ABOUT MODE STUDIOS

MODE Studios is a collective of Directors, Producers, Lighting Designers, Multimedia Designers, Project Managers, Show Programmers, and FX Artists who work together to produce some of the most striking live design and execution ever see.

Bob Bonniol

Artist. Neurotic. Living in the Light. Barking Mad. Intense. Savant. Tragically Flawed. Frothy. VISUAL. Production Designer. Lighting Designer. Projection & Multimedia Artist. VJ. Visual Installation Art. Creative Direction. Art Direction. Educator. Dad.

His design work ranges from stadium rock shows for Grammy winning rockers like Journey, Nickelback and 3 Doors Down, to the West End in London where he (with his wife) designed the projection and multimedia for the blockbuster, Sinatra Live at the London Palladium. Recently, he designed projection for the world premiere of the new opera Frobisher, in Calgary; as well as designing lighting, setting, and multimedia for Nokia Nserie's massive manifestationat the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He and his wife Colleen were named Projection Designers of the Year in 2003 for their groundbreaking work on Wagner's Parsifal at the Seattle opera, working with the renowned scenic designer Robert Israel.

Bob and Colleen have been teaching for the last three years at the California Institute for the Arts School of Theatre, working to develop a new masters curriculum in projection, multimedia, and interactive media design for live events.

Bob is a frequent contributor to magazines like Live Design, Lighting Dimensions, Projection-Lighting-Staging News, Entertainment Design, E-Media, and Light and Sound America. He has lectured at the Banff Center, Western Washington University, and has curated multiple Master Class sessions for the LDI Institute, happening yearly at the Entertainment Design Show/LDI.

In theatre, he has been the Lighting Designer for multiple National Tours of Victor / Victoria, as well as the Paper Mill Playhouse production; Projection Designer for the National Tour and World Tour of Footloose the Musical; Lighting Designer for the National Tour of Evita; Projection Designer for the critically acclaimed 2001 National Tour of Godspell; Lighting and Projection Designer for the World Tour of Burn The Floor; and Lighting Design for The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, for which he received the Triangle Award in 2002.

In the world of Architecture he is known for having designed the permanent lighting installation for Seattle's grand Pacific Science Center Arches; Multimedia designs for SOGO Japan's flagship store in Osaka; as well as show design and control system specification for the world's largest flat LED screen in the CBD in Beijing: 870 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 80 feet off the street.

His Multimedia Design's for Opera and Dance include War & Peace at the Spoleto Festival (directed by Giancarlo Menotti, with scenic design by Peregali); Projection Design for Parsifal at the Seattle Opera, Projection and Multimedia Design for Pat Graney Dance's the Vivian Girls based on the works of outsider artist Henry Darger.

His company, MODE Studios, exists as a full service multimedia production and live event production facility, providing services to clients like Blue Man Group, Walt Disney Theatrical, Limited Brands, Nokia, Jack Morton World-Wide, Sony Records, Epic Records, AEG, and Live Nation.

Bob is passionate about 1st amendment rights; reversing the draconian trends in DRM and copyright that are bringing sensible progress in art, science, and literature to a halt. He is also an instigator and participant in efforts to bring attention to environmental issues, and in efforts to spread participation in our representative democracy. He is constantly interested in the power of image and performance to invigorate and inform public opinion.

When not engaged in the above, he can most often be found sailing on the waters of the Puget Sound with his family, or playing trucks and trains with his beloved son Tristan.

Colleen Bonniol

 My motto… my creed, has always been that I am ‘working my way through the entertainment industry.’ Be it theatre, rock, corporate or film.

It began with summer stock theatre. This experience laid the groundwork for all that is about to be described…

My journey though rock-n-roll gave me the pleasure of experiencing rock-touring at it’s finest. Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA Tour designed by Jeff Ravitz, U2’s Joshua Tree designed by Willie Williams, and a whole bunch of Andreas Vollenweider designed by Martin Rohr, in locations ranging from opera houses to epic stadium shows.

My next, but not last, stay in theatre included a few seasons at Trinity Repertory Company, (where I met Bob… but that is a whole different story) working with the likes of Anne Bogart, Robert Woodruff, Tina Landau, and of course, Eugene Lee. I left Trinity after a final season under the direction of Anne Bogart.

I moved from the East coast to the West coast and changed my emphasis from theatre to film, working on productions in the Pacific Northwest and Hollywood. Disclosure, Fire Walk with Me, Free Willy, Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Little Buddha, and ... if you are itching to see me on camera, River Wild are a few of the films I worked on. Jim Plannette, John Zumpano, Curtis Hansen, David Lynch, Robert Elswit, and Vittorio Storaro are some of the major teachers and influences that I accumulated during this time.

Upon leaving the film industry, my next stop on the entertainment industry tour was the world of 3D, because where else does a girl-in-the-90’s go for entertainment? I was sucked into a computer and didn’t leave until I figured out a way to use the medium in theatre and other art forms.

Laurie Anderson’s Songs and Stories of Moby Dick, designed by Michael Chybowski gave me that opportunity. Although I was the Lighting Director on the tour, it was the animation and projection that propelled me to where I am today, MODE Studios. The rest of this website is geared towards what MODE has been up to and where we came from, so I won’t go further into it.

I can say that this part of the journey through the entertainment industry has taken everything I’ve learned over many years & many miles, and rolled it all into one fantastic experience.

The best part of being the President/Principal Designer of MODE Studios is the people we collaborate with and the shared moments we get to experience. Who knew that one could create such a life?
 

Matt Skerritt

 Matt joins MODE Studios from Los Angeles, where he has carved out a significant niche in directing live recordings and creating music documentaries.

His client list includes all the usual, and some unusual suspects: Sony/BMG, Epic, Warner/Reprise, MTV, Columbia Records, Rhino, Universal, Rock The Vote, Artists First...

He's Directed Long Form work with Jerry Lee Lewis, Wyclef, Matisyahu, Cartel, Chris Botti, and Natasha Bettingfield, among others...He's Directed Short Form work with Madonna, John Legend, Ray Charles, Destiny's Child, and on...

Matt adds amazing new Directorial, Editorial, and Producing skills to the already potent MODE formula.