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Beaumont Tower Comes Alive with Animated Projections Created by MSU Students

Michigan State University’s Beaumont Tower came alive with light and motion during this year’s Halloween carillon concert, “The Ringing 2: Shadows Rise.” The event showcased artwork and animations created by students in the Department of Theatre’s Compositing and Special Effects for Stage and Screen (THR 337) class, taught by Alison Dobbins, Professor of Integrated Performance Media Design.

For more than three weeks, 14 students in THR 337 planned, refined, and finalized their visual pieces, drawing inspiration from recordings provided by Jon Lehrer, University Carillonist. Three MFA candidates in the Department of Theatre then engineered the projection system, mapping the students’ work directly onto the face of Beaumont Tower to accompany Lehrer’s live carillon performance on Oct. 30.

Beaumont Tower lit with vivid red and white projections depicting skeletal figures climbing up the brick facade against the evening sky.
A dramatic red and white projection covers Beaumont Tower with silhouetted tree branches and bold text that reads
A close-up of the upper-section of Beaumont Tower displays bright red, violet, and yellow projections, centering on a glowing figure in motion beneath the black metal clock frame.
Beaumont Tower illuminated in blue light with red glowing windows. Projected text on the tower reads
A wide view of the tower illuminated with colorful cosmic imagery-swirls of red, blue, and orange light forming a galaxy-like pattern.

“I was excited about a project such as this for the students to have the challenge of designing at such a large scale,” Dobbins said. “Students were prompted to incorporate the architecture and the meaning behind the music. These three focuses — scale, architecture, meaning — provided great growth opportunities. We all learned a lot from doing this, and I am very pleased with how it came out. The response has been very positive.”

A wide view of Beaumont Tower glowing entirely in red light, surrounded by trees. Projected text reads

The evening outdoor audio-visual concert featured a range of spooky tunes, from 15th-century ecclesiastical chant to modern classic horror themes. Hundreds of people gathered around Beaumont tower for the event. This was the second year for the Halloween carillon concert, but the first time there was a visual component.

Looking ahead, Dobbins would like to expand on the project for next year.

“I’d love to map to more sides of the building — maybe do a few different buildings — so it could be a performance across the whole circle that audience members walk from one to the next,” she said. “Big dreams and schemes, but right now I’m very happy with the result.”

This semester, students in Dobbins’ class also created animations for the Division Street garage as part of the “Read for your Rights” event on Oct. 3, and they are currently developing an animation for an event at MSU’s Abrams Planetarium in November.

“For the last big project in the class, the students are playing with a very unique interaction between audience and media,” Dobbins said. “Looking up at a big dome of the planetarium is a very different way of taking in media. It is a bit hard to conceptualize, which is why this project is towards the end of the semester.”

A nighttime view of a tall brick clock tower partially framed by leafy branches, illuminated with a warm-toned light projection that highlights its arched windows and brickwork against a clear night sky.
A night projection on Beaumont Tower showing the large shadow of a person in a hat across the lower facade, partially covering the tower's carved relief.
Beaumont Tower viewed from below at dusk, its windows illuminated with red light that contrasts against the blue twilight sky and autumn leaves above.

Dobbins also is looking for other opportunities for her students to bring digital art to public spaces.

“I hope to partner again with East Lansing or other MSU groups to do more mapping on or near campus,” she said. “These ‘happenings’ are great chances for students to see the immediate impact of their work and for these spaces to become temporary social events.”

Beaumont Tower bathed in golden-white projections that form a cathedral-like arch pattern across the brick surface below the dark night sky.
A clocktower glows with vibrant, multicolored light projections featuring geometric shapes and circular patterns in blue, pink, green, and orange.
Beaumont Tower illuminated in warm golden tones with projected imagery of turning gears and clockwork patterns extending upwards toward the clock face.

Written by Kim Popiolek with photos by Ryan Frederick

Story originally published by the College of Arts and Letters 

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