THE INFINITE STUDIO
Built . Interactive . 2022
By
Roven Rebeira ( Island Studio )
The Infinite Studio is interactive exploration of the Island Studio - Small Projects Series
The project was conceived for Daraz Sri Lanka's live segment in which they host a plethora of small shows that range from product launches to comedy sketches. What interested us about the brief is that the client asked us for 2 completely contrasting set designs. That was it. This did not make sense to us as they hosted so many completely contrasting live segments on a daily basis.
I usual Island Studio style we began to re design the brief. As we saw it there was no use designing 2 static sets that would be outdated in a matter of weeks (this would simply be a waste of resources), and decided to deliver a system that could be adapted and changed at will into many different sets. We wanted it to be limited only by the clients imagination.
A usual part of my design process is to research the origins of the functions that we are trying to design for. Television shows originate from the simple theater productions in history. The architecture that facilitated these functions was the historic / traditional theater.
THE FLY STAGE / THEATER FLY
The fly stage developed historically as a series of walkways and mechanisms to deploy props, backdrops, harness or any ancillary support that is needed for the performance below.
Essentially what we needed to do is to fit fly stage with a small studio space with a 12 foot (4m) clearance height.
THE RIG
The concept of a simplified theater fly morphed into what we called ''The Studio Rig''.
We envisioned a heavy duty steel cage that could me lifted and lowered to a low, mid and high setting depending on the requirement. The Rig would be able to support suspended stage props, lighting, vegetation, furniture (anything that you could want to suspended into a studio set). The ceiling was designed using a high strength steel grid mesh which facilitates suspending objects with fine adjustments in placement and positioning. The Rig was designed in elements that were bolted (no welding) leaving allowance to dismantle and relocated in another studio space if needed, further increasing flexibility
MODULAR BACKDROPS AND ELEMENTS
To provide the client with a more holistic solution we designed a system of modular backdrops that could be suspended using cables fashioned in transparent fishing lines. The cables were notched in varying heights to increase the flexibility of placement.
The backdrop colours and textures were inspired by the company re branding that was ongoing at the time of implementation of the Infinite Studio. The modular panels used a off the shelf sizing that could be reproduced with ease if the client wished to build on the varieties of backdrop textures that we offered, further increasing flexibility and longevity.
A system of roll down backdrops was also added to the periphery of The Rig. These could be swapped out and fabricated in various colours depending on the clients requirements. The existing site was clad in black fabric panels. Working with a limited budget, we provided the client with a base level white roll down back drop for contrast.
THE SET VARIATIONS
After conceptualizing and designing an 'infinitely variable, set design, we decided to produce a catalog of set variations that could be used as a reference for how the layout can quickly be changed depending on the function and the requirements of the show. The sets needed to be simple enough to be swapped within and hour between each live show. Accordingly we utilized a combination of bespoke, custom made and off the shelf accessories that were versatile enough to perform in multiple ways within each set. This meant efficiency in the need for storing items that will not be in use within the limited production studio space.
Here are few of the set variations we came up with to demonstrate the versatility of what we designed
CHALLENGES / RESTRICTIONS INFORMING THE DESIGN
The design had to accommodate several site and brief restrictions in order to be successfully delivered.
Below I briefly outline these challenges and how the design was crafted to respond to them
Challenge One
The clients offices were located in the top floors of a high profile Co-Working space in Colombo. The space however was lacking in some basic services aspects. A very problematic one being the lack of a service lift that could be utilized to transport materials to the top floors. This issue was further heightened by the narrow staircases of the repurposed historic building that housed the offices.
Solution
The design followed a modular, small component based solution where each component could be carried by a two person team. This mitigated the risk of property damage when maneuvering the parts through the narrow atrium space or staircase.
Challenge Two
The space allocated for the studio was provided by the Co-Working space to our client with black fabric acoustic paneling that lined all the wall areas. The space was fitted with a grey carpet as the floor finish. These elements could not be damaged. The other businesses that occupied the building could not be disturbed by noise during working hours. The assembly could not be permanently fastened to the space an needed to be dismantled if required to be relocated to a new space.
Solution
The design was detailed to be bolted in place with no welding. The components could be bought in and put together like a Lego set in a few hours and dismantled in the same way. We did a series of offsite timed assembly runs to train the team to assemble the structure in an allocated time limit and to make sure each component fit in place with low tolerances. The result - a structure fabricated and perfected off site and completely assembled on site in 3 hours.
BEFORE & AFTER
After an intense 3 hours of assembly, the Rig was ready for a shoot. Just like that. The images below communicate the initial shock the client felt. I believe we pulled this one off. The layout we decided to present on the initial viewing was one that would utilize a large number of the accessories and backdrops that we designed for the set.
INFINITE VARIATIONS
As a designer, this project was a absolute joy to design and implement, and more so when we started discovering the clients creativity take the project to where we envisioned it. I get a weekly update of new ways the infinite studio is being used in a completely unique way each time.
I am sharing a few of the variations that I have captured so far. I will continue to update these as I discover the unique set variations that keep emerging as the project takes on a life of it's own.
Enjoy!
