25 years of Moment Factory: From Underground VJing to Enhancing Live Concert Performances on Megacanvases
April 17, 2026
Moment Factory continues to redefine the possibilities of immersive multimedia experiences, joining Phish in activating Sphere in a bold new way.
25 Years and Still Innovating
Twenty-five years ago, Moment Factory was a collective of VJs hacking projectors in Montreal’s underground music scene. That innovative spirit has since carried into diverse industries, setting new standards by reimagining immersive entertainment around the world. Today, the studio brings that same approach to deliver an unprecedented visual experience with Phish at Sphere.
A Continued Partnership of Audacity
Once again, the studio joins Phish as they return to Sphere for their nine-day residency, overseeing creative and show direction for dynamic visuals that enhance the band’s performances, reimagine the limits of concert production, and amaze audiences like never before.
“Coming back to Sphere, it felt very natural to keep building with Moment Factory,” says Jason Colton, co-manager for Phish. “They’ve been a key creative partner since Phish’s Magnaball festival, and they’ve always approached things with a real sense of restless imagination while breaking new ground. Ten projects in, Moment Factory is still helping the band stretch in ways that feel true to them.”
A Playground for Creativity
Moment Factory and Phish’s collaboration has led to a series of world firsts, from original uses of inflatable scenography to advances in digital technologies and generative video content across venues ranging from outdoor festivals to arenas. Each project enhances the band’s legendary music sessions and brings new dimensions to their music. For Phish’s latest Sphere residency, the large-scale production features an expansive catalogue of unique visuals tailored specifically for the venue's immersive megacanvas. Leveraging the screen’s 16K resolution, the team developed several distinct visual concepts that blend a vast array of art styles, ranging from traditional 2D and 3D animation to ultra-high-fidelity pre-rendered worlds, and responsive real-time generative art.
“Phish at Sphere is the ultimate feat for us,” says Daniel Jean, Producer at Moment Factory. “This time around, we’re upping the ambition, expanding the visual universe, and embracing all that human creativity has to offer.”
Elevating Live Performances with the Virtual Lighting Rig
For over 40 years, lighting design has played an integral role in Phish’s live performances. Moment Factory, in collaboration with Sphere Studios, takes this approach to a new level with the Virtual Lighting Rig, a breakthrough in digital technology that replicates the feeling of a physical light show on Sphere’s 160,000 sq ft display plane. Using real-time LED technology with high frame rates, the system ensures digital lighting behaves in an organic and fluid way.
Pre-programmed and controlled live by the band’s lighting designers, it enables effects, patterns, and shapes that are otherwise impossible in the physical world. By merging unprecedented real-time interactivity with evolving visuals, this performance sets a new industry benchmark and delivers a unique audiovisual experience exclusive to the band’s live show. All of this is developed in close collaboration with Phish lighting designer Chris Kuroda and band management to ensure all lighting concepts remain authentic to the band’s DNA.
A Showcase for Industry-Defining Experiences
Moment Factory’s role as Creative and Show Director for the Phish residency at Sphere reinforces its position as a leader in the entertainment industry. Drawing on in-house research and development and expertise built across thousands of projects, the studio introduces innovative ways of creating live experiences that engage fans worldwide. Its impact extends the limits of adaptable visuals across diverse media canvases, locations, and audiences, demonstrating a capacity to create one-of-a-kind activations for a wide variety of industries and events.
Photos by Rene Huemer, Alive Coverage & RichFury / Sphere Entertainment
