Adventureland tour 2022
TWO FRIENDS
Dark Moon Designs teamed up with Voyage Productions to create a unique and eye catching set that will tour across North America for Two Friends’ Adventureland.
Our primary directive was to design something that could be scaled up or down to match the size of the venue the tour would play on a given day. The entire scenic design is able to scale up to roughly a 40’ x 30’ stage but, importantly, every scenic element is modular and can be repositioned or omitted to fit stages down to a 20’ range or anywhere in between
The entire set breaks down into manageable components and fits onto four third-pack set carts, taking up minimal space in the truck!
All Photos in this section by Greg Fry Media.
The Final Concept Sketch
Final 3D Rendering
The Beginnings
It all starts with concept sketches. Two Friends wanted a design that would be fun, never seen before, and would compliment the amusement park theme they have been cultivating. Our team assembled sketches derived from a few main elements of a theme park: roller coasters, carnival lights, and the ferris wheel.
Our main concept included all three of these elements. We established the Ferris Wheel as the focal point and used the roller coasters to introduce movement and draw the eye all over the stage. Cabochon lights flash and twinkle on the side stages and add additional movement to the Ferris Wheel when animated.
After some edits, we locked in our concept and began the most important step in the process: drafting. Through producing an accurate drafting we could order materials, produce realistic renderings, establish set cart needs, estimate weights and gain any other relevant and necessary information. 3D renderings are produced directly from the technical draftings to show the client what they can expect.
The Ferris Wheel component includes a stairwell within it so the artists can climb up to the top of the centerpiece. The side stages are each built to surround a 4’ x 4’ stage deck for their saxophone player as well as the artists in the case they want to create a moment outside of the center of their set.
Final 3D Rendering
The Build
Metalwork
This project was built out of 400’ of aluminum and 700’ of steel. The set carts and framework holding bodyweight were welded out of steel while all the rest was fabricated out of aluminum to save weight.
Our Roller coasters were compound rolled by Roadrunner Fabrication, while a lot of our specific steel cuts were water-jet by Noco Waterjet.
Electronics
Eight custom project boxes were created to send power and data to each scenic piece. These boxes are made in house with custom 3D printed fittings and vents to ensure they operate reliably and will be easy to service if need be. The entire electrical system operates at 24v and is just over 20A @ 120V.
About 275 cabochons (amusement park lights) pepper the entire set and about 260’ of LED neon was used.
Programming/Control
We adopted an ENTTEC system for this set, using up to 24 universes of control to allow for the entire set to be pixel mapped. A Pixelator takes Artnet from the desk and distributes it across 12 P-Links. This system is efficient, reliable and made our integration with Voyage’s programming seamless.
Integration
After the scenic was picked up from our shop, our team flew to Onstage Systems in Dallas, TX to meet with the team who would tour with it. Here we trained them to set up all of the pieces, how to care for the fragile elements and finally got to see the whole design in a large space next to the rest of the rig.
Final edits were made with the whole team there and a final integration into the Artnet system with all other departments was confirmed. From there, the scenic was once again packed up along with the lighting, video, lasers, and atmospherics and sent on the road.
We joined the Two Friends team and Voyage in Austin, TX at Emo’s for their rehearsal to oversee the scenic load in and to jump in when questions needed to be answered. This allowed all of us to ensure the process for load in and out of the scenic was fully understood. These rehearsal days allowed us to see the entire production working together as well, which is always exciting!
