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!! DON’T BE ALARMED !!
Everything is fine but wow was that a crazy summer and fall for me. With only a few of my VJ Guy shows speckled between constant work at my main contract doing projection installations for EMD Casa Loma (Toronto’s Castle).
“Is summer really over ?” Â Yeah long over Mr Vj. Not surprising it felt short since you worked more since spring than you have in the whole year previous. But don’t forget some of the special moments you had this spring and summer. You actually made something pretty cool remember ?

Oh Yeah 🙂 !!
I did make something cool. I actually completed a personal goal I set last winter.
The goal was to build a new type of VJ screen to project on. Combining pieces of cut modular shapes in an interesting arrangement of pattern and depth with embedded LED lighting that can be controlled in segments by DMX signal.
What came of this idea is this beautiful Solar Mandala that I created for a first performance at Solstice Gathering 2016, a private event I make installations for every year neat Collingwood Ontario .   Â

With the help of Vj friends and performing guests Vj User Zero and Vj BunBun from Montreal. They each helped me tweak the design and wire up the LED lights once I had cut and assembled it at the stage site with the help of another local Vj Mike Phobos Kitty. This is something I have been planning for over a year but it always takes a good team to make something great and I was so pleased with how it turned out and the friends I had to work on it with. It was a truly rewarding experience when we hoisted it up into it’s hanging position above our awesome Spore dance floor. The assembled mandala is 12 1/2 ” in diameter

There are 14, 3 channel DMX RGB LED light connections to a DMX light control board mounted on the back. LED light strips are attaches in sections around the main circle edge and under the forward triangles back lighting those shapes. The lights are positioned to enhance and not interfere with the intended projection surfaces.

The Mandala can come apart and shapes potentially be rearranged in another way with the LED lights easily replaceable as well. The modular screen design will be flexible and useful for years to come as I adapt it for various environments and hopefully to continue to build and enhance the parts and make new animations to fit it. (thanks to AD Photografe Andrija for these next two shots)

I was able to present the installation at two great little festivals born from my local music and arts community Solstice and Wild Summer . Solstice Gathering a week long conscious and exceptional community music and arts gathering of about 1000 members in Ontario. This year was my 14th year in a row at this unique volunteer run event . I traditionally participate by doing a video performance installation and invite other Vj to come and light it up. Spore is the name of our stage and the festival has two other magical music areas Hive and Root .
(Root stage with new roof and packed dancing deck)
Each stage is Unique featuring quality selections of underground dance music with excellent sound and special visual experience to enjoy as well as a beautiful trail filled forest and field filled with art installations workshops and interesting , friendly, fun people.

The decoration design at our stage was done by long time friend and fellow Om Solstice veteran creator member Tomasz Ciesla he also designed and led the build of the 3 mini pyramids in the area that serve as our performance booths.
The event comes together every year on Summer Solstice thanks to an amazing core group of people supported by the entire member base including DJs and artists. There are no spectators. The festival has a very free and safe chill vibe tied to one hell of a dance party. The amount of work that goes into this relatively small lower budget event is incredible and it makes for a wonderful experience year after year. There is nothing else like Solstice and I can’t even begin to go into detail why but it is where I have grown up as a Vj and made so many memories and is something I will always be really proud to be a part of creating. See our website here if you are looking for more info on Solstice Gathering http://solsticegathering.ca/

Now of the Terror I was mentioning … With a lot more sunshine 🙂
At the same time I was working on Solstice I was also starting on a major long term project for EMD show systems at Casa Loma Toronto . Around then I had just completed the installation and programming of the 8 screen presentation theater in the Pool room in the Casa basement. the conditions of which were definitely scary at times considering I was there working at all hours of the night by myself or with one person since it is full of tourists during the day. I also work on some special events and lead all the LED wall builds and there are many throughout the summer out doors and inside..  Visit the Casa Loma website. http://www.casaloma.ca/

But seriously we are talking about a real scary project here and that is Legends of Horror .
Legends we call it is a grand production of light sound and performance against the backdrop of fantastic sets built around the Casa Loma location. I took part as a technician and installation designer for all the projection installations and the other special technical effects throughout the experience.

