"A gorgeous interactive performance incorporating dynamic video and music." —juror Kim Rees

"This mind-blowing combination of music, digital projection and 3-D sculpture is as technically amazing as it is sensually stimulating." —juror David Wright

Overview: In 2011, electronic artist Amon Tobin toured to support his new Ninja Tune Records release ISAM. The breathtaking set for his performances featured an array of interconnected boxes, including one central cube that functioned as the artist's cockpit. The use of real-time projection mapping and generative, audio-reactive graphics, mixed with traditionally rendered media created one-of-a-kind experiences for each audience. It's the perfect blend of cutting-edge technology and progressive sound, design and animation, in the hands of one phenomenal musical artist.

• Creating the visual content spanned almost three months.
• In addition to creating a custom projection alignment tool for handling complex mapping projects, the team also used a Kinect hack to capture a 3-D representation of Amon, projected on-stage in real-time during the performance, that functioned as a virtual controller for Amon to pluck invisible strings and control visuals.
• After the show premiered at the MUTEK Festival in Montreal, all subsequent North American tour dates were completely sold out.

Comments by Leviathan:
What was the most challenging aspect of the project? "As his fans know, Amon is partial to melding organic and mechanical sounds to create narrative; we wanted to do the same with his performance visuals for ISAM. Once concept development started, the team began factoring in a spaceship, nebulae, asteroids and other abstract imagery to represent the journey concert-goers would experience. Creating original, long-form content in this style for live-performance projection mapping was taken to a whole new level when we saw the projection surface—stacked white cubes.

"While we, and about a dozen artists, set about creating animated content for five of the album's tracks, the programmers focused on the challenge of aligning projected, mapped content on the complex structure of Amon's stage set. A live 3-D camera feed of Amon is distorted with effects and projected onto the structure's facade, over the pre-rendered animation. The result is unbelievable and, in fact, every aspect of each performance is custom tailored for Amon to deliver amazing, one-of-a-kind performances."