Echoes of the Future is a live audiovisual performance developed around the music of pianist and composer Daniel Verstappen. LUCA School of Arts joined the project after a test screening for the planned performance at Pukkelpop. Following this test, POM Limburg approached our team to develop a new visual approach for the show, with the aim of creating a dynamic, energetic and immersive holographic experience.
At that point, the musical structure was already relatively well developed and the tracklist was close to its final form. A broad narrative had also been established. The story moves from the formation of the universe and the emergence of life to the arrival of humankind, the development of technology and, ultimately, our relationship with that technology.
This provided a framework, but visually the performance was largely reconsidered. We divided the narrative into distinct sections and developed a new visual trajectory across the complete show. Existing visual material from one track was retained as a reference and reinterpreted to become part of this new visual language.
With less than two months until Pukkelpop, this became an intensive process of visual development, spatial experimentation and technical prototyping.
From Prototype to Stage Scale
The first visual prototype was developed using the existing setup at UHasselt: three relatively small projection screens and three standard projectors. This provided a practical environment to develop and test the first visual sequences during a press presentation.
The setup also revealed some technical limitations. A visible moiré pattern appeared through the interaction between the mesh structure of the projection material and the resolution of the LED screen positioned behind it. Researchers at UHasselt investigated this interference and worked on reducing its impact within the test setup.
More importantly, the prototype raised a question of scale. A setup that worked in a relatively small test environment would not automatically translate to the considerably larger stage and tent at Pukkelpop.
For the final performance, we therefore proposed using a dedicated ShowTex Holoscrim as one large front projection surface.
This changed more than the dimensions of the image. Removing the boundaries of the three individual screens made the projection considerably more immersive. Instead of three clearly framed projection areas, the foreground could function as one continuous visual field.
Some of the visual ideas developed during the prototype benefited from this change. The realtime visuals created in TouchDesigner by Pieter Steyaert, for example, had much more space to develop.
Other ideas did not translate as well. In the three-screen configuration we had experimented with chaser effects, rapidly switching individually mapped areas on and off. Once those physical divisions disappeared, the same technique lost much of its effect.
Scaling up therefore required us to reconsider the visual language rather than simply enlarge it. We lost some possibilities offered by separate screens, but gained a much stronger sense of spatial continuity.
Composing Across Visual Layers
The final setup provided two main visual planes: the LED screen at the back of the stage and the Holoscrim in front of the performers.
Rather than assigning a strict function to either surface, we experimented with how different types of imagery behaved on both layers. In general, the LED worked well for the main or ‘hero’ elements of a composition, while particles, atmospheric elements and realtime reactive visuals were often more effective on the foreground scrim.
This separation helped create depth. A central image could remain clearly readable at the back while more abstract material occupied the space in front of the performers.
These were never fixed rules. For each track, we tested different combinations on the LED and scrim and evaluated them in relation to the composition, performers and intended visual intensity of that section.
We also deliberately alternated between dense, screen-filling compositions and moments with considerably more negative space.
This became particularly important during solos by the singer, pianist and violinist. Rather than maintaining maximum visual intensity throughout the show, the projections could pull back and give the performer more visual presence.
The two surfaces therefore became more than additional screen space. They allowed us to continuously change the relationship between foreground, performer and background.
Building a 50-Minute Show in Less Than Two Months
Producing custom visuals for a 50-minute performance can require many months of work. With less than two months available, producing every sequence from scratch was not realistic.
We therefore had to decide where custom development would have the most impact.
Solo moments provided space for the realtime systems developed by Pieter Steyaert in TouchDesigner. Several more energetic sections were selected for newly produced visual sequences. Elsewhere, material from our existing VJ libraries was reworked to fit the visual language and narrative of the show.
To organise this process, we created a moodboard for each thematic section and song. This helped map the visual trajectory of the complete performance and determine where new footage was necessary, where existing material could be adapted and where realtime visuals could take over.
The resulting material combined analogue, captured and digitally produced sources.
For Fate of Ophelia, Dennis Baptist created sequences of long-exposure photographs of streetlights, cars and the city at night. These photographs captured movement and light as abstract traces. In After Effects, the individual frames were positioned at different depths in a 3D composition, allowing a virtual camera to move through them and transform the photographic material into a spatial animation.
Elsewhere, self-produced scans, point clouds and Gaussian splats became source material for short animated sequences. Drone footage of the ocean and other captured imagery was combined with digitally generated and processed material.
Rather than defining one production technique for the complete show, the workflow changed according to the requirements of each section.
Experimenting with AI
Generative AI was also explored during visual development, primarily by restyling existing footage.
The results could be visually convincing, but getting them to fit precisely within the visual context of the complete show required considerable prompting and iteration. Within our limited production time, creating or adapting material ourselves often proved faster and gave us more direct control.
AI-assisted coding proved more useful.
Gert Wastyn used ChatGPT Codex to develop and iterate Python code for manipulating point-cloud data inside Unreal Engine. In this case, AI was not generating the final imagery, but assisting in the development of tools that could subsequently be used to animate and direct our own material.
The distinction became useful during the project: generative AI was one possible source of imagery, while AI-assisted coding could become part of the production workflow itself.
Audio-Reactive Visual Systems
For several solo sections, Pieter Steyaert developed realtime audio-reactive visuals in TouchDesigner.
The system received a dedicated audio mix through an XLR connection, providing a feed of either the piano, solo vocal or violin depending on the section. The incoming audio was analysed in realtime, with changes in volume and frequency mapped to parameters controlling shaders and particle systems.
