I plan to post some basic start up information on what it takes to become a video jockey. I'll take it step by step so this may take a few days to finish.
A little about myself. I got into VJ'ing right after Virtual DJ released their video mixing update in May of 2005. I quickly went out and bought a 5'x7' projection screen, a 2000 lumen projector, a nice computer for playback as well as a bunch of videos.
Since then I've bought 1000's of videos, a 10.5'x14' screen (thanks Chaos!), and have updated my computer a few times over.
Now, let's get started.
Step 1:
Being a video jock is very different from being a regular DJ. You have to be much more careful in what you play since the guests are actually SEEING something instead of just listening to something.
Let's take an example of Ne Yo's new release Sexy Love. This song makes for a nice cocktail hour/dinner song for Sweet 16's, Quince's, High School Graduations and other teen events. You can play the song and people would accept it with no problems.
Now, take the same song but play the music video! For those that haven't seen it, watch it by clicking here. It's very dirty and is sure to turn a few heads for the wrong reasons.
Not only do you have to watch out for the visuals, you also have to watch out for musical breaks in videos. Take the most popular video of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller. That video is over 14 minutes long because of musical breaks. There are scenes were you just see the zombies walking around. Musical breaks are a dance floor killer. VJ's need to be wary of them.
OK, now that you have that info you now need to buy your music videos! The types of gigs you do determine what videos you need, but be greatful because buying a music video collection is a LOT easier than building your regular DJ collection.
First and foremost, there are a few services offering music videos to us. Promo Only, Screenplay, ERG & TM Century all service music videos. (ERG DVD's are simply relabled Screenplay discs)
IMHO, Promo Only offers the BEST service for building your back issue collection. Each DVD holds about 40 videos. Here is a list of back issue DVD's with videos from the 70's up to 2001.
Old Skool volume 1
Old Skool volume 2
Best of 70s volume 1
Best of 70s volume 2
Best 80-83 volume 1
Best 80-83 volume 2
Best 84-86 volume 1
Best 84-86 volume 2
Best 87-89 volume 1
Best 87-89 volume 2
Best of '90 volume 1
Best of '91 volume 1
Best of '92 volume 1
Best of '93 volume 1
Best of '94 volume 1
Best of '94 volume 2
Best of '95 volume 1
Best of '95 volume 2
Best of '96 volume 1
Best of '96 volume 2
Best of '97 volume 1
Best of '97 volume 2
Best of '98 volume 1
Best of '98 volume 2
Best of '99 volume 1
Best of '99 volume 2
Best of '00 volume 1
Best of '00 volume 2
Best of '01 volume 1
Best of '01 volume 2
http://www.promoonly.com/format_page.php?id_fp=27
Each disc will run $40 and each disc has about 40 videos. This is a great start to your collection. Promo Only also offers a number of specialty DVD's such as
Best Of Country
Best Of Love Songs
Best Of Hair Bands
Best Of Reggaeton
Halloween Videos
Christmas Videos
All Time Party Classics
Any and all of these are great additions to your library. I should know, I have them all and then some. lol
So the above titles will have you set for videos from the 70's up to 2001. You will only be missing videos from 2002 till today. (There are some videos missing from the 70's till 2001 but every month PO releases a new DVD to fill in the holes. Next release is Best of 1993 Volume 2, then probably Best of 1992 Volume 2......After 1990 I don't know what's next)
For 2002 videos till today you have 2 options.
1) Be like me and pick and choose the DVD's from this time period you really need. I went and bought videos like User's Yeah and other videos that I know I would play from that time period. I'm still missing a lot but I have the majority of the hits.
2) Wait for PO to release Best of 2002, Best of 2003, Best of 2004, etc..... That will be a LONG way off though so I wouldn't do it. lol Of course, you probably already own the regular song so you could just play that instead of a video but be sure to put something on the screen like an ambient or live video or something. (details to follow)
Even if you do buy all the above titles you will still be missing some popular titles. That's where your good friend Wal-Mart comes in. Everytime I go there I always browse the music section and look to see if they have any music video dvd's. Usually you can find a Greatest Hits DVD or a live concert DVD. These are great for filling in the gaps in your collection. I just got a Jimmy Buffett live concert DVD and now have the Cheeseburger In Paradise and Margaritaville videos. On the plus side, the live concert version of these songs are pretty true to the original versions! I love it!
How about some current videos? Promo Only offers 2 services.
1) A monthly service (Hot Video) where you get one DVD a month with Top 40, dance, urban and rock videos. You may even get a country video or something special every so often. Each DVD has about 40 videos and this runs about $300 a year. They also offer other DVD's such as Urban where you get dirty versions of songs, Latin, Country and more. Hot Video is the most complete disc though.
2) Express video is where you get a new video every week. This service gets the videos to you a few weeks before you would get them on Hot Video. The downside is the price. Around $1000 a year.
You really should plan on spending a LOT of money on your music videos. You don't want to be cheap and go out to a show with 500 videos. That will only lead to failure and disappointment.
