this project has opened up exciting new opportunities for us to explore advanced tracking technology. We're now looking at ambitious new projects for 2025 that involve combining various data points with our visual systems to create truly groundbreaking experiences. We're pretty confident we'll be in touch with the SMODE team again very soon!

Ready to bring your next creative vision to life with stunning visuals and immersive experiences?

Contact Lightology Australia today to learn how we can help!

Did you get any support from the SMODE team for this project?

Yes! And this project wouldn't have been possible without their help. We especially valued the private lessons we had with Erwan each Monday night leading up to the project. The SMODE team's support and responsiveness throughout were excellent, and we truly felt like valued customers.

 

How often are you in touch with them and why?

Not nearly enough! But this project has opened up exciting new opportunities for us to explore advanced tracking technology. We're now looking at ambitious new projects for 2025 that involve combining various data points with our visual systems to create truly groundbreaking experiences. We're pretty confident we'll be in touch with the SMODE team again very soon!

Ready to bring your next creative vision to life with stunning visuals and immersive experiences?

Contact Lightology Australia today to learn how we can help!

Credits:

  • Project: Chorus of Light
  • Site: Vivid Sydney 2024
  • Client: Amplify
  • Head of Production (Amplify): Claire Hewitt
  • Project Manager (Amplify): Benjamin Teboul Project Site Manager (Amplify): Vicky Fairhurst & Karen Arkell
  • Technical Direction: Matt Teale for Eat the Elephant
  • Volumetric Systems Technical Lead: Shaun Cook on For Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Systems Support: Bailey Mackleden For Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Systems UX/UI: Eoghan O'Keeffe
  • Volumetric Programming: Aaron Thomas for Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Associate Programmer: Scott Belzner for Lightology Australia
  • Artist In Residence: Susan Kosti

Credits:

  • Project: Chorus of Light
  • Site: Vivid Sydney 2024
  • Client: Amplify
  • Head of Production (Amplify): Claire Hewitt
  • Project Manager (Amplify): Benjamin Teboul Project Site Manager (Amplify): Vicky Fairhurst & Karen Arkell
  • Technical Direction: Matt Teale for Eat the Elephant
  • Volumetric Systems Technical Lead: Shaun Cook on For Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Systems Support: Bailey Mackleden For Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Systems UX/UI: Eoghan O'Keeffe
  • Volumetric Programming: Aaron Thomas for Lightology Australia
  • Volumetric Associate Programmer: Scott Belzner for Lightology Australia
  • Artist In Residence: Susan Kosti