Elation Proteus illuminates Enchanted Forest
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Tailor-made to enhance the historic botanical garden’s geography and flora, Enchanted: Forest of Light is an immersive, one-mile walk through colourful and dazzling lighting displays accompanied by sound and music. Lightswitch has been responsible for lighting design and creative direction since the attraction debuted in 2016.
Other garden light shows such as Illumination at the Morton Arboretum in Illinois, also a Lightswitch project, were able to pivot to a drive-thru experience during the pandemic but Descanso Gardens wasn’t set up to do that due to the geography of the gardens, according to Lightswitch principal Chris Medvitz. Nevertheless, as a walk-thru outdoor experience where guests could safely distance, Enchanted was a success, experiencing record ticket sales with many dates sold out.
“People were anxious to get back to it,” Medvitz said, noting that the event had taken a hiatus in 2020. “This year, we had prepared modifications to the experience to comply with any pandemic restrictions but in the end, government and local regulations did not make them necessary.”
In Fantasy Forest a large, dense area of trees and foliage where layers of lighting synchronize with an ambient soundtrack, Proteus Maximus deployed around the perimeter add a special layer of effect. “We’ve always done a lot of static uplighting of the trees in this area but always wanted movement and gobos to create another layer of dynamics to the area,” Medvitz explains. “We finally got it to look the way we originally intended and a lot of that is due to the Proteus Maximus. We finally got that animation and depth, so I was very happy with it.”
Additionally, five to 10ft off the ground and hidden amongst camellia bushes are Elation SixBar 1000 IP colour-changing battens used as direct view eye-candy. RGB Pars lighting trees and plants provide a third layer of light.
Perhaps the most magical area is the Ancient Forest, featuring ancient redwoods and other species of plants that existed millions of years ago. “We have always had Proteus Hybrids there, but this year replaced those with Proteus Lucius,” Medvitz says, explaining that the fixtures lined the back of the location and projected gobo patterns and moving beams. “The extra power, the reliability of an LED-based fixture, and smaller size was fantastic.”
The Proteus Lucius fixtures also enriched an area featuring art by sculptural artists HYBYCOZO, who have been involved in the event since 2017. This year, their installation was refreshed by moving it to a more accessible, open area and incorporating motion.
One area of Enchanted where Proteus Hybrids were still utilized was Lightwave Lake, a reservoir surrounded by trees and wildlife that utilises the botanic gardens’ lake to create a dazzling light display. Here, Proteus Hybrids created sweeping beam looks from positions on pontoons floating out on the water.
Prior to Enchanted opening in November, many of the show areas had served as the backdrop to a separately branded event called Carved, a family-friendly Halloween experience with hundreds of carved pumpkins and oversized sculptures. In 2021, seeking to expand Carved, Descanso Gardens asked Lightswitch to creative direct the experience.
“The area known as the Fantasy Forest in the Enchanted show became the signature area in Carved where there were jack-o-lanterns and elaborately carved pumpkins. We used the same lighting system in that area - Proteus Maximus and SixBars - but with different theming,” Medvitz said.
From Lightswitch’s perspective, as well as a logistical point, Enchanted and Carved is all one big project that runs from mid-September until mid-January. “It’s a 4-month project now on site which means the lighting is outside and exposed for all that time.”
4Wall served as the production partner for Enchanted Forest of Light, providing all rentals, sales, systems integration and production management, labour and support services, all working in collaboration with Descanso Gardens and Lightswitch.
