looks like video is coming to traktor

**ellgieff** · 08-07-2011, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by sobi

I don't think most of you guys (saying leave the video to the VJ's/visual guys) understand the video plugin concept. It's not there for eye candy visuals. This is geared towards (for the most part) jocks that want to play videos that correspond to the tracks they are playing. Not so much for the random disposable dance track.
An example is an 80's weekly I used to go to on mondays in Tampa. Monk, from Rabbit In the Moon VJ'd all old school 80's videos. From Fat boys and Run DMC, to Prince and others. The bar had TV's going across every wall every few feet, and every one of them was playing what he was spinning on his Pioneer DVJ1000's. It was pretty sick with the cutting and scratching.

<3

I don't care about linking music videos to the tunes I'm playing (most of which probably don't have videos) I just love RITM

**lauti** · 08-07-2011, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by nem0nic

I'm not talking about mixing music videos. If you want to do that, you need to use the right software (SSL with video or VirtualDJ most likely).

But if you wanted to have what the DJ is doing effect the visuals the VJ is putting on screen, I'm guessing this could be done without much fuss. The tiny bit of latency you'd get (a few ms at most) wouldn't be an issue because we don't process visual information in the same way as we process aural info. And that's assuming you're working with an external VJ. If you're using a virtual MIDI port and running Resolume on the same box, it would probably be pretty tight.

On running both things on the same box, I'm pretty sure my laptop could handle it just fine, but let me ask you. If you're so fired up to have video in Traktor, and you've said that you can run both apps on your own computer, don't you think you're going to be in a tough spot if NI do incorporate video into Traktor?

I'm not an expert at all, but I still think that the only way to actually get sure that your audio and video are perfectly synched, you have to mix videos. (And I'm pretty strict with that. Why are Chris Cunningham's videos so good? because they are perfectly in tempo; and to me the simplest and most eficient way to do that is to mix the videos directly.

Originally Posted by nem0nic

As far as scratching videos goes, you have fun with that. I don't think ANY of the music I play has an associated video. MTV doesn't even play music videos anymore.

DUDE but you can paste charly bit my finger with any edm track you want! it works on so many levels. artistic levels

**wrong chris** · 08-08-2011, 02:07 AM

some kind of Rewire/Bridge function to make Traktor work with other dedicated VJ software would be far preferable.

**JesC** · 08-08-2011, 02:39 PM

Popcorn anyone?

Ill really like to see Video in Traktor.

**Paka Ono** · 08-08-2011, 02:40 PM

Video is a niche right now, but it's a rapidly growing market and IMO in a few years, it will be the defacto.

**ksandvik** · 08-08-2011, 02:51 PM

I'm afraid the VDJs with synchronized music videos will indeed take a nice chunk of the club markets longer term -- I think it's a gimmick and restricts the playlist to top-40 stuff -- but the audience seems to enjoy this.

**nem0nic** · 08-08-2011, 03:18 PM

DUDE but you can paste charly bit my finger with any edm track you want! it works on so many levels. artistic levels

This is why video is considered gimmicky. Just no.

Video is a niche right now, but it's a rapidly growing market and IMO in a few years, it will be the defacto.

This isn't the first time video has tried to work it's way into nightclubs. I can think of 2 other MAJOR pushes since I've been aware of it (one of them happened BEFORE I started DJing actually). It's always failed to be anything other than niche for nightclubs. The problem is that in the long term, it takes away from the energy in the nightclub, and bar business goes down. People end up dancing less, and the experience becomes more disconnected. To do it right, it's also a big investment, both short term (in the initial installation) and long term (in subscription fees and royalties, because you also have to think about synchro and other crazy shit I don't know enough to comment about).

Having a VJ playing clips of random stuff fixes a lot of the problems with video. First of all, it eliminates the additional issue of synchronization royalties. And the video is also more "in the background" and doesn't become the main focus for the patrons - so revenue tends to not suffer. It really becomes an extension of the light show. And appropriate clips can be purchased and/or obtained much more cheaply than music videos can.

And in the grand scheme of things, there aren't a lot of genres where video COULD become standard, because out of all the music produced and played in clubs, a small percentage of it has videos available. Really, unless you're a mainstream DJ you're SOL.

**lauti** · 08-08-2011, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by nem0nic

This is why video is considered gimmicky. Just no.

It was a joke.

Originally Posted by nem0nic

This isn't the first time video has tried to work it's way into nightclubs. I can think of 2 other MAJOR pushes since I've been aware of it (one of them happened BEFORE I started DJing actually). It's always failed to be anything other than niche for nightclubs. The problem is that in the long term, it takes away from the energy in the nightclub, and bar business goes down. People end up dancing less, and the experience becomes more disconnected. To do it right, it's also a big investment, both short term (in the initial installation) and long term (in subscription fees and royalties, because you also have to think about synchro and other crazy shit I don't know enough to comment about).

Having a VJ playing clips of random stuff fixes a lot of the problems with video. First of all, it eliminates the additional issue of synchronization royalties. And the video is also more "in the background" and doesn't become the main focus for the patrons - so revenue tends to not suffer. It really becomes an extension of the light show. And appropriate clips can be purchased and/or obtained much more cheaply than music videos can.

And in the grand scheme of things, there aren't a lot of genres where video COULD become standard, because out of all the music produced and played in clubs, a small percentage of it has videos available. Really, unless you're a mainstream DJ you're SOL

I agree with that. Honestly I only like vjing with abstract figures and colors. The fact is that most of the vjs I meet simply are too shitty or don't care about doing things that are in tempo, so that's why I'd like to mix videos.