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Video jockey

(Redirected from VJ)

Video Jockey or VJ is a term coined in the early 1980s to describe the fresh faced youth who introduced the music videos on MTV. The word VJ is also used to represent video performance artists who create live visuals on all kind of music.

Contents

Live visual artists

Although less known by mainstream folks, the word VJ is also used to represent video performance artists who create live visuals on all kind of music. It originates from a parallel with DJs, although most VJs nowadays have more to do with musicians than with DJs. Often using an analog vision mixer, VJs blend and superimpose various inputs over clips. In recent years, musical instrument makers have begun to make specialty equipment for VJing. Popular hardware include the Edirol V4, Pansonic MX & AVE series mixers and Korg's Entrancer effects unit. The evolution of computers has allowed for VJ-specific programs to be produced and has allowed for easier accessibility to the art form.

AVIT

In recent years VJings popularity has allowed for more Visual Art specific events to be organised. The biggest of these is AVIT, now held approximately once a year in the UK, Germany and North America. There have also been smaller events held in Latin America.

AVIT has 4 main purposes:

  • To increase public participation in VJing
  • To facilitate the development and skills base of existing VJ's
  • To raise the profile of live video performance as an art form
  • To capitalise on the networked community of VJCentral.com

VJCentral.com is the internet's most popular VJ community and actively promotes the scene via its forums and community. With over 6700 members, it allows for an open content system similar to Wikipedia.

VJ Resources

VJs

VJ Hardware

VJ software

  • Cross-platform:
    • 3DJ 1.1 - Mac/Win32 Video Layering/Effects
    • Arkaos VJ - Mac/Win32 Clip Triggering/Effects
    • Bomb - Mac/Win/Linux Visual Musical Instrument
    • Flowmotion - Mac/Win32 Video Mixing/Effects
    • FreeFrame Open Source - Mac/PC/Linux crossplatform video effects
    • Visulator 2.5 - Mac/Win32 Multi Layer Triggering/Effects
    • GRID - Mac / Win XP Movie Triggering
    • ES-X - Mac OSX / Win XP video mixing live performance tool
    • pidipVJ Open Source - GNU-Linux / Mac OSX vj tool to make realtime visual art.



  • Macintosh
    • Isadora Node-Based Visuals Creation
    • Klangfarben
    • Modul8 Video Mixing/Effects
    • SoYuZ free open GL Jitter based vj software from VJ SPuTNiK
    • Pixelshox (now Quartz Composer in Tiger) Node-Based Visuals Creation
    • VDMXX Video MIxing/Effects

VJ labels

MTV-type VJs

Originally hired to represent a wide array of musical tastes and personal ethnicities, eventually became famous in their own right. Essentially they were nothing more than on-air personalities, but as the popularity of MTV grew, they began to branch out past just introducing music clips. Soon they were considered by many to be full fledged music journalists, interviewing major music celebrities and hosting their own television shows on the network.

As time progressed and MTV's format changed, VJs began to host game shows, talent contests and the like. Soon they were given their own shows based on the type of genre that their "demographic" was interested in.

See also List of MTV VJs

See also

Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04