THE MAGIC OF LIGHT IN ACTION
Tree of Life
Before / After
Set
Excitement was in the air.
Four months later in the north of France, light painter NinjaRoux’s territory, I was greeted with warm smiles and big hugs by some of the light crew I had spent time with in the summer. We were on our way to the town cultural center of Villeneuve d’Ascq, right outside Lille. Stephane Baba was at the steering wheel while Stabeu played JPS and Pom’s fired me up with her joyous energy in the back seat. Les Journées Photoniques de Light Painting was underway and excitement was in the air.
The first night, I scouted out the Chateau des Flers, the city’s monument where we would be doing the giant Tree of Life. It was only a five minute walk from the liveliness of the farm. The stone chateau was surrounded by water, with a bridge leading into a short tunnel opening onto a large 20 square meter place, where I was to draw the base for the giant light painting.
On Your marks
The key turned loudly in the lock. I marched passed the green leaf and blue ball town logo at the entrance of the Chateau des Flers, through the tunnel into the cobblestoned courtyard wet with autumn leaves, as I grappled with my little fears. It was calm, people were leaving work on their scooters as the members of the light crew arrived dressed in black. It was fantastic to have such an incredible team of talents to work on the set up beforehand.
I began the ‘what ifs’ in my head.
- What if I forget something?
- What if it rains?
- What if the image is too difficult?
Then, a couple hours before the event, Gildas held up a light stick to see the ground, Stabeu held up the notebook to see our location from the camera’s angle. I had been practicing drawing the tree of life over and over like a choreographer, in my mind, on paper, on a notebook, on big cardboard found in the street and on cement paving in front of our lodging, all preparing for this moment.
“The pressure was on.”
Get Ready
Once the outlines were done, I gathered everyone around the table where the newly made light tools were ready and the LED keychain set aside for the public. It was time to distribute the tasks and coordinate the team with the call to action cards suggested by NinjaRoux’s and prepared on paper by Gildas.
“Who wants to outline the trees?” , I called out, while reading aloud the card.
« I think I feel up to it. » says Gildas. I demonstrate how to use the ready-made light tool on a broom stick that I handed to him with the matching call- to-action card.
NinjaRoux obliges cheers, « Let’s give a hand to our first volunteer ! » As the round of applause resonates, I push forward the remaining cards, so that we can do a test run.
Go
People start arriving as we finished our first try but were now ready for the public to join us. We past out the small lights to each and every participant while explaining to them what to do and what to expect, all this with high anticipation for the big moment. As each person held their light, they stood still for a moment waiting for the call to start.
A sweet silence filled the dark square while feet scurried and hands wiggled lights. Navigating between the wavering lights felt somewhat chaotic, as I guided the public through their series of motions. You could really get a feel for this in the stop-motion video Ghislain Decq shot from ground level. The one shot from above by Baba shows everyone’s light traces culminating, looking like a lit-up bee hive from the future.
Takes
During the actual shoot, everybody could watch all the traces of light shape into the drawing. One little girl said, « Hey, I see something moving ! », « That is because the picture is still happening. », I replied.
It felt like the public caught on quickly and they were eager to do more.
Pre
Pratice take before public.
1
For the first shot they stayed in place and just made small gestures with their lights.
2
For the second shot, two groups filled in columns of light on either side of the square before spreading out to sign their names on the ground.
3
The third time they added silhouettes and other figures to their delight.
The final image formed a brilliant Tree of Life with movement all around, not only reflecting the town's color, logo and slogan, but also representing the vitality of the French League, other local light painters , the town’s people and friends coming together.
Next
We wrapped up and closed the gate, then with heart-filled pride we walked back to our lodges where a warm soup awaited us. During diner, we discussed ideas for UNESCO’s upcoming day dedicated to light, May 16, 2018 where we will perform again. After all that work and excitement you think we would be exhausted, yes we were; but that certainly didn't stop us from going back out exploring the northern night.