vj article in METRO london

[Rovastar]

The AV boys all post on AVC/ AVF not VJC/VJF they have made their bed. How easy is it to have in time visuals if they are the sound too....that is no challenge.

[mondo]

rova
are you sure any of them post on any other visuals forum. im unaware of that

and anyway
i suspect the list was generated (via a puter search) by amount of gigs (mainly hi-profile) that they have got in teh last year.

without prior publicity how can a newspaper/mag know about your next gig?

something we should all look at more closely - publicising your gigs and where to

one for AVIT i think

[Rovastar]

Shame that no-one actually researched it though. AV'ers phhhht

Originally posted by mondo
rova
are you sure any of them post on any other visuals forum. im unaware of that

Sorry too early in the day for my sarcasm.

[Anyone]

Originally posted by michaelheap

as 4 out of 5 are AV groups and one just does visuals for bands.

Now you know what to do to get on that list: go AV ...

Ne1

[Amukidi]

Word oli!

[sleepytom]

the reason that these people are more high profile than any other vjs is because of the way AV acts get billed and the conserted effort that is put into promoting these acts
the top 2 are ninjatune artists and have the ninja publicity machine behind them (don't hate the media, become the media!!)
the lightsergeons have been doing this for longer than anyone cares to remember and create the kind of shows that demand attention whilst yeast and your mum are gaining much respect by creating new visual concepts outside of the rave scene where they insure they get good credits and are mentioned in the mainstream press (mainstrem coverage of raves is not large and will be intirely DJ centric).

perhaps the reason why there is little mention of VJs in these kind of articals is because nobody really cares about visuals as an add on to a DJ set (when was the last time you saw an artical in the observer talking about a lighting guy or the soundsytem company??) for vjs to be taken seriosly they need to become part of the band (and accept that people will talk about the band rather than the VJ) examples of this kind of relationship are seen with bands like the egg who have a very good reputation for visuals and yet most people have no idea who there vj is

rova sums up the problem nicely by saying

How easy is it to have in time visuals if they are the sound too....that is no challenge

- its not about the challenge mate - there is a lot more to visuals than beat reactive swirllys - what gets these AV acts there reputations is not beat responsive visualizations (something that coldcut have never used in a live show) but the narrative politisied content of the visuals - the images on screen pass on a message (doesn't have to be political) and try and express a feeling, an energy, some kind of tale. - this is what gets you critical approval.

it is imposable for a vj who simply adds some pictures to a DJs music to come close to the level of coherance present in the work of these av acts - to do so require preplanning and understanding of what is being communicated by the dj - work with djs, plan sets in advance - create custom content and rebrand yourself as an AV act - this is the only way to achive respect from the mainstream press (unless you wish to spend a fuck load of cash on a publisist) - see yourself as part of the band - so when your band gets a good review you feel good.

[mondo]

tom " - the images on screen pass on a message (doesn't have to be political) and try and express a feeling, an energy, some kind of tale. - this is what gets you critical approval. "

amen.(for av artists)...to the above your right no one cares above visuals apart from us!

coupla things then...they are known as vjs to the public and we have already branded them AV .so we still have that name problemo

i agree structured sets and performances are the best way forward if you want publicity/fame blah blah

just been relistening to re:volution by coldcut for the last election - sounds good even without the visuals. now thats skill

[sleepytom]

all thes av acts were musicians before they were visualists and its the music that keeps the intrest comming

nobody has ever been signed to a lable as an AV artist - record lables want music - visuals will allways be seceondry. the last hexstatic relese was a DJ mix album!

get with the program and accept your position - if you want fame and fortune you need to be making music - good visuals will help your live show - but you need to sell records to make money and the way to sell records is by radio play - whats the best visuals you've seen on the radio??

Re:Volution is a good example - it got to number 63 in the uk chart - the video wasn't on the cd - most people don't even know its an AV track - nobody cares about the visuals.

[syzygy]

Yes indeed.

I don't neccessarily agree with Sleepy"AV"Tom that being an AV act is the only way forward for visualistas that want recognition, but I agree with the basic idea that making visuals a central part of the show rather than an add-on is the way ahead.

Now an AV act is a good way to do this (hence we are working on a live show with a producer with a view to touring it) but it is not the only option.

Another good way to get recognition is, I think, to become properly involved with a particular event. Being part of the crew rather than just a person who comes in to do the visuals means that a share of recognition that the event achieves goes to you. This is obviously especially true if part of the reputation of the event is based in part on the visual aspect.

Dan.

[sleepytom]

true true true

you can create events that are very visual based and those events will get a good rep for visuals (i feel that the big chill fits into this catorgary)

or work with a band to make a coherant show (orbital - dj shadow etc)

the dificulty comes in that you will not recive the personal recognition that many people here seek

how many threads have there been here where people say how great orbitals visuals are or how they loved the dj shadow tour or whatever and this is VJforums - even here nobody knows who was the VJ for these great shows - the mixmag reading punters will never care who was on the mx50.

see yourself as part of a band or part of an event and you'll get a good feeling when someone says your band did a good show or that your event was great fun.

see yourself as a strugelling artist who never gets any recognition and you'll resent the bands your work with getting good reviews when they fail to mention your name.

be satisfied to be one part of a good event and you'll be happy - if you want your name in huge letters and constant praise then you should give up vjing and do something where someone is famous for it (football, music, big brother - but not VJing!!)