Case Study: Seven Canyons Refuge
- Douglas Hunter
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
The Brief: The Seven Canyons Fountain was the most popular feature of Liberty Park for two decades, but in 2017 due to health concerns, the water stopped flowing, and the future of the fountain was uncertain. In 2025 Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall wanted to change this so she brought together Artist Stephen Goldsmith, the Salt Lake Arts Council, and Salt Lake Open Lands to revitalize the feature. The result is the new Seven Canyons Refuge.
The Approach: There is a lot of story to tell with this project. We needed to describe the importance of the Refuge as a piece of public art and to introduce the public to the new features of the Refuge. In telling these aspects of the story we were confident that it would put our client in the best light, and give all parties involved media they can use to promote the project. Artist Stephen Goldsmith, who designed the original fountain and the new Refuge is a wonderful spokesperson for the project and so his vision and voice play the lead role here.
The Look: When crafting the visual look of this piece we were led by the dappled light of the location and its colors which suggested we use moderate contrast so shadows don't get too dark and highlights don't get too bright. For the color scheme, cool hues: blues and greens play against warmer hues: brown, yellow and orange to bring the richness of the location to life. The color grading of the video was done primarily around these colors. When shooting this project we used the legendary Zeiss Outis 55mm prime lens. A high resolution lens with outstanding contrast and color transmission, this lens was an important choice for creating the rich look we wanted for this video.
When creating larger projects we always look for opportunities to create additional media or tell a smaller story. This social media short was based on the pouring of the new concrete for the Refuge and emphasizes the grit of a pour and the skill of the workers.
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