Step 2:
Screens, Projectors, TV's and more........stay tuned.
A little about myself. I got into VJ'ing right after Virtual DJ released their video mixing update in May of 2005. I quickly went out and bought a 5'x7' projection screen, a 2000 lumen projector, a nice computer for playback as well as a bunch of videos.
Since then I've bought 1000's of videos, a 10.5'x14' screen (thanks Chaos!), and have updated my computer a few times over.
Now, let's get started.
Step 1:
Being a video jock is very different from being a regular DJ. You have to be much more careful in what you play since the guests are actually SEEING something instead of just listening to something.
Let's take an example of Ne Yo's new release Sexy Love. This song makes for a nice cocktail hour/dinner song for Sweet 16's, Quince's, High School Graduations and other teen events. You can play the song and people would accept it with no problems.
Now, take the same song but play the music video! For those that haven't seen it, watch it by clicking here. It's very dirty and is sure to turn a few heads for the wrong reasons.
Not only do you have to watch out for the visuals, you also have to watch out for musical breaks in videos. Take the most popular video of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller. That video is over 14 minutes long because of musical breaks. There are scenes were you just see the zombies walking around. Musical breaks are a dance floor killer. VJ's need to be wary of them.
OK, now that you have that info you now need to buy your music videos! The types of gigs you do determine what videos you need, but be greatful because buying a music video collection is a LOT easier than building your regular DJ collection.
First and foremost, there are a few services offering music videos to us. Promo Only, Screenplay, ERG & TM Century all service music videos. (ERG DVD's are simply relabled Screenplay discs)
IMHO, Promo Only offers the BEST service for building your back issue collection. Each DVD holds about 40 videos. Here is a list of back issue DVD's with videos from the 70's up to 2001.
Old Skool volume 1
Old Skool volume 2
Best of 70s volume 1
Best of 70s volume 2
Best 80-83 volume 1
Best 80-83 volume 2
Best 84-86 volume 1
Best 84-86 volume 2
Best 87-89 volume 1
Best 87-89 volume 2
Best of '90 volume 1
Best of '91 volume 1
Best of '92 volume 1
Best of '93 volume 1
Best of '94 volume 1
Best of '94 volume 2
Best of '95 volume 1
Best of '95 volume 2
Best of '96 volume 1
Best of '96 volume 2
Best of '97 volume 1
Best of '97 volume 2
Best of '98 volume 1
Best of '98 volume 2
Best of '99 volume 1
Best of '99 volume 2
Best of '00 volume 1
Best of '00 volume 2
Best of '01 volume 1
Best of '01 volume 2
http://www.promoonly.com/format_page.php?id_fp=27
Each disc will run $40 and each disc has about 40 videos. This is a great start to your collection. Promo Only also offers a number of specialty DVD's such as
Best Of Country
Best Of Love Songs
Best Of Hair Bands
Best Of Reggaeton
Halloween Videos
Christmas Videos
All Time Party Classics
Any and all of these are great additions to your library. I should know, I have them all and then some. lol
So the above titles will have you set for videos from the 70's up to 2001. You will only be missing videos from 2002 till today. (There are some videos missing from the 70's till 2001 but every month PO releases a new DVD to fill in the holes. Next release is Best of 1993 Volume 2, then probably Best of 1992 Volume 2......After 1990 I don't know what's next)
For 2002 videos till today you have 2 options.
1) Be like me and pick and choose the DVD's from this time period you really need. I went and bought videos like User's Yeah and other videos that I know I would play from that time period. I'm still missing a lot but I have the majority of the hits.
2) Wait for PO to release Best of 2002, Best of 2003, Best of 2004, etc..... That will be a LONG way off though so I wouldn't do it. lol Of course, you probably already own the regular song so you could just play that instead of a video but be sure to put something on the screen like an ambient or live video or something. (details to follow)
Even if you do buy all the above titles you will still be missing some popular titles. That's where your good friend Wal-Mart comes in. Everytime I go there I always browse the music section and look to see if they have any music video dvd's. Usually you can find a Greatest Hits DVD or a live concert DVD. These are great for filling in the gaps in your collection. I just got a Jimmy Buffett live concert DVD and now have the Cheeseburger In Paradise and Margaritaville videos. On the plus side, the live concert version of these songs are pretty true to the original versions! I love it!
How about some current videos? Promo Only offers 2 services.
1) A monthly service (Hot Video) where you get one DVD a month with Top 40, dance, urban and rock videos. You may even get a country video or something special every so often. Each DVD has about 40 videos and this runs about $300 a year. They also offer other DVD's such as Urban where you get dirty versions of songs, Latin, Country and more. Hot Video is the most complete disc though.
2) Express video is where you get a new video every week. This service gets the videos to you a few weeks before you would get them on Hot Video. The downside is the price. Around $1000 a year.
You really should plan on spending a LOT of money on your music videos. You don't want to be cheap and go out to a show with 500 videos. That will only lead to failure and disappointment.
Step 2:
Screens, Projectors, TV's and more........stay tuned.