4CAST MVP

Live music today is as much about listening with your eyes as it is with your ears, and the days of an artist being able to solely rely on their musical skills for a live show are just about over. The reality, however, is that traditional stage video and lighting solutions do nothing to address the needs of the vast majority of performers, instead catering solely to the top 1%. The MVP fills that gap by simplifying the functions of media servers and complex VJ and lighting software into an accessible, portable, and affordable plug-and-play box. The hardware is set up by connecting to any computer over powered USB and configuring via your browser - no software or drivers required. Video clips are dragged and dropped onto the device, and lighting cues are recorded as raw DMX signals from any lighting desk or software. Once loaded with content, individual video clips and lighting cues are mapped to MIDI notes which can then be triggered by any MIDI capable hardware or software. Artists performing with existing audio playback from any DAW can easily add a MIDI track to their session outputting to the MVP to sync visuals to their tracks. Alternatively, connecting the MVP to a hardware controller such as an APC or SPD-SX allows any performer or crew member dynamic control over their visuals in real time. The result is a solution that integrates seamlessly with any setup without requiring the performer to modify their approach.

Most performers who incorporate visuals in their show invest significant time, energy, and money in either hiring specialized road crew to operate their playback or running bloated, multi-piece playback systems. Even the most cost effective options can cost in excess of $5,000 for a dedicated playback computer and software licenses. The innovation of the MVP is in its simple, purpose-built design. The standalone hardware means no processing load on existing hardware and no wasted expense on an additional computer. MIDI operability means it interfaces with all commonly used music technology, in a language widely understood by all skill levels of performers. The slim, 3”x3” profile means it slips into any backpack or hides anywhere on stage. By focusing on solving the most common problems of hobbyists to medium-size professionals, the MVP is remarkably accessible.

The first artist to tour with an MVP prototype, electronic producer Machinedrum, proved our thesis of what the technology could deliver. Machinedrum already had incredible visuals from prior festival performances, but was preparing for a small club tour and realized he wouldn’t be able to tour with a VJ and would have to sacrifice the visual complement to his set he had spent hours and thousands of dollars designing. The MVP allowed him to not only tour with his full visual production, but also to add a stunning light show on top of it, and to be entirely in control of every aspect of his show. He quickly found that with a hardware controller he could “MIDI fighter” his visuals and dynamically improvise them each night, and if he wanted to adjust his light show he could quickly rearrange MIDI notes in his Ableton session.