Ideas to boost the profile of VJing

[asterix]

I think the arguement that the industry as a whole gets paid very little is silly. The reality is not that bands / djs / vjs etc can't get paid a fair price. Its that they choose to drop their prices to ridiculous fees because its the only way they feel they can compete, or that they feel they have to land every gig they quote on.

'Undercutting' exists in every industry, not just entertainment. And guess who comes out on top every time - it would very rarely be the idiot undercutting everyone. Something always has to give with these guys, but usually they are the ones bragging about how brilliant they are (PA / stage companies who undercut are a good example of this).

Ask anyone who you consider to be 'successful' in the entertainment industry what their secret is. I bet its not charge less and grab every gig you can.

I personally don't often find payment to be the big issue with vjing. When it is (play for tix) it makes my blood boil. Perhaps the bigger problem is that your clients may not actually realise the work / hardware / knowledge required to stage a good show.

Perhaps its a matter of there being so many shit vj's out there, and you not being able to show your value proposition properly. There are alot of vj's who don't have an online demo for example (I'm guilty of having an outdated one at least, but it gets me over the line usually ) or even descent footage of the gigs they play at.

We have a collective here in Darwin. Most of us are animators, a programmer (who is yet to get involved properly), plus several vj's.

It works well because we all expose ourselves to different scenes, and we can access each others skillsets as a team. One is tied in heavily in the arts scene. One is tied in with the big knob corporates (not that we have many here). I'm more tied in with the underground / festival scene, which we all like to play by preference anyway.

Most don't have a clue about rigging. Funny thing is the arts scene dude gets more budget than most other gigs! But the hourly rate is usually a little less. He's managed to create a good network, so he can pretty much do vid editing / music clips / vjing for a living and get paid reasonably well for it.

I think Australia could do with a vj collective on a national scale. There are alot of talented vjs / riggers who could probably fair well by approaching festivals (which most want to play at most) as a collective rather than an individual.

[SteveG]

Wow, asterix....all this talk of "exposing", "tied to" and "big knob corporates" perhaps we should go into Porn Production or something

[devonmiles]

I have thought a lot about this recently and theres no simple answer to it. the topic is far too complex and as Tom mentioned earlier, we have to get the question right:
is it necessary to "boost" the perception of VJs in the public?
what is the percecption actually?
which public?
what will be expect from such an effort?
what can be expected?
who is "we"?
how does it fit into the bigger picture of current economics?
what does history can tell us about?

I would like to setup a 3 days thinktank at the B-Seite VJ festival.
5 or 6 people doing an intense research and analyis could come up with some useful insights at least. if some folks are interested I would write a proposal to Pixelschubser. Deadline is next week, so its a bit of time to write something from scratch.

[asterix]

Some things that would indicate good kpi's of vj's having a raised profile - these all tie in together as well:

• Adding vj's to event flyers / websites / media releases. The arguement that visual / decor artists have no additional attraction for punters to an event is in my opinion balony, but at the very least something we can work towards improving. Currently alot of events are lucky to mention 'audio visual feast' which is ok, but my next point builds upon this.
• Creating 'brands', 'identities' within the community. We need names that are identifiable. I could name at least half a dozen Aussie deco artists (not vj's) even before I became a vj. I'm into the psy-trance / outdoor fest scene mostly so you may have pre-conceptions about why the decor artists are a big attraction in our scene. But I can't see why it cannot be the case in other scenes also. Promoters love to show off anything well known. Crowds love them too. Are their enough names in our industry?
• Treating vj's like performers not offstage techy's. This also involves vj's turning into performers as well (most of us look half asleep and motionless in front of a computer). Its not everyones cup of tea (Im too old and fucked for a stage presence these days) but it is for alot of us.
• Improved conditions for vjs. There is nothing worse than spending an entire day rigging stuff and having no energy to perform. There is nothing worse than arriving at a gig where you've been promised setup to find that no-ones lifted a finger.
• Change of mindset within our own community, made up largely of people who disbelieve that their industry is of little value. It all starts here actually. I can't stand people who are not open to the world of possibility we are in. If you do not believe there is anything beyond the status quo then guess where you end up - going backwards!
• A baseline rate of payment. I hate the idea of vj's working for less than a bartender (as I so often see here). I see vj's in larger cities working for shit money at well funded events because some other idiot offers 'visuals' for some ridiculous fee. This comes down to (once again) strength within the community. Don't undercut yourself or the industry, add value instead. The question of value can be boosted by reputation, or by creating good folios and documenting your events properly (as well as quoting using itemisation as suggested by Tom and others).
• Better skillsets and knowledge within our industry. There are alot of vj's who don't grasp the basic concepts of hardware / rigging / software etc.
• Kudos - alot of smaller events will do a singout to promoters / djs. I've quite often added sound/pa company logos and our own to the screens at the end of a night - or in change over. The fact you're getting a shout out gives your audience the opportunity to show their appreciation, and to get your name out there.
  
  
  Those vj's who see themselves as techy's will probably despise my list. Those who see themselves as performers might question some aspects of this list but welcome most of these things if they were standard. But I know this is possible because most of the things on here are happening for me already (not everywhere).

[{VJPortal}]

This thread is just plain awesome. My ideas:

1) Brand is king in any entertainment industry vehicle. We need internationally known VJs with similar punter awareness as "Oakenfold" and "Goldie". To do this effectively, I think VJs need a television network equivalent of satellite radio for dance music. Fortunately, we now have wildly available broadband Internet. Who is starting the underground, high-bandwidth audio-visual media channel Web site, which is inclusive of high-quality livecasting and necessary voice-over intros from a host? "You are now in the A/V mix with Arman Van Burin and deepvisual........"

