Help to start

[Wypa]

Well, it sais "you can ask dumb questions in this forum", so...

I just saw some people vj on some open air party in our city.
But today we (me and my friends) were discusing to make a...
"group of people making parties"!;)

We have DJs, musicians, rappers, rockers etc. But no VJ. I'm the best in technics, computers, so... They told me I have time till summer to practise in VJing.

So, I have to start. But with what???? What do I need??
I have couple of desktops (in different places...:( ), a projector. I don't know which programms and software, hardware do i need.

Help us realise a dumb idea!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

Thx...

[LEVLHED]

you need to start looking into VJ apps first I would think. DL the trial versions and find what you like. Everyone has their favorites...
As for equipment that you still might need...assuming you can take both the desktops out to a gig, you probably should look into a video mixer...look around here and on the reviews at vjcentral.com to get an idea of what you might want...
A VHS deck is relatively cheap and very handy to have...
oh, you also need a way to get whats on the computer out to a RCA/composite/S-Video output...if you're going to stick w/ using a desktop I'd recommend video cards with TV-out, but you might also want to look into scan converters..

other than that, a video camera of just about any kind to start shooting your OWN footage to use...

good luck!

I also recommend giving yourself time to pour over all the great (and not so great) info on this site as well as www.vjcentral.com and of course the great www.audiovisualizers.com

[fluchtpunkt]

LEVLHED pretty much summed it up :)
...
if there's other vj's in your city you should also try & get in contact with them.
...
you should consider that there are today (please correct me if i'm talking nonesense :) )two 'main' techniques/styles in vj'ing: 'live (re)mixing vs realtime computer-generated footage'. now of course most vj's don't use only one of the techniques alone, & especially - with a more complex setup/rig - the two techniques might be hard to keep apart, since they are completely interwoven. still each requires different approaches in production, different ways of thinking, & probably most important of all in this context - as most of us only have limited amounts of $$ at our disposal ;) - different equipment, which makes it reasonable to concentrate on one or the other for the beginning (i guess you could compare this issue with 'samplers vs synthesizers' in electronic music production).
if you want to focus on mixing you'll need a videomixer. then you need @ least 2 feeds for the mixer - plus some recorder if you want to remix. a handy solution would be 3 vhs decks (2play, 1record). optionally a video output for your computer or a camera.
if you're into the realtime computer-generated side of things you need to find a software you like & a video output for your computer. optionally a midi controller/keyboard.
both setups should get you going & offer lots of possibilities. but, while the first is a solid & relyable solution for actual use @ a party the second is not! computers crash & different softwares need to be loaded (you don't want your desktop on the screens :) ) - the solution being a videomixer (there isn't much of an alternative to mixers ....except trusting your OS....) plus a second videoOut for one of your other computers or a vhs deck with a 'backup' tape.

[Wypa]

Some other questions:

How to make a projector system? (It's better to make a rear projection, but how to make it???? <-stupid question, but still)

And how to make a screen, from which material???

[eXhale]

Have a look at The Backstage (http://www.vjforums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=22) forum, there are tons of information on projectors and custom screens.

[LEVLHED]

I don't think rear projection is always "better" it depends on the situation at hand...

[Rovastar]

.....oh nevermind