We’re so looking forward to the upcoming TouchDesigner Dublin Summer Event, taking place at Flux on June 28th, 2025.. This will be our first organized meetup in Dublin, and we're really looking forward to connecting in person with the local TouchDesigner community!
From Derivative, Greg Hermanovic and Isabelle Rousset will be there.
The event runs from 10:00 AM to 10:00PM, with masterclasses and community presentations during the day and a casual social gathering in the evening.
The presentation segment feature a masterclass from Greg Hermanovic, five in-depth 30-minute talks, followed by the always entertaining and insight-packed quickfire round—four rapid 10-minute presentations. Don’t blink!
After a full day of learning, inspiration, and creative exchange, we’ll break for dinner before diving into the evening portion of the event featuring an Open Beamer jam session—a fun (and semi-structured) VJ-style setup where multiple participants project visuals to a DJ set, often remixing each other's video feeds in real-time. A cash bar will be available on site.
There will be plenty of time to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy some relaxed socializing throughout the day and evening.
This is a small, community-focused event with limited capacity, so we kindly ask that tickets be reserved by and for members of the TouchDesigner community. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.
Pauric Freeman
Liing Heaney
Greg Hermanovic
David Mathúna
Walter Nied
Michael O'Connell
Aisling Phelan
Greg Hermanovic and Isabelle Rousset 10:45am
Opening remarks and team introduction.
Prior experience with TouchDesigner is recommended for this master class, but newbies are welcome to participate.
Greg Hermanovic
A Deep Dive Into POPS - Point Operators 11:00am
https://derivative.ca/community-post/pops-new-operator-family-touchdesig...
Break lunch 60 min 1pm - 2pm
We’re especially interested in how people work with TouchDesigner—how they built things in TouchDesigner and its role in solving certain problems. These talks are centered on knowledge and experience-sharing.Schedule of presenters coming soon!
Michael O'Connell
DYNAMIC CONTROLLER FOR TOUCHDESIGNER | 2:00pm
Michael will present a custom system he developed to dynamically control and navigate TouchDesigner using the Ableton Push 2. Going beyond standard MIDI mapping, the workflow lets users assign custom Base COMPs to Push pads on the fly, view and edit parameters directly on the Push screen, and move through complex networks seamlessly.
He’ll break down the system’s logic, including multi-level pad sensitivity, visual feedback, smart parameter handling (like grouped XYZ controls), and dynamic increment scaling via the touch strip. The setup removes the need for manual MIDI assignments and greatly improves prototyping, debugging, and live control. In both development and performance, it turns the Push 2 into a powerful TouchDesigner command center.
Tags: #AbletonPush #Push2TouchIntegration #DynamicMIDIMapping
_Michael O'Connell is a Cork-based creative who’s been diving deep into TouchDesigner for the past four years. What began as a hobby has grown into a full-blown obsession—he loves building tools and systems that make working in TouchDesigner more intuitive and dynamic.His background spans 3D graphics, aerial and event photography, and even a patented stationery product, but he’s always been drawn to design, tech, and performance.
He’s especially into real-time control and VJ-style visuals, which led him to develop a custom workflow linking TouchDesigner with the Ableton Push 2. He’d be thrilled to present and share what he’s been working on with the TouchDesigner community.
Walter Nied
Using TouchDesigner for laser design and show control in theatre | 2:45pm
Walter Nied will present the process behind developing the laser component of the aerial show H.O.M.E., covering the initial concepts, development iterations with the cast and director using TouchDesigner as both a sketch tool and performance tool, and culminating in the final show control system integrating Ableton through TD Ableton. The presentation will also touch on essential safety mindsets when approaching a project of this nature and how TouchDesigner supported the process throughout.
Tags: #Laser #Theatre #TDAbleton #Multidisciplinary
_Graduating from the University of Limerick in 2018, Walter Nied has since worked across grassroots, academic, and commercial cultural spaces. His work and collaborations have been showcased at events including Lightmoves Festival of Screen Dance, What's Next Dance Festival, All Together Now, and others. His creative practice often incorporates real-time visual performance, projection and laser mapping, and surround sound technology.
Currently, Walter helps run Concept Null, a community organisation that publishes a bimonthly newsletter focused on digital art in Ireland. The group also hosts artist meetups and community events, aiming to foster and strengthen the growing Irish digital art scene both locally and internationally.
https://waltneeds.studio
https://fidgetfeet.com/project/home/
David Mathúna
Interactivity in Show Control Network Design | 3:30pm
David's presentation will explore three instances of using TouchDesigner to implement interactivity within show control design. The first is an experimental theatre performance Dwelling, which debuted at Beta Festival 2023 in Dublin. The design shows how to create a local network layout to integrate different control options for multiple performers. The second is a GPS-driven sound-walk Speculative Cartographies, part of Draussenstadt in Berlin in 2022. It explores how to set up a remote control system for bi-directional streaming of audio and GPS/OSC between TD and a smartphone over a VPN. The third is an upcoming interactive light installation Phosphene from Leon Butler, debuting in Galway in August 2025. It details an implementation of Torin Blankensmith’s MediaPipe plugin to allow visitors to control specific aspects of the installation.
