VJ project questions

[ellee]

Hi every1

I am a final year Media technology student and am basing my dissertation on lighting and visuals used within nightclub venues.
I had never really heard of VJing untill this year so forgive me if I ask any daft questions or ones that uv answered times many
:o

*Im interested to know how you guys personally got into VJing, how you got started and what sort of gigs you do now.
*At the moment every1 has heard of DJs but VJing is not a term so well known how long do you think it will be untill VJs skills are recognised just as much by the clubbing public.
* Also do you know any venues with good visuals in the Staffordshire, Birmingham area which I could go and be amazed by
* Is there any difference in visuals used in UK compared with USA and Europe which country pioneered VJing

Thanx for reading
may have some questions for you bout VJ gear when I learn more

********ellie

[wellREDman]

you can find the answers to all of your questions and much much more, by going to Avit

www.avit.org.uk

[Amukidi]

The medicine bar / custard factory in Brum is a good place to start, as is "Jigsaw" www.jigsawmusic.net . I've just got home from Ralph Myerz UK tour - we did the Medicine Bar and were well impressed with the scene there. If you want to probe further (!) PM or email me!

[ellee]

Thanx peeps :) will take a look at those links

************************************************** **

[evomedia]

Hi there ok, here's my personal answers to these q's, sure others will add there 2 cents on these questions.

First off I got into vjing partly because of personal interest, partly because i wanted a new creative outlet, partly because I was working for an av company as a content creator and partly through luck. But mainly because of the av company fitting out a club and me looking into the whole area of vjing. After that everything fell into place for me, I got a projector, a mate said he had a possible gig and hey presto in at the deep end. But like most here will always be learning something new and will ultimately be pulled into it completely. Believe me there is always something extra you want for your rig.

The VJing as a whole, I truely believe is on the brink of hitting the mainstream, as already the dj mags are showcasing vj talent, not naming names...um... 'kriel' for one. The main reason for this is the amount of creativity that is appearing on the circuit allowing promotors to put more vj's alongside the dj's, and bigger named dj's at that. This has come partly from there simply being more vj's now adays with portable kit and lots of vision .

Why more VJ's? Well Technology such as Laptops, pc's and projectors are also so much higher powered and lower priced than even a year ago. Plus anyone with a pc or a mac can easily try a demo of various pieces of software (that are themselves becoming more intuitive, more powerful and very well designed), you can even play home burned dvd's.

Hardware companies are even starting to cater for the vj, with companies like edirol producing well priced mixers perfect for performance that mean anyone really could get into it. Bit like the home dj explotion or the advent of the electronic home music studio (cubase, reason etc) that also has created a whole range of home trained music producers. Of course vj's have been around quiet a while, but nowadays it is becoming possible to play a good set with only 1 laptop and a projector, and some good content.

Add to that, places like this and vjcentral giving an information resource second to none. Plus the rise of home video editing and dv cams, allowing anyone with some vision to produce amazing content. And all in all, everything is coming together to make the discipline explode. The learning curve can be daunting, but untimately satisfying. The only drawback is the watching the bank balance disolve into new kit.

For specific countries that the discipline originated. Some people here will be able to give you a more rounded history, as they may have been warping and creating video for decades. From vhs and chromoscopes to portable dvd and av acts, every country has its own origins as the video equipment evolved, Japan definately is getting vj established in terms of today, but as this site shows it really is an international community these days.

If you really want some insight you should check out the AVIT vj festival down in brighton this coming weekend, lots of vj sets, even discussion of vj roots.

Check out the posts on here and at http://www.avit.info/uk

[PilotX]

Originally posted by ellee

*Im interested to know how you guys personally got into VJing, how you got started and what sort of gigs you do now.

syzygy began when Dan bought a second hand video mixer off ebay to play around with, I was promoting at the time and he saw that it could be used live.. hired a projector and screen and got him to play for me, and it started from there.. that was in 2000. I joined him last year, and we have kept on growing.