Several systems were developed around this principle, including Mandelbrot-based visuals and point-cloud systems with swarm behaviour.
The latter introduced an interesting combination of control and unpredictability. Particle movement was influenced both by the incoming audio and by the internal behaviour of the swarm. When activated at the appropriate moment, particles could develop into a circling movement around the performer, but the precise movement was never completely predetermined.
The timing of the visual system could therefore be controlled, while its subsequent behaviour emerged from the interaction between the music and the simulation.
This was particularly useful during solo sections. Instead of playing a fixed animation alongside a live musician, the visual material could develop differently according to the performance.
Building a Performable Visual System
Although much of the material was prepared in advance, the final show was not designed as a fixed 50-minute audiovisual timeline.
The main visual show was performed by Dennis Baptist in Resolume Arena. Clips and smaller visual elements were triggered live, while mapped sliders and controllers were used for effects, fades and other parameters.
At the same time, a show of this length required enough structure to remain manageable.
QLab provided the underlying cue structure and was also used to trigger the music. At predetermined points, QLab sent cues to Resolume to switch to a new group of columns containing the material for the next section.
This divided the performance into manageable blocks. Rather than navigating all of the content while simultaneously performing it, Dennis could concentrate on the visual timing, effects and transitions within the current section.
The approach also provided an unexpected degree of redundancy. During the Pukkelpop performance, Resolume crashed. The music continued independently, Resolume could be restarted, and the QLab structure allowed the correct section of the show to be loaded again immediately. The interruption went largely unnoticed by the audience.
A separate machine ran the realtime TouchDesigner visuals, operated by Pieter. Although these systems responded to audio, they were not simply left to run automatically. Shaders, colours and other parameters could still be manipulated live using mapped controllers.
Aitor Biedma handled the show direction, coordinating the performance across the different systems and operators.
The original plan was to operate the show with four people at front of house, with Gert Wastyn working as an additional VJ. Space limitations at FOH reduced the final setup to three operators, meaning some of the planned live control had to be consolidated.
Lighting was another important part of this system. Too much stage light illuminated the Holoscrim itself, revealing the physical surface and weakening the holographic effect. Lighting therefore had to be carefully balanced against the projection.
The resulting setup combined different levels of control: QLab provided the structural backbone, Resolume handled prepared content and live VJ performance, and TouchDesigner provided realtime systems that combined audio input, algorithmic behaviour and manual control.
Testing the System at Full Scale
The final setup at Pukkelpop provided the first opportunity to evaluate the complete system at the scale and under the conditions for which it had been designed.
One of the clearest observations concerned ambient light.
For the holographic effect to work convincingly, the Holoscrim needs to disappear as much as possible from view. Under dark conditions this worked well. During rehearsals, however, additional light falling onto the scrim sometimes made the material visible and weakened the illusion.
The relationship between the Holoscrim and the rear LED also became more apparent at full scale. Relative to the size of the scrim, the available LED screen was smaller than ideal. This limited our ability to create compositions that appeared to continue seamlessly from foreground to background.
We partially compensated for this by feathering the edges of both the projected and LED content. This softened the transition between the two planes, although a larger rear image surface would have provided more freedom for fully immersive compositions.
Ambient light also affected some of the prepared visual material. During rehearsals, several clips proved too subtle for the actual festival conditions and were replaced shortly before the performance with more intense material.
Despite these constraints, the setup worked well within the festival environment. The foreground and background layers produced the intended spatial effect, and the realtime systems responded as expected during the performance.
The full-scale setup also reinforced something that is easy to underestimate when producing this type of work: the visual content cannot be considered separately from the physical conditions in which it is shown. Projection surfaces, ambient light, relative screen dimensions and stage lighting all become part of the image.
Lessons and Next Steps
The project demonstrated first of all the amount of production time required to develop a custom visual performance of this length. A future iteration would benefit from a substantially longer development and testing period, allowing more sections of the show to be developed specifically for the performance.
We would also start immediately with a Holoscrim at the intended scale. This would avoid developing visual ideas around a prototype architecture that changes significantly when moving to the final stage.
The combination of LED and projection is another aspect we would reconsider. The brightness and image characteristics of the LED were visibly different from the projected foreground. Using projection for both the front and rear planes could create a more consistent image across the two layers.
Artistically, we would like to continue investigating the relationship between analogue and digitally generated content. The performance combined photography, drone footage and scans with realtime shaders, point clouds, Gaussian splats and other digital imagery. Finding ways to integrate these different sources while retaining their individual qualities remains an interesting area for further development.
The realtime system also offers room for expansion.
In this version, audio from the musicians was the primary live input for TouchDesigner. Future iterations could incorporate additional data from performers and instruments and potentially introduce information from the audience.
Audience interaction could become particularly interesting if treated not as a separate interactive feature, but as another source of data within the same realtime visual environment. This could allow both performers and audience to influence how parts of the animation develop during the performance.
Echoes of the Future therefore became more than the production of visuals for a single performance. It provided a practical test environment for spatial composition, layered projection, realtime animation and different forms of live control within the context of expanded animation.
Project Credits
Echoes of the Future
Live audiovisual performance, 2026
Pianist / Composer
Daniel Verstappen
Visuals / Project Management
Gert Wastyn
TouchDesigner Development / VJ
Pieter Steyaert
Main VJ
Dennis Baptist
Show Direction
Aitor Biedma
Partners
LUCA School of Arts
UHasselt
POM Limburg / XR House
UCLL / E-Arena
Presented at
E-Arena, Pukkelpop 2026