Explore how KVANT lasers, Pangolin BEYOND, and advanced laser safety techniques were used to produce the surreal nighttime visuals in Chris Benchetler’s Mountains of the Moon. Laser designer and LSO Jeff Vyduna shares insights from filming in extreme cold, remote wilderness, and high–frame-rate cinematography.
Pro skier and artist Chris Benchetler has released a new film experience, Mountains of the Moon, set to the music of the Grateful Dead. To understand how lasers played such a central role in the film's surreal visuals, we caught up with LSO and laser designer Jeff Vyduna to ask about the use of KVANT lasers and Pangolin's Beyond control software while filming in harsh environments.
Mountains of the Moon and its Laser-Cinematic Approach
"Mountains of the Moon is the psychedelic vision of Chris Benchetler. He's a huge Grateful Dead fan and you see his Dead-inspired artwork on a popular line of Atomic skis. The film is set to the music of the Dead and narrated by mycologist Paul Stamets.
It's hard to describe because it doesn't fit in an existing blueprint, but there's skiing, snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, freediving, and surfing – all at night. Much of the same team that did the iconic 2014 Afterglow skiing-in-LED-suits video returned for this project.
The film was made possible by Arc'teryx, Dead & Company, Ikon pass, Atomic, and other sponsors who took a leap of faith. Some of the early footage appeared in the Dead & Co residency at the Las Vegas Sphere."
Watch the official film trailer below.
Choosing the Right Lasers for Extreme Night Filming
Q: What lasers did you choose for this project, and why?
"On the first shoot we used KVANT Spectrum RGBY OPSLs on aerials for color and beam quality, as well as Clubmax 6000s with PASS for shots near athletes. For subsequent shoots, we added IP65-rated Clubmax 24s because blizzards aren't kind to lasers. It was extremely important to upgrade the scanner to the 48 KPPS version."
Q: Why do high scan speeds matter for filming?
"In the action sports world, it's common to shoot video for 8X slowmo with a 180° or 90° shutter angle. In other words, cinema cameras would record each frame as fast as 1/480th of a second.
In live performances, I always want to design for FB4s outputting above 30 FPS. But for flicker-free video at these frame rates, the lasers need to complete at least one laser frame (and ideally several) during the short time the camera sensor is capturing each video frame. When was the last time you saw something close to 480 FPS on your FB4 status in Beyond!"
Q: So what did you do?
"I did a lot of test recordings with the high end RED cameras that we'd be using. There's actually two problems to tame: Flickering from the laser not completing enough passes per camera frame, and banding artifacts (rolling shutter), which result from how most cameras record the sensor's pixels from top to bottom over time.
Incomplete frame flicker can be somewhat smoothed in post-production, but unstable banding or rolling shutter artifacts are much harder. You can reduce the bent null band artifacts by using an expensive version of pro cameras that capture the entire frame at once - these are called global shutter cameras. While they can tame the banding, you'll still get flicker if the lasers can't put out frames fast enough - that's why an upgraded scanner like the 48 KPPS Juno 5 was so useful.
If you instead want to capture aesthetic, stable banding, it's critical to have control over a cue's real output frame rate. Beyond's TV Mode and the Resampler effect were essential tools for that."
Behind-the-Scenes Laser Support and Collaboration
Q: Did anyone help you with these challenges?
"Pangolin's Chief Development Officer Alexey was super fast to respond with a hidden setting that could reduce the allowable minimum number of points output to the laser. This let me trade some galvo life for supercharged laser frame rates on simple cues (this issue is also why most cues in the film are simple lines and cones - they scan fastest). Also, Adam LaBay was kind enough to diagnose some images I sent him.
For the most challenging shoot in the Canadian wilderness which was only accessible via helicopter, I needed to hire someone who could safely ski with a laser in deep powder, camp overnight in snow, and who knew Beyond deeply. I was fortunate that Brad Kellogg was available."
Ensuring Laser Safety for Athletes and Camera Equipment
Q: How did you make sure this was safe for both the athletes and camera gear?
"First I took ILDA's audience scanning course with Greg Makhov and Patrick Murphy. Patrick's incredible - I once emailed him at 1 AM on-set to check a calculation and he just called me immediately. That, combined with Pangolin’s PASS and an ILT light meter helped make sure that eyes would be safe. For cameras, we'd call out over the radios to have everyone cover their eyes and sensors for zoning, then preview cues on external camera monitors and the drone feed.
I measured the optical attenuation of the athletes' snow goggles. Fun fact -- while it was unlikely they'd take a beam, we did have them close their eyes briefly in the middle of backflips or spins to make sure they could accurately spot their landing without experiencing temporary flash blindness.
At every shoot I did a detailed safety briefing with everyone. I don't take the "trained performer" exemption lightly and it's not a hall pass to exceed MPE.
While compliance doesn’t imply safety, we also filed FAA and Transport Canada paperwork for unterminated outdoor beams and watched live flight trackers. I'm a pilot and I think these rules matter. The ILDA LSO class was super helpful for those forms. Luckily the US and Canadian regulations and forms are similar. If traveling with lasers internationally, don't forget to have a solid carnet."
Keeping Lasers Operational in Sub-Zero, High-Moisture Conditions
Q: How did you keep the lasers operating in those cold and wet environments? Did you consider the KVANT Typhoon or Monsoon enclosures?
"Yes, definitely. I would have loved to use an off-the-shelf battle-tested solution like that, but we had to carry these lasers in their cases on our backs into safety-critical avalanche terrain while also carrying 30 lbs of alpine ascent gear. Every pound mattered.
To keep them dry and warm enough, I made custom insulated Pelican cases with a thermostat driving a heater to get them up to minimum temp, and a fan to dump excess heat after they'd been running a while. I also added desiccant, waterproof cable exits, and a sliding aperture window in the case itself. Even with all this, snow would blow in and I had to manage some condensation on the inside of the laser window. Life was a lot better with the new IP65 lasers.
Time is money (and more film takes), so nobody wants to be paying 40 freezing cold cast and crew members to wait around an extra hour for lasers to heat up. I learned that KVANT lasers definitely work slightly below their minimum operating temp spec, but the green diodes are the most sensitive to cold. The lasers would be at -25° C (-15° F) on our coldest nights. Heating them to a little below the 5° C or 10° C minimum spec would get all the diodes to come to life. You can't really find a commercial walk-in freezer running at -25° C to test in, so it's really important to be able to trust a laser's spec sheet."
Where to Watch the Film
Visit the Mountains of the Moon website to find upcoming screenings. As of December 2025, new showings are being added regularly, with a digital release planned.
Laser Technology Used
- Pangolin BEYOND Software
- Pangolin FB4
- KVANT Clubmax Lasers
- KVANT Spectrum Lasers
- PASS
- ILT Meter