*At the moment every1 has heard of DJs but VJing is not a term so well known how long do you think it will be untill VJs skills are recognised just as much by the clubbing public.

that is the $64million question.. I think it will be a while until the skills are recognised, because few people have the time, money or access to vjing equipment, so do not understand what is required.. however, I think it will be less time until people start recognising vjing in terms of how it looks.. it is more usual now to see vj's names on flyers, and a/v acts like hexstatic and charles kriel are pushing this further.
I think it is only going to be a few more years before people start recognising vj's name on flyers, and it contributes to them going to the night, this is certainly true for soundsystems in some scenes and for venues.. hopefully we can rise to the same level as the audio acts but this is possbily a pipe-dream


* Also do you know any venues with good visuals in the Staffordshire, Birmingham area which I could go and be amazed by

[shameless plug]
we are birmingham based, and have residencies at the Medicine Bar - Autumn (1st friday of each month; DnB), Softly (next is 15th Nov, breaks), Heducation (every Thursday, party hiphop) and Shaanti (asian/british dance music). We are also starting a visuals oriented night called Zoetrope, the first of which will be on Dec. 12th at the Custard Factory.
see www.syzygy-visuals.co.uk for our upcoming gig list
[/shameless plug]
other people in Brum that I can think of right now, Genic & Chromatouch do stuff at Jigsaw Music (they had an event last saturday; I don't know how often it is) and leftfoot at the medicine bar; Phluxm does stuff, but I don't know what regular things he has.. Home Cooking Collective do saturday nights at Quo Vadis on corporation street (next to Que Club), and I think they have a resident VJ..
I have no idea what there is in Stafford, but the medicine bar is a good place in brum to see visuals, as most nights there now have live vj's doing stuff..

It might be a bit close for you, but if you can make it to avit www.avit.org.uk in Brighton this thursday to sunday (23rd-26th) then you will find out alot more, take a look at the avit forum on this board for more information; it is a vj festival..

[ellee]

:) Thanx for the info guys most helpful!

Couple more questions....

Was just thinkin about how closely does the VJ work with the DJ? I mean before for example do you need to know much about the type of music the DJ will be playing before you know what sort of visuals will be needed. Also I am aware that the visuals can be programmed to play in sync with the music slower or faster obviously but can you also do this manually for greater effect ? Also can any of you advise me on the best value equipment available to someone starting up as a VJ.

Muchos Muchos Gracias

Ellie********************************

[solly]

Hi
Your best option is getting a powerbook or the new ibook from mac and get a software program such as videodelic or arkaos. Then hire a projector and you are ready to vj.
Solly
PS If you think a mac is expensive, remember that on the long run its the best equipment that will last you a long time and keep a good resale value.

[ellee]

Thanx Ill keep in mind
With the software do you have any copyright issues when using them at a performance?

**

[solly]

No its no problem to use them

[Psytwin]

Hi

here is my thought.

Im interested to know how you guys personally got into VJing, how you got started and what sort of gigs you do now

I am pretty much involved into a particular type of music since many years. With the deep filling I?ve got being involved on this music, using my knowledge in design and programming it was meant be my way. I became a VJ after lots of months spending to build my videos and 3D designs. That was in 2000 and since there I keep on going.

At the moment every1 has heard of DJs but VJing is not a term so well known how long do you think it will be untill VJs skills are recognised just as much by the clubbing public

No one is able to find in a genealogical tree, an ancestor who was born before the music.
The first visual attraction was born in 1907 with the TV. Now look where we are comparing to DJs. We are coming with the technology like a rocket!!. It won?t take long for the visuals artists to collaborate directly with the music source producer and then pull out VJs at the same stage with DJs.

* Is there any difference in visuals used in UK compared with USA and Europe which country pioneered VJing

Well if I have to answer to this, I would say Japan (cause of the technology) but in general there is no country where visuals are better or different. Visuals come from greats imaginations of individuals people what ever where they from. After,it is just matter of technology and budget witch are making the differences between countries

Was just thinking about how closely does the VJ work with the DJ?

A VJ has to feel the music vibrations as much as a DJ, actually.
Then this special link to music is an inspiration and gives him the possibility to create a ?physical dimension? for every single beat of the tune.
Visuals and music are basically part of each other, and if this is a success, it is supposed to give you emotions through a great imaginative journey ???.
According to me a good VJ is a person who can give birth to musical sounds and vibrations through images and designs, someone who? se able to basically make the sound, like coming out of the screen!

Also I am aware that the visuals can be programmed to play in sync with the music slower or faster obviously but can you also do this manually for greater effect?

Trying to control the mental projection of the beat, the vibrations and sounds variations. Trying to give a hypnotic and physical dimension to the sounds by controlling him via the visuals in all different level. From my point of view, the visuals have to be sync with the music. It can be programmed or manually, it all defence on the VJ and technology used.