DJ Light is about the exhilaration of one person taking control over a massive space and manipulating the incredible array of light and sound within it using nothing more than their own body. It is an empowering experience where the public is invited to be the artist.

The installation consists of 85 giant globes of light, each capable of displaying millions of colours. As the “guest DJ” assumes their position on the podium, they can use their arms to point and gesture. These movements are translated in real-time into beautiful movements of light and generative sound across the space.

Cinimod Studio are known for their innovative use of technologies, and it is therefore no surprise that “DJ Light” employs some truly innovative technologies. The main controlling hardware and software utilised for DJ Light was made especially for the project, and combines years of on-going research and development.

Each of the inflatable globes contain custom LED lighting, designed and fabricated for maximum controllability and energy efficiency. Each globe has a unique identity that allows the colour to be controlled from the main DJ podium. Suspended above the podium is a high accuracy thermal tracking camera that has been developed by Cinimod to allow for live tracking of the “guest DJ”. By tracking every movement of the person below, this camera communicates control signals to the main software programme that is responsible for the live sound and light generation.

With over 400 channels of lighting control and a multi-directional sound system, DJ Light is comprised of a technically advanced set-up. However it is the intention and desire of Cinimod Studio that the focus of the public should be on the beautiful and ephemeral effect of the artwork, rather than on the technology that underlies it.

Project Credits:

Concept design, realisation and implementation: Cinimod Studio (London, UK)

Software programming: Cinimod Studio with Henrik Ekeus (London, UK)

Local project management: Claudia Paz  & Cesar Castro (Lima, Peru)

Local production team: Arquileds and Consetec (Lima, Peru)

This new design draws on the studio’s multidisciplinary background in architecture and lighting. Applying new design and fabrication techniques, the original Butterfly In Flight (that can now be found in a dozen Itsu stores across London) has been re-imagined and engineered to create a floating twisting sculptural form that has a major visible presence within the cavernous Terminal 5 building.

Butterfly In Flight is a product of Cinimod’s on-going research exploring the idea of design in 4 dimensions. Capturing cinematic motion within physical design, this fascination has been symbolised by the motion of a butterfly through various different projects.

The key components that make up the artwork are the aluminium supporting structure, the light emitting polycarbonate wings and the custom lighting system. The structure consists of a modular construction that when assembled forms a three-dimensionally curving tube. This forms the twisting spine onto which the illuminated wings are fixed.

Each wing has inlaid within it a high density LED strip that emits light through the clear polycarbonate with a dichroic coating to one side. Individual control means a series of programs that vary throughout the day animate the lighting to articulate the dynamic motion instilled in the design. The overall result is that the wings appear to have a crystalline and delicate appearance, with an iridescent colour that shift as one viewers walk around it.

Planning and prototyping was crucial to the success of the project. The design process involved close consultation with BAA, where design decisions were made based on some of the most stringent regulations in place at any UK airport. In an incredible feat of materials research, engineering, fabrication and project management, the final sculptural Butterfly In Flight was installed on site in just 2 nights, and now soars 6 metres above the kiosk below.

While traditional chandeliers are static objects, the Light Symphony is designed to engage with the public and become an active and animated element within the space. It is comprised of 240 light tubes suspended in space to create a falling volume of red, gold and white light. The overall height is 15 metres, and the scale of the piece feels both natural and appropriate to the cavernous atrium where it is located.

The real magic comes from when members of the public become the ‘conductors’ of the Light Symphony. Standing at a special plinth that is reminiscent of an artist’s easel, the user can orchestrate complex colour movements throughout the Light Symphony by using his hands and arms across a highly innovative LED touch panel. The response is immediate, and the effect clear, fluid and rewarding.

Light Symphony was produced in the UK and installed with the assistance of a local production company. All elements were designed and fabricated bespoke for the project, and a 4-strong Cinimod team were on site for 10 days.

Cinimod Studio’s approach to the project serves as another example of the design teams ambition to deliver projects of beauty and innovative design where the focus on in which the highly complex and technical electronics and control systems are presented in a highly intuitive and natural manner.

