freelance // uk // worldwide
disguise programmer
I build and run disguise (formerly d3) media server systems for live shows — touring, festivals, corporate, broadcast and theatre. Project build and pre-visualisation before you get to site, screen mapping and timeline programming during it, and a show file the crew can run without me afterwards.
what a disguise programmer does on your show
A media server is only as good as the project built around it. The programming job is the whole distance between a folder of content and a reliable picture on the screens — and, more importantly, a system that survives the moment something goes wrong at eight o'clock on a show night.
before site
- disguise project build from the drawings
- stage, set and screen geometry modelled to the real thing
- pre-visualisation so the creative team see it before the truck arrives
- content specification — pixel maps, codecs, frame rate, delivery deadlines
- machine count, spare and understudy planning
on site
- alignment and mapping against the built set
- timeline programming cut to the running order
- cue triggering — timecode, MIDI, OSC, DMX or console-driven
- multi-machine, understudy and failover proving
- notes sessions, content re-cuts and version control under pressure
- show operation, or handover to the touring crew
what I work with
disguise
disguise hardware and software across the range — solo, gx and vx series, plus legacy d3 projects. Timeline and track-based programming, multi-machine sessions, understudy and failover, RenderStream workflows into real-time engines, and Notch blocks for interactive and generative looks.
lighting and control
grandMA and other lighting platforms where video and lighting need to talk to each other — pixel mapping, shared timecode, and consoles driving media server cues so one operator can hold the whole look together.
show networking
The part nobody thanks you for until it fails. Managed switching, VLANs and sensible addressing for media servers, consoles, nodes and comms — designed so faults are findable at speed rather than at leisure.
content pipeline
HAP, HAP Q, ProRes and DXV3 — codec choice, colour handling and batch transcoding so content plays properly instead of stuttering on the timeline. I wrote and give away openEncoder, a free macOS batch transcoder, precisely because this step eats so many hours on so many shows.
who it's for
Production managers, technical directors, video crew chiefs and creative studios who need a media server programmer who will read the drawings, ask the awkward questions early, and be calm on the floor when the schedule slips.
- touring — arena, theatre and club
- festivals and one-off outdoor shows
- corporate conference and product launch
- broadcast and streamed events
- theatre and immersive installation
- permanent install commissioning
common questions
What does a disguise programmer actually do?
Everything between a content file and a picture on the screens. That means building the disguise project, laying out the stage and screen geometry, mapping content to surfaces, cutting the timeline to the running order, wiring up cues and triggers, setting up multi-machine and understudy redundancy, and then operating or handing over a show file the touring crew can run night after night.
Is disguise the same as d3?
Yes — d3 Technologies became disguise, and the software people still call "d3" is disguise. Older shows and paperwork often say d3, and plenty of the industry still says it out loud. If you have a legacy d3 project, it opens.
Do you supply the servers as well?
Servers and show networking are available for dry hire separately through hireJG, or I will happily programme on whatever the production has already sourced. There is no requirement to hire kit to book programming.
What content formats should we deliver?
HAP or HAP Q in a QuickTime container is the usual answer for disguise — it decodes cheaply and scrubs cleanly on a timeline. ProRes and DXV3 also work depending on the pipeline. Deliver at the mapped pixel size, at the show frame rate, with no baked-in fades on the head and tail. I publish a free transcoder, openEncoder, that batch-converts to all three.
How far in advance do you need content?
The honest answer is that a project can be built and pre-vis'd before any final content exists, using placeholder or draft passes — that is the point of pre-visualisation. Final content on site the day of the show is survivable but expensive in stress. A week before load-in makes for a calm build.
Do you travel?
Yes. Based in the UK, working wherever the show is — touring, festivals, and one-off events across Europe and further afield.
get in touch
Tell me the dates, the venue and roughly what the screens are doing, and I'll tell you straight away whether I'm free and whether I'm the right person for it.