How would you do this entrance 'mix'?

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IceBurghDJ

IceBurghDJ

Mac Daddy DJ
Apr 17, 2015
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Western Pennsylvania
iceburghdj.com
Not sure if this is the proper forum...

Anyway, this saturday the bride wants to me play a different song for each couple as they enter the reception - 8 songs in all.

Since each will only play for a few seconds what's the best (surest way of having a seemless presentation) to do this?

I have VDJ.

My though is to set a cue point for the 'best' part of each song, put them in order in the sidelist, and load them alternately to the a/b decks and start a song then announce.

Since I don't know how long each couple (incl parents) will take to enter and reach their table/head table I don't feel comfortable doing a recorded mix of say, 12 seconds/song.

But holding the mic (got no stand...) and mixing/cuing and not getting SOMETHING screwed up has me concerned.

I guess I COULD record my announcement over each song...but how to keep the volume right may be an issue.

Help and advice most welcome!
 
Don't overthink it. Simply cutoff the beginning from each song so that it starts on the hook line, then leave the rest of the track as-is. Fire off track #1, announce the couple, as they're finishing their entrance fire off track #2, announce, repeat. If you try to cut each track to fit the exact time you think they'll need, you'll be lucky if it's not a train wreck.
 
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yeah, plan was to setup cue in points so I know where the hook is without having to spend the time (and stress) to find them on the fly as the folks are walking in.

She picked a wide variety of music - katrina and the waves, snoop dogg, C&C, Pharrell and more.
 
Edit those songs (Audacity is a good tool) to start at the hook .. save those as new songs with the party names as title and put them in a separate playlist/crate. This way you both get a cue to the names and you can just jump to the next song without thinking.
 
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Steve's suggestion is good... edit the songs to start at the hook. When I do it, I take it one step further: I build one audio file that has four of the song hooks running for about 2 minutes each, each one spaced about 30 seconds apart. Save the file as an MP3 or WAV, then load it into one player in VDJ. Next, set your cue points, 1-4 (the 30 second gaps you put in will make it easy to find the start points when you're looking at the waveform on your computer screen). With just one player and your controller's cue buttons (assuming you have a controller to run your software), you can run through four couples' entrances without even looking at the screen. Got more than four couples? Build a second song file and load it into player 2.

I've done this for as many as 15 couples (thank goodness for the multipads on the DDJ-SZ), flawlessly.
 
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One other thing to mention, don't move too slow on your verbal pacing. When I have these, I try to give the track just enough time to be recognizable, then make the next announcement. I'm only mentioning this because I don't know your personal style and have seen DJs who seem to be PAINFULLY slow in their grand entrances.
 
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entrances IMO are one area where many DJs fail, or don't do well. I hear some do great - and I want to be one of them, but like most folks public speaking isn't on the top of my things to do for fun.

And it's also one of the hardest to practice I think..not like I can hang out with the greeter at walmart and announce people in to gain experience. Well, i've never tried so maybe...

My one ass't gave me feedback on some of my announcements last week - talk slower and annunciate more. I plan to practice and record myself this week if I can find the time.

----------------

thought about editing them...may give that a try. Seems more idiot proof and I have my idiot moments (like last wedding, fat fingered the wrong song for brides entrance). I have sound forge and acid music studio -one or both should be able to do it.

Yeah, more time needed yet! LOL
 
IceBurghDJ said:
entrances IMO are one area where many DJs fail, or don't do well. I hear some do great - and I want to be one of them, but like most folks public speaking isn't on the top of my things to do for fun.

And it's also one of the hardest to practice I think..not like I can hang out with the greeter at walmart and announce people in to gain experience. Well, i've never tried so maybe...

My one ass't gave me feedback on some of my announcements last week - talk slower and annunciate more. I plan to practice and record myself this week if I can find the time.

----------------

thought about editing them...may give that a try. Seems more idiot proof and I have my idiot moments (like last wedding, fat fingered the wrong song for brides entrance). I have sound forge and acid music studio -one or both should be able to do it.

Yeah, more time needed yet! LOL
Click to expand...
video yourself and practice that's what I do
 
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I use a mic stand in this situation to keep both hands free to push those buttons. I've never bother to edit songs in advance, but it sounds like a good idea. I just set cue points. Either way, practice at home to make sure you're segueing songs well and announcing well. I like to pace speech with the beat of the music sometimes, but it's more important to generate some excitement with your announcement style.

Of course, you'll also have to have the sheet that you read from in a good spot - not in the way of mixing, but in a readable position.
 
Forgot to mention...lowering your voice just a tad allows it to travel farther, be heard by more in the area and actually sounds a bit more pleasing to most people.
 
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I would want to be able to focus on my announcements and not have to worry about screwing up the music, so this is the way I'd do it: I'd make a custom clip of each song, longer than it would likely run... maybe 45 seconds each. Then I'd put them in order in a playlist and play the entire list, using the fader to fade out of each song and skipping to the next song after each introduction. This would mean all I'd have to do is use the cross fader and the skip button. I'm not quick enough to load songs on different decks when playing them for such short times, and talk coherently at the same time. [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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As mentioned before I would edit the stuff in a dedicated audio program such as Audacity (I use the Sony version) and once you're done you can run it past the couple and see if they like it. A lot less stressful, if you haven't done it before. I get to mix the music for dance routines in my family's business and have fun doing it.
 
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OK...wtf?
I edited the songs and renamed them - 07 bang bang 91915.mp3 as an example. So they'd sort in order to be played and i'd know what to delete.

I open the file in VDJ and it gives me the info for the ORIGINAL bang bang - lenngth, etc. No new name. Now if I play the file I get the right song (the edited version).

But why isn't it seeing the name properly? What is it REALLY reading? What do I need to change in the file to get it to show up the way i want it to?

Now i've not imported the song into itunes...no need to IMO...is this the fix???
 
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