Tags: #InteractiveDesign #ShowControl #RealtimeMedia #NetworkedPerformance #Multimedia
_David Mathúna is an Irish multidisciplinary artist based in Berlin. Exploring generative and improvised processes, his practice spans video, lighting, sound design and data visualisation, with a specific focus on interactive installation and live performance. David completed a BA in Fine Art at the Crawford College of Art & Design in 2014. He is a resident lighting designer at RSO.Berlin, a technician with WhiteVoid & Dark Matter, and teaches interaction design at BIMM University Berlin. He produces and performs music under the name Sorica.
https://davidmathuna.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dmathuna/
Break 15 min
Pauric Freeman
System Design for Audiovisual Performance | 4:30pm
This talk introduces Pauric Freeman's custom-built audiovisual performance system designed to integrate sound and image through real-time data. Developed around specific performance needs, the system allows for structured scene-switching, layered control, and scalability—from short sketches to full-length performances. Pauric will outline the requirements that led to its development, focusing on the need for precision, modularity, and repeatability in live contexts.
The second half of the presentation will detail the technical framework: how data is formatted, how scenes are stored and recalled, and how switching mechanisms introduce variation. The system prioritizes function and form equally, offering a controlled environment for audiovisual composition. The talk will include a practical demonstration of the system in use.
Tags: #AudiovisualPerformance #RealtimeSystems #LiveVisuals
_Pauric Freeman is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dublin, Ireland, working across audiovisual performance, generative video, sound, and installation. His practice explores translation as a process, using data collected from live instruments as the basis for realtime visual compositions. Moving beyond representation, his work examines how one system of meaning can be distorted or expanded through another. Best known for his use of modular synthesizers, drum machines, and custom visual systems, his recent project Structures explores shifting relationships between sound and image through live performance. His work has been presented across Ireland, Europe, North America, and Australia, with recent performances at ADE Festival, Amsterdam, and Goldsmiths, London.
https://pauricfreeman.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pauric_freeman
These quickfire talks take a fast-paced, insight-rich approach to sharing hands-on experience and practical takeaways. Short, sharp, and always engaging.
1iing Heaney
Afterglow: Learning by Doing | 5:15pm
1iing Heaney will present her process for Afterglow, her first major project in TouchDesigner, created in collaboration with hyper-pop musician Tiiva [UK] during a residency at the Courthouse Arts Centre in Co. Wicklow last September.
With no prior experience using TouchDesigner in depth, she embraced the eight-day residency as a technical and creative challenge—learning the software, producing, and presenting work within a tight timeframe. Her talk will explore working quickly but meaningfully, building on existing skills, embracing failure, and trusting the creative process, even as a beginner. She’ll also reflect on the importance of collaboration—shared vision, mutual support, and creative trust—as key to making the project possible.
Tags: #LearnTD #CreativeProcess #RealtimeArt #CollaborativeWork
_1iing Heaney is a visual artist based in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. Working with CGI through 3D scanning, animation, and printing, her practice explores eerie, changeling, and liminal spaces between data and reality. Using the Irish landscape as a lens to explore this, her work investigates the entanglements between digital, algorithmic life, the solid earth, and how these interactions shape our presence in a networked, ecological world.
https://www.instagram.com/1i_ing/
https://www.1iing.com/
Aisling Phelan
Integrating AI and TouchDesigner into Interactive Installations | 5:30pm
This quickfire talk by Aisling Phelan explores how TouchDesigner and generative AI tools intersect in interactive installations centered on identity and embodiment. Using the project Surrogate Bodies as a case study, she’ll outline how custom LoRA models, running live in TouchDesigner with Stable Diffusion, responded to a real-time camera feed. As viewers approached, their faces were detected and seamlessly overlaid with her AI-generated face, transforming them into digital surrogates.
She’ll discuss technical challenges—such as optimizing AI outputs for interaction—and reflect on the conceptual implications of blending generative imagery with live, reactive environments. The talk offers insights into hybrid workflows and how TouchDesigner enables emotionally resonant experiences with emerging technologies.
Tags: #GenerativeAI #InteractiveInstallation #DigitalIdentity #RealtimeArt
_Aisling Phelan is an Irish multidisciplinary artist working with 3D animation, AI, video, sculpture, and interactive technologies. Her work examines what it means to be human amid rapid technological change and algorithmic influence.
Deeply concerned with the body—especially the face—she uses digital doubles to explore the fragmentation and fluidity of identity in virtual spaces. Her installations often invite direct interaction with her virtual self, implicating viewers in the dynamics of surveillance, reproduction, and control in digital culture.
https://aislingphelan.cargo.site/
https://www.instagram.com/aisling_phelan/
dinner break(as you like but we recommend quick!)
open beamers + evening social | 6:30Pm - 10:00PM
Date/Time: June 28 10am until 10pm
Complementary beverages for the evening session
Bringing an event to a city we’re not based in comes with its own set of hurdles, but Pauric Freeman and the Concept Null team from our Irish community have made the process remarkably smooth. Their early involvement, steady support, and deep local knowledge have been instrumental in shaping this gathering.
From the outset, Pauric took the lead in scouting and securing the perfect venue, and together with Concept Null, helped define and procure the technical setup and navigate the many logistical details of hosting an event from abroad. We’re deeply grateful—it simply wouldn’t have come together the way it has without them.
And a very big and special thank-you to Roy Gerritsen of y=f(x) for once again lending his talents to the event branding and visual assets. We rely heavily on his excellent design sensibilities, good humour, and uncanny ability to wring just about anything out of TouchDesigner—except beach umbrellas, there are limits!