• Case Studies

Set within the historic woodland that shares its name just outside of London, Windsor Great Park Illuminated is a 2.2km walking trail that brings a story to life through the use of lighting, AV technology and multisensory design. Held during a two-month winter run from November to early January, LCI Productions was again asked to deliver the AV for the project. LCI’s response to the client brief from promoter IMG centred on storytelling, guiding guests through eleven themed zones where mythical creatures and characters like Douglas the talking tree and DJ Daft Elf Punk appeared via holography, projection mapping, and spatial audio.

IMG had strict business objectives and key initiatives that had to be met, including improving visitor numbers, raising feedback scores, increasing dwell time on previous years, and delivering an elevated visitor experience, on time and within budget constraints.

LCI Productions set to work with an overhaul of the existing design, replacing and reconfiguring the positions of several key elements and integrating installations in specific zones across the enchanted woodland. The objectives were to redefine the format of a winter light trail through integrated storytelling, original IP and new and forward-thinking AV and lighting techniques while keeping with the £500,000 (€568,000) budget.

Costs had to be closely monitored throughout the entire site, so each investment could be maximised through multiple uses. To help keep costs at a manageable level, every fixture, prop, and asset was designed for reuse or layered storytelling, and all the media was crafted in-house to ensure creative control and maintain efficiency. The 2.2 km immersive journey winds its way through 11 distinct zones, each designed to blend storytelling, technology and natural beauty.

The Windsor Great Park Illuminated experience begins at the Obelisk Torch, where LED lighting and moving lights guide guests into the illuminated show. Nearby, the Windsor Stags, two 8m steel sculptures with LED fairy lights and neon antlers, stand as striking landmarks welcoming visitors. Under the Rainbow features 90 glowing LED spheres suspended above the forest path, creating an ethereal ceiling of colour that shifts in synchronicity with a bespoke festive audio score.

This dream-like canopy transports guests into a fairytale, setting a magical tone for the journey ahead. In Sign, a floating modular platform anchors one of the most striking installations, a glowing sculptural lighting piece reflected perfectly on the water’s surface. This collaboration with public light installation specialist Vendel & de Wolf integrated large-scale art into the park’s natural surroundings, enhancing the visual impact of the trail.

A Winter Walk offers a Victorian winter wonderland experience, enveloping guests in glowing lampposts, flickering bulbs and softly falling faux snow. Accompanied by spatial audio of Christmas poetry and carols, this tranquil space immerses visitors in the essence of the season. The Sleigh Bells zone features an 8m x 6m Holonet gauze suspended in the canopy, creating a floating projection of Father Christmas, accompanied by jingling sleigh bells and narration.

This was facilitated by Christie 20K projectors and Vizbox enclosures to provide projection mapping, enhanced by a surround soundscape of six Adastra speakers, supported by JBL subwoofers. In the Elf Disco zone, the popular Fairy Disco was revitalised from the year before with the introduction of Daft Elf Punk. This consists of a 2m x 2m outdoor LED screen filled with bespoke DJ visuals, while bubble, haze and smoke machines enhance the immersive and joyous atmosphere, encouraging guests to dance as they pass through.

The Enchanted Forest captivates visitors with holographic-style wildlife content, featuring a stag and owl that appear lifelike and responsive to motion. These were displayed on a pair of 3.9mm outdoor LED screens carefully disguised amongst the forest fauna. For the guests it looks like this magical deer is really emerging from the forest interacting with an owl that swoops down from the trees.

The Immersion zone dazzles guests with a suspended installation of 1,200 RGBW LED spheres, creating an ethereal, immersive walkthrough, driven by MiniMad controllers, fibre optic light engines and spatial audio. In Laser Symphony, a laser show synchronised to an original audioscape features two Tarm 18W lasers and ten Laser World FX700 units. Haze and smoke machines accentuate the beams, delivering a light symphony for the audience.

Middle Woods transforms a 70m stretch of forest floor with strobe lighting and colour shifts, illuminating the woodland and creating a visually attractive passage to heighten a sense of wonder. The Singing Tree showcases a 17m tree adorned with neon LED light tubes, programmed to synchronise with a festive audio score of ‘12 Days of Christmas’.

Finally, the Cathedral of Light presents a 43m-long tunnel adorned with 72 LED light chains, highlighted by a central glowing red star, a finale perfect for social media posting. The technical backbone of Windsor Great Park Illuminated was designed to deliver storytelling through tightly integrated lighting, projection, audio and interactivity. High-brightness Christie 20K DLP projectors powered the show’s key visual illusions, including Holonet projections and the hydro-screen finale. Playback was managed via a combination of BrightSign XT144 and HD224 players, providing robust synchronisation and remote scheduling.

GarageCube MiniMad units were used for compact, low-power playback in discrete zones, while Enttec ODE interfaces ensured precise DMX control of lighting and projection triggers. Ourdoor LED screens were also used to help bring to life characters along the trail. Over 400 RGBW energy-efficient LED fixtures and more than 80 suspended orbs formed the visual framework of the trail. These included outdoor rated moving heads, linear pixel chains and architectural floodlights, all DMX controlled for synchronised fades, transitions and colour choreography.

Custom programming enabled dynamic responses between zones, ensuring the entire trail operated as a cohesive, living light environment. Audio is provided by a distributed JBL sound system delivering spatialised soundscapes tailored to each zone. Carefully tuned speakers and subwoofers created directional and immersive audio without cross-contamination between areas. Show sequencing was handled by Enttec S-Play, allowing time-coded synchronisation with lighting and projection cues to maintain alignment across the site.

Bespoke motion sensors detect guest movement to trigger clusters of responsive LED ‘fireflies’, giving each visitor a unique encounter with the environment. Dynamic lighting response systems are also used in select zones to heighten engagement, creating a sense of discovery as guests move through the landscape. All animation, character design, projection content, and audio was conceived and produced entirely in-house by LCI Productions. This end-to-end creative control ensured that every element from narrative pacing to technical integration aligned with the project’s artistic vision and operational requirements.

Working in a public park brings with it certain considerations of responsibility, both during the build and during the live show days. So sustainability was a major concern here. Sightlines were designed to maximise impact, allowing installations to be experienced from multiple angles without additional infrastructure.

All lighting is LED with low-energy profiles, while directional audio helps to minimise sound spill, protecting local wildlife. Timed shutdowns were also put in place to ensure efficient energy use during non-operating hours. Reusability and modular design were key factors in planning the entire site, installations were either repurposed from previous years or intentionally designed for modular re-use. This included props, fixtures, and control systems, helping to reduce waste and cost. The site also maintained a zero-plastic vendor policy throughout with recycling initiatives encouraging visitors to recycle throughout their visit.

Last word goes to the client, in the form of Kathryn Stafford, manager arts and entertainment at IMG. “We knew after the success of the trail last year that we wanted to work with LCI Productions again. This year we wanted to go bigger than before and lean into a stronger storytelling theme, to shape a narrative that everyone would enjoy. We tasked LCI with improving the flow across the geography of the site, creating brand new installations and bringing in new AV technology that really brought the ‘wow factor’. Visitor numbers were up by 7.6% from the previous year, and we had some fantastic feedback from our customer feedback survey highlighting the size of the trial and the lighting installations themselves.”