video of audience

[drmo]

i have just started doing visuals and was wondering if anyone has ever tried to mix in live video of the audience (in a club dancing) - that would be easy to do, and i assume could be very fun to watch (and do) if done correctly.

are there any issues with this? like privacy? people getting pissed off that their face is on the big screen? practical limitations?

thanks
mo

[jul35]

Well, for the lecacy of video samples it seems that, for the moment, there are no real rules but of course there could be someone not happy to see his face on the screen.
I think we are now (VJs) in the same legacy conditions than first DJs in the early 70s.
So why don't we experiment?

[alangeering]

You've got about 4 seconds per camera angle before people start sticking fingers up at the camera / flashing the camera / peering into the lens gormlessly.

Everyone reacts differently... if you've got a load of people in a great party they sometimes dance harder (better) when they know there is a camera there.

using strobe / feedback / fx / overlayed or mixed videos to abstract the scene can help a lot and avoid people gauping at themselves.

At new year I had 2 cameras, on the dance floor but the angles were poor and as I was there as a techie and not really a VJ I'd not prepared content, so I gave up after a few minutes and trawled through my hard disk for embarassing old photos of all the guests. This, and a few witty comments kept people happy for an hour...

[elbows]

The nearest thing to current rules that might apply are stuff about people being recorded by CCTV cameras in clubs etc, and the small print on tickets for festivals etc where any body in the crowd might potentially have their beaming face transmitted to millions of people via TV live. Checking/mentioning the use of live cams to the venue/event people beforehand is probably a sensible step for now.

In terms of practical problems, drugs and drug dealers, or heavyhanded security are probably the areas likely to maybe cause issues once in a while if you are pointing cameras everywhere indiscriminately.

Common sense can probably get round most of this stuff - if you focus on the main front of the crowd where most of the people are dancing extrovertly anyway, you are likely to gain much love rather than hate from the audience when they appear on the screen.

In terms of it already being done, I know live feeds are used, though this stuff is not as common as I thought it would be when I first approached the VJ scene. Involving the audience more has always been one of my main areas of interest, whether it be through live video or sensors etc so the crowd can control stuff themselves. But as with most things Ive only thought about it not tried anything yet.

I do like the stuff where the cameras are mounted on props/robots, attached/controlled people dressed up dancing in the crowd, or other humans with special camera styles etc. But I guess it depends how you want to integrate the crowd into your show, im interested in mapping crowds onto 3D environments in interesting ways, though my 3D rubbishness is going to make this a very long term mission indeed!

[drmo]

thanks - this has really motivated me to go and do this now!

[krezrock]

looking glass technique!

it's also fun to use buffers on the crowd footage. hey thats me, but why am i moving in reverse?

[oxygen]

a few times i made a blue wall in a club. (special video paint) I pointed a
bright light at it and a camera connected to the mx50.. it's fun to see how pple react on it. They could see themselves in front on the main screen in the visuals. (like the weahterman). It is funny to see pple's curiousity. in the beginning they are shy, at the end they dont give a fuck and are all dancing in front of the blue screen in the visuals. So it is not offensive in this situation, pple can choose wether they want to bee seen by the camera, or not.

[akira_k]

I've done this and never got a negative response from the audiece. On the contrary, when they realize they're onscreen, they get more excited.

However club managements did forbid me of entering bathrooms with cams, since a lot of the drug-dealing was going on in there. Bloody feggers, I'll hit them with a hidden cam :D

[christian]

Once we did an "Ass Cam" at a Ghetto Tek party that went over really well. We put the camera in the center of a lighted sign advertising it's purpose. Once people got a few drinks in em, there was booty-o-plenty. (Both guys and gals!) However, it's not something you want to have going constantly. I would monitor the cam feed and go to it when people were responding to it.....

< c >

http://futureprimitivesound.com

[julez]

on the legality side of things...

check out

thread (http://www.vjforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=4949)

basically in a club enviroment consent is generally given when through the act of entering the club.

Talk to morph about live video though..he's the expert:yep:

[drmo]

thanks for all the info and good advice. due to all that i felt prepared when I did my first gig on saturday!! i had a brilliant time and used the said technique of filming people on the dancefloor and showing it live on the "big" screen. predictably after the first 10 seconds someone pulled their trousers down at the camera. i also got fingers etc, but mostly it was fun. It certainly got the crowed involved. It was very funny watching peoples faces when they first notice something, looking puzzled and then surprised when they realise they are on the screen. I will try to do this again!

cheers
mo

[julez]

congrats:yep:

hope this leads u to bigger and better things:D

[Amukidi]

Hey Mo - I guess the gig went OK then??

[drmo]

hey Amukidi,

yeah it was a real success. so much fun! thanks for all the help!

mo

[bassy]

there is one thing you should keep in mind,
if your pointing to the dj, and he doesn't like it, after 4minutes there is no music anymore,...

this could be positive when he's bad, but when he's good, it will have a negative influence to the people's oppinion about you,...

just for the record,...

[illya]

I just have to say that i've been vjing for about 2 years now mostly in the club scene... two of my sources are live video.. the DJ is one of my favorite subjects and not once in all the shows I've done has any DJ stopped djing..

I DO know of a dj that does NOT like to be flimed.. and the people that promote him know this too and therefore their is no vj.

having the DJ on the screen gives off the impression that he is famous "Hey look I'm on TV!" the Dj is looking to be a star and I like to present him that way!

sometimes I have found the audience gets embrassed but for the most part they don't notice.. hehee!

viva la live video!

[akira_k]

Originally posted by bassy
if your pointing to the dj, and he doesn't like it, after 4minutes there is no music anymore,...

haven't heard of anyone doing this (and I worked with top DJs) but their agents/promoters DID come to me and tell me that I shouldn't mix my art with his image or name. Usually these comments came from shitheads who were jealous of our VJ work because we were booked by his competition, though :P

Screw the superstar DJs. I think they have already too much attention. They just play records, don't they? I don't have them in much praise really, and whenever I can take advantage of them through my screen I do it (once there was this bitch who thiks she's a DJ superstar diva, and I kept displaying the text "fuck off bitch" with her image on it. Instant classic :D)

[bassy]

Originally posted by bassy
there is one thing you should keep in mind,
if your pointing to the dj, and he doesn't like it, after 4minutes there is no music anymore,...


Due to several reasons,
wich are partially: no sleeping, to much stress, exams,...
my sense of humor was far below zero,
This (quote) was meant as a 'joke'
I have to admit, if I read these things now again, I'm kinda shy but sorry it has no ground fo truth. This won't happen.

[wellREDman]

yeah ive found the complete opposite, mixing in cam shots of the DJ is one sure fire way for sweetening them (and agents) towards visuals,