SHR6E032F~001 Project Viability Study MOR23084209

1. Introduction and Proposed Project

My proposed project is to create 10-12 minutes of music to be accompanied by a visual render of a concert to go with it, which will be created on the industry standard visualisation software Depence. Throughout the video, elements of the tracks will be accompanied by visual features such as lasers, special effects, lighting and pyrotechnics, used to enhance the music and engage visually.

The type of music that I will be creating will be electronic dance music, as that is typically the type of music that features visual elements such as lasers when in a live setting. My goal is to create a piece of work that is highly captivating visually and aurally, whilst using my network to learn new skills that I can use outside of university to branch out into new areas of the music industry.

Personnel

James Morriss

I have been producing music for 6 years, primarily making electronic music. Alongside my studies at university, I have been working for the last 5 years with a pyrotechnic and special effects company called BPM SFX, working on huge shows that incorporate visuals into music. Primarily working with clients in dance music, I’ve seen firsthand the effect that visuals have on a live show and subsequently it has become a big interest of mine studying how integrating visuals into music and live performances enhances the experience. Combining this interest and my industry experience, I have chosen this project as an opportunity to use my network to learn and create something engaging that will expand my skillset.

Olly Yates

Olly has been designing and operating lasers and special effects at shows for over a decade, working for clients such as Drake and David Guetta, and is one of the best in the industry for programming lasers and other visual elements to music. He is most well known due to his work with Martin Garrix, whose shows are renowned for their lasers. I have known Olly for the past 2 years and he proposed this concept to me when I told him about the assignment in August, as I mentioned I would like to incorporate SFX to my music for the project.

Tom Stead

Tom is an SFX operator and project manager who has been working in the industry for 14 years, having worked and toured with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and The Chainsmokers. He also designs pyrotechnic displays, which are used at the end of shows like Glastonbury and Reading Festival. Tom expressed an interest to work with me alongside Olly when we initially began discussing concepts over the summer.

2. Methodology and Rationale

Olly and Tom get busy with work March through to October, so the sweet spot of ensuring they will have free time is around the winter months, when there tend to be less tours and festivals that require their attention. As a result, I am aiming to have my tracks finished by February time. Once I’m done, I will meet up with them and discuss execution of the visuals, what I want, and simultaneously what they think will work best.

To meet this deadline, I need to work efficiently to ensure that I’m happy with the work produced. My plan is to maximise output by creating as many tracks as possible, then select my favourites and develop them to be finished in time. Any songs I don’t use, I can use for other assignments, which maximises my work efficiency for assignments this year. I am aiming to have made a song every two/three weeks, and each time I create a song, I will get better at knowing what I want and work faster next time.

Once I’ve selected the 3 songs I want to use, I will mix the songs on my DJ decks to give the effect of a real dance production by having smooth transitions between songs. I will then take this audio to Olly and Tom, and they will design the visuals using Depence in a specialist studio in Burnley- I intend to be present for this so I can give my input and learn from them.

3. Market Analysis

According to Allied Market Research, the global events industry was valued at $1.1 trillion in 2019, and this figure continues to grow due to increasing cash injections from various sources, such as sponsors. Over the past decade, market trends show a rise in event sponsors, noting that sponsorships create a larger pool of financial resources for organisers, allowing them to increase event quality through higher production value, infrastructure upgrades, and better overall execution. (Allied Market Research, 2023)

Cashman and Garrido write in Performing Popular Music that “if your performance is to truly be an experience, it needs to engage as many of the senses as possible,” which, in my view, is where the success and novelty of live performance lies. They also write that “a performance is more than just the music. It’s an experience.” (Cashman and Garrido 2020, p.16) When people pay to go to big shows, they expect to be visually wowed as much as musically, which is why shows by acts like Coldplay and Rammstein are known for incorporating visual spectacles.

As a result, artists across genres now rely heavily on visuals in their concerts, and with the combination of advancing technology and rising budget, lasers and special effects have become far more common. This means the ability to design creative and impactful visuals is in extremely high demand within the industry. Many artists even create tracks or remixes specifically to integrate with visuals, as they are a crucial part of audience engagement; engagement is often the driving factor for fans to attend high-production concerts. As stated: “The convergence of enhanced production values, state-of-the-art technologies, and superior amenities creates an event that is not merely attended but experienced… drawing attendees into an immersive world of engagement, interaction, and lasting memories.” (Allied Market Research, 2023). My target audience for this project then is primarily production managers looking to hire visual designers, but is also indirectly audiences that love visual engagement in concerts.

