"The Light Switch" for Target

After our prior viral hit (Christmas caroling with a full orchestra), Target came back to us with one simple request: create another experience that brings the magic of the season and "excites the kid in all of us by elevating joy.”  

We pitched a simple idea: what if members of the public could “control” an entire city park’s lights with one oversized light switch, quietly placed on the sidewalk by the entrance.

While a seemingly straightforward concept, the technical needs were quite complex. We got to work engineering a system to perfectly synchronize over three miles of strand lights spanning 11,000 square feet of park.  

In addition to 50,000 incandescent, DMX-controlled lights installed throughout, we also had 100 undercover performers blending into the park, covered in wearable lights, which also illuminated on cue, making the experience truly immersive.  

Up next, the centerpiece of the attraction, a functional 7-foot tall light switch painted in Pantone 186 (known around the office as Target Red). We got to work designing, testing, and iterating on the functional prop to make sure it had that real-life switch satisfaction. But of course the physics generally don’t scale (we couldn’t just “blow up” the design of a normal size switch) so we tried various builds until we got it just right.  

After scouting many NYC parks and plazas, we landed on the most charming spot in the West Village, Father Demo Square, named after Father Antonio Demo, who was the pastor of the nearby Our Lady of Pompeii church, where we rented space for holding, video village, and even rigged a spotlight in the steeple pointed down to illuminate the light switch.  

Working with local officials and the NYC Parks Department, we rigged additional lighting and cameras in the plaza and nearby architecture, securing all necessary permits and working carefully in the historic area. Friends of Father Demo Square was so happy with the lighting, they requested to keep the lights for the rest of the season, which was a warm and fuzzy way to wrap the job.

With the help of Target’s mascot, Bullseye the dog, we encouraged New Yorkers to appreciate the joy of a spontaneous winter wonderland in the middle of Manhattan. The resulting video received over 2 million views on YouTube and was covered by press outlets around the world.  

Meet Justin Ayers
Technical Wizard (of Winter) 

If you’ve ever seen our work and wondered, “how did they pull that off,” the answer is likely Justin Ayers working his magic. He loves solving "impossible" problems, and he thrives at the intersection of art and science, bringing polished visual storytelling sensibility and deep technical know-how to execute even the most challenging creative vision.  

As a technical director, and long-time creative partner of DVRG, Justin has crafted major commercial videos for Target, Hallmark, Apple, Improv Everywhere, Netflix, and Warner Brothers. In addition, he has served as Director of Photography on network television series for Disney+, MTV, and NBCUniversal.  

When he’s not behind the monitor, Justin likes to “relax” by SCUBA diving in caves and shipwrecks, filming his adventures along the way. He also has a strong dance background, having trained and performed for nearly a decade before pursuing filmmaking fulltime.  

Justin recently combined his passion for filmmaking and dance in the creation of “Where We Were,” a dance film collaboration with choreographer Nicole Daniell, which examines isolation through the experiences of confinement, manipulated space, and distorted time.