Touring with Papadosio -
Immersive Lighting & Projection
Elevating live experiences with a fusion of light, visuals, and sound.
📌 Project Overview
🎶 Client: Papadosio
📍 Tour Locations: Nationwide
📅 Years Active: 2017 - current
🖥 Technology Used: GrandMA2, Resolume, Madmapper, Beyond, Synesthesia, TouchOSC, Bomes Midi Translator
🎭 Services Provided: Lighting Design, Projection Mapping
🎨Creative Design and Vision
Papadosio’s music blends electronic and organic elements, requiring a visual experience that enhances their dynamic performances. My role as a lighting and video designer is to create an immersive atmosphere that synchronized seamlessly with the band’s evolving setlists.
Lighting Control
🎛 GrandMA2 + Custom Macros & Lua Scripts, Programming and Operation
Live Visuals
🎥 Resolume Arena, Synesthesia, Madmapper, TouchDesigner, Programming and Operation
Lasers
⚡Pangolin Beyond, Madlaser, Beam Effects and Laser Mapping, Programming and Operation
Live Streaming
📹 OBS, Rocosoft PTZ, Programming and Operation
⚙️Technical Execution
⚡Challenges and Solutions
🔥 Challenge 1: Adapting to Different Venues Nightly
Each venue had different stage dimensions, lighting capabilities, and projector placements. To ensure consistency:
✅ I built modular scripts for GrandMA2 to quickly adjust programming.
✅ Used NDI & networked playback systems for flexible video distribution.
✅ Optimized projection angles & keystone correction for each venue.
Papadosio’s sets involve improvised transitions and shifting BPMs.
✅ I developed custom MIDI-triggered macros to adjust lighting cues in real-time.
✅ Used OSC data from Ableton Live to trigger synced visual effects per band member
✅ Created a palette-based color system to adjust dynamically based on song energy.
🎭 Challenge 2: Syncing Visuals to Live Music
🔊 Challenge 3: Handling Audio-Responsive Visuals
With a mix of pre-programmed and generative visuals, timing was crucial.
✅ Used FFT audio analysis in Synesthesia for real-time music-reactive camera elements.
✅ Programmed sound-to-light mappings for transitions and breakdowns.
🚀 Impact & Highlights
🌟 Designed visuals for major festivals and stages including Red Rocks, Electric Forest, Okeechobee, Backwoods, Secret Dreams, and more
🎵 Enhanced over hundreds live shows with immersive lighting & visuals
🎨 Developed a signature style for Papadosio's lighting & visuals
🎶 Collaborated with the band on creative direction for tour aesthetics
🌍 “Our unofficial sixth member - the unseen architect of our sonic voyages, the mastermind behind the psychedelic tapestry that transports our music to interstellar dimensions, and the kindest boi in the universe.” – Papadosio
