Customer Reviews

The VJ Book: Inspirations and Practical Advice for Live Visuals Performance

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There's been so much discussion online about the development of a VJing book, but this one wins the prize as the first - or at least the first to make it into our letterbox. As a trailblazing tome on such a complex and rapidly growing and changing field, I can certainly forgive it a few errors and omissions.

The DVD is just OK - all the best material on it has already appeared elsewhere, such as the Eyewash Sessions, and there are some inclusions that I can't for the life of me see as VJing in any way. Calling something VJing isn't an excuse for a badly made music video clip. But hey, even without the DVD, the book's good value so just consider it a bonus.

The book is short and covers some complex technical topics a little too flippantly at times - eg, as a PC/Resolume user, my guess is that their criticisms of that program's poor performance were due to use of incompatible codecs with their clips. Perhaps if they'd got user reviews by professional VJs for each of the main packages it would have been more accurate and balanced.

Having said that, this book isn't about technicalities. The writers' and interviewees' passion for what they do is palpable. The main message of the book, at least to my mind, is that it doesn't matter HOW you do what you do, and that there is no right or wrong way to VJ. It's an art, and no instruction-book is going to make you any good at it, if 'it' isn't inside you.

There is a fairly American focus, but that's fair enough. The European, Australasian and other regional cliques can write our own books. This is a great starting point. If we Aussies want to claim credit for modern VJing thanks to the Fairlight CVI, that's another whole book to write.

The most wonderful thing about the book (and the reason I've bought 8 copies to give away already) is the historical contextualisation. I knew there were some early experiments with Colour-Music, but I had no idea they went back to the 1700's, when clavessins were made with precious stones, mirrors, lenses and candles to project coloured light. I want one!

A quote from the book that I think applies equally to anyone considering buying "the VJ Book":

"In writing these pages, I have felt myself to be addressing two classes of readers, namely those who know something of the art of Mobile Color, its past history, its hopes and its aims; and others who have never even heard of the subject...from the latter, I would ask for as open-minded a consideration of the subject as they can give me." AW Rimington, Colour-Music (1912).

Here, here.

VJ kattyb, VJzoo.com

book was very inspiring, really broad introduction, with lots of glimpses into what it really takes.
DVD was a total letdown, but then again not if you knew the useless airhead who compiled it.
would have been five stars without the DVD (although it does include some tasty demos of software)

Easy to read... lots of interesting information.. a must for any VJ interested in the bigger picture... Only let down is they failed to mention anything about the SDI video signal. I would have liked something about it... Yet it's still a very interesting 'and easy' read plus the price is fantastic. :)

I got this book about 1/2 for curiosity and 1/2 for an interest in multimedia art exhibits (tangentially related to VJing). I'll repeat the other reviews: the DVD is useless. But the book is quite a good introduction to VJing if perhaps a bit dated now as the technologies central to the activity have progressed.

The VJ Book is awesome. I'm so glad that this book is available. It's one of the best books made on the subject for people in the future to refer back to when researching the history and origins of VJing--especially in the US. There is alot of material in the interviews that I have never seen dealt with anywhere else in print. A common observation by some VJs interviewed in the book is that the aesthetic quality of VJ art at dance parties usually far exceeds the quality of any video installation that one might find in a museum. And yet, the museum installation usually gets way more funding. Anecdotes and stories that come though in the book's interviews are great at showing the nuts and bolts issues that VJs have faced in working their craft--insights that are hard to find outside VJ circles. In my opinion, VJing is one of the highest forms of visual art, yet has remained mostly underground and misunderstood because it is so historically new. There are no pictures in this book--its all written info. But the included DVD makes up for that--its a rare window into a world of VJs united in their artistic passion, but amazingly diverse in their styles and methods.