Painting with Light Works Smart for Zoo of Life Production posted: 10/04/2018
Painting with Light has produced a vibrant, inventive visual solution for Zoo of Life a production directed by Luc Stevens to celebrate 175 years of Antwerp Zoo, being staged at the new Queen Elizabeth Hall venue in Antwerp, Belgium.
The team from the Genk based creative practice was led by Luc Peumans. Painting with Light's project manager, Wouter Verhulst commented, Normally you might have two weeks to build a production on this scale and ambition, but we had just three days and nights!
With this time restriction in mind, the set is composed largely of digital scenic elements and was designed in conjunction with Carla Janssen Hofelt.
The Painting with Light brief also included editing special video material shot by Mathieu Marck of Arendsoog (Eagle Eye) from around the Zoo, and combining this with new graphical content produced by Painting with Light's Sina Sohn, Jos Claesen and Arthur Claesen. This was all compiled and programmed onto a disguise server.
Luc Peumans designed the lighting and the company also provided lighting and video control for the show, an appealing contemporary tale about the Zoo and the love and loyalty that exists between animals and humans, complete with a volunteer cast of around 600 who joined professional actors onstage.
Due to the exceptionally tight get in and technical schedule - in on the Friday with the premiere on the Monday - Painting with Light harnessed the power of the disguise 4x4 server's 3D and VR visualisation facilities.
These have been developed especially for pre-production scenarios using the designer' dongle.
This enabled Luc Stevens to view life-like VR visualisations representing the complete digital scenery set-ups for the entire performance in the run up to getting on site.
The production is ambitious in this and many other ways.
With up to 120 people onstage at times, the stage floor needed to be kept as clear as possible of physical elements. The complexity of the narrative galvanised everyone and demanded the high impact video design, which allows the action to flip between multiple locations and scenes.
The production is ambitious in this and many other ways.
With up to 120 people onstage at times, the stage floor needed to be kept as clear as possible of physical elements. The complexity of the narrative galvanised everyone and demanded the high impact video design, which allows the action to flip between multiple locations and scenes.
Using the disguise visualisation tools in this way also meant that video content could be tweaked and edited in Painting with Light's studio to Luc Stevens' exact requirements as he worked through the action.
With so little time on site for lighting and video programming, it would have been impossible to do it any other way to the same level.
The digital scenery features a large 8 mm LED screen upstage, two long side screens 4 metres high and running the depth of the stage, two sets of LED-clad stairs and a quantity of video panels fitted to three structural arches above the stage of the theatre's main auditorium.
A Pepper's Ghost effect was set up for one scene, utilising a 30K Panasonic laser projector shooting onto a special scrim, to create ephemeral holographic images of a Gorilla and an Okapi.
In addition to the huge flexibility that the video set brings to the production, an appropriate traditional scenic approach simply could not have been built in the allotted time slot!
Mathieu Marck's footage also captured some well-known Antwerp landmarks from in and around the thriving port city and commercial hub. All the video content was programmed onto the disguise by Painting with Light's Katleen Selleslagh.
The lighting rig comprises around 130 fixtures including 24 x Martin MAC Viper Performances, 36 x Viper Profiles, 64 of Phlippo's URC 210 LED washes and 12 x URC zoom LED battens, all controlled via a grandMA2 console programmed and operated by Ivar van Dijk from Painting with Light.
Every fixture has to work extremely hard and accomplish multiple tasks, making an expediently sized system go a long way. The luminaires were therefore chosen for their versatility, and Luc (Peumans) applied his magic to the process, bringing more dynamics and drama to the stage.
Lighting required balancing carefully with the video, a tricky goal where Luc's considerable experience of working with digital scenery has been invaluable.
There are also hundreds of decor LEDs ensconced in the arches over the stage which are controlled via the lighting console. They accentuate the shape and architectural features of the venue and work particularly brilliantly in some scenes like Antwerp railway station.
Also integral to the technical and creative success of the production were Painting with Light's production manager Jeroen Vinck and Zoo of Life's stage manager Koen Beli n.
Luc Peumans comments, We are all really proud to be part of this production. It's hugely exciting working in this fantastic new space, and to be involved with such a popular and iconic local landmark as the Zoo. There's been lots of camaraderie, and in spite of the many challenges, everyone from all the departments has been united and determined to produce something really special and memorable .
The show's lighting equipment is being supplied by leading Belgian rental company Phlippo Productions and the video by Pixelscreen.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
Painting with Light Works Smart for Zoo of Life Production posted: 10/04/2018 
