can anyone out there give me the going rate for a VJ ............
also curious as what to charge 4 a dvd full of content .....4 a club ...
any feedback would be apppriecieated ...
also curious as what to charge 4 a dvd full of content .....4 a club ...
any feedback would be apppriecieated ...
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Thu, May 31, 2007 - 2:31 PMI'm happy to just be able to cover the payments on my gear and I'm lucky if i even get that. I live in a small area and here the promoters only ask for visuals if they are doing a larger than usual event. I've gotten forty bucks for shows. It's a pittance for all the work it takes to get your show setup. I know dj's who have spent years getting to where they are at with their gear and their music collections and sounds etc... So I guess maybe some of us vj's need to expect a similar journey.
I have often felt that vj's and dj's need to pair up more. Frankly though I am surprised how competetive it is getting already. A year ago hardly anyone was doing this. But the boom of vj's has followed the boom in vj software.
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, June 11, 2007 - 10:16 AMFor all infos, check www.vjforums.com :) -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, June 11, 2007 - 3:11 PMFrankly, I think VJ's need to get paid waaaaay more than just covering expenses... -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, June 11, 2007 - 10:13 PMFrankly, I think VJ's need to get paid waaaaay more than just covering expenses
.....I SOOOO TOTALLY AGGREE....
but livin in an area where it is Artists suporting Artists ...you end up doin workin........ for the LOVE of it ..................
so im lookin outside the Box .....................
Visuals can either make or Break the ambience of a gig ...
and the VJ almost always is there way longer than the band or DJ .................
correct me if im wrong ........
WHAT ARE the UNION RATES ????
www.myspace.com/cirqueduplay -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, June 11, 2007 - 10:59 PMIt is true,
Vj's are very underappreciated in the scene.
Events, parties and festivals would be super boring and wouldn't exist without us these days.
When I am looking to figure out a rate for my work on a project I will ask
the promoter or organizer immediately what the budget is for the event.
Secondly I will ask what they want and see if it can be done with what I have.
Figure out how much time you will be working and if you are using your own equipment such as
projectors and screens then that is treated as a rental.
Contracts are a good idea too incase of trashed equipment.
I've been to many a gig that I'm not working and notice how amateur they tend to be.
Bad decor, light placement and visual content.
More drugs pleas? No thanx!
VISUALS AND ENVIRONMENT MAKE THE EVENT!!!
poverty conciousness is a bitch for artists.
so stand up and get the pay and respect you deserve! -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 9:15 AMTodd, while I sorta agree with you, it's really all about the music. Let's not forget that...
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 12:57 PMget honararium at minumum, never play for less
than expenses...the willingness to do so is the kiss
of death and the kneeling, bowed head butt kiss
to commercial competitive marketing...that said,
yes, it is a commercial market price war...and the
theoretical intentional community is not immune,
as easily defined by tribes topics of discussions
being slathered with buy my stuff/event listings
because this section simply comes up first, so
why bother to post in, uhm, oh yeah, event listings
and services....but still, ah yes, the problem
fo acquiring a rep...hmmmm, -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 1:10 PMYeah, having VJ's get representation is hard...anyone out there have representation? