job: software, electronics
client: Henrik Schwarz for Pop-Kultur
For the 2018 edition of the Berlin Pop-Kultur Festival, I developed the specialized playback system for Henrik Schwarz’s commissioned work, Plunderphonia, performed alongside the Alma Quartett. This project required a custom-engineered visual solution capable of handling high-demand, synchronized LED content within a rigorous live performance environment.
To meet the requirements of the installation, I developed a bespoke software environment designed to bridge the gap between high-resolution video and constrained embedded hardware. I created a custom conversion pipeline that ingested raw video files and translated them into a proprietary format, optimized for playback via a high-speed SD card interface on a custom microcontroller setup.
The visual output was distributed across five separate LED-matrix panels. To achieve a cohesive aesthetic, I implemented a synchronization architecture that allowed these panels to function either independently or as a single, unified display. This provided the artistic flexibility to either isolate visuals or "stretch" content across the entire array, creating a massive, immersive canvas that served as the primary lighting source for the stage during the premiere.
Reliability and latency were paramount. To integrate the visuals directly into Henrik Schwarz’s performance workflow, I enabled full MIDI control over the playback engine. This allowed Henrik to trigger, cue, and manipulate the video content in real-time, ensuring that the lighting and visuals remained perfectly locked to the musical nuances of his collaboration with the Alma Quartett.
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