I will make my own Legends post soon but I am happy that AV Stumpfl and Live Design Online (LDI) website decided to to a feature posting about our work I can share today.
LDI is a Major live event production technology and design conference held every year in the US and features the latest in high end even production showcases presentations and training .
http://livedesignonline.com/architainment/mapping-legends-horror-casa-loma#slide-0-field_images-173791

Here is a preview pic I shot. I have posted many to my facebook and instagram already ,, just too good to contain. https://www.instagram.com/scottvjguy/

See the official Legends of horror website here https://legendsofhorror.ca/
And more about the Mandala here https://www.facebook.com/VjGuy/

The Mandala and I did make it to a second festival and I have some nice shots to share of that but it will have to be for another posting as well.

Thanks for coming by
All the best from Toronto’s Castle and Vj Guy

Something from the archive :
Written as part of the info for a previous Live Video Art Workshop we held at ORP Solstice festival 2013.

Scott Vj Guy on Live Video Artwork,

I have created Live Video Art at nearly two hundred events over the years since I first brought my animations to Om Festival  and I have had many amazing, challenging and rewarding experiences along the way, I hope some of which I can share to help others interested in what it is to be a Vj. The recent increase in accessibility of high end graphics capable devices and live video performance software offers more and more artists of all types the opportunity to try this unique and deeply fascinating artistic medium. I feel video art, live video performances and all the other possibilities in the live visual performance world are a part of the latest avant-garde in the art world. I love what I can do and the seemingly endless possibilities and exploration of styles and techniques of installing and creating content for live event video performances. Vjing and live video art production are a truly new art form so fresh and exciting experimentation and new concepts are always waiting to be discovered and developed into more and more unique and diverse styles. If you are very technical minded you will be fulfilled partially by the endless challenges and solutions required for a video artist to work through. There are more and more capable tools available to make life easier when it comes to content production and installation set up but as some artist are constantly trying new things and pushing the boundaries of our available hardware/software, we are also always working out how to achieve what we see in our heads and with what tools in which combination. I have had the joy and privilege of performing at and working on the stages at our OM/ORP Solstice festival since 2003 and I have really appreciated the opportunity to experiment and develop my craft over the years . Not only have I been able to grow and advance as an artist and person I along with my OMie brothers and sisters like Aspa, Steve, Peter, Lestor, and Dan, I have had the joy of facilitating many other fantastic video artists from our community as well and open the doors for new artists to come and perform on the big screens under the trees and the stars. There is a very special feeling similar to playing in a tight band or dropping that perfect mix when you have integrated your visual vision into an audio performance and the whole environment comes alive as the crowd goes off and I can’t wait to share it with you all again and again.
Join me Scott Vj Guy and other seasoned Omie vets for a discussion on the state of the art and a workshop that will cover some Vj fundamentals as well as a presentation of some more advanced techniques.

ORP Vj Academy

• Why ? – To share knowledge, Ideas and experiences in live video art with new and experienced VJs. Â
• What ? – A presentation from several of the festival’s key video and stage design artists as well as an open discussion leading into a freeform visual jam on multiple screens and workstations.
• When ? – Wednesday night during the ambient Jam. Â

Solstice festival 2015 , Spore Stage .
Sunday morning Psy Church with Dj Machine Elf shot from the Vj Booth.Â

If you are interested in Vj workshops at ORP Solstice festival 2016 send us a message and let us know you’re interested. entertainment.

I’ve had gigs most weekends over the last two months . It is good to be VJing regularly but also has been a bit tricky due to the fact that I have recently moved out of Toronto  and have to come back into town from 2 1/2 hours away each time. I am very thankful for a few friends with houses in the city who have been letting me crash at their places making life much easier. More on my living adjustments and new arrangements later…

One of the best events I recently worked was the Techedelic launch party ( www.techedelic.com ) also presented by Acid Reign productions. Â It was a very cool Techno / Psy Trance night with lots of people in the door , the event was fully decked out with a comfy ploung, friendly bar, stage deco & projection mapping installation by myself and deco crew Neuromantix. Also crew artist Czar hung his awesome backdrop paintings.
This is a shot of the night with my projections over top the Neuromantix deco installation and across nearly the whole side wall . I use two projos . The large wall screen was substantially dimer but looking pretty cool with 1280×800 resolution.

I will follow up with a few more photos from all these recent gigs and report on how they went in a next post. have a great day everyone

-Scott

Blog Re-post from 2016 after having our site wiped due to security breach. – make good passwords friends.

Hello LVA fans ,

I have lots on my plate these days and I am trying to get a system going where I can write about recent events and upcoming projects I am working on . That mental system is not quite in place yet but getting there. Since I had to rebuild my site I actually have a pile of past content I want to re share here and things I never got to post from the last year. I will try to cover it all in time and categorize properly for my own archive purposes as well as yours . Some of it should be helpful reference if you have your own projects on the go or are just getting started as a VJ or installation artist. I have committed to making weekly blog posts at least and possibly more once I get my schedule down . New content will be things like event after videos , project diary’s and postmortems, some very useful how to videos and hopefully inspirational artist showcases and content from around the world of visuals.

