Resident Spotlight with Lucas Edwards from Amazzle

Where did the name Amazzle come from?

LE: When Alex and I decided to set up the company, we discussed a few ideas for names. I didn't want to spend too long on it as I knew the name would be arbitrary if we were doing good work with clients. Alex had used the name Amazzle casually in the past (his name being Alex Massey) so when he suggested that, I said yep, that will do, lets get on with the rest!

The Brainstorm collaboration with Red Deer you did at the Open Studios at Netil House in 2014 was a massive highlight for all attendees, are you guys planning on working together on other projects in the future?

LE: Actually this morning I've been putting together some specifications for lighting to go into Red Deer's awesome Luz pyramid. We had a lot of fun working with the Red Deer team on Brainstorm, and they're all super creative so I can see us working on a few projects with them. Creative lighting and visual tech is more prevalent than ever in art and architecture so I'm sure we can create some great stuff in the future.

How does your creative process differ when working on big outdoor events you have done to more intimate indoor events?

LE: From the art-design side, we always strike a balanced mix of the client's brief and our visual direction as a studio. Even on the big events we work to uphold the same high aesthetic standard. The difference comes in the back end design in how things are built and installed. Making things work on bigger outdoor events is usually a matter of refining durability, safety and having bigger ladders or machinery. With the intimate events, we can take more risks with fragile installations.

How do you feel your work has to differ when you're working musicians to fashions houses?

LE: The biggest difference between music-based projects and fashion houses is often the light levels. Fashion work is often a much brighter environment, meaning installations have to have a much higher pristine finish. Music work is often darker, especially in a venue, so you can design stuff that works theatrically and more suggestively. None of this is absolute though as it all depends on the aesthetic of the artist/designer/brief. You could easily swap round what I've just said.

What other projects in your industry really inspired you in 2014?

LE: Working in such a creative industry, there are a million moments of inspiration a year. If I had to pick one, it would be Eric Prydz EPIC 3.0 show at Madison Square Gardens. My taste and that of the studio is a far cry from the big Americanised EDM industry, however the production element is a massive creative and technical success. Not only did it make great cohesive use of legacy show technology and future visual technologies, all of the artistic elements from gigantic holographic visuals, to lighting lasers and special effects, were operated live. Complex productions like this are almost always done to a programmed timeline or at least alongside a defined set-list, however its exciting to see visual arts designers creating a simultaneous live performance of their own, especially on this scale. It's a true sign of where the industry is heading.

What is the biggest hurdle you've had to face in your journey to now?

LE: We're lucky to not have had many major hurdles. As we grow bigger, I imagine we'll have a couple to come. Our biggest difficulty so far is more an ongoing one, balancing the creative arts projects with the more profitable ones that keep the company operating and growing. We're doing good so far, which is really encouraging.

If you could change your company name to another word, what would it be?

LE: If I had a choice, I don't think we would. We're lucky our work has been met with such enthusiasm, and so nowadays the name Amazzle is too inextricably linked. I wouldn't want to undo the hours spent spelling the name down the phone to suppliers!