Additional footage available on Vimeo:  Interview Film,  Making Of Film.

Project Details:

Client:  Sobranie London, Moscow.

Overall Design, including lighting, mechanical and interaction design: Cinimod Studio

Electrical Design: White Wing Logic (London)

On-Site Production team and coordination:  Zeppelin Productions (Moscow)

Flutter consists of a linear array of 88 vertical double-sided video fins projecting from a mirrored surface. Butterflies flash through these screens on virtual flight paths, visible for fleeting moments as the light irridesces off their wings.

The sequenced form of the installation references animation ideas first developed in the zoetrope, and its later successor, the praxinoscope. However, in a developmental move away from the linear time-sliced nature of these devices, the introduction of interactive control in ‘Flutter’ makes the ephemerality of the encounter influence its semiotics.

The butterfly has different meanings in different cultures, from being a symbol of life or death, luck or tragedy, nervousness or happiness. ‘Flutter’ explores these notions through cutting-edge interactivity – the movement of the viewer around the piece determines the scale of the butterfly’s flutter. By reaching out your hand a flying butterfly will respond, either by landing near you or by being scared away. In playing with the butterflies more intricate behaviours will be uncovered.

Acquiring Flutter:

Flutter was first unveiled at the Kinetica Art Fair 2010 in London.  A new edition of Flutter is currently being prepared and will be launched as a limited edition later in 2010.  For further information please contact the studio.

The influx of the Huguenot refugees to Spitalfields in the late 17^th century established the area’s long associations with the silk industry, as the French immigrants brought with them the weaving skills that would distinguish the fabrics and clothes produced in the area. Irish immigrant workers arrived to contribute to the booming business and the resulting tensions and incidents, such as the 1769 Spitalfield Riots, serve as a reminder to portray how important the industry was to the day-to-day life of the community at the time. Despite the decline of silk-weaving in the late 19^th century, Jewish tailors and the current Bangladeshi communities have continued the region’s attachment to the textiles industry. Today, the market and the quarter surrounding Brick Lane are honeypots for local independent designers to make their mark on the fashion on London’s streets.

The sculpture is composed of three elements – 2 needle-like structures towering over a concrete ‘cocoon.’ The needles serve separate purposes – the taller yellow needle provides light. Using energy efficient super-bright LEDS, it provides a spotlight at night, in the otherwise unlit square. The smaller blue needle intermittently provides a burst of mist, initially conceived to discharge on the hour. The sculpture is an interactive piece working at two time cycles. When combined, the light is refracted and reflected off the back of the water droplets of the hourly mist – the effect created is an ‘artificial’ rainbow. On a more continual cycle, light from the primary needle and the sun is refracted through crystals embedded in the eyes of both needles, to produce streaks of diffracted colours on the fabric of Bishops Square.

The rainbow describes the basic visual phenomenon we enjoy every time we look at a piece of silk – the brilliant sheen that characterizes the fabric. It is the triangular prism-like structure of silk fibres that allows it to refract light at different angles, producing its unique appearance. Rainbows are a natural optical phenomenon, but require the correct environmental conditions for it to be viewed, and as a result, is not often seen in the setting of central London. However, they can be effortlessly recreated at home with a spray of water on a sunny afternoon. The sculpture attempts to recreate this event, and with precise construction, will provide a regular opportunity for people to gather and view it.

The rainbow is able to be enjoyed from the vantage point created by the sculpture’s seating centrepiece – taking the form of a silkworm cocoon, which acts as the starting point of the production line. It is finished in white concrete and textured, and a clear lacquer provides it with a shine to match the silk fibres it describes. The cocoon is also envisioned as an interactive piece – with embedded fibre-optics providing location-specific coloured lighting, activated by pressure sensors. The cocoon glows, and appears to have a heartbeat. It attracts people and changes colour when they sit on it.

