For more than 15 years, TDC - Technical Direction Company has helped bring some of Vivid Sydney’s most iconic works to life through large-scale projection and technology experiences that have captivated millions of residents and visitors.
At Vivid Sydney 2026, in addition to providing advanced projection and LED display technology for 11 installations, the company stepped into the spotlight with The Daydream Machine, an AI-powered interactive installation created by creative technologists Harrison Dow, Alex Rendell, and Drew Ferors, which transformed Darling Harbour’s Pier Street Underpass into a living digital artwork.
Harrison Dow explained that the work explores how emerging technologies are giving artists entirely new ways to create public experiences and connect with audiences. “Using AI systems and real-time rendering, the installation reacts and evolves with every person who passes through it, creating an experience that is constantly changing and never behaves the same way twice”.
Vivid Sydney Festival Director Brett Sheehy AO said that interactive works such as The Daydream Machine were central to the way audiences experienced the festival.
Vivid Sydney invites people to participate in creativity, and interactive installations such as 'The Daydream Machine' place visitors at the heart of the artwork. By harnessing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, this work creates ever-changing experiences that encourage exploration, play, and imagination. TDC’s advanced technology also underpins projections throughout the Vivid Light Walk, demonstrating how innovation continues to shape Vivid Sydney by unlocking new possibilities for artists and seamlessly bringing together creative vision and technical expertise.
Michael Hassett, Founder of TDC, said the project represents a significant creative shift both for the company and the wider industry. “For years, technology has been used to support artistic ideas. What we are now seeing is technology becoming a creative tool for artists and storytellers. It is responsive, intelligent, and capable of creating entirely new forms of audience interaction”.
Bringing technology to life
Beyond The Daydream Machine, TDC technology powered 11 major projections across landmarks and heritage locations throughout Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo, and Darling Harbour during Vivid Sydney 2026.
Highlights included:
- Lighting of the Sails: Opera Mundi, by French artist Yann Nguema, projected across the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House.
- Vaiola, a large-scale projection exploring memory, migration, and belonging by Samoan-Australian artist Angela Tiatia and Spinifex Group at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
- Fringe of Infinity, by Spanish artist Javier Riera at Customs House, featuring geometric patterns inspired by mathematics found in nature.
- Time: Warped, an experience combining laser, light, sound, and projection through the Argyle Cut in collaboration with ER Productions.
- Deep Time, by Spanish studio Hotaru Visual Guerrilla, transforming Garrison Church into a journey through Earth’s 4.54-billion-year ecological evolution.
- Circles of Rhythm, at the ASN Clocktower, where Spinifex Group created pulsating patterns inspired by music, movement, and connection.
Afterimage: A Projection Mapped Mural at Tumbalong Park was spray-painted live by Sofles in collaboration with US artist Chaske Haverkos, while As Water Falls, by Canadian studio Studio Irregular, transformed a monolithic LED cube into an interactive digital waterfall at Circular Quay.
Across the curved façade of Barangaroo House, Laniakea, by New Zealand artist David Morton, explored humanity’s place within the vast cosmic web.
Reliability at scale
Throughout the festival, TDC’s central master control system provided real-time oversight of installations across the city, helping to deliver a seamless visitor experience.
Each year, TDC reviews and updates digital site models for selected locations to improve projection outcomes and streamline the creative process for artists.
How Vivid Sydney projections are built before the lights turn on using LiDAR scanning
One of the lesser-known technologies behind Vivid Sydney is LiDAR scanning (Light Detection and Ranging). Ahead of the festival, TDC rescanned both Garrison Church and the Argyle Cut using this advanced technology, creating highly accurate digital replicas of the sites.
These digital models were then converted into projection-ready environments, allowing artists anywhere in the world to design, test, and refine their works against Sydney’s architecture long before arriving on site.
Drew Ferors, Head of Innovation and Training at TDC, explained: “This process helps artists better understand scale, surfaces, proportions, and architectural details, while reducing development time and improving projection accuracy”.
Alex Rendell, creative technologist and TDC Technical Project Manager, highlighted that Vivid Sydney requires months of coordinated work between artists and technical specialists.
What audiences experience during their evening walks around the city is the result of months of collaboration between Vivid Sydney, participating artists, and the TDC team. Our role is to bring together all of those creative and technical systems, from advanced projection and LED technologies to media servers, TDC Live View monitoring, and interactive technologies, so the artworks can come seamlessly to life for everyone to enjoy.
TDC by the numbers at Vivid Sydney 2026
TDC powered 11 ambitious projection installations across Sydney, including:
- Ultra-high-resolution Barco laser projectors across nine projection mapping locations.
- ROE LED panels powering interactive experiences such as The Daydream Machine.
- 547 million projected pixels illuminating Sydney landmarks each night, equivalent to more than 65 4K televisions running simultaneously.
- More than 1.45 million ANSI lumens, comparable to the output of more than 1,800 household LED light bulbs.
- 13 live monitoring cameras and 11 automation systems supporting nightly operations.
- Advanced LiDAR scanning used to digitally recreate Garrison Church and the Argyle Cut before artists arrived on site.
- Real-time AI systems, water-screen projections, LED environments, and high-powered laser systems.
- 23 consecutive nights of operation supporting millions of visitors.
From AI-generated storytelling to sensory environments combining projection and interactive LED experiences, TDC’s deployment at Vivid Sydney 2026 demonstrated how technology continues to transform the way audiences experience art, culture, and public spaces far beyond the festival itself.
