Les Nuits du Parc

Les Nuits du Parc transformed the Parc des Oiseaux – a bustling zoological park home to more 250 species of birds in high season – from a dormant winter site into a vibrant, record-breaking nocturnal attraction. Running from late November through March (usually the park’s closed season), this immersive night-time trail featured 14 audiovisual and lighting installations spread across the largest bird park in Europe. Three Groupe Novelty companies (Novelty, Alabama and Teamagine) collaborated to weave cutting-edge AV technology into the park’s natural setting, creating a seamless blend of light, sound and nature. The result was a “living fresco” of light and sound that brought the park to life after dark, enchanting visitors with vibrant scenes across the landscape.

From the outset, close collaboration ensured the artistic vision – developed by creative studio Les Allumeurs de Rêves – was faithfully realised through technical excellence. Under the leadership of Arnaud Douchet, director of Novelty Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (AURA) and overall project lead, Novelty AURA oversaw the project and the lighting design, Alabama Média handled precision projection mapping, and Teamagine engineered the project. This collective approach ensured every installation was tailored to the site’s challenges and the narrative.

AV technology was deployed inventively throughout the venue. Over 100 outdoor lighting/SFX fixtures – from colour-changing LED PARs to lasers – lined the pathways and transformed foliage and facades with colour, while more than 40 discreet, weatherproof speakers running on a Dante network delivered a 360° soundscape in sync with the visuals. At key locations, high-powered projectors turned unexpected surfaces into giant canvases: bamboo groves became screens for a love story, a panoramic tower was mapped with shimmering light, and even the drained lakebed was transformed with a gigantic videomapping installation.

Thanks to the absence of light pollution, only eight 20,000-lumen projectors blanketed a never seen before 17,000sqm projection on the lakebed in light – the world’s largest known video mapping on a natural surface. This epic finale crowned an inventive integration of technology and nature, delivering a magical winter experience that delighted thousands of visitors and extended the park’s appeal into the off-season.

Installing a high-tech show in a wildlife park during winter posed major challenges. Douchet calls Les Nuits du Parc “a real laboratory of innovation”, as the team had to adapt their approach to a complex natural environment. Uneven, organic projection surfaces were a key test: instead of flat walls, visuals needed to play out on grass, sand, mud, tree trunks and a semi-dried lakebed – each with different textures and contours. Every projection was adjusted to integrate with the site’s irregular surfaces, requiring meticulous calibration and custom content tweaks. Alabama Média’s specialists deployed the entire projection kit, keeping visuals crisp across every surface and ensuring a magical storytelling throughout.

Harsh winter weather and wild animals were another concern. Rain, wind, frost, snow and free ranging birds all threatened the equipment. Teamagine countered by devising ultra-rugged bespoke enclosures, connectors and supports. These custom cases – with heating and ventilation – shielded projectors, media servers, speakers and cables from moisture and cold, and over-engineered mounts ensured alignments would not drift in strong winds. These modular, reusable containers, with a natural wood finish, are which designed to perfectly blend with the environment, as well as ensuring the projectors, media servers and other AV equipment endured winter without issue.

The park’s wildlife also demanded special consideration. Parc des Oiseaux hosts many non-migratory birds, so the crew worked closely with the park to minimise disturbance. Audio was carefully tuned with directional “mushroom” speakers and volume caps to avoid startling the wildlife. Lighting and projection angles were adjusted to keep bright beams away from aviaries and nesting areas, ensuring the show did not compromise animal welfare.

Finally, the sheer scale and complexity of the event required extraordinary coordination. Distributing power and data to 14 installations across the site and synchronising them each night demanded meticulous planning. Covering 17,000 m² with only eight projectors for the main show necessitated precise edge-blending and advanced media-server programming to create one seamless image – a feat only possible through extensive preparation and tight-knit teamwork across the three Groupe Novelty companies.

Les Nuits du Parc pushes the boundaries of audiovisual technology in a visitor attraction. The project combined record-breaking ambition with flawless execution in a challenging environment, delivering an experience both technically extraordinary and immersive. It set a world record by projecting content on a single area spanning over 17,000 m² – the largest ground projection mapping ever accomplished – with just eight high brightness projectors. This was not only a spectacular visual feat but also a demonstration of remarkable efficiency and innovation at scale. “It was an incredibly exciting project – working with projections across various natural surfaces and attempting a world record made it truly unique,” says Paul Louis Blouin, video project manager at Alabama Média.

Beyond its scale, Les Nuits du Parc’s custom engineering solutions (from weatherproof enclosures to clever content adaptations) exhibited a level of innovation and attention to detail rarely seen in such projects, ensuring the creative concept by Les Allumeurs de Rêves was realised exactly as imagined.

Les Nuits du Parc also had a positive impact on the profitability of the venue. It transformed Parc des Oiseaux – normally closed in winter – into a must-visit seasonal attraction, drawing thousands of visitors and generating new off-season revenue. By turning a conservation-focused park into a canvas for night-time art, the ambitious project broadened the park’s appeal without disturbing its wildlife or habitat while setting a new benchmark for immersive experiences in outdoor settings.