As a practice, Cinimod Studio has a track record of producing high-quality and reliable interactive lighting installations. From previous experience with similarly ambitious projects, we are confident that the piece is appropriate for the budget and the time constraints suggested. Aware that its interactive nature is its main attraction, the design is kept intentionally simple, and its intervention on the square’s framework is kept relatively minimal.

We believe that the sculpture will be enjoyed by all visitors to Spitalfields, during the day and night. The phenomenal aspect of the piece will hopefully astound viewers, whilst proving educational in relating to them a small piece of history of the borough. The attraction to people of all ages, we feel, is an important to aspect of the sculpture, and to the Spitalfields area as a whole. We envisage that the sculpture will provide an opportunity to remind people of the area’s significant historical contribution to the city, to counterbalance the financial district’s recent growth into the area.

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Vote on-line for this proposal : http://surveys.clarityinmarketing.com/vote

With special thanks to Tetsuro Nagata

Visitors to the area became active participants in the interactive artwork. A thermal camera overhead tracked the position of the visitors, with their movement controlling a beautiful ballet of colour movements across the globe. An illuminated plinth at ground level provided a direct visual feedback of the colour tracking.

The resultant artwork proved to be a popular and highly engaging intervention within the Millionaire’s Fair exhibition hall, and became a visual icon for the event.

Cinimod Studio have successfully completed their commission by New York artist Peter Coffin for the technical design, build and delivery of a UFO to be used in Coffin’s unique high-altitude public art performance.

This is the second time the UFO has made a public appearance. It first appeared over the city of Gdansk, Poland, in July 2008. Since then it has been significantly upgraded, and for Rio it featured an additional 150kg of bespoke lighting equipment to create an even greater visual impact.

The night time flight over Rio De Janeiro had been extensively publicised in advance, and an estimated 500,000 spectators assembled on the five beaches of Rio to witness the UFO. As the UFO approached, the gathered masses rushed towards the water, screaming and shouting with excitement, amidst a wave of sparkling flash photography.

The overall UFO structure is 7 metres in diameter and manufactured of aluminium for lightness. A massive array of bright and individually controllable Color Kinetics LED nodes have been placed across the structure and are controlled via a Pharos LPX solid state computer. A network of bespoke ‘beacon’ lights, developed for this project by Cinimod Studio and White Wing Logic, encompass the perimeter of the UFO and are responsible for the orbiting sparkle of light around the main UFO structure.

An on board 6 kw generator provides the system power, and the overall UFO can be remotely controlled via SMS messaging. The UFO is flown through the sky, suspended under a helicopter 20 metres above — however, the helicopter itself is never visible during the flight, further adding to the mystique of the UFO.

Ten days of preparation on-site in Rio were undertaken by a Cinimod Studio team of three, comprised of director Dominic Harris, Nick Cheung, and Mike Harrison (of White Wing Logic). Operating from a top secret airport hangar they directed a local team of 15 people on the assembly, pre-flight preparation, and coordination required for the successful UFO flight.

Cinimod Studio already has a reputation for creating innovative lighting and structural designs, but with the UFO project design director Dominic Harris has taken lighting design to new heights. Harris says “we have pushed the envelope on the UFO, and it has required a remarkable fusion of technologies and design disciplines in order to make this happen.”

On the collaborative process Harris says “working with Peter Coffin has been a rewarding experience — his artistic vision for the project has remained clear and ambitious from the start, and he has pushed us to achieve it. The result is a fantastic collaboration between art and technology.”

Project Credits, Sponsors and Organisers

Commissioned and produced by Open Art Projects: A non-profit foundation devoted to contemporary art which produces projects, materialises artistic concepts, organises exhibitions, and pursues publishing activities. www.openartprojects.org

Curator: Kasia Redzisz

Electrical Engineering by White Wing Logic.  www.whitewing.co.uk

Local production by Vianapole. www.vianapole.com.br

Support from the Secretary of Culture of the State Of Rio de Janeiro.

Project Sponsor: Oi (Brazilian phone network). www.novaoi.com.br

Official website (in Portuguese) for the project: www.discovoador.art.br

‘Beacon’ is a kinetic light installation with a mind of its own. An array of emergency beacon lights interacts with visitors, tracking their movement through the space, creating an immersive and playful experience.

