Bringing light to Leonardslee

Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens invited outdoor event producers Robin Morley & Simon Teesdale with light designer Phil Supple, to create a new large-scale light trail called Leonardslee Illuminated for December 2019. A Christmas light trail through what has been called the best woodland garden in England. Phil Supple worked with SGM fixtures and lit a mile & half of Leonardslee’s paths through the mature woodland and lakeside trails.

SGM fixtures lit up the beautiful woods and lakes at Leonardslee Gardens, England in an enchanting Christmas light display

With over 20 years’ experience working at scale on outdoor projects, Phil has collaborated in the creation of works and designed lighting in some amazing locations across the globe ranging from European Capital of Culture Spectaculars, Tour de France launch events, installations and interactive artworks for light festivals, private events in the UK and India and worldwide outdoor theatre tours in Europe.

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“After my first visit with them on-site, I snatched at the opportunity of working with Robin and Simon at Leonardslee – the house and gardens have such an amazing variety and landscaping and character. Leonardslee offers wonderfully theatrical views. I could instantly see the potential for creating something really special here; an opportunity in these fantastic gardens to guide an audience through a series of ‘worlds’ and magical atmospheres all woven together by Robin, Simon and myself and the amazingly committed creative and technical team.”

According to Phil, things have come a long way since he created illuminated work at the end of the 90s with encapsulated fluorescent tubes. “Over the last 10 years, the variety and availability of outdoor rated lighting technology has improved hugely, with SGM leading the line in the creation of a suite of fixtures that offer a solution to virtually any creative design challenge. SGM’s fixtures, in addition to the IP65 rating across the range, offer a surprising sensitivity and depth of color. You can design with real theatrical subtlety, exploiting the kit’s ability to deliver almost imperceptible tonal shifts, hugely powerful moments of saturated colour, real intensity and almost everything in between importantly including high-quality dimming. Superior LED binning, and colour matching across the range offers real consistency between fixture types, whilst the G-Spots, incredibly bright G-Profile Turbos, G4 wash Beams and S4 Washes give real control and accuracy,” he says.

At Leonardslee, the G-Profiles gave Phil access to all the customary parameter control of a moving head including precise and consistent shutter cuts in the IP65 package that allows concealment of the units out of sightlines without using visually clumsy and unreliable inflatable domes, minimising the amount of crew time attending and physically maintaining the units. “We managed to create something really magical with Q10s, P5s, G-Spots and most importantly the G-Profiles at our ‘moon pond’ – as the images attest”

Robin Marley, events director, Leonardslee Illuminated sheds light on the success of the event, “We had a huge response and interest from over 15,00 people to come to see the first Leonardslee Illuminated. They gave us the best feedback I have ever had from for 12 years of producing illuminated trails across the UK. Phil Supple created visual magic across the Gardens with his lighting design. The magic that stunned our visitors to write many emails and make social media comments in appreciation of their delight in being immersed in a winter landscape of poetic lighting and color.”