Muse

An installation for Kimpton’s latest boutique renovation, The Muse Hotel New York, Muse melds the geography of the city with the theme of the hotel’s title, a haven where the frenzied pace of New York living gives way to a serene, ethereal experience.

Cinematographer James Laxton worked alongside producers Justin Barber and Michael Jacobs to capture days worth of time-lapse exteriors with a Canon 30D at locations all across New York City…in the dead of winter. Later, the “muse” foreground subjects were flown to San Francisco and photographed with a RED camera in a green-screen environment at 96 frames per second. A bit of fancy compositing, rigorous color-timing and terabytes upon terabytes of data later, the muses and their environs were conformed as one. Plasma displays custom built for The Muse rotate the imagery throughout the day, offering guests a unique visual note anytime they traverse the hotel lobby.

Despite the project’s steep technical threshold, the Muse pieces remain elegant and simple in embodying the hotel’s mission as stated in the Kimpton prospectus:

“Imagine an urban oasis—a New York City hotel just steps from the city’s renowned theater district. Inspired by its vibrant Manhattan setting and boutique hotel hospitality, The Muse Hotel, a Kimpton Hotel, offers comfort with creativity, service with style and function with form.”

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.