Audio Pixel Collider 2025
Audio Pixel Collider (2025) is an annual immersive electronic music and live design showcase hosted at the B. Iden Payne Theatre by UT Austin’s Department of Arts & Entertainment Technologies (AET), featuring student performances alongside guest synth-wave act Urban Heat. Engineered using High End Systems Hog 4 and Hog4PC consoles, the lighting design encompasses 89 custom-programmed cues executed via manual live playback in synchronization with original electronic music and real-time projection visuals.
Overview
Official Links & Media:
Press Feature (The Daily Texan): Students’ work set to premiere at upcoming on-campus rave – The Daily Texan
Official Event Recap: Audio Pixel Collider 2025
Official Event Promo: You're Invited: Audio Pixel Collider 2025
Event Page: Audio Pixel Collider 2025 on Eventbrite
Role: Lighting Designer (LD) & Console Programmer
Venue & Date: B. Iden Payne Theatre | November 20, 2025 (7:00 PM – 11:15 PM)
Course & Semester: AET Engineering for Live Events | Fall 2025
Core Tools: High End Systems Hog 4 Console, Hog4PC, Capture Previsualization
I. Event Overview & Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Audio Pixel Collider (APC) is an annual on-campus electronic music rave and live multimedia showcase hosted by the Department of Arts & Entertainment Technologies (AET) at the University of Texas at Austin. Hosted at the B. Iden Payne Theatre on November 20, 2025, in partnership with Armadillo World Headquarters and featuring special guest post-punk/synth-wave band Urban Heat, the event united students across Live Event Engineering, Interactive Music, Real-Time Video Programming, and Interactive Installations in front of an audience of 200 to 300 guests.
After performing on stage as a live VJ in the 2024 showcase, I returned for Audio Pixel Collider 2025 as a Lighting Designer (LD) through AET's Engineering for Live Events course. Grouped into a three-person multidisciplinary team (scheduled for the 10:45 PM – 10:55 PM main-stage performance slot), I collaborated alongside electronic music composer Liam Kennedy and VJ Jovanna "Jo" Molina to design and execute a cohesive visual and lighting experience for our 10-minute live set.
Leading up to the premiere, I was interviewed and featured in The Daily Texan ("Students’ work set to premiere at upcoming on-campus rave" by Brian Murray), where I spoke about the collaborative discipline required to keep a three-person audio, visual, and lighting team aligned on a tight production schedule:
"When it comes to group projects in general … collaboration is the most important. If one person falls behind or doesn't stay on track, then the whole thing can fall apart." — Alexander Le, The Daily Texan (November 20, 2025)
II. Previsualization & Hog 4 Programming Pipeline
To design a dynamic concert lighting show before stepping into the physical venue, I built and programmed my entire cue list using the High End Systems Hog 4 ecosystem (Hog4PC and the physical Hog 4 Console) paired with Capture 3D stage previsualization software:
Musical Analysis & Look Development: Starting from our composer's initial audio drafts and design statements in mid-October, I mapped out the structural transitions, BPM changes, builds, and drops across the set to establish a clear chromatic and rhythmic arc.
89-Cue Architecture in Hog4PC: Using the venue's patched Hog 4 showfile and Capture previsualization assets, I programmed a total of 89 individual lighting cues designed for manual playback.
Effects, Timing & Transitions: Across the 89-cue stack, I utilized precise Fade and Wait duration times, Cue Only tracking protection, and Release on Other Go parameters to keep transitions crisp. To match the energy of the electronic music, I programmed custom table effects with fanned 0° to 360° phase offsets and beat-synced intensity chases, alongside gobo rotation encoders, beam shaping, and color mixing across the Payne Theatre lighting rig.
III. Load-In, Technical Rehearsals & Live Playback
During production week (November 17–20, 2025), our team transitioned our previsualized files from the PLAI Lab into the B. Iden Payne Theatre for stage installation, fixture checks, and full technical rehearsals:
Production Phase | Schedule & Location | Technical Execution & Role |
Previz & Cue Programming | October – November 18, 2025 (PLAI Lab & Hog4PC) | Built and refined the 89-cue showfile in Hog4PC with Capture previsualization, syncing color palettes with our team's real-time projection visuals. |
Equipment Load-In & Tech Checks | November 17–19, 2025 (B. Iden Payne Theatre) | Loaded showfiles onto the physical Hog 4 Console, verified fixture patching and unparked parameters in the Output panel, and calibrated stage focus and haze density during evening tech runs. |
Main Stage Performance (Group 18) | November 20, 2025 | 10:45 PM – 10:55 PM (B. Iden Payne Theatre) | Operated the Hog 4 Console at the front-of-house lighting station, manually triggering all 89 cues in real time alongside Liam Kennedy's live electronic music set and Jovanna Molina's projected visuals. |
IV. Reflection
Stepping into the Lighting Designer role for Audio Pixel Collider 2025 after serving as a VJ the year prior gave me a deeper perspective on live concert production. Programming 89 cues across Hog4PC and the physical Hog 4 Console shaped my understanding of theatrical and concert lighting workflows, from managing complex effect tracking and fanned phase offsets to hitting manual Go cues with split-second musical timing in front of a packed house. Most importantly, coordinating closely with my composer and VJ reinforced how vital proactive communication is when uniting sound, projection, and stage lighting into a single live performance.