Today I present one of my handouts that I give to my first day Vj workshop students to help them start wrapping their heads around what we do as VJs and what they can do hopefully inspiring them to dive in and let the new ideas flow . This is slightly dated now but have a look and then let your imagination go wherever you like. Anything is possible lets make it happen !
🙂
‘Vj Guy

Art of the VJ (from Livevideoart sessions workshop series 2014)

I feel it is important to discuss our ideas of creative expression and design as a Live Video Artist. For me a VJ is like a DJ who mixes video to music at dance parties (or a much music programmer) . A Live Video Artist on the other hand can be a VJ but also takes the craft further by creating your own content and presenting it in a more creative display installation. Video installations can be used by VJ and set to music or they can be used in a multitude of other ways such as an ambient and abstract artistic installation at a gallery perhaps or a 3D projection mapped haunted house. I have personally used projection installations for theater and marketing purposes as well as being an event VJ. The key to your design is to prioritize what is important about your installation and consider how to make it work in the space you have and integrate with your clients goals and other elements like deco installations in the space. You are responsible for complimenting the space with your projection light and you have to pick the appropriate elements to do so.

• Content selection – when selecting your content you may want to only use certain style clips in order to control the “moodâ€ of the visuals and compliment the style of music or theme you are working with. For example I like smooth seamless loops of sacred geometry and visionary art when I VJ for a trance party but when I do a drum and bass event I will use more urban , industrial or HipHop culture look with more choppy jumpy movement. Sometimes I dont even use video and just create interesting colour patterns that compliment the room decor.
• Collaboration – Working with other artists to realize a space design can be fun and challenging. Make sure to set expectations early for your technical requirements and remind people not to block your projector beam. Sometimes you have to work around physical objects that can’t be moved and this makes your set up much more challenging. You want to get all this information well in advance so you know how to plan your installation. Work with the room lighting tek to make sure your images are not washed out by house lighting and suggest other options to use the lights or request they are left off if they are ruining your projections. Communication is key and make the effort to talk to your team well before the event about these plans.
  edit : Often you are working towards design plans laid out by the lead event designer or client but sometimes you are brought in for your vision and ideas , make sure to share them with all the stake holders involved and even contact other performers to see what they are planning so you can all come together on a unified collaborative design.
• Mixing style – Weather you beat match every loop , progressively build compositions , rapidly tweak effects and trigger clips to the music or do smooth calculated transitions you have to practice and experiment until you find what you like best. I try to be able to offer a variety of styles and practice mixing to different types of music finding what looks best to me. Â Some installations will not require a VJ such as interactive pieces or long play looping ambient gallery style installations. For trance music I progressively build compositions and make smooth transitions between clips. For broken beats I do lots of jump cut clip switching and video scratching. For Techno I use lots of minimal and repetitive abstract generative patterns.
• Experimentation – There are so many happy accidents I see when I just dive into my vj program and mix for a while. I suggest this is the best way to really learn the software and discover little feature you love that you would use over and over. I encourage you to come up with crazy ideas and try to pull it of by any means necessary . Video projection art is a new and exciting medium of artistic expression and can be done in so many ways. Once you learn the tools you want to use you will evolve into your own style and realize the limitless potential.
• Tools are also a very important part of your craft and they are covered properly in an accompanying document. The artist must first understand the core concepts of visuals design before getting bogged down in what tools to use. The only rule of thumb like in any art is use what works best for you but I will give you some recommendations in the next doc.
  – Scott Vj Guy –

I leave you today with just one photo from a recent event at a closed factory called Tower Automotive in Toronto. This was a challenging space to work in because there is zero remaining infrastructure and obviously no useful features in the space you would find in a night club that make setting up your gear easier. I ended up fashioning two 7′ towers to place my projectors on out of old shelving units and set them at either side of my VJ Table projecting across the entire room and hitting the large structural pillars and the Dj booth for mapping effects . The face on the DJ booth was really fun to play with and I projected animated googly eyes on it most of the night lol . The client specifically requested big cartoony colorful and fun imagery so as always Livevideoart.ca delivered.

I hope to see anyone reading this on the weekend for the Techedelic Launch party on Geary Lane.
Check the face book event info for details.