2) Every time a VJ plays, his or her name needs to be clearly laid out on the flyer.

3) Always charge something, even if it's just a performance equipment rental fee. You will never be taken seriously handing out freebies.

4) Take the business training, as SteveG mentioned.

5) asterix mentioned VJ as performer, not "visuals guy or techie". This is beyond critical, IMHO, and too many live visual artists have not registered this fundamental fact in their minds. You are not a VJ, in my view, unless stage presence is at least 33% of your game. Staring at PC or lappy monitors all night at a desk is not VJing. That's a projection technician.

[unjulation]

1) personally i see branding as ego based aspect of the entertainment industry - if the product that you supply is good then you dont need to brand yourself - your work speaks for its self - to much branding smacks of desperation to me

2) i have to agree there because then if someone is at the event that you vj at likes your stuff they know who you are

3) some of the best gigs ive been involved with i havent charged - but im not saying i dont like being paid for my time - but its not my performance kit that im charging for

4) personally i hate playing on stage - i don't like the attention that is thrust upon me, i prefer to stay hidden - but i still call myself a vj and will continue to do so - i don't need my ego stroking by anybody - i know if ive done a good set or a shit one

a lot of this comes from my personal understanding of ware we as vj's fit within the highirachy of an event - and its prety low - if you want to become a superstar become a dj visuals are just the iceing on the cake - no one comes to a club because of a vj they come because of the type of music and they want to get out of it (drug induced or otherwise) we are just a side show and not the main attraction

[SteveG]

M&S, McDonalds, Microsoft....I wont go on don't have egos Unj....branding is advertising, advertisng attracts business. McDonalds burgers may be the best in the world but if they had relied upon on word of mouth we'd still be waiting to hear about them.

[{VJPortal}]

unjulation,

There's a difference between branding and excessive self-promotion. The former is an audience's natural inherent ability to identify you and reasonably guess what to expect. This is an important part of basic human communication.

On the "what is a VJ" front:

If you don't play on stage, IMHO, you're just a live visuals guy. To me, a VJ is:

1) Someone who finds and/or produces his or her own time-based visual content
2) Someone who works with said content in a live setting in realtime
3) Someone who performs in front of an audience

Two out of three just makes you a live visuals operator, IMHO. I don't think that archetype deserves to be in large font on a flyer. Nothing inherently wrong with the approach, it's just not on the same tier of artist to me. An analogy I think is fair, is the studio session guitarist vs. a legendary touring blues performer. The latter is a much higher level of art, IMHO.

[evomedia]

Personally i see branding as ego based aspect of the entertainment industry - if the product that you supply is good then you dont need to brand yourself - your work speaks for its self - to much branding smacks of desperation to me

Brand is not just logo, its everything you do to present yourself, that's the website, stationery, how you present images or videos, what you present, and how you deal with service and user experience.... its about generating a look that matches the level of service you provide, and therefore gives your clients a sense of security that your professional, business minded and are not going to vanish or let them down.

Branding is purely about how you present yourself or your services to the public/industry, companies or individuals that take their brand seriously already understand why brand image is important, and if they are your clients they will expect you to understand why its important too.

Its especially important for us...we are in a creative market, promoters, festivals and clubs understand brand, so they want VJ's who understand why their brand is important, if your completely anti branding then you will get less work pure and simple. Companies don't want to hire people who don't place any value on branding, they are placing their brand in your hands and therefore want it treated with respect,

Branding simply has undisputed results as well Unj, rebranding provides hard facts in respect of better returns, it makes it easier to get new business, and allows companies to charge hirer rates. If you take the same companies services and create a website with 2 versions, one well designed and branded with a higher price point, and another thats badly made, and looks unprofessional with a lower price, the first will generate more sales, have better satisfaction and generate more traffic and still get more repeat business, that's proven the world over, both statistically and historically, every sucessful company has invested in presenting the right image to their customers.

Its all been subjected to in depth analysis, brands are AB tested, revenue is tracked, results are measured, website shows accurately the time spent on websites, how people use them, every offers are tracked and compared. That's all about brand progression and results are the proof, if branding didn't work the figures would show it.

Which site would you rather spend money with to provide your company with IT services?

http://www.diablocomputers.co.uk
http://www.capita-its.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

The first one suggests a small business, that would be unlikely to handle a big contract, they may fix you home computer but you wouldn't want them fiddling with your office network, they have no interest in their brand, and therefore will likely remain a small business, the second looks professional, reliable, experienced and adaptable. They will generate more money, grow faster, get higher paid contracts they will gain more repeat business.

Thats why VJ's need to take branding seriously, it gets you more work, that's better paid, generates more repeat business, and suggests your more professional, more experienced, and more capable. In other words its a key factor in success, the fact that how your brand looks defines directly to how much you can charge, take Waitrose they can sell products for a higher price point and still people come back, that's because their brand shouts quality. The products may or may not be better than tesco, but the brand re-enforces the concept it is better.

Every successful company who leads their field has placed importance on getting their brand right, all of them.

Its not ego, its business sense, its about professionalism and desirability. I've worked on the re-brands of Compaq, Barclays, and Silicon Graphics, and have created brands for hundreds of clients, I know it works because I see the business impact and see the actual results.

[evomedia]

A Brand is = Collectively, what people say, feel and think about your product, service or company.

A Strong Brand is = A collection of coherent ideas and experiences with a product or service over time.

A great brand is a great story

If you still doubt the above, and remember I'm not saying being great at the job too or that providing a great service is no less important.

But its worth understanding what is and isn't your brand, a brand is your relationship with your customers:

http://tutor2u.net/business/marketin...troduction.asp