Adirondack Studios provides creative solutions for designers, artists, producers, and owners in the themed entertainment industry. With almost five decades of experience, the company works across a wide range of markets including amusement parks, museums, retail, restaurants and resorts, brand activations, theatre, live events, immersive entertainment, and more.
Blooloop recently caught up with company president, Michael Blau, and VP of creative design, Seth Harkins to talk about Adirondack Studios, and what it takes to create the immersive experiences that guests demand.
The origins of Adirondack Studios
Adirondack Studios was founded over 47 years ago by Chris Detmer and Tom Lloyd. Chris, who passed away earlier this year at 80 years old, dedicated more than half his life to the themed entertainment industry as a business partner with Tom.
“Chris and Tom were buddies from college, and they decided to start a business building scenery and stage management for the opera industry,” explains Blau. “They began in New York City and then had an opportunity to move up north to Lake George, NY, which is about 30 minutes from where we are now, to help the Lake George Opera Company. So, they started to stage-manage and build scenery for them.”
“They set up a little company, Adirondack Scenic, taking the name from the nearby Adirondack Mountains and from there they quickly became known as the opera scenic building shop in the country.”
The firm evolves
In the 80s, Adirondack Studios was building for most major opera companies and touring opera shows. This developed into connections with touring shows like Disney on Ice as well as relationships with traditional scenic theatre building.
Around the same time, the company worked on the Olympics for Lake Placid:
“There is a fun story about us building the medal winners’ platforms at the Olympics. Soon after, Universal came around with Islands of Adventure. We were asked to assist them with some scenic finishes and then work on some projects there, which is how the business became involved in the theme park world,” adds Blau.
“The company has grown from a tiny little garage shop to a global business, with locations in Orlando, Pasadena, China, Singapore, and Dubai. We design and build across the location-based entertainment spectrum. Theme parks, retail, theatre, museums, etc.,” says Blau.
“Anywhere there is a visual story to tell and an emotional connection to be created, that’s where we want to be.”
Creating spaces that people want to be in
Speaking about the company’s unique ethos, Blau says:
“For Adirondack Studios, in terms of who we are, we believe that with all the projects that we work on, the key is: how do we get the guest, or the audience engaged? We build the environments that set the moment so that the rest of the story can be brought out.”
“We believe that the moment you step into a location, you should have a feeling, an emotional sense of the story. And we must create that feeling within a few seconds.”
Harkins adds: “Finding and developing the human experience in a story is key to successful designs; connecting an experience to your guests so it feels authentic and believable to their own life in some way.”
“Our job is to create spaces that people want to be in, so they can connect,” says Blau. “It can be a park; it can be a supermarket or an attraction. It can be a piece of sculpture that they see and that makes them happy.”
The human experience is key
Harkins continues:
“I think finding the human experience in a story is key to successful designs; connecting an experience back to your guests so it feels authentic and believable to their own life in some way. Whether you are dealing with ancient history or with high fantasy, you need your audience to feel like they are invested, connected, and a part of that story so it doesn’t come across as remote, abstract, or dry.”
“When the story is built right, the audience becomes emotionally attached. Invested. Then, when they go on the ride, or they follow the show, they jump in with their heart,” says Blau.
“Anytime we come away from an experience truly energized or emotional – or perhaps we find ourselves thinking about it over and over again days later, it is because we formed a connection to the story in some way,” says Harkins.
Blau adds: “If you think about moments in your life that impacted you and you find the reason that those experiences stay with you – it’s because you formed some emotional attachment to that moment. That is the immersive experience & it’s up to us to create that conduit. That is what we do at Adirondack Studios.”
Behind the scenes at Adirondack Studios
The creative process takes on many forms at ADKS, says Blau. However, achieving the absolute best outcome is always the goal.
Reinforcing Harkins’ point, he says:
“Designing and building successful in-person experiences is like creating a good novel or film. We need to offer a strong introduction, develop attention, and provide a climax and resolution. Like a book or movie, our audiences are coming to these experiences wanting to be transported somewhere new and wanting to have a terrific time doing it.
“They are a willing audience, which means that if designers provide them with the vehicle in which to make the journey, they won’t hesitate to get in.”
Harkins explains: “As design/fabricators we need to balance the risk of focusing too much on budgets and schedules at the detriment of the final product. We need to evaluate every choice to determine if it is in fact the right one.
“Often experience developers put too much focus on maximizing every square inch of an attraction when perhaps energy could be better spent investing in those key moments that carry you through the experience so you don’t run the risk of losing focus and can maintain momentum.”
Everyone is looking for new experiences
Blau says that everyone is looking for new experiences:
“Consumers are looking for that emotional brand connection, and it’s up to brands to create those emotional opportunities. The expectations for rich environments and interaction apply everywhere. From a local café to the theatre, or an international theme park attraction, the art of setting the scene and creating the environment require similar touch points.”