5. Inspiration and Influences

My inspiration for the music I’m creating is songs with specific features that sync up well with visuals. Strong rhythms tend to work best with the vast array of movements you can do with lasers, so I’m going to try to include lots of syncopation and choppy rhythms- to do this I will utilise envelopes and LFOs with automation in the music to allow there to be a perfect visual sync between the choppy rhythms of the music and the video.

Songs that I think would work best with this project that include these features mentioned are Fell-Klsr, Tesla- Mau P, The Fall- The Chainsmokers and Turn Out The Lights- Fred Again. Live video examples of these songs include lasers which sync up really well with the song, which is why I’ve chosen them as my reference tracks.

Contingency/Risk Assessment

If I am unable to use Tom and Olly for my project, which could be likely as Olly is frequently on tour and Tom is always planning future projects, I have a large network of graphics design students from Leeds Beckett which I could collaborate with for their final projects. I have spoken to one of them, Louis Davenport, who is exploring sound waves altering graphic visuals. A collaboration could very easily be created using my tracks, albeit one different from what I expected, however I still think it could be a rewarding project once completed, and definitely look visually stunning. This would be easy to do on short notice too, as he is already creating material for his final year project.

7. Potential for Development

Going forward, I’d really like to delve into production design and create visuals for real world shows. My experience after completing this project, alongside my network, puts me in good stead going forward, especially after the experience I will gain from this project. I will hopefully have learnt lots about the design and execution of creating something of this scale, which I can use on professional portfolios to market my skillset in the events industry after university. This will make me more appealing to artists, as not only can I offer musical services, I can also offer visual design, meaning if I’m working on a production with a smaller budget, my broad skillset makes me cost efficient.

8. Evaluation Viability

During my evaluation presentation, people responded well, liking its uniqueness and engaging content. In the questions, someone said they’d like to see more mention of cultural relevance, which was absent from the presentation, as at the time as i didn’t deem it relevant, however the social and industry relevance is extremely important to contextualising my project. Concerns were also raised about the reliability regarding the personnel and time constraints, however, these risks are entirely manageable and therefore make the rest of the project sufficiently viable. I feel as though I have planned appropriately for all outcomes and am making good progress so far, in addition to contextualising why I am doing this project for my career and its relevance to current industry trends.

Someone also questioned me about paying the designers, which I hadn’t considered. Because of the relationship I have with them and they both offered to do it, funding won’t be required for this project, as they’ve also helped me out with previous assignments too. If it was, then Olly and Tom’s day rate for work is £450. Hypothetical funding for this could be sourced from Arts Council England, and if I was successful with an application for the National Lottery Project grant, I would be able to obtain the £900 required to fund this project (Arts Council England, 2025).

9. Bibliography

Allied Market Research (2023) Live events industry market size, share, trends | forecast 2032. Allied Market Research. Available at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/live-events-industry-market-A156718 (Accessed: 29 November 2025).

Arts Council England (2025) Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants | Arts Council England. [online] Arts Council England. Available at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/projectgrants (Accessed: 3 December 2025)

Cashman, D. and Garrido, W. (2019) Performing popular music. London: Routledge, p. 16.

ChainsmokersVEVO (2022) The Chainsmokers, Ship Wrek – The Fall (Official Audio). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELXuZBD6D_g&list=PLt-FAftofKPD4-ePwxQvjoHgZfU3bi2X_&index=4(Accessed: 29 November 2025).

Klsr (2025) Fell – Klsr. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg6siXwQtHY&list=PLt-FAftofKPD4-ePwxQvjoHgZfU3bi2X_&index=6 (Accessed: 29 November 2025).

Mau P (2025) Mau P – TESLA. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVp454wjqls&list=PLt-FAftofKPD4-ePwxQvjoHgZfU3bi2X_&index=1 (Accessed: 29 November 2025).

SahanR (2025) Swedish House Mafia | Creamfields 2025. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSzxlWrGBlU&list=PLt-FAftofKPD4-ePwxQvjoHgZfU3bi2X_&index=5 (Accessed: 29 November 2025).

Shin -garrixer- (2025) Martin Garrix – GMO SONIC JAPAN 2025 live full set. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctxe2yLvUaA&list=PLt-FAftofKPD4-ePwxQvjoHgZfU3bi2X_&index=2(Accessed: 29 November 2025).

Slater, R. (2024) Leeds Festival 2024: Fred again.. x Swedish House Mafia – Turn On The Lights again.. live footage. Youtu.be. Available at: https://youtu.be/wXSt6msNVFU?si=ZEMVBLh4CpTJ4aah (Accessed: 29 November 2025).