‘Immersive’ is perhaps the most overused descriptor in the attractions space. So, when a truly exceptional immersive experience comes along, it is hard to find the vocabulary to do it justice. Da Vinci Genius, which debuted in Berlin and opened in Amsterdam on 30 November, is the product of formidable talent.
Created by multimedia design studio flora&faunavisions, headed by Leigh Sachwitz, and with a score by legendary DJ Sasha, the experience explores the polymath’s eclectic brilliance through the lens of the contemporary world.
Leigh Sachwitz, Bert van der Ryd, and Sasha Coe give blooloop their perspectives on the project.
Creating Da Vinci Genius
Leigh Sachwitz, principal of flora&faunavisions and artistic director and creator of international experiences, is the creative genius behind the show, boasting an extensive career in the experience industry.
She outlines the idea from its inception, and describes the creative process:
“It’s like painting a picture,” she observes. “You start with a blank canvas, you put down a stroke, and then you do another. In the end, the real art is knowing when the painting is finished – when to stop. A lot of creative processes, whether you’re creating music, visual art, or a space, work in that way. For us, it was no different.”
In coming up with the concept, she explains that the team started with the real basics, asking the question, ‘What is it going to be?’
The outcome is a 45-minute show:
“It takes you through different chapters of Da Vinci’s mind, but it also references him through the eyes of today. That, I think, is the real differentiator. As an audience member, you can, effectively, create the painting that you are standing in, hence the show’s interactive element.”
Another key part of the creative process, she explains, was to envisage the different types of audience the show would attract, and to examine the concept from their perspective:
“It was very important that the show was for a diverse and widespread audience. We wanted to make sure that we were covering all bases.”
To achieve this, the team had to research the topic, diving deeply into Da Vinci. “As we started digging, we realised how deep the topic is. There is so much to learn, even if you know quite a bit to start with.”
A wealth of material
After that, it was a matter of finding moments to incorporate the sheer depth of everything Da Vinci created:
“We put these together as images on a timeline, trying to sort it out and seeing how the concept could be transported into a physical space with an audience: how would it look with a hundred people in the room? It’s quite complex. We are not graphic designers; we’re experiential designers in physical space, so there’s a lot that has to be considered. You just keep going deeper into the process.”
The team built the show in VR as a working tool. This enabled Phoenix Immersive, the group behind the financing and the production of the show, to envision it.
“VR is a very good tool for us. When you see something on the computer screen as a representation, it doesn’t give a clear idea of how it will influence the light, the scale, and the way that you feel, motion-wise, in the room.”
VR is ideal for this, though it has also been necessary, she adds, to build physical test environments consisting of a studio with a couple of projectors and some sensors to perfect the programming of the interactive elements.
“Then, at some point, it has to be integrated with Sascha’s work, as the composer. We have to bring that work together and make sure we’re all on the same page. When you’ve got all that done, you then transport it into the physical space. That’s the final stage, the implementation stage where we’re in there for three weeks, looking at all the scenes, checking and making sure everything works, bringing in different groups of people, and so on.”
Technology as a tool
While Da Vinci Genius utilises cutting-edge tech, Sachwitz is clear that the tech remains in the background. It is a vehicle for the creation, not the focus of the experience.
“With my studio, the technology has always been just a tool to tell a story. The point is the storytelling. If you’re just using technology for technology’s sake – if the experience isn’t beautiful, if you’re not touched, if it’s not emotional – then I think you can pretty much pack up your bags and go do something else. Here, we’re trying to show technology, because Da Vinci was also really technological in the way he was thinking with his inventions, but to do it in a magical way.”
Leigh SachwitzIf you’re just using technology for technology’s sake – if the experience isn’t beautiful, if you’re not touched, if it’s not emotional – then I think you can pretty much pack up your bags and go do something else.
The way Sachwitz and her team have used the space to showcase Da Vinci’s work is interesting in terms of flow. The intriguing cube structure at the centre of the space means there’s always a part of the room that is hidden, so people have to keep moving to see the entire space.
“Inside the cube, there is a further experience,” she adds.
The cube at the centre of the room has numerous functions. It interrupts the sightline; it acts as a projection surface – and it can also be entered to reveal a lamp installation, an analogue moment offering a change of pace, contrasting with the surrounding digital space. The cut-out script on the lamp, in the mirror-witing Leonardo used in his notebooks, is projected on the inner walls of the cube.
Storytelling within Da Vinci Genius
She outlines the storytelling:
“It starts with Da Vinci looking back at his life, talking about all the different things that he imagined, that he wanted, and that he thought about the future. From there, we start exploring different sections about him. The first is about him as a painter. We start with his fascination with hands. That moves into portraits, and the room with a lot of his painting work is revealed.”
