Phish Live at Sphere: Moment Factory Harnesses Sphere’s Next-Generation Technologies to Reimagine Concert Experience
A four-night concert series takes real-time content to new heights
LAS VEGAS, April 19, 2024 -- Award-winning multimedia studio Moment Factory is proud to announce its latest collaboration with Phish: a groundbreaking four-night concert series at Sphere in Las Vegas. Running from April 18 to 21, the shows mark a bold step forward in live concert experiences, taking advantage of the venue’s next-generation technologies to showcase immersive multimedia content generated from an innovative fusion of real-time and pre-rendered visuals. Only the second band to perform at Sphere, Phish ventures into new territory with its improvisational style, leading concert-goers on a mind-bending multisensory journey.
Moment Factory played a central role in the co-creative direction of the four shows, collaborating closely with Show Director Abigail Rosen Holmes. The studio’s involvement extended to set design, video design, and production, as well as contributing to lighting concepts in collaboration with the band's longtime lighting designer, Chris Kuroda.
Moment Factory takes a future-forward approach to real-time generative video content, bringing unique visuals to the world’s highest-resolution LED screen each night. Combining scenographic elements, 360° live performance capture, technologies including Unreal and Notch, pre-rendered imagery, and visuals generated with the assistance of AI, Moment Factory uses a number of tools and techniques never before seen at Sphere.
"Phish Live at Sphere is an incredibly audacious project that we are thrilled to have worked on. We feel extremely privileged to have legendary bands like Phish entrusting us with creating immersive universes around their music and identity, enabling them to connect with fans in completely new ways. Moment Factory got its start VJing in the late 90s, and we are particularly proud, nearly 25 years later, to have maintained this initial passion. We are now pushing it to an unprecedented level, creating the longest-ever real-time content show on the world’s most immersive canvas at Sphere,” says Daniel Jean, Producer for Shows, Moment Factory.
Powered by the venue’s 21st-century technologies, each show in the four-night series is set apart by a curated setlist, Phish's signature improvisation, and a customized orchestration of music, visuals, and lighting.
Rising to this creative and technical challenge, the team worked closely with a trusted network of collaborators, including Disguise, whose innovative platform powered Moment Factory's extensive hours of pre-rendered and real-time visual content on a sprawling 16K x 16K resolution canvas. Fuse Technical Group served as the technical integrator for the video system, managing the incorporation of Moment Factory's content onto servers and providing supplementary servers for real-time content delivery. Moment Factory also enlisted Fly Studio, Myreze, and Sila Sveta for screen content production; Troublemakers for audio design during Phish's stage entrance; and Picnic Dinner Studios and Totem Studio for 2D animations during the intermission.
Phish Live at Sphere marks the Montreal-based studio’s seventh and most ambitious collaboration with the prolific rock band. Their long-term creative partnership includes previous concerts at Madison Square Garden and the MGM Grand.
This latest undertaking highlights Moment Factory’s expertise in hijacking technologies to create innovative entertainment — artificial intelligence serving as a prime example. Integrating AI seamlessly into workflows and customizing the technology to meet production demands supports the studio’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and pushing creative boundaries. Moment Factory embraces AI as a tool for pioneering new aesthetics, modes of engagement, and experiences that blend digital and physical worlds.
About Moment Factory
Moment Factory is a multimedia studio with a full range of production expertise under one roof. Our team combines specializations in video, lighting, architecture, sound and special effects to create remarkable experiences. Headquartered in Montreal, the studio also has other addresses in Tokyo, Paris, New York City, and Singapore. Since its inception in 2001, Moment Factory has created more than 550 unique projects worldwide, including the Lumina Night Walks and Aura Series, as well as The Messi Experience. Its productions span the globe and include such clients as Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Madonna, Microsoft, Disney, Universal Studios, Sony, Boston Museum of Science, Cipriani, and Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The studio explores innovative storytelling and creative uses of technology to craft immersive multimedia worlds that enhance the vital link between artist and audience.
