Name: Steven “The Prince” Young
Title: Principal Lighting Designer
Years Worked at VT: Since 2007!
Favorite Project: Probably Dragons Wild Shooting, a target-interactive theme park ride for Lotte World. The premise of a castle overrun by cute dragons that need to be vanquished by a magic wand is adorable and so much fun. Plus, add in that the attraction is actually built underneath a functioning rollercoaster, meant that this dark ride had the most bizarre set of challenges. A great group of people, and a great project!
Funniest or most memorable memory at Visual Terrain: I don’t know what you are talking about, Lighting Design is some serious business. Best Halloween was a year that we didn’t have a receptionist, so we had filled some VTI clothes and a mask with old lighting paperwork at the front desk. After a few days, we had basically forgotten about it, until one of my coworkers got into the clothes and mask and lay in wait for our marketing director. Boy, was she surprised!
Favorite Aspect of Lighting Design: Listening to what a client wants, interpreting it, and giving back just a little bit more. We are hired not just to facilitate someone else’s idea, but to look deeper and offer a more fully developed design that has nuance and rich character.
What/Who Inspires You: Inspiration is all around us, but I’m really fed by fun, witty people. I love to hear about peoples’ lives, and to find out what makes them tick. I want to start a podcast called “5 minutes with” where I get to chat with a random stranger for 5 minutes, and learn about them. I love that we are all human, with our own struggles and successes. If today you are just trying to get through a drive-in car wash, or you just accepted a new job promotion, that human emotion is the best.
Fun Fact About Yourself that No One Knows: Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but I love growing plants in my home. I have probably 20 or so? My husband tells me over and over that we have enough in our small two- bedroom apartment, but I have to constantly adopt and foster more. Who can look at a sad and dying hardware store plant and not need to give it a better home? These tiny houseplants get repotted and suddenly are seven feet tall. Andreally, is it a finished, decorated room if it doesn’t have three or more plants?
What is your favorite part about being a lighting designer? The surprise. Every day is not the same. You never know what’s going to happen each day. You work on a different project every day. It keeps you on your toes and hopefully you are learning and experiencing new things everyday.