Here, the androgyny that characterises Da Vinci’s work is explored. The paintings displayed in this section transform through interaction, using AI, into diverse non-binaries:
“There is a lot of discussion about Mona Lisa, and whether s/he’s male, whether s/he’s female. This part looks at who the people he painted may be today.”
In an intriguing application of ChatGPT, conversation has been enabled with the Mona Lisa. In Sachwitz’s reimagining:
“She is a fashionista, and also an environmentalist. She says things like, ‘Do you like my dress? I made it out of recycled plastic from the ocean.’ She has a sustainable feeling about her, but she’s also non-binary, and a hipster, in a way. I think, in the end, she’s also whatever you want her to be. It’s playful: people can chat to her depending on their vision.”
Da Vinci the inventor
The next section is concerned with Da Vinci as an inventor, looking at his ‘aerial screw’ helicopter, his catapult, his parachute, and the flying machines. In one section, his creations are reimagined as giant 3D structures in a playpark and are brought to life through interaction.
“He was living through war, so he created war machines: a catapult, a cannon. In our opinion, these are outdated for the time that we live in now.”
Accordingly, the team have reimagined them through a gaming prism:
“You can swing his catapult and shoot basketballs into a net. We’ve created 3D environments, which come out of a gaming engine. There are six different machines in the room, and you get a feel for how his work might be today.”
In the section on Da Vinci’s view of the human body and its proportions, the focus is on the Vitruvian Man of 1490, inspired by the writings of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, and what it means to us:
“It becomes a full-on dance party for a couple of minutes,” she says. “The Vitruvian Man turns into a robot, then into a non-binary figure – an avatar – that you can dance with.”
Exploring the natural world
Another aspect of the artist that the Da Vinci Genius immersive experience explores is his interest in the natural world. He was fascinated by water and obsessed with drawing the proportions of a wave.
“He was the son of a legal notary. The story goes that his father used to drag him to meetings, where he had nothing to do. He would sit outside the house where the meeting was and draw hummingbirds and flowers. This is a kind of homage – a water scene. It reflects on water as our most powerful source, as a force of nature, and on its strength.”
Da Vinci’s voice, which we hear at the beginning of the experience, is heard again here, as he reflects on his interests.
“From there, we go into his fascination with what lies out there, beyond earth. The Vitruvian Man, the flying machines, the submarine, and the scuba suit he designed all demonstrate his interest in what lies beyond. His drawings were the first to show the surface features of the moon. Without technology, without the means to find out, he was interested in the underwater world, and astronomy.”
The Last Supper comes to life
An exploration of space, stars, and the planets builds up to the reveal of one of Da Vinci’s best-known works, The Last Supper.
One theory roots the picture, which in the Da Vinci Experience is explored from a compositional perspective, in astrological symbolism. This suggests Da Vinci positioned the twelve apostles as a symbolic portrayal of the twelve signs of the zodiac. An interactive layer allows visitors to draw themselves, or their friends, inside the iconic artwork.
“As you mix and brush the colour, that information is being collected, and redistributed as a kind of art piece on the cube,” she explains. “It’s what I imagine a modern-day Da Vinci might paint. I reckon he’d be like us: high-end digital, new media designers, using artificial intelligence and data technology to create art, to create optimism and to tell stories, using the modern tools of today.”
The end of the experience is a review, encapsulating everything learned:
“Then the sun comes up into the stars, and we end on an AI-created image of what Da Vinci might look like today. It’s a special experience. The bottom line is that I think people will feel optimistic, energised, and inspired.
“The times that we live in are so difficult. If we can take people out of their everyday environment and inspire them; if we can light a spark, help them to understand that we live in a diverse environment, that we should embrace the love, and feel empowered to do something, whatever that is, then that is an absolute success, in my eyes. Flora&faunavisions is a studio of 20 people possessing great talent, and the team has created something very special.”
The immersive tech behind Da Vinci Genius
Bert van der Ryd is co-founder and managing partner of Phoenix Immersive, the overarching company responsible for producing the show and overseeing its international rollout.
“The technology we are using for this immersive show is quite comprehensive,” he comments. “Our competitors’ shows tend to have a projected exposition of the art, with classical music or something that matches with it underneath.
“Our show has a narrative with a beginning and an ending. We have music produced based on that narrative. We then have full interactivity on the floor and the walls, all of which distinguishes us. A lot of different technical equipment that integrates with the other elements is necessary to make it work.”
In terms of immersion:
“It’s immersive 2.0: it’s next level,” he says. “In addition to the rest of the interactivity, people have the opportunity to chat with the Mona Lisa. In the show’s cube area, people can envision something Da Vinci might have invented, like the helicopter. Through AI they get a sketch of the helicopter Da Vinci might have designed today. It’s really interesting.”
