deadmau5 Cube 2.1 Tour Visuals

Lots of Shows in a Row

For deadmau5's Cube 2.1 tour, MELT was brought in to expand the live show's visual content and help shape a performance system that could stay tightly synchronized while remaining responsive in the moment.

We created real-time ISF animations alongside rendered visual loops prepared in musical lengths of 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1 bars. That structure gave the VJ precise building blocks for matching the music without locking every performance into one fixed sequence.

The content system combined OSC control with SMPTE timecode, connecting animation, playback, and musical timing in a stable touring workflow. MELT supported programming and rehearsal through the first four Hammerstein Ballroom shows, then helped hand the system over to deadmau5 and the touring team for continued operation.

The result paired the consistency of a timecoded production with the flexibility of live VJ performance—allowing the Cube's segmented display surfaces and animated content to evolve with the energy of each show.

Clientdeadmau5
ProjectCube 2.1 / Lots of Shows in a Row Tour
RoleVisual content, real-time animation, show programming, rehearsal support
SystemISF, OSC, SMPTE timecode, rendered VJ loops

Artist VisualsTour VisualsReal-Time VisualsISFOSCSMPTETimecodeVJ ProgrammingCube 2.1

Original MELT archive page Tour photography source Photo license: CC BY-SA 2.0

Gallery photography documents Cube 2.1 at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on May 4, 2017. Photos: swimfinfan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. The images provide context for the touring system; not every visible frame is presented as MELT-created content.

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