Something strange is taking shape at Le Saint Motel.
For the past little while, we’ve been building what might be one of our most immersive sets yet: a dark, neon-soaked corner of the future inspired by Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner, Neuromancer, The Matrix, retro-futurism, underground tech labs and every questionable back-alley clinic you definitely shouldn’t be wandering into after midnight.
The idea was never to simply make a “cyberpunk backdrop.”
We wanted to build a place.
A room that feels like someone actually works there. A little grimy. A little dangerous. Full of machines whose purpose isn’t immediately obvious. Somewhere between a ripperdoc clinic, a netrunner hideout, an illegal tech repair shop and the back room of a corporation that absolutely does not want you asking questions.
BUILDING A WORLD, ONE WIRE AT A TIME
When we started designing the set, we kept coming back to the same thing: layers.
Cyberpunk spaces are rarely clean or empty. Technology is everywhere, but instead of disappearing neatly into the walls, it spills out of them.
So we’ve been collecting, building, modifying and wiring together screens, cables, switches, strange medical equipment, metal, plastic, glass, industrial pieces and bits of obsolete technology.
There are wires running everywhere.
There are machines that look important.
There are screens displaying things you probably shouldn’t be looking at.
There are glowing panels, questionable medical tools and enough cables to make you wonder whether the building itself might be alive.
The materials are intentionally mixed and imperfect. We wanted scratched metal beside translucent plastic, medical equipment beside improvised electronics, old technology beside futuristic lighting.
The result is something that feels used rather than staged.
NEON, SHADOWS + QUESTIONABLE TECHNOLOGY
Lighting is a huge part of the design.
Rather than filling the room with light, we’re creating pockets of it: neon reflected across metal, glowing screens illuminating faces, coloured light disappearing into dark corners and little practical lights scattered throughout the set.
Depending on how you photograph it, the same space can feel like a futuristic laboratory, a hacker den, an interrogation room, a dystopian medical clinic or somewhere your character has gone to have a very illegal piece of technology installed.
And because this is Le Saint Motel, there will always be details hidden in the background for you to discover.
The deeper you look, the weirder it gets.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Obviously, building a cyberpunk universe requires an appropriate soundtrack.
So we made a playlist.
It’s been playing while we build, paint, solder, wire things together and repeatedly ask ourselves questions like, “Do we need more cables?”
The answer is always yes.
The playlist is dark, electronic, industrial and atmospheric — basically designed to make you feel like you’re walking through a rain-soaked city at 3 a.m. while a corporation tracks your location.
We’ll have it ready for you when the set opens so you can put it on during your shoot and fully get into the mood or check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Vi9eO40Iwpdt6TW3TVpFC?si=f0666963eea14e4e
ENTER THE RIPPERDOC
And we couldn’t build a ripperdoc clinic without eventually putting a ripperdoc inside it.
We’re planning a special event (check back to RSVP) in the new set featuring Angus from Eternia Tattoos, transformed for the occasion into our resident ripperdoc.
He’ll be tattooing inside the set with designs inspired by cybernetics, circuitry, technological modifications and human-machine connections turning the space into an actual functioning tattoo studio for the event.
Basically: come into the clinic, choose your upgrade and leave slightly more cybernetic than when you arrived.
More details about the event, available designs and booking will be announced soon.
COMING SOON TO LE SAINT MOTEL
The cyberpunk set is still evolving.
We’re continuing to build props, add technology, hide details, run wires and make the room feel increasingly like somewhere that shouldn’t technically exist in Montreal in 2026.
And that’s probably our favourite part.
Le Saint Motel has always been about giving photographers, models, artists and creators access to spaces that let them build an entire world inside a photograph.
This one might be our strangest world yet.
The future is under construction.
Stay tuned for the finished set, our cyberpunk playlist and details about our upcoming Ripperdoc event with Angus.
See you in the clinic.