RE:FRAME: the 54 kinetic LED squares we built, in motion

A great kinetic lighting installation does something static lighting never can — it makes the room itself part of the show. When Framework wanted to elevate their re:frame dance series in Los Angeles, that's exactly what they were after. So they came to NovaTech, and together we turned an entire venue into a living, moving light sculpture: 54 custom-built illuminated squares, suspended on kinetic winches and choreographed to the night.

This is a closer look at how that custom event technology came together — and what it means if you're planning an event of your own.

The challenge

A dance event lives and dies by its atmosphere. Static lighting — no matter how bright — eventually fades into the background. Framework wanted the room to become the show: lighting that rises, falls, and shifts with the energy of the crowd.

That meant designing something that doesn't exist off the shelf. The kinetic lighting installation had to be:

• Large-scale — covering the full ceiling of the venue
• Fully programmable — synced to the music and the moment
• Safe and reliable — moving heavy fixtures above thousands of guests, all night long

The build: 54 kinetic squares

This is where NovaTech's in-house fabrication comes in. We don't just offer kinetic lighting — we engineer custom event technology from the ground up.

Our team designed and manufactured 54 illuminated square frames, each mounted on a custom-programmed kinetic winch. Rather than staying fixed overhead, the squares move independently — rising, lowering, and shifting throughout the night to completely reshape the room.

Every winch was choreographed and programmed in advance, then run live on-site by our technical team — so the motion stayed perfectly in sync with the show, with zero margin for error above a live crowd. That combination of custom fabrication, programming, and on-site operation is what separates a true kinetic lighting installation from off-the-shelf décor.

The result

The venue transformed into a cosmic, ever-evolving environment. As the squares moved and the LED lighting swept across them, the ceiling itself became the centerpiece of the night.

The squares were the show, not the décor. Guests filmed it, shared it, and the visuals carried far beyond the room itself. For Framework, that's exactly the kind of word-of-mouth a strong event production delivers.

Why kinetic lighting works for events

Kinetic lighting adds the one thing traditional lighting can't: motion. A ceiling that moves keeps guests engaged, creates constantly changing photo moments, and turns an ordinary venue into something people remember. Whether it's a concert, a brand activation, a luxury wedding, or a corporate production, a custom kinetic lighting installation makes the space feel alive.