A New Tempo #6: Mischief Makers Continue Cooking Up Experiences From Their Lab
Mischief Makers, are you okay? (Credit: Mischief Makers)
Stuck in limbo, the current state of events in the city continues to be dormant with no glimpse of normalcy in sight. Do you still remember how events feel like? Especially the ones that go the extra mile in creating a full-blown, transcendent experience? Imprinted in the Memory Lanes of partygoers, in particular, are the sensational setups from the alchemists and scientists behind Mischief Makers. Around since 2015, they are an experiential design and production lab that take events up a notch with spectacular shenanigans.
Their remarkable stage at ZoukOut 2016 remains unforgettable (Credit: Mischief Makers)
Ravers might recognise their past handiwork at large-scale music events such as ZoukOut, Strawberry Space by Fat Fish Familia, warehouse parties for The Council, the IMI Festival by Sunshine Nation and several others over the years. From customised stage production to projection mapping, the paraphernalia they provide give their events a world-class edge and wild lasting impressions that revellers continue to talk about (StarGate, I’m looking at you). Traversing beyond sound, Mischief Makers create multi-sensory elements and thingamajigs that turn these events into an escape.
They set up a ‘Time Capsule’ installation for Grab at the IMI Festival in 2017 (Credit: Mischief Makers)
Their radical expertise has not gone unnoticed by industries outside of music either, as they are further brought on by clients in areas of fashion, arts and even more corporate sectors. These tie-ins have let Mischief Makers flex their creative muscles in the implementation of interactive installations, AR activations, lighting design, 360° communications and so much more, effectively making them a full-suite powerhouse well-versed in consumer experience. But what happens now that events are put on the shelf?
Founder of Mischief Makers, Jaymi McManus, tells us more (Credit: Mischief Makers)
In this edition of A New Tempo, Jaymi McManus, founder of Mischief Makers, gives us a much-needed catch-up. Even in these downtrodden times, he reveals that they’re still up to their antics as they explore new ground and collaborate with the community. Fret not, for they’re not done with their experiments just yet.
(Credit: Mischief Makers)
“Mischief Makers was wrapping up one of its most successful years yet. Some of our biggest highlights included designing and producing a non-stop live visual set on a giant five-metre inflatable moon stage for Strawberry Space Open Air with Dimitri From Paris and over 3,000 in attendance. I also had one of my proudest moments performing an interactive projection and laser art installation called SOLIS to over 15,000 visitors at the Singapore Night Festival.”
“We have always been a small outfit and couldn’t have achieved these and many more without key partners such as Fat Fish Familia, Mesh Minds, Dreadnaut Creative and Rebel Decibel, and talented collaborators such as Mantravine (SG), Deborah Emmanuel (SG), SXM_art (SG), Asterix Visual (AUS) and Calonpintar (IND). As for benefactors, we have been wildly fortunate as we agreed to be acquired just before the crisis hit, and are now part of a larger and, frankly, more financially robust group.”
(Credit: Mischief Makers)
“We already knew a bit about digital production and wanted to add live visuals to all the DJ sets being streamed, but there wasn’t an easy way to do this. With the help of some friends over at R&D incubator Telostat, we built our own streaming server using Nginx, RTMP and OBS Studio. Its first outing was through another collaboration with Mantravine in which we did a live music and visual YouTube stream to raise money for the UN World Food Programme. Other live sessions have since been done with Beatnaut Thailand with live art from Annika in the UK, DJ Wherlin Merlin out of the UK and DJ Shane O’Neil in Ireland. All streams were edited live by me in Singapore, whilst adding live visuals.”
“I’ve learned a ton about streaming and we’re now using this setup to respond to open calls with the National Arts Council. We’re aiming to add a real-time audio channel to see if we can enable live music jamming and back-to-back sets – more on this to come.”
(Credit: Mischief Makers)
“The biggest plan that had to be postponed was an initiative Mischief Makers had been getting ready for called The Lab, which we had been brewing for more than 18 months. Originally conceived as an actual physical space, The Lab was planned to create a technology-enabled facility partnered with key academia and commercial sponsors to offer a place for new media artists and practitioners to come together to learn, experiment and exhibit. The Lab is all about helping local talent connect with international audiences.
The physical space clearly had to be put on hold and things were further complicated as the lease on our previous spot at Kallang expired in June. Thankfully, we’ve been able to keep interest in the original vision very active and conversations with key partners and sponsors have continued and we’ll be making an exciting announcement about all of this soon.”
(Credit: Mischief Makers)
“As we prepare for our bigger announcement for The Lab, there were two other projects created during the Circuit Breaker. The first is from our digital designer Samiksha Nair, AKA SXM_art, in which she has been holding live Instagram sessions with new media artists such as Race Krehel, Kapilan Naidu and Soyun Park in a series entitled Quarantine Arts Club.”
“The second, which we can announce for the first time here on Life in Arpeggio, is an initiative called The Lab Presents. This is a virtual lab offering aimed at helping some of those most impacted connect with paying clients. In the spirit of being mischievous, we’re launching with some established names in comedy who are all equally talented writers. We’ve had more talents signing up each week and we feel we’ve barely scratched the surface on how each can bring a new and exciting energy to live-streams to help overcome stream-fatigue. If you know of any virtual event seeking something fresh or you want to add yourself to the cast, hit us up.”
(Credit: Mischief Makers)
“Activities in the music and events industry were basically wiped off the calendar in less than three months. This has been cataclysmic. I’ve several friends who have lost their incomes and have had to leave Singapore. I just hope everyone is staying safe and that we all keep rallying as an industry to support each other to keep pushing forward. I’m inspired every day by a community that continues to collaborate and create and feel privileged to be a part of it. Paradoxically, it feels that many are connecting more deeply with those around them and with nature; this can’t be a bad thing.
On a personal front, I stopped taking alcohol 18 months ago and decided to go vegetarian since February. These things, and the fact that we have just welcomed the tiniest of kittens named Jellybean at home, are keeping me positive and healthy.”
Follow Mischief Makers on their official website, Facebook and Instagram for their activities. Support them if you’re looking to enhance your virtual event, or wish to find new ways to tell a story with your brand.
