DVJ
Encyclopedia
DVJ, derived from the term "DJ" and its sister "VJ", is a term used to describe a combination of the two—in other words, a DJ who performs live using an audio-visual music player instead of an audio-only setup consisting of CD turntable
players or vinyl-record turntables. This is not to be confused with a VJ, which usually refers to a host of a music video
TV channel, or a visual-only performer separate from the DJ in a live environment. As the term DJ usually also applies to composers of music played by DJs (whether they themselves are performing DJs or not), DVJ has a similar meaning with composers in the audio-visual format. Although we may say "DVJ" to describe a "video jockey" artist, the term comes from the industry-standard Pioneer DVD-turntable, called the DVJ. A more common name is simply DVDJ (DVD jockey) or VJ (video jockey); however, the latter, as mentioned previously, is sometimes confused with TV music video channel hosts.
, laser
projectors, and/or pyrotechnics
. With the advent of DVD
technology (especially once it became cheap enough for the average individual to create his or her own discs), a push was made for a device that would give a performer the same flexibility in accessing the music and video on the disc as the turntable-style CD players commonly available for DJs. Pioneer Corporation
became the first (and as of this writing, still the only) manufacturer of DJ equipment to produce such a device, the Pioneer DVJ-X1
, first released in 2004. That design has been refined into the DVJ-1000, released in 2006, generally regarded as the "gold standard" DVJ turntable today.
s containing one or more music videos the performer wishes to play. The music and video contained on the disc can be anything the performer desires, but as with standard DJs, the most popular genres are the various forms of electronica
. In addition to the audio, which is sent to a sound system
like other player systems, the video component is output to a video projector
or other visual display. The audio and video for the disc are then always in synch regardless of any scratching
, mixing, and other transformations the performer does on the media. This was a huge improvement over any previously possible method of performing with audio and video together, as the performance often had to be very meticulously planned so that the video being displayed matched the audio. This sometimes required a second performer to handle video playback, leaving little room for improvisation
by the DJ.
In addition to the DVJ turntable players (virtually all DJs have two players for their "native" media of vinyl, CD, or DVD; some have additional players to accommodate other media, or they mix multiple sources at once), "DVJing" requires the use of an audio-visual mixing console
, which allows the DVJ to select sources for audio and video and to blend or mix them. Many mixers also give the DVJ the ability to perform simple transformations on the video. Just as an audio mixing console allows for changes in equalizer levels, dynamics, and balance, an A/V mixer allows variations in hue, color saturation, brightness, sharpness, and other "TV-type" settings. They also allow for various types of transitions between video clips, such as fades, blends, and wipes. A/V mixers are nothing new to the recording and performance industry, but they are more often found in production rooms of television stations or editing suites of movie studios and are a new feature of live turntablist performances.
The relative simplicity of the performance using the DVJ turntable, along with the added dimension of video for the DVJ artist to expand into while composing, has resulted in a move up to these media by some former DJs and recording artists, where they are in high demand by nightclubs and rave party organizers. However, because the technology is still very new and the players and projectors very expensive, "DVJing" is, as of this writing, still only a small part of the DJ and nightclub
scene, one such venue that uses this is Liquid Basildon, although it is largely restricted to professional DVJs such as Sander Kleinenberg, Christian S and Kel Sweeney. Of course, as the technology becomes more widely accepted and established, the price of the central piece of equipment (the DVJ turntable) will become cheaper and should eventually be within the reach of amateur performers. Future advances in video processing may allow the DVJ to perform real-time advanced transformations on the video, such as polarization, color negative, digital color grading, and other digital filters.