The installation exploits a transfer of technologies from existing industrial products. The beacon lights have had their internal parts replaced with custom hardware, enabling the rotation of the reflector and lamp brightness to be individually controlled. Thermal imaging cameras have been adapted to track the participants’ movement through the space.

‘Beacon’ is orchestrated in real-time by a bespoke control system, which uses tracking information from the cameras to coordinate an interactive and highly responsive behavior.

Credits:

Concept, Design and Production:  Cinimod Studio and Chris O’Shea

Electrical Engineering:  White Wing Logic.  Thermal Imaging: Thermitrack.

The artwork was inspired by the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards belief that “design excellence is up to you”, and using cutting edge technologies, the innovative lighting installation was brought to life by the collaborative interaction of the guests who used special punch cards to choreograph their own colour animations. These cards were ‘scanned’ at a freestanding plinth located in one corner of the square, from where their colours were uploaded to the main globe to form the overall animated lighting display.

The launch event was attended by some of the top influential designers and industry press, as well as many curious members of the public. The installation was well received, and provided a delightful and engaging addition to the square. The artwork acted as a beacon of good design — key to the underlying message of the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards.

The Globe was constructed with a structural aluminium core and ribs, to which panels of Foamalux were fixed. An array of individually addressable Martin Professional LED fixtures provided the full colour illumination to the globe, and created the unique dappled light projections across Hoxton Square. A bespoke software programme, coded by Cinimod Studio in VVVV, controlled the overall installation.

For more information see the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards site.

For more information about the more recent 2009 Rio De Janeiro flight click here.

(video: Cinimod Studio)

(photo: Peter Turo)

The UFO flew in along the coast from the nearby town of Sopot, and then circled the centre of Gdansk. The UFO made its startling and surprising appearance soon after sunset. It appeared to be covered in lights displaying a series of geometric colour patterns. ”

(photo: Peter Turo)

“Untitled (UFO)” is an art project conceived by established New York artist Peter Coffin.  Cinimod Studio was hired to realise the project, and produced an innovative structural, technical and electrical design and oversaw the fabrication and assembly.  The UFO made its inaugural public appearance on 4th July 2008 as a part of the Festival of Stars in Gdansk, Poland.

(photo: Dominic Harris)

Cinimod Studio already has a reputation for creating innovative lighting and structural designs, but with the UFO project design director Dominic Harris has quite literally pushed the envelope and taken lighting design to new heights. The photos and video links published here are record photograph of the preparation and the flights, and have not been modified beyond basic colour and exposure corrections.

(photos: Dominic Harris)

To realise the UFO, Cinimod Studio worked closely with a multitude of specialist suppliers, and monitored the progress via regular workshop visits. A “transfer of technologies” saw electronic and mechanical designs developed for a standard application re-appropriated and modified for integration within the UFO project.

(photo: Michal Szlaga)

The overall UFO structure is 7 metres in diameter and manufactured of aluminium for lightness. 3000 bright and individually controllable Color Kinetics LED nodes have been arrayed across the structure and are controlled via a solid state computer. An on board 6 kw generator provides the system power, and the overall UFO can be remotely controlled via SMS messaging.

Credits

Artist Peter Coffin has created a truly phenomenal artwork which due to the scale, complexity and sheer audacity of the project, would not have been possible without the support of a number of key sponsors and suppliers. Primary sponsorship came from Warsaw’s Open Art Project and New York’s Art Production Fund. The LED lighting was sponsored by Color Kinetics / Philips.

The overall physical and lighting design and coordination was by Cinimod Studio, with Mike Harrison of White Wing Logic providing the electrical systems design and on-site electrical engineering. A special thank you is also extended to LiteStructures, Architainment, Pharos Controls, Harrington Generators, the Gdansk Shipyard, the festival organisers, and the pilots responsible for the safe take-off and landing of the UFO!