You Can Hear Color in Your Mind…

Our latest fabrication project was for GRiZ and the video debut of his new album “Rainbow Brain.”

Voyage Productions brought us in to create the scenic elements for the shoot. Two brand new LED rings were made and a third preexisting ring was adapted to be more suitable for touring. In addition, we were given the opportunity to build a 13’ tall, 18’ wide video mapped willow tree dubbed the Echo Tree. Built with an aluminum tube skeleton and epoxy and fiberglass skin, this tree disassembles into thirteen pieces and travels on dedicated set carts.

 Making it Real (Draftings)

After more than a few design meetings and phone calls, we took to Fusion360 and ZBrush to begin the process of reworking the LED rings and bringing this tree to life.

The rings needed to disassemble for travel but also be straightforward and lightweight so as not to slow down a load in/out.

The tree needed to be assembled to an overall footprint of 13’H x 18’ W for show days and then disassemble and fit onto set carts for travel. We established the function of each part and what their relationships were to one another and then, with this insight, we were able to design the underlying structure. From there we gave it its look in ZBrush!

The draft and build process for the tree was unusual. Because of the highly custom nature of this piece, some parts needed to be fully built before other parts were even designed. We adhered to an overall calendar which was loosely based on the major fabrication jobs but needed to juggle many smaller tasks as well.

The very basic elements are an underlying structure and electrical system upon which everything else is built.

 Creation.

TIG Welding | Soldering | 3D Printing | Foam Carving | Fiberglassing | Epoxy/Resin Molding | Texture Finish | Painting | Custom Electronics Designing

The Echo Tree was a challenge.

It made us use our entire skillset and more, often with 2 or 3 different specialty materials being used in the shop on a single day. There were phases in our build but sometimes it all melted together. We began by building the aluminum frames for the branches and then dove into electrical integration. This involved permanently installing cable that would send power and data to each LED. We had 50 LED vines to build, each of which included a strip of LEDs, a robust connector, 3D printed willow leaves, end caps and a data return line. After every diode was proven to work, we began carving foam. It was a long process of getting the shape down to where it needed to be, constantly checking the 360 degree trunk to ensure it was proportional. Carving around the aluminum branches and sockets was one of the biggest challenges as one of the main goals was to disguise connectors and electrical components. We also had to ensure we could create a joint at the center of every branch which would fit into a larger pie piece when assembled. It was a lot of math, sketching and staring at a block of foam that looked nothing like a tree.

It was exciting to enter the epoxy phase, to finally create the shell of the trunk and encase the branches in a protective layer. We utilized three separate epoxy/resin materials alongside fiberglass mats to get the tree to the painting stage. From there we laid down texture and gave the tree life: colors!

After all the large scenic tasks were conquered, we fashioned a custom power/control box specific to the tree and patched our creation to flash it and confirm everything functioned as it should. It was then brought to Brown Note Productions where we met with Voyage for programming.

The rings were a bit of an easier adaptation. We installed pull-latch clamps on every seam and fitted XLR connectors for ease of load in/out. LED neon was installed and seams were made to match the seams in the frame. Special care was taken to make the seams as invisible as possible. We designed and 3D printed clips to hold the tape tight in any configuration the rings are in.