Audio Pixel Collider 2024
Audio Pixel Collider (2024) is an annual multidisciplinary electronic music and live visual showcase hosted by UT Austin’s Department of Arts & Entertainment Technologies (AET), uniting six courses across interactive media, music production, lighting, and video programming. Performing live on stage alongside two DJs, the visual programming workflow pairs generative Derivative TouchDesigner networks with MIDI-mapped Resolume Arena mixing for real-time projection.
Overview
Official Links & Media:
Live VJ Performance (Set 1): Audio Pixel Collider 2024 - Live VJ Performance 1
Live VJ Performance (Set 2): Audio Pixel Collider 2024 - Live VJ Performance 2
Semester Coursework & Visual Reel: Real-time Video Programming - Audio Pixel Collider Student Reel - 2024
AET Event Overview: Audio Pixel Collider
Official AET Event Page: Audio Pixel Collider | Department of Arts & Entertainment Technologies
Role: VJ (Video Jockey) & Real-Time Visual Programmer
Venue & Date: B. Iden Payne Theatre | November 21, 2024 (7:30 PM – 11:00 PM)
Course & Semester: AET Real-Time Video Programming | Fall 2024
Core Tools: Derivative TouchDesigner, Resolume Arena, Arturia MIDI Controller
I. Event Overview & Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Audio Pixel Collider (APC) is an annual immersive multimedia rave and "sonic showdown" hosted by the Department of Arts & Entertainment Technologies (AET) at the University of Texas at Austin. Held on November 21, 2024, at the B. Iden Payne Theatre, the production united six (6) distinct AET courses across interactive installations, electronic music composition, stage lighting design, and real-time video programming into a single cohesive concert experience. Upon entering the venue, guests first experienced polished, student-built interactive installations before stepping into the main theatre for a back-to-back lineup of live electronic sets.
During the Fall 2024 semester, I participated in AET's Real-Time Video Programming course and served as a live VJ (Video Jockey) on the main stage. Performing live alongside two (2) student DJs, I built custom procedural visual patches in Derivative TouchDesigner and mixed them in real time through Resolume Arena using a hardware MIDI controller.
II. Pre-Production: Semester Video Sketches, Workshops & Visual Preparation
Before stepping onto the Payne Theatre stage, the semester focused on building a versatile, low-latency visual toolkit through iterative coursework. Each week, we explored different facets of procedural generation and signal manipulation in TouchDesigner, which I later compiled into my 2024 Real-Time Video Programming Student Reel alongside select clips from the live show:
Weekly Video Sketches: Developed a series of experimental TouchDesigner networks exploring radial symmetry and moiré interference rings, Luma-keyed color lookup tables (LUTs), horizontal scanline displacement, and feedback loops.
Audio-Reactive Geometry Studies: Engineered procedural 3D SOP (Surface Operator) networks where isolated audio frequency channels drove real-time mesh deformation, rotating 3D head scan slicing, wireframe symmetry trails, and pixel-to-particle botanical dispersion.
III. Main Stage Highlight: Live Dual-DJ VJ Performances
The true culmination of the project was performing live on stage at the B. Iden Payne Theatre for two (2) separate DJ sets, captured in full in Live VJ Performance 1 and Live VJ Performance 2. Rather than playing back a pre-rendered video timeline, the entire visual show was mixed, triggered, and modulated on the fly in response to the live music and stage lighting.
Performance / Component | Live Stage Execution & Visual Strategy | Hardware & Software Pipeline |
Live VJ Set 1 (with David Olivares) | Performed live visual busking tailored to the first DJ's electronic set, pacing the visual intensity from atmospheric, slow-evolving procedural textures and particle fields during melodic builds into sharp, beat-synced geometric cuts on the drops. | TouchDesigner generative loops & live patches routed into Resolume Arena, controlled via hardware MIDI controller |
Live VJ Set 2 (with Scott Leben) | Shifted the visual palette and rhythmic pacing to give the second DJ's set a distinct visual identity on the main screen, layering high-contrast wireframe symmetry, datamoshed tunnels, and rapid strobe/displacement transitions synced to the live drums and basslines. | Resolume Arena multi-layer deck mixing, real-time effect macros, and tactile MIDI fader/knob modulation |
Tactile MIDI Busking Workflow | Mapped Resolume layer opacities, clip triggers, blend modes, and custom effect chains (RGB delay, mirror symmetry, wave distortion, and feedback bloom) directly to physical MIDI faders, rotary knobs, and pads for zero-latency improvisation on stage. | Arturia MIDI Controller interfaced with Resolume Arena & TouchDesigner |
IV. Reflection
Audio Pixel Collider 2024 marked a major turning point in my growth as a live visual designer. Taking procedural networks built through semester video sketches and performing them live on the B. Iden Payne Theatre stage alongside two different DJs taught me how to structure a Resolume and TouchDesigner deck that can adapt instantaneously to different musical styles under live show pressure. The experience of busking visuals live on a MIDI controller in 2024 influenced me to return for Audio Pixel Collider 2025 as a Lighting Designer on the Hog 4 system, expanding my live event toolkit across both real-time video and concert lighting.
