VJ Battle

Type: Performance
Program Area: Entertainment

Day/Time: Sunday, April 23 3:00 PM (120 minutes)

Location: Maker's Lounge

UPDATE: The VJ Battle was great fun, and everyone's visuals were amazing. (Excellent music, too!) Synesthete / Todd Thille did a wonderful job of incorporating fresh Maker Faire imagery into his energetic mixes, and he won the competition-- congratulations, Todd!

---

Watch VJs compete head-to-head to create live, four-minute video mixes that capture the spirit of the Maker Faire. Marvel at the freshest, most gripping live visuals you've never seen before, cooked up by the Iron Chefs of visual culture. Witness beads of sweat and nimble fingers flying over computer and video equipment. And may the best VJ win! (Or one of them, anyway, since it's so subjective.)

FORMAT: Two simultaneous stations and screens, multiple elimination rounds. Theme for round (explained below) is unveiled and music plays for two minutes. After this two-minute intro, VJs perform for four minutes, followed by judging notes. See SCHEDULE at bottom.

MUSIC: Will be played by DJ Alaric (ExtraSensoryProjection.com). Styles of music will vary, and will be generally upbeat and family-friendly, fitting the occasion.

THEMES: Each round will be governed by a single theme, which will be unveiled when the music starts. Each round will have a different theme, chosen from the following, in any order: Electricity, Creativity, Technology, Craft, Community, Earth Day, Order and Chaos, Light and Dark, Hard and Soft, Organic and Inorganic, Abstract and Representational, Word and Image, Inside and Outside. VJs are encouraged to use any and all interpretations of the theme words.

PRIZES: All entrants will get a "Buddy Pass" to the event (two adults admission, a $22 value), a copy of The VJ Book ($22.95 value), plus other fun participant freebies. The winner will also receive a one-year subscription to MAKE ($34.95 value), and hopefully a nice piece of VJ hardware as well-- we're working on this possibility.

EQUIPMENT PROVIDED: Projector, screen, power, 4' of table space to set up on.

SETTING UP: Participants will be able to set up ahead of time on their section of table during the day on Sunday. Security will be provided throughout the day.

JUDGING CRITERIA: Each performance will be judged along the following criteria, for a maximum of 100 points per judge, 300 points total per participant per round:

1. USE OF EQUIPMENT (20 points) - Your rig can be anything you want to bring, from laptop-only to mixer, camera, laptop, and multiple peripherals. How well do you use the equipment that you have? Are you doing clever things with repurposing hardware (and software), or just going standard, off-the-shelf?

2. IMPROVISATION AND CURRENCY (20 points) - How does your performance reflect its surroundings and the mood of the room? Where does it fit on the spectrum of canned vs. fresh? Have you incorporated any visuals captured from the Maker Faire itself, whether stills or video?

3. INTEREST (20 points) - How interesting and entertaining is your performance, in terms of eye-appeal, idea content, surprising-ness, or anything else. How difficult is it to lose interest and look away?

4. AESTHETICS (10 points) - How affecting are your visuals and composition, whether beautiful, intentionally ugly, or a mixture?

5. FIT TO MUSIC (10 points) - How do your visuals fit in with the music and reflect the music's texture and progression?

6. THEME (10 points) - How well does your performance express or comment on the theme for the round? How well or in how many directions do you develop the theme?

7. GESTALT (10 points) - How well does your performance hold together overall?

JUDGES - Xárene Eskander (Editor, 'vE-"jA: Art and Technology of Live Audio/Video), Stefan G. (VJ pioneer), Paul Spinrad (MAKE magazine, The VJ Book).

PARTICIPANTS
1. Franz Keller / VJ Franz K : http://franzkeller.com
2. Emmett Feldman / Suryummy : http://suryummy.tv
3. Todd Jaquith / VJ Satsi : http://satsi.com
4. CaroLuna / VJ Luna : http://vjluna.com
5. VJ Rainbow Puddle : http://rainbowpuddle.com
6. Beau Casey / Cypod : http://cypod.co.nr
7. Nate Taylor and Carlo de Jesus / VJ Full Stealth (NYC) : http://www.fullstealth.com
8. Todd Thille / vj synesthete : http://synesthete.com ( Artificial Eyes, LA/Istanbul)


SCHEDULE

3:00-3:19 - Introduction

3:20 - Round 1: VJ A vs VJ C
3:20 Theme unveiled and music starts
3:22 Video starts
3:26 Video ends
3:27 Judging and Round 2 intro

3:30 - Round 2: VJ B vs VJ D
3:30 Theme unveiled and music starts
3:32 Video starts
3:36 Video ends
3:37 Judging and Round 3 intro

3:40 - Round 3: VJ E vs VJ G
3:40 Theme unveiled and music starts
3:42 Video starts
3:46 Video ends
3:47 Judging and Round 4 intro

3:50 - Round 4: VJ F vs VJ H
3:50 Theme unveiled and music starts
3:52 Video starts
3:56 Video ends
3:57 Judging and Beer Frame 1 intro

4:00 - Beer Frame 1: Loser, Round 1 and Loser, Round 2
4:00 Theme unveiled and music starts
4:02 Video starts
4:06 Video ends
4:07 Judging and Beer Frame 2 intro

4:10 - Beer Frame 2: Loser, Round 3 and Loser, Round 4
4:10 Theme unveiled and music starts
4:12 Video starts
4:16 Video ends
4:17 Judging and Round 5 intro

4:20 - Round 5 (semifinal): Winner, Round 1 vs. Winner, Round 3
4:20 Theme unveiled and music starts
4:22 Video starts
4:26 Video ends
4:27 Judging and Round 6 intro

4:30 - Round 6 (semifinal): Winner, Round 2 vs. Winner, Round 4
4:30 Theme unveiled and music starts
4:32 Video starts
4:36 Video ends
4:37 Judging and Round 7 intro

4:40 - Round 7 (final): Winner, Round 5 vs. Winner, Round 6
4:40 Theme unveiled and music starts
4:42 Video starts
4:46 Video ends
4:47 Judges' notes

4:48 Presentation of awards and conclusion

Presented by

Paul Spinrad
Projects Editor
MAKE magazine

Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!

Click here to advertise on MAKE!