I've known Bob Bonniol for many years. I'd say from the time he was transitioning from lighting designer to projection designer. With his wife, Colleen, he founded MODE Studios and went on to design a wide range of mega projects, recently including Billy Joel and Blake Shelton, winning a KOI Award sword along the way, and moving into experiential, immersive experiences and continuing to wow! He has now donned another hat all together, moving away from design to a corporate position that will challenge him in new ways. Chatting with him reveals the creative challenges ahead.
Live Design: What is your new title and exact role?
Bob Bonniol: I will be taking on the role of Director of Innovation for ACT Entertainment Video. I will be leading the product development vision for ACT’s growing portfolio of video and interactive products including Green Hippo, tvONE, and Magenta Systems. I’ll also be using my continued obsession with immersive experiences and interactive placemaking to bring the value of these amazing tools into new market spaces.
LD: What does that mean for Mode Studios?
BB: After 28 years of creating some of the world’s biggest shows and installations, Colleen and I had both decided that we’d love to see if there were another chapter out there for us. We’ve been so blessed to work with companies like Disney, Live Nation, NBCU, RocNation, GM, Salesforce, as well as countless recording artists, architects, agencies, and amazing theatrical companies. We can’t imagine a more fortunate and rewarding journey. When this opportunity appeared for me to join a company making some of the most powerful tools for creatives, I couldn’t resist. Colleen is entertaining some new opportunities of her own, more news on that soon!
LD: Will you still take on design projects?
BB: While we are officially closing the doors at MODE, we both anticipate continuing to produce a very limited range of creative projects, with our most beloved clients and collaborators going forward. That will be very limited in scope though. For me, helping ACT Entertainment to grow and advance its creative media and interactive toolset is my top priority.
LD: What makes you excited about your new job and what are the first items on your agenda?
BB: It’s a thrilling time to be joining ACT Entertainment. This week we shipped the first brand new Hippotizer MX series units and they are a total game changer. I think they are going to quickly define themselves as the first choice platform for deeply integrating media into holistic immersive designs, whether that’s in entertainment, architectural placemaking, brand activation, or broadcast. They are built from the ground up to fit seamlessly into workflows that also include lighting, audio, and interactivity. Also, tvONE’s new Calico Video Processor is going to change the rules for amazingly efficient multi screen control of massive pixel spaces with industry leading limits on latency I’ve just returned from a deep dive with the dev team in the UK, and the hardware we are bringing to market has an efficiency and accessible cost that will blow minds in broadcast, live events, and installations.
LD: How will AI play a role in your future?
BB: One thing that I’ve been watching carefully is how AI is going to change functions, UX, and the way that creatives can be empowered by their tools. ACT is moving aggressively to integrate AI in ways that simplify things for the users, open up more options for them creatively, and make the process more intuitive. I think we are all aware that these technologies, and what they enable creatives to do, is going to radically change entire markets in the next five years. We are making it a big priority to ensure that ACT is right there with the tools designers will expect.