You can only do so much virtually. But when you’re physically standing in a well-designed moment, when you’re in that moment and you feel like you’re the only person in the world – you will remember that forever.
“The desire for immersive experiences exists because you can only do so much online. You can only do so much virtually. But when you’re physically standing in a well-designed moment, when you’re in that moment and you feel like you’re the only person in the world – you will remember that forever.”
What is it like to work with Adirondack Studios?
On the client’s experience of working with the firm, Blau says:
“It means close collaboration. It means sometimes tough conversations and it means asking ‘why’ a lot and telling ‘why’ a lot.” Blau adds that, unconventionally, ADKS occasionally has to turn a project down. The decision to take on a project is carefully considered. ADKS looks for an alignment of values in each project.
“When we talk about creating experiences, our clients want to create something that matters. Something that creates a legacy and is profitable. I believe that’s the hidden current that is going to continue driving the industry – investors are looking for cool places to do things. They’re looking for places where they can invest in a fun way.”
Adirondack Studios has been in business since 1975, and still works with many long-term clients from the company’s founding days:
“Those are the kinds of relationships that we seek and love. When I look at the history of Adirondack, when we’ve had those rich connections with companies that we’ve done 150 projects with, and they call us up saying, ‘Hey, here’s the next gig. Are you ready?’ And we are 100% in.”
Finding the right solution for each individual project
Whether Adirondack Studios is working with a new client or a long-term client, the approach is the same, says Harkins:
“Adirondack very much encourages a variety of strategies that allow us to tailor our approach to the client, budget, and schedule. We work with respect to best practices that have been developed over many years. Yet no two projects are exactly the same. It’s our job to guide the client through the creative process and come together to define the best approach for each particular project.”
No two projects are exactly the same. It’s our job to guide the client through the creative process and come together to define the best approach for each particular project.
“Figuring out how best to propose and engage with our client’s projects is a big part of the fun. You can see this directly in how we maintain dual skills in a variety of old and new school techniques. For instance, painted drops vs printed artwork, hand vs. digital sculpting, 3D modelling vs white models, etc. That is less about tradition and more about best-solution. Traditional skills can often bring advantage to a particular project that more modern techniques cannot.”
An alignment of values makes for better experiences and more engaged guests
Harkins says that, in his experience, most experience teams (designers, clients, owners, fabricators, etc.) have their eye on the prize in regard to being focused on the guest experience as a primary goal:
“As a designer, what is interesting and often challenging is how to create that connection and investment with different clients and audiences across a variety of project categories. Designing for an architectural environment is a very different process than designing a pop-up exhibit.”
“We can have rich and emotional experiences in just about any environment – a live event, a museum exhibit, a playground or a retail/dining environment – as we design and build those impactful experiences the processes, tools, and strategies are as diverse as the projects themselves.
“Most of us are at ADKS because we had some truly life-changing experiences as a guest. So, we enter into the industry wanting to provide that for others. We all still get a thrill out of seeing audiences have a great time.”
The founding ethos of Adirondack Studios lives on
Reflecting on the long-term influence of the company’s founders, Blau says that the knowledge and insight Detmer and Lloyd imparted to him have been significant.
“Tom and Chris taught us a lot through the years. They taught us to persevere, work hard, and do the very best we can. Even failure is full of opportunity. Do the very best we can and apply those hard-earned lessons to the next effort. That’s the spirit of Adirondack Studios. That’s the spirit of who we are.”
Harkins adds: “I believe ADKS has always leaned hard on bringing in people of skill and intelligence and investing in them to grow and learn the specifics of the industry within the company.
“Perhaps because of that, we tend to approach mentorship and training by encouraging our employees to learn while doing. It’s trial by fire to some degree. Also, because we work in strong team atmospheres, our employees are exposed to lots of different specialities via their colleagues and customers.
“It’s really cool to see people start here with more limited experience and to see those employees develop expertise at wide-ranging skills.”
The importance of collaboration
He also talks about the importance of internal collaboration:
“ADKS welcomes a broad range of vantage points that are required for collaboration. Many of the folks in this building have worn a lot of different hats over the years. From a designer’s perspective, working at ADKS has given me a lot of insight into how to approach design work from a broad range of vantage points.
“Additionally, because we serve so many types of markets, we have people working for us that have a lot of different specialities and areas of interest. Being able to work on a project with folks who look at work through the lens of their own expertise and experience allows to problem solve in unique ways.”
What’s next for Adirondack Studios?
Looking ahead at what’s next for the firm, Blau says:
“I can never talk about the next project, but I can tell you what Adirondack is going to do. We’re going to continue to dream and build with our clients, our collaborators and our partners.
Adirondack Studios strives to further the art form while reflecting on tradition, experience, and insight learned in the past 47 years of Adirondack Studios’ history.
“It’s all about the emotional experience of a moment. Adirondack Studios can create those moments in everything we do.”
