quote:

Originally posted by Allied Nations I really don't agree with a lot of what you are saying here. I think a lot of the more "cutting edge" parties are making sure of high quality visuals and they end up becoming a huge part of the night. We had a great VJ at a party on Friday with minimal DJ Ben Parris who was actually using a camcorder and a lightbox manipulating images on the fly and adding his own personal touches as he went on. He had a bunch of stuff going on, sure, but to say he wasn't able to move and progress his images along with the us dancers is false. Sure there are shitty VJs like there are shitty DJs, but I think as time goes on VJing is going to get better and better as new soft and hardware are released.

Our experiences differ obviously, but I think you hit the nail on the head and sort of proved my point a little without knowing it. What you describe sounds a lot cooler than a guy using VJs and I have seen this being done, but in all honesty the only time I have seen visuals really work in a club is when the clubbers themselves feature in them. That's the only time I have seen them get any real attention.

I have seen DJ Yoda do the visual thing with DVJs and have to say that the experience was definately worth while but not one I would assosciate with the general clubbing vibe.

Maybe it's just a question of Trance producers commissioning better videos perhaps with this in mind and we could see a real leap forward.

I do want to make myself clear though, I am not against technology or development, I just in my own opinion believe that this is not the next thing.... ok famous last words and all that he he he.

Visuals have been going on since the 60's and they have always been a backdrop rather than a main feature for the simple reason that people or not their to watch them, ultimately for a lot of clubbers it's about getting it on with a member of the opposite sex and visuals generally don't promote this kind of action, if you catch my drift.

I'm just calling it how I see it and from my own experience with visuals. We can't forget that we as a community get quite tied up in technology and the how to's, sometimes maybe we forget that your average clubber might not be into that. Let's face it, we are anoraks in the highest degree, but we love it.

The main reason I said that VJs have trouble interacting is because a lot of, if not all the material is prepared before hand and is even rehearsed, Yes I know a few big guns of the vinyl/CD world do this too and generally am not a big fan of it but can see the need with visuals.
I do agree though that it's not a bad thing that companies are trying to take the clubbing experience to the next level, that has to be good for all of us.

Cheers
Nem

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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 Visuals have been going on since the 60's and they have always been a backdrop rather than a main feature for the simple reason that people or not their to watch them, ultimately for a lot of clubbers it's about getting it on with a member of the opposite sex and visuals generally don't promote this kind of action, if you catch my drift.

Bingo.

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last minute disco dot net

Two things I've noticed in watching vj sets and comparing them to strait up DJs.

/waxphylisophical

One: Music (good music) has always affected people, high or otherwise. In fact I think thats why most people turn to EDM because they want music that is meant to speak to them. The music will always make the experience, visuals are along for the ride.


Two: What I've seen is that the visuals at parties tend to distract, and curtail the VJ and hinder his creativity. Thereby reducing the chances for something spectacular to happen in the transitions.

With that said, its pretty amazing what they can do, if there ever comes a time when the DJ can focus on the music and the visuals will handle themselves based on how he/she handles the music, then I would say it might become standard if not required practice.

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Desperate Housenerd.

As a video editor, I am generally interested in visuals and what can be down with them in all aspects, not just in the topic discussed in this thread. when I see a video on youtube that has a backdrop behind a DJ with their name and some sort of animation, I think it is really cool. Usually I see the DJ is in an elevated booth or hard to see. The backdrop gives a person something easy to look at. However, if I wasn't as interested in video/graphic work, I would probably not care abotu the visuals at all.