Live experience · Hand-painted animation · 2025

Light in the Darkness

A painterly film created for an ultra-wide LED stage—built to carry a story through light, scale and atmosphere.

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One continuous world, designed for a panoramic stage.

The commission called for a sequence of intimate, hand-painted scenes that could hold their detail across a 3456 × 1152 LED canvas. Each moment was developed as part of one visual language, then delivered as an independent sequence for flexible live playback.

RoleDirection, design & animation

Format3456 × 1152 panoramic LED

Delivery16 individual sequences

ApproachPainterly 2D animation

Composed for distance and scale.

The unusually wide format shaped every decision: silhouettes had to read instantly, light carried the focus, and negative space became part of the staging.

Final frame3456 × 1152 LED composition

Live performance footage

Seen live on stage.

The performer and LED wall appear together immediately, making the finished animation's real scale clear before the clip returns to the panoramic artwork.

Client-supplied footage of the animation playing behind a live performer — Live installationClient-supplied service footage

Selected moments

Small gestures inside a very large canvas.

Close painted scene of Mary — Character emotion held against the width of the stage.

Joseph at a workbench — Quiet interior light and restrained movement.

Shepherds looking to the sky — Light directing attention across the panoramic frame.

Movement details

Three quiet moments in motion.

Short loops reveal the restrained character movement, light and atmosphere that still frames cannot show.

Painted animation loop of light entering Mary’s room — Light entering the room01

Painted animation loop of the shepherds looking upward — A shared upward glance02

Painted animation loop of Mary’s final gesture — An intimate final gesture03

Development to delivery.

Loose tonal boards established the rhythm first. Colour, texture and character detail were then built around the stage dimensions before the film was divided into delivery-ready scenes.

Story and tonal boards

Light, staging and emotional beats were mapped before detailed production began.

Wide-format composition

Every scene was arranged to remain readable across the unusually wide LED canvas.

Polished painted animation frame of Mary

Painted animation and polish

Character movement, texture and directional light brought the boards into one visual world.

Finished animation playing behind a live performer

Scene-by-scene LED delivery

Sixteen panoramic sequences were prepared for flexible timing during the live performance.

“His end product brought my very chaotic vision to a beautiful life.”

Client review · Five-star commission

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