VJ School

[vjrei]

Ok guys (and gals)

I was offered to opend a VJ school or "introduction to VJing" at a place where a friend of mine gives DJ lessons.

Now, what would you expect to receive or to give as a pensum?

I believe I can give 4 clases or two hours each once a week or so. I have no clue yet until know how much I have to give.

Thanx

rei

[vdmoKstaTi]

I think its important to figure out at what level the class is at on artistic and technical level before you can really approach the lesson structure.

0. Figure out on what level the kids are.

1. Introduce them to content creation through various styles.
(encourage kids to bring digital camera, some of the art they have done, diffrent toys for frame by frame animation, overview on animation, video editing, video formats and codecs)

1.a Introduction on installation practises (dont laugh, some people struggle through it)

2. Software for creation introduction. all the way to Exporting.


3. Software for Performance, touch up on freeframes, midi controllers (important!).

4. Setting up your kit and getting images exported on the screen.
Since most kids wont have a lot of money to start off with, keep it budget and give them things that they can download for free.

gimp, virtual dib, open tzt, processing, vj jockey, blender3d, etc.

5. Cables and means of connecting things at different venues.

etc etc..

show them v4.. and if they get bored at any time, give them a kit to play with which has instant response... sometimes such encouragement can cause people to get more committed when they see it in front of them.

[asterix]

not much - certainly not your corporate rates mate
vdmoks correct.
I ran a vj workshop and was paid by the council only $40 per hour, + setup time.

[many2]

Don't forget the basics :

what is a bit ?
what is a pixel ?
what is a vector ?
what is resolution ?
what is color resolution ?
what is a video signal ?
what is in a computer ?
etc.

[bryandod]

what is in a computer ?

Definitely knowledge a future VJ needs.

[vjair]

Originally Posted by bryandod

Definitely knowledge a future VJ needs.

that was a section on a music tech course i did a few years ago.... very handy to know for anyone working with them regularly. gives you a better understanding of the stresses and strains its going through as well as how it opperates.

[vjrei]

Originally Posted by asterix

not much - certainly not your corporate rates mate
vdmoks correct.
I ran a vj workshop and was paid by the council only $40 per hour, + setup time.

That is a load of money here pero hour. Venezuela is an strange place with strange values, you can see this snob lady with an expensive sport utility vehicle doing a line to buy milk.

I am not interested about rates right now but the overal impact that a VJ school can do in my city. There are not a single school that teaches anything related with production in Venezuela, only this DJ school of my friend.

[sleepytom]

what level are your students at? how old are they?

i thin k you have everything the wrong way round.

start off by making some content - don't worry about anything complex to do with hardware setups - make some nice content and talk about how the content relates to the audience.

when you have learnt how to make some basic 4:3 content then talk about how to play it back and manipulate it in VJ software

return to content production after this - talk about prepping content for VJ software - how to make things ready for live compositing.

then talk about more complex hardware setups - multiple outputs / multiscreen spanning etc etc

return to content production - talk about super widescreen content - learn how to make multiscreen content for synchronized displays.

then look at DMX media servers - talk about integrating lighting and video / also talk about AV performance and integrating audio playback abelton live and AV shows.

------------------
all of that is assuming this is a high level (Alevel / degree course which will run over a year or more) if it is not then cut back on the complex stauff and concentrate on how to make some nice content and manipulate it live on a single screen.

[Scratchpole]

I assume Asterix means Au$40 that is not very much at all.
An agency handling school/youth workshops for me pay £30 an hour.
Similar to my standard Club VJ fees..
How much does a local teacher earn/ how much for an agency/supply teacher? I guess very little over there.

Remember you may be creating more competition for yourself in the long term as well as invigorating your local scene.

Your plan looks more like a degree course than an introductory workshop to me.

Would the students be coming from the DJ school?
Maybe A/V would be more appropriate, creating visuals for a track or mix they already have.
I believe it is important to generate an holistic product particularly with the under 16 age group, they are not gonna be VJing in clubs right away, but they can go home with a DVD of a short mix.

Try at least to use some free software, if they get the bug they can keep playing right away (if they have access to a computer).

Starting from the outside seems odd..
Show them your favorite examples, keep it varied.
Let them trigger a clip, jam, have fun, it still amazes me every time I press a key and a clip appears. Even real youngsters can enjoy image and rhythm.

Best of luck, I'm gonna go and hassle my local Music/DJ schools, it would be great to offer sessions as a regular course rather than one off specials.

I do wonder what happened with 2bitTV and their local college collaboration?