From sketch to Main Stage
Deep beneath The Ember Dunes, something ancient is waiting to be awakened
Preproduction is now in full swing for an all-new Midnight Show, created especially for Beyond Darklands 2027. Long before the first performer steps onto our new Main Stage, an entire world is already being imagined, drawn and constructed behind the scenes.
At the heart of its visual development is Felix Van der Hallen of Studio Van der Hallen, who is responsible for the concept development and motion graphics of the production. Felix works across motion design, 3D animation, event visuals and concept design, transforming initial ideas into visual worlds that can ultimately take over an entire stage. Studio Van der Hallen has also been creating LED-wall content for Darklands for several editions.
For Felix, that process often begins far away from the LED screens. Pencil meets paper as environments, structures and characters gradually find their shape through sketches and concept drawings. Those first lines are then developed further on screen, becoming detailed designs, moving images and eventually the vast digital environments that will surround the performers during the show. It is a process Felix also applies to other immersive projects, moving from an initial concept sketch to the visual assets and motion content used in the finished experience.
His connection with visual storytelling goes back to his studies at the Media & Design Academy in Genk, where his master project Catalyst was already built around a combination of film, special effects and graphic interfaces. Today, that same combination of storytelling, design and technology runs through the work of Studio Van der Hallen, whose expertise spans motion design, 3D, interactive experiences, event visuals and concept design.
For The Ember Dunes, those sketches are giving shape to a forgotten civilisation buried beneath the sands. Our story follows the Acolytes of Darklands as they venture far beyond the capital and discover ancient ruins hiding a mysterious source of power.
Over the coming months, Felix’s visual world will come together with scenography, costumes, choreography, music, lighting, special effects and live performance as our creative and production teams transform those first ideas on paper into a completely new Midnight Show.
For now, the city exists in lines, shapes and imagination. But beneath the sands, it is already beginning to awaken.
