Harry Potter Drone Art Show
Mike Wood served as Lighting Designer for the DroneArt Show: Harry Potter World Tour, an open-air experience by Fever in collaboration with Nova Sky Stories that pairs 1,200 synchronized drones with the Harry Potter film score across stops worldwide.
About the Lighting Design
Presented by Fever in association with Warner Bros. and Nova Sky Stories, the Harry Potter Drone Art Show is among the first wave of touring drone-art shows, where 1,200 synchronized drones above the audience are the production itself, choreographed to the Harry Potter film score and audio drawn directly from the films. Lighting in this format works in service to the drones. The principle that anchored the design from day one: drones are the focal point.
The tour launched in June 2026 with a world premiere celebration at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, following a sold-out preview at Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium.
The rig is a fully modular ground package. It scales up or down to fit whatever venue the show lands in; the design intent stays consistent from city to city while the fixture count expands or contracts to match. With four iterations touring across the world, each one is able to be a little different while still achieving the original design intent.
The real work is in how the ground rig frames the formations overhead. Visible beams reach up from the ground to give the audience a fixed architectural anchor for the moving images in the sky. When the drones form a Slytherin crest in green, the audience washes in matching green. When they spell out “I AM LORD VOLDEMORT” in red, the ground turns red to meet them. Same palette, top to bottom. The lights are constantly connected to the drones.
The design here is a master class in restraint and spatial geometry: choosing the right angles to lead the eye up in the hero moments, pulling the rig back when the drones need to own the picture, and building a touring kit that holds the design’s identity together from city to city.
- Creative Director
- Anna Driftmier
- Lighting Designer
- Mike Wood
- Drone Design
- Nova Sky Stories
- Assistant Lighting Designer
- Mack Scales
- Lighting Programmers
- Grey NicholsonKelley ShihAria Hailey
- Production Electrician
- Wilburn Bonnell
- Head Electricians
- Isaac AndersonTrevor Kirschenheiter
- Creative Director of Production (Fever)
- Kristina Henry
- Lead Producer (Fever)
- Jeremy Southerland
- Producers (Fever)
- Marley Daniel GriggsAshleigh Southard
- Production Manager (Nova Sky Stories)
- Alex Hughes
- Lighting Shop
- Christie Lites (Rep: Brad Gray )
About the Show
A touring open-air drone spectacle timed to the franchise's 25th anniversary, in which 1,200 synchronized illuminated drones perform aerial choreography reimagining iconic moments from the Harry Potter film series. The performance is set to the films' soundtrack and dialogue, accompanied by a live violinist, with audiences wearing LED wristbands that interact with the show.
Source: Fever
Presented in association with
All characters and elements © and ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.
Production Photos
Press
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