Audio-reactive particle artwork by Fader

VJ Fader · James Cui · Berlin

Visuals that move with sound

Audio-reactive visuals, VFX, and stage design for live experiences.

Winner · Janus Award – Best Sonic Experience · Fulldome Festival Jena 2026

01 · Realtime

VFX Music Visualization

I create realtime visuals for music, immersive platforms, and digital experiences, combining particle systems, environment animation, motion design, and interactive visual storytelling across Unreal Engine, Unity, and After Effects.

  • Audio-reactive visual systems for live music and immersive experiences
  • Realtime VFX and particle-driven motion built with Unreal Engine Niagara
  • VR and platform-focused visuals shaped for collaboration and delivery
Explore VFX work

02 · Live

Stage Design for Immersive Live Experiences

I treat a stage like a sculpture shaped by the event and its audience. Indoors or outdoors, modern or classic, LED screens, projectors, lasers and light are the materials I build with. Every design starts with a strong concept that gives the show its identity.

Services

What I do

Fader works across music visualization, stage design, and live visual production — building immersive experiences for concerts, festivals, VR projects, and experimental audiovisual work.

  1. 01

    VFX Music Visualization

    Real-time, audio-reactive visual systems created for live music, immersive environments, and performance-led experiences.

  2. 02

    Stage Design

    Stage concepts and visual identities designed to support the atmosphere, scale, and flow of a live event.

  3. 03

    Live Visual Production

    Video mapping, LED content, VJ workflows, and show visuals developed to feel fully connected to the performance.

  4. 04

    Creative Collaboration

    A collaborative process with artists, studios, producers, and technical teams to turn ideas into production-ready visual experiences.

Portrait of James Cui, aka VJ Fader

About

Meet Fader

I'm James Cui, aka VJ Fader, a Berlin-based motion designer and VFX artist. For 15+ years I've made visuals for music — festival stages, real-time particle systems, and now AI video.

I started with video mapping in 2010 and spent eight years designing stages for INTRO Festival. Since 2021 I've built audio-reactive VFX in Unreal Niagara for VR DJ experiences at TLM Partners and Sensorium. Today I take those real-time animations further with Runway and ComfyUI. I also teach Unity and video mapping workshops, from Berlin to Cape Town.

Awards

  • 2026Janus Award – Best Sonic Experience · Fulldome Festival Jena
  • 2015App Art Award · ZKM Karlsruhe

Clients & festivals

  • Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
  • Backwoods Music Festival
  • INTRO Electronic Music Festival
  • Fuji Rock Festival
  • Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

Contact

Let’s make something that moves

If you have an upcoming project or questions about my past work, feel free to write.