Visually grooving

• Source: Global Times
• [09:03 July 19 2010]
• Comments

A still from a Tina Blakeney's live VJ set. Photo: Courtesy of Blakeney and Hean

The time required to produce visuals varies greatly, depending on the complexity of the design. Some 20 minutes of film could take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks to complete.

"Sometimes I spend hours searching through archives and old dance movies as well as to shooting my own footage," explained Blakeney.

"The software we use is easy to use. It's very visually orientated, almost like a cut 'n' paste system and it is easy to generate hundreds of real-time effects," she added.

Creating videos for her recent 3-D party at Dada bar required Blakeney to take a slightly different approach: "For the Dada show I went out at night to shoot videos of neon signs. I had to look for objects looking good in 3-D. Then you use a process of three-color separation, where you separate out the red, the green and the blue which generates a sense of depth."

Generating appropriate content for specific music is the real challenge for VJs. "For music with heavier electronic sounds such as techno, DNB, or house, I prefer to put stronger effects on the visuals. But for abstract, ambient sounds, I prefer to use old, offbeat films," said Hean.

Although most people are used to screens as flat, rectangular objects, VJs often want to play around with the surfaces they project onto. Blakeney has been working with Garmman Ng to construct interesting, non-standard screens.

"Garmman is really great. She helped me create the intricate screens for the 3-D party at Dada and everything came off very well. It gave the whole night a different dimension."

"Whenever I'm doing visuals I try to use space creatively, so I try to avoid using square screens, and will often use ceilings and floors. In the past I have projected onto inflatable objects and other 3-D shapes to mix things up a little bit," Blakeney said.

Blakeney performs regularly with the Acid Pony Club. They have put on shows at Logo and Dada Bar and often can be found midweek at Shelter's SwapMeet nights.

Anyone interested can check out VJ Hean's work every Friday and Saturday in July at the Germany Pavilion (8 pm-11 pm) inside the Expo site in a show entitled Future Music in Balancity.