The
term VJ or video jockey refers to artists creating live visuals for
events primarily by digital means (not people hosting segments on MTV).
Many VJs originate from the realms of motion graphics or cinematic
special effects. Some are programmers with an interest in visual
metaphors, and others come from the world of nonlinear editing.
With today's tools, a VJ can do anything from ambient visuals to
full-blown 3D-animation storytelling with virtual characters. VJs have
become artists in their own right, getting booked as talent rather than
as backstage operators.
VJ SETUPS
A VJ usually has multiple image streams feeding into a video mixer,
where he or she creates a final blend in real time. The images are then
projected onto a screen via a video projector. Image streams typically
originate from computers, tape sources, and live cameras. A good final
mix consists of an artistic blend of at least two or three image
streams.
TAPE DECKS
MiniDV decks, like the portable Sony GV-D300, are preferred for quality
and convenience. Decks are used mostly for playing prepared image
streams and recording the final video out of the show. Ideally, this is
done in combination with a live feed from the audio board.
VJs use portable miniDV decks like the Sony GV-D300 to play back
prepared image streams and for recording the final video out of the
show.
DVD PLAYERS
More convenient than tape, DVD players allow nonlinear access of
prepared materials. The cat's meow DVD player for VJs is the Pioneer
DVJ-X1, which allows scratching of discs akin to record scratching.
Standalone DVD recorders are useful for monitoring and playing source
material and recording final output sources.
Many VJs now prepare source materials in DVD format, utilizing players
like Pioneer's DVJ-X1, which allows scratching of discs similar to
record scratching.
COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE APPS
The most versatile tools in the VJ arsenal, computer systems, usually
consist of at least one beefy laptop, such as the HP ZD8000, Dell
Inspiron XPS, Apple G4 PowerBook, or Alienware Area-51m. At least 1 GB
RAM and a 256 MB graphics card is recommended if you want to generate a
slew of image streams via different software applications.
Popular software applications include iTunes and Winamp visualizers,
slide show programs like Photo Jam, nonlinear editors with real-time
scratchable timelines such as Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro, and
specialized VJ applications like Arkaos or Resolume.
The recently announced Apple Motion 2 and its MIDI support is another
worthy application. Given the wide variety of tools available, many VJs
use multiple laptops in their gigs. Refer to "A Guide to VJ Software"
sidebar for more information on the various VJ software applications
currently available.
VIDEO MIXERS
The mixer is where the final stream to the screen happens. This is
where the VJ gets to be a musician--blending sources to live music and
playing to the rhythm and beat of the moment. Having two mixers to
handle all of the sources and multiple simultaneous special effects is
a good idea.
The preferred mixer of the moment is the Edirol V-4. The V-4 takes four
video inputs, two of which can be S-Video. The Beat Generator lets the
VJ set up a preset image that will tune into the beat of the music,
thus allowing the VJ to do some automatic visuals on the fly. A big
plus is the ability to preview input and output sources by pushing a
single preview monitor button. The V-4 has both chroma and luminance
keying. The design is simple, well labeled, and delivers a clean signal.
Before the advent of the Edirol V-4, mixers like the Panasonic MX-50
and the Videonics MX-Pro were standard fare for VJs. VJs still like the
MX-50 because of its picture-in-picture mode and the ability to throw
on paint, mosaic, still, or strobe effects on the fly. The MX-50 beats
the V-4 in terms of responsiveness and T-bar accuracy during A-V
transitions. The V-4 and the Videonics MX-Pro have a bit of latency
delay when pulsing between image channels. Edirol reps say its new
slider switch is supposed to make improvements over the V-4 regarding
this latency delay. The Videonics mixer seems to have the best choices
for artistic AV transitions, rivaled only by the ancient classic NewTek
Video Toaster.
Many VJs favor the Edirol V-4 for its four video inputs, Beat
Generator, automatic visuals on the fly, preview buttons, and chroma
and luminance keying.
PROJECTORS
Typical VJ projectors have a brightness of at least 1,400 lumens or
greater, a lamp life no less than 2,500 hours, and S-VGA-native
resolution. Popular models I've seen include the InFocus X2, the Epson
PowerLite S1, and the BenQ PB6100. Durability and portability is a plus
as gear will travel and be set up in different venues, many of which
have limited space. The tremendous drop in price over the last few
years (now less than $1/lumen) has been a boon for VJs, with more and
more of them owning their own projectors. The current crop of
projectors is HD-ready.