Common brands for commercial video mixers are EDIROL and Videonics. These pieces of hardware simply accept multiple video sources and combine them in various ways such as fades, wipes, and a number of other transitions. Another common piece of equipment in the DVJ arsenal is called a switcher. Most digital turntables, whether CD or DVD, have a fader-start capability, in which the cross-fader of the audio or video mixer can tell a player to pause or play. By using these types of switchers (the Pioneer A/V switcher is a very common example), scratching video effects can show the typical back-and-forth motion heard on audio. More-advanced video mixers also have a chroma-key capability, known by most as "green screen" compositing. Currently, Videonics makes a number of mixers that will allow for this effect. VJ artists may play DVD tracks with a certain color that is set as the chroma-key color on the mixer. The mixer will then locate this color on the track and replace it with whatever the VJ has chosen. Many times, he or she will use a camera and camera operator to take live video feeds of the dancing crowd and superimpose them on a video of something else to give a novel effect. A top end mixer option is the Pioneer SVM-1000, which has preview screens, switchers, video FX, and audio FX, all in a four-channel mixer. A standard setup can be the Pioneer DJM-800 with a VSW-1 Switch and a three-screen monitor. This kind of setup must have numerous media discs which must be transported to, or available at, the location. Swapping discs increases the changeover time for videos vs. a computer setup, and there's the possibility of skipping or stopping with scratched or damaged discs.
As opposed to a fully component setup, computer solutions such as OtisAV DJ, PCDJ, VirtualDJ
, and Serato Scratch Live all deliver full audio/video capabilities. Video mixing is done within the computer, which can then be plugged into a video system or splitter, eliminating the need for an external mixer in many cases. The software uses the computer as an all-in-one unit: player, A/V mixer, and monitor. Regular turntables using control cds/vinyl records can directly control the media, and some software suites allow the use of external (midi) controllers that emulate turntables, or add additional controls to the software, allowing a more versatile/portable setup or eliminating the added cost of buying turntables or even a mixer. To take advantage of this solution, DVJs copy their DVD tracks, video and HD media onto hard drives, which means less equipment needing to be carried to gigs. This solution is not only more compact, it's less expensive; the software and related external turntable controls can be purchased for a few hundred U.S. dollars and used on any laptop with sufficient computing power and memory, while the Pioneer DVJ players retail for around US$2500. Even a basic component-based setup can cost far more than a top-of-the-line laptop, software, and storage—especially if a sufficient computer already exists and thus doesn't have to be bought new. In addition, with this method, videos can then be manipulated to have more effects, different audio tracks, or even be completely different than the original.
Computer-based systems can only run reliably on very powerful computers with the latest graphics cards, anything less can lead to lowered video quality, skips, lagging, and even crashes—all potentially fatal to the performance. The settings are used to encode and play back media files are extremely important and can negatively affect quality, although with the current methods and quality standards, this has become a non-issue. In addition, whereas component players are limited to SD resolution, products like Serato can deliver high quality HD 720p
playback as well as 1080p
, although not technically supported yet.
An audio DJ uses headphones so the DJ can hear the unmixed output of each turntable independently in order to queue up the next track. A DVJ needs similar capabilities with video, which requires multiple displays. With component-based systems, a small flat-panel monitor or TV needs to be set up for each player and given the raw video feed of the player through a Y-splitter cable. With a computer setup, the computer or laptop must have two video outputs; the primary screen has both sources and the mixed output shown, and the mixed output sent out the secondary output to the house, and commonly a monitor for the DVJ. This setup saves space needed in the DJ booth from 3 monitors plus a controller down to the pc/laptop(s) and an output monitor. As better technologies, formats and resolutions are available, these systems can also be upgraded to support them, a major point over component systems.
Computer setups using Serato Video Scratch Live have been incorporated into many venues, notably several Las Vegas mega-clubs. VJ and Turntablist Mike Relm
has also switched from using a component setup to a software/controller setup with Serato VSL and a Jazzmutant Lemur.
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
players or vinyl-record turntables. This is not to be confused with a VJ, which usually refers to a host of a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
TV channel, or a visual-only performer separate from the DJ in a live environment. As the term DJ usually also applies to composers of music played by DJs (whether they themselves are performing DJs or not), DVJ has a similar meaning with composers in the audio-visual format. Although we may say "DVJ" to describe a "video jockey" artist, the term comes from the industry-standard Pioneer DVD-turntable, called the DVJ. A more common name is simply DVDJ (DVD jockey) or VJ (video jockey); however, the latter, as mentioned previously, is sometimes confused with TV music video channel hosts.
History
Visuals in one form or another have always been a part of live DJ performances, but until the advent of this form of performance, the visual aspect was largely limited to computerized strobes and spotlightsStage lighting instrument
Stage lighting instruments are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatrical productions, concerts, and other performances taking place in live performance venues. They are also used to light television studios and sound stages.Many stagecraft terms vary between the United States and the United...
, laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
projectors, and/or pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
. With the advent of DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
technology (especially once it became cheap enough for the average individual to create his or her own discs), a push was made for a device that would give a performer the same flexibility in accessing the music and video on the disc as the turntable-style CD players commonly available for DJs. Pioneer Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
is a multinational corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products, based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The company was founded in 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop...
became the first (and as of this writing, still the only) manufacturer of DJ equipment to produce such a device, the Pioneer DVJ-X1
Pioneer DVJ-X1
The DVJ-X1 is a DVD quasi-turntable that allows VJ's to scratch and mix video like a vinyl record. Released in 2004 and designed for professional use in clubs, it features real-time digital video scratching, looping and instant hot cueing. It has capability to sync video and audio streams even...
, first released in 2004. That design has been refined into the DVJ-1000, released in 2006, generally regarded as the "gold standard" DVJ turntable today.
Operation
DVJ discs, as noted above, are DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s containing one or more music videos the performer wishes to play. The music and video contained on the disc can be anything the performer desires, but as with standard DJs, the most popular genres are the various forms of electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. In addition to the audio, which is sent to a sound system
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...
like other player systems, the video component is output to a video projector
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
or other visual display. The audio and video for the disc are then always in synch regardless of any scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
, mixing, and other transformations the performer does on the media. This was a huge improvement over any previously possible method of performing with audio and video together, as the performance often had to be very meticulously planned so that the video being displayed matched the audio. This sometimes required a second performer to handle video playback, leaving little room for improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
by the DJ.
In addition to the DVJ turntable players (virtually all DJs have two players for their "native" media of vinyl, CD, or DVD; some have additional players to accommodate other media, or they mix multiple sources at once), "DVJing" requires the use of an audio-visual mixing console
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
, which allows the DVJ to select sources for audio and video and to blend or mix them. Many mixers also give the DVJ the ability to perform simple transformations on the video. Just as an audio mixing console allows for changes in equalizer levels, dynamics, and balance, an A/V mixer allows variations in hue, color saturation, brightness, sharpness, and other "TV-type" settings. They also allow for various types of transitions between video clips, such as fades, blends, and wipes. A/V mixers are nothing new to the recording and performance industry, but they are more often found in production rooms of television stations or editing suites of movie studios and are a new feature of live turntablist performances.
The relative simplicity of the performance using the DVJ turntable, along with the added dimension of video for the DVJ artist to expand into while composing, has resulted in a move up to these media by some former DJs and recording artists, where they are in high demand by nightclubs and rave party organizers. However, because the technology is still very new and the players and projectors very expensive, "DVJing" is, as of this writing, still only a small part of the DJ and nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
scene, one such venue that uses this is Liquid Basildon, although it is largely restricted to professional DVJs such as Sander Kleinenberg, Christian S and Kel Sweeney. Of course, as the technology becomes more widely accepted and established, the price of the central piece of equipment (the DVJ turntable) will become cheaper and should eventually be within the reach of amateur performers. Future advances in video processing may allow the DVJ to perform real-time advanced transformations on the video, such as polarization, color negative, digital color grading, and other digital filters.