A pop-up model
Da Vinci Genius is opening in Amsterdam as a popup.
“We think that the appetite for such a show could last for 10 to 12 months at a certain location. Then we can move the tent and go elsewhere – to the south of the Netherlands, to Florence, where Da Vinci lived, or to London. We are moveable.”
It is a system with distinct advantages:
“If you are going into an existing venue – as we did in Berlin – you have different spaces and have to adapt all your show content accordingly. At the moment, instead, we have a concept that you can move and put elsewhere.”
Furthermore, he adds:
“The concept can also be doubled. We can make another tent for the show, or maybe a third, and have various show locations going on at the same time. This is our first show, and, as a company, we plan to think of different themes for the future to have different content. First, with the Da Vinci Genius, we are looking to have multiple tents to have more references and more locations.”
Da Vinci Genius on the move
Concerning logistics, he adds:
“We can do that ourselves. But we are also exploring partnerships in other countries with promoters who like our concept and can implement it in their market. We want to create brand equity and awareness around the show, so distribution is very important for us.”
“We have a beautiful location here where the pop-up is located,” he says. “It’s adjacent to the Metro station; anyone from Amsterdam can be here within ten minutes. We have parking spaces for 90 cars, which is exceptional in Amsterdam. As we are next to the Ring Road, we have good visibility: 4,000 cars on average come by every hour.”
The music behind the experience
The show’s score is curated and composed by the British Grammy award-nominated DJ Sasha, who is actively involved in the creative process. He worked to put a score together a score for Berlin, based on input from the company:
“This time around, I’ve had the luxury of learning from the run in Berlin, where there were certain parts of the show I thought worked well, and a couple of parts I felt could be improved.”
The length of the show, since Berlin, has been reduced:
“We’ve tightened up a lot of the edits. We’ve probably kept between 60% and 70% of the music from Berlin. But I’ve replaced the parts I felt could be improved. The show has been re-edited, too, and flows better. We have a voiceover putting some context to the changes in the show, trying to encompass Da Vinci’s life in 44 minutes, which is a huge undertaking.
“He accomplished so much; he dreamt of so much. There were so many facets to him.”
Mixing classic and modern influences in Da Vinci Genius
A polymath, da Vinci’s eclectic talents made him unique – another overused word, but one that is, here, entirely appropriate:
“There are very few people that could hold a flame to Leonardo. So, it was daunting to try and apply music to him,” Sasha says. Outlining his process, he adds:
“At the beginning, I looked at the music of the age, but a lot of it was lute-playing: it sounded like the Blackadder TV show, and I realised this wasn’t the route we should go down: this is a very modern-looking show.”
The concept of the show is not only to show people Leonardo’s life’s work but the impact it has had on today.
“There is also the question, if he woke up today, how would he view his work and its long-term influence? In his notebooks, he scribbled the phrase, ‘Tell me, did I ever achieve anything? Did I ever get anything done?’ [‘Di mi se mai fu fatta alcuna cosa’]. Most creative people have that nagging sense that they could have always done more – even somebody as incredibly uniquely talented as Leonardo da Vinci had these doubts.”
In trying to apply music to da Vinci’s life and work, he explains:
“I had to look at the show itself, how modern and exciting it was, and how Leonardo’s ideas have influenced people throughout the ages. I decided that I was going to borrow from lots of different timeframes, so there are some Baroque ideas and some Handel. There is modern music in there, of course; I come from an electronic music background, so there is a lot of me in there, and the modern composers that have influenced me. Essentially, I was looking everywhere for inspiration.
Doing the topic justice
Overall, he comments:
“It’s been a very exciting project to work on. Leigh Sachwitz and her team, flora&faunavisions, are just fantastic to work with. She’s on the cutting edge of this kind of technology, so it’s been a privilege to work with her, and her team.”
In closing, he adds:
“It would be impossible to do Leonardo da Vinci justice with 44 minutes of projection, but seeing the Last Supper on such a huge scale is something else. I must have seen it a hundred times, and every time it comes on, it floors me. I’m still finding different things in that picture – little details that you would probably miss if you went to see the Last Supper in person.
“Each section of Leonardo da Vinci’s life probably deserves its own show: his inventions, his art. What we’ve done is to present him in a modern way. The show unveils some stuff that a lot of people may not know about him. Connecting it with the score and the visuals presents him in a modern, exciting way that leaves people with the feeling they want to find out more about him.
“He’s a huge, daunting subject, but I hope we’ve done him justice.”
The Da Vinci Genius experience opened on Thursday 30 November 2023 and runs until August 2024 at the Amstel Design District in Amsterdam.