The next generation of projectors will have 802.11a and 802.11g
wireless capability, allowing wireless full-motion video and more
flexibility in location setups. The current crop of WiFi projectors use
802.11b, which doesn't cut it for projecting glitch-free wireless NTSC-
or PAL-quality video.
CAMCORDERS
Used for capturing live-action shots at the venue, camcorders can also
double as a primary tape source or final record deck. VJ pros usually
have a miniDV camcorder with good low-light capability, three CCDs, and
an analog input for recording the final mix. Tapeless camcorders may
soon be used in VJ setups, as files can be quickly moved into the
computer for incorporation into media streams.
In the near future, wireless cams will be able to freely roam the
venue, sending interesting live images for the mix to the VJ station.
The latest WiFi net cams, such as the D-Link DCS-5300G, provide
wireless full-motion audio and video with net-controlled pan, tilt, and
zoom heads. When equipped with a battery pack, they can be mobile as
long as they have a WiFi connection. Alternatively, a camcorder or Web
cam plugged via FireWire or a USB 2.0 port of a notebook with WiFi can
provide a mobile wireless image stream to the VJ.
BEING A VJ
There are different types of VJs. Many focus on PSI Trance music with
homebrew 3D animations. Some are into frame animations with video or
focus on the blend of visual layers. Others are interested in creating
the space, installation, and architecture of the VJ-enhanced
environment, where placement of such items as screens and projectors is
of paramount interest. The commonality is their love of creating live
visuals with music.
Up to this point, VJs have been the lowest on the totem pole of event
producers' budgets, an obscure line item somewhere between cleaning and
tipping. Only a handful of VJs are getting international attention,
such as VJ V2 (Vello Virkhaus) for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it may be
that way until the VJ is also the DJ of an event, or the other way
around. Typically, music is what moves audiences and the visuals are
seen in a support role--too passive of an experience by themselves to
be front and center with an audience. Many nightclubs, for example,
want the visuals but not necessarily a live person to run them.
"Being a VJ demands presence and timing skill, and it helps to have
rhythm," says Penny Slinger, visual artist, painter, videographer, and
VJ performer. "There is something about blending image streams together
in realtime that creates this interesting weave of a timeless state."
Slinger has taken the VJ role and expanded it considerably. A
professional videographer, she shoots dancers in her bluescreen studio,
edits the sequences in Final Cut Pro, and then uses a VJ setup to mix
visuals for compositing. Her DVD , created in collaboration with her
partner Dhiren, is a work of art that demonstrates what's possible when
combining a VJ live mix with more classical video postproduction.
Slinger and Dhiren have created The Blue Lotus Studio
(www.bluelotustemple.com) in the redwood forests high above Silicon
Valley, an inspired gathering spot for creative multimedia artists and
a haven for media professionals looking for a creative work space.
"We use complex effect hierarchies that define how two or more clips of
video interact with each other," says Dhiren. "It's the definition of
the interaction. We can keep cycling infinitely new video clips as the
source and end up with wildly different material, but it has an
identifiable flow, and the signature of our FX hierarchy runs through
it all."
And where do Slinger and Dhiren want to take it? "A transcendentally
enlightening experience for the audience that translates into a
positive memory for the rest of their lives," says Dhiren. "I like
taking people on a mythic ride," says Slinger. "With VJ'ing and the
music video genre, you can go on this experiential journey that takes
you somewhere, without going from A to B in the normal storytelling
sense. You still have an end time because the music does stop, but you
are not as tied to a linear narrative framework."
The equipment setup for VJs Mark and Katie Cosmic includes a 10,000-
and a 3,500-lumen video projector, two video cameras used for effects,
an Edirol V-4 Video Effects Switcher, 25 x 19-foot and a 12 x 9-foot
freestanding Da-Lite front and rear projection screens, and as many
computers as it takes with an everchanging list of software and visual
aids.
PROGRAMMER VJs
It makes sense that people playing with state-of-the-art technology,
programming, and media will discover new things about the nature of
reality itself. Computer animations can take us to new spaces and
places, and perhaps the first truly sentient synthetic organism will
birth itself at a music festival on a VJ screen.