Hardware
A common setup for a DVJ includes two turntables, an audio mixer, and a video mixer. For a component setup, the "standard" DVD turntable is the Pioneer DVJ-1000; it is a DVD player with a higher read speed than the average home dvd player, and a memory buffer that allows for quick jumps or backtracks in playback. This is coupled with a controller that emulates a vinyl-record turntable. By rotating a control wheel, the performer can quickly search through a video; slow or speed up playback (pitch) to match the other playing track; and, with a "scrubbing" motion, quickly stutter forward and backward, producing the well-known "scratching" effect. Other controls that take advantage of the digital media include A-B looping, freeze frame, slow motion, and instantaneous pause/play (a traditional vinyl-record turntable requires a small amount of "spinup" time).Common brands for commercial video mixers are EDIROL and Videonics. These pieces of hardware simply accept multiple video sources and combine them in various ways such as fades, wipes, and a number of other transitions. Another common piece of equipment in the DVJ arsenal is called a switcher. Most digital turntables, whether CD or DVD, have a fader-start capability, in which the cross-fader of the audio or video mixer can tell a player to pause or play. By using these types of switchers (the Pioneer A/V switcher is a very common example), scratching video effects can show the typical back-and-forth motion heard on audio. More-advanced video mixers also have a chroma-key capability, known by most as "green screen" compositing. Currently, Videonics makes a number of mixers that will allow for this effect. VJ artists may play DVD tracks with a certain color that is set as the chroma-key color on the mixer. The mixer will then locate this color on the track and replace it with whatever the VJ has chosen. Many times, he or she will use a camera and camera operator to take live video feeds of the dancing crowd and superimpose them on a video of something else to give a novel effect. A top end mixer option is the Pioneer SVM-1000, which has preview screens, switchers, video FX, and audio FX, all in a four-channel mixer. A standard setup can be the Pioneer DJM-800 with a VSW-1 Switch and a three-screen monitor. This kind of setup must have numerous media discs which must be transported to, or available at, the location. Swapping discs increases the changeover time for videos vs. a computer setup, and there's the possibility of skipping or stopping with scratched or damaged discs.
As opposed to a fully component setup, computer solutions such as OtisAV DJ, PCDJ, VirtualDJ
VirtualDJ
VirtualDJ is a range of audio/video mixing software developed by Atomix Productions Inc. for use by mobile and club DJs. The software is also exclusively repackaged for Numark, called Numark CUE....
, and Serato Scratch Live all deliver full audio/video capabilities. Video mixing is done within the computer, which can then be plugged into a video system or splitter, eliminating the need for an external mixer in many cases. The software uses the computer as an all-in-one unit: player, A/V mixer, and monitor. Regular turntables using control cds/vinyl records can directly control the media, and some software suites allow the use of external (midi) controllers that emulate turntables, or add additional controls to the software, allowing a more versatile/portable setup or eliminating the added cost of buying turntables or even a mixer. To take advantage of this solution, DVJs copy their DVD tracks, video and HD media onto hard drives, which means less equipment needing to be carried to gigs. This solution is not only more compact, it's less expensive; the software and related external turntable controls can be purchased for a few hundred U.S. dollars and used on any laptop with sufficient computing power and memory, while the Pioneer DVJ players retail for around US$2500. Even a basic component-based setup can cost far more than a top-of-the-line laptop, software, and storage—especially if a sufficient computer already exists and thus doesn't have to be bought new. In addition, with this method, videos can then be manipulated to have more effects, different audio tracks, or even be completely different than the original.
Computer-based systems can only run reliably on very powerful computers with the latest graphics cards, anything less can lead to lowered video quality, skips, lagging, and even crashes—all potentially fatal to the performance. The settings are used to encode and play back media files are extremely important and can negatively affect quality, although with the current methods and quality standards, this has become a non-issue. In addition, whereas component players are limited to SD resolution, products like Serato can deliver high quality HD 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
playback as well as 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....
, although not technically supported yet.
An audio DJ uses headphones so the DJ can hear the unmixed output of each turntable independently in order to queue up the next track. A DVJ needs similar capabilities with video, which requires multiple displays. With component-based systems, a small flat-panel monitor or TV needs to be set up for each player and given the raw video feed of the player through a Y-splitter cable. With a computer setup, the computer or laptop must have two video outputs; the primary screen has both sources and the mixed output shown, and the mixed output sent out the secondary output to the house, and commonly a monitor for the DVJ. This setup saves space needed in the DJ booth from 3 monitors plus a controller down to the pc/laptop(s) and an output monitor. As better technologies, formats and resolutions are available, these systems can also be upgraded to support them, a major point over component systems.
Computer setups using Serato Video Scratch Live have been incorporated into many venues, notably several Las Vegas mega-clubs. VJ and Turntablist Mike Relm
Mike Relm
Michael Wong , better known by his stage name Mike Relm, is an American disc jockey, turntablist, and VJ from San Francisco, California. He has performed with notable hip-hop artists Lyrics Born, Money Mark, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and D-Sharp. In 1999 he won the International...
has also switched from using a component setup to a software/controller setup with Serato VSL and a Jazzmutant Lemur.