Live VJing

“VJing is a type of performance that combines the visual possibilities of filmmaking with the improvisational pleasures of jazz”…from The VJ Book: Inspirations and Practical Advice for Live Visuals Performance by Paul Spinrad, Jon Schwark

VJzoo are “film nerd” VJ’s who work in a wide range of environments – from nightclubs to art galleries and corporate events.

What we love most is using archival film – especially dance film – in a new context – eg at nightclubs, gala events and openings. We respond to the music in real-time, selecting clips to suit the track, changing the tempo and scratching the video the way a DJ does with audio.

We own over 5000 movies on VHS and DVD, and have over 30,000 loops on our VJ drives. Like a professional DJ, we buy everything we use if it’s commercially available. Most of the content we use is from the US, and our live performances would constitute Fair Use under American law. Unfortunately, Australia does not have Fair Use laws and very little Australian “public domain” archival content is available – so we use hardly any Australian content (apart from stuff we shoot ourselves).

If you live in Perth, Western Australia, why not come along to one of our events and say hi – we’re the ones staring intently at laptop screens, pretty easy to find! We’re the busiest VJs in Perth and do the widest range of events, so there’s probably something coming up that’s your style.

If you’re a newbie VJ looking for our old beginner’s resources, check out our old website. It’s all seriously out-of-date but you might find something useful. eg: Free Fairlight CVI loops page and ridiculously outdated Painting with Light Manual (9 meg pdf) from our 2006 VJ workshops.

If you are interested in hiring us, check our dates and style (eg watch some of our YouTube videos).