One Bay Area programmer/artist is VJ Todd Steven Stock, a former
artificial intelligence research programmer at NASA Ames and computer
graphics engineer for Silicon Graphics. His VJ name is Dr. Paradise and
his tool of choice is the Paradise Metaverse, a system of his own
design.
"I see the Paradise Metaverse as a tool for cybershamans and
like-minded programmers," says Stock. "Think of programming as a
completely vast unbounded space of imagination one step further than
Gibsonian cyberspace. Now imagine what kind of three-dimensional
representations of data might live in such a space and what kinds of
interesting programmatic entities might thrive there."
When Dr. Paradise performs, attendees see firsthand this almost living
program, a creature dubbed "the cosmic octopus." "It has
three-dimensional and temporal behaviors," says Stock. "You can see it,
watch it move, and learn as it responds to and modifies its
environment. It has and is evolving its own consciousness."
Paradise Metaverse takes in up to 16 live MIDI streams and sequences
tracks with live MIDI instruments (and/or acoustical instruments
converted to MIDI) and combines all of these sources in real time.
"I'm designing the architecture of a realtime controllable 3D graphics
system that allows you to produce creatures in that medium and to allow
your inner vision to come out as something that is almost alive," says
Stock. "This is more than simply a forum for your imagination."
Dr. Paradise has played live at over 100 events, constantly evolving
the intelligence of his system. Check out www.paradise2012.com for the
latest.
THE VIDEO SALON
Nearly every month in downtown San Francisco at Dimension 7's (D7)
facility at 150 Folsom (www.dimension7.com), a VJ gathering is held in
a large, two-story-high room with projections on all walls. The
creative space was set up to foster the exchange of VJ tips and
techniques, to show off new stuff, and to learn from one another. This
is somewhat unusual for the VJ crowd.
"VJs typically are very protective of their visuals, believing that
their video is the only thing that separates them from everyone else,"
says Jon Schwark, a co-creator of the salon, and producer of the VJ DVD
label, Light Rhythm Visuals. " Most VJs are reluctant to put their
stuff out there for other VJs to see because they don't want to be
copied. But we've been pretty successful in fostering a community here."
It's still difficult to exchange high-quality visuals via the Net
because of large file sizes, so in the VJ world, there's still no
organized online way to get visuals to different parts of the world.
Schwark's exchange program at the salon gets stuff into the Bay Area,
and gets Bay Area VJ material remixed around the world.
Once a year, D7 also sponsors the Video Riot, a VJ extravaganza with
dozens of VJs projecting their images at the same time onto a huge
outdoor white wall. The number of dedicated VJs in San Francisco is
around 100, one of the bigger communities in the world. Other big VJ
cities are London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Tokyo, with Los Angeles and
New York up and coming.
WHERE IS IT ALL GOING?
The VJ, almost unwittingly, is mutating and evolving our present form of cinematic storytelling.
When VJs associate images to a musical composition, they visually tell
a story following the grammar of music, which is much less linear and
defined than classic cinematic storytelling. It's more of a
stream-of-consciousness expression.
It's only a matter of time before practical musical instruments are
created that play both sound and imagery, redefining what we mean by
music. Music is not just sound anymore--it includes light and imagery.
Ultimately, I expect music will encompass all of the senses.
I see VJ image manipulation and editing techniques spawning new jobs
for VJs in digital postproduction facilities. Digital post facilities
may also expand their skill sets to include mastery of VJ techniques
and styles. We may even see dream sequences, altered states, and
"inside the head" thought flows of characters edited using VJ
techniques.
Also watch for multimedia blogs on the Internet that utilize VJ
techniques to portray personal moods and feelings in conjunction with
songs. Remote VJ'ing will also come to fruition, where VJs will mix for
events from their own studios.
As VJ tools get easier to use, communities of artists will use the technology to create culture.
From the artists, it will filter into the literacy of children,
becoming part of how future generations communicate with each other.
This, in turn, will become the new literacy--the future of reading and
writing, if you will. Written language becomes text, an important
element, but a subset of the more universal language of music and
images.
A journalist/author in the high-tech, high-touch world of the Bay Area,
Allan Lundell is also CEO of Virtual World Studio
(www.virtualworldstudio.com), a company specializing in innovative
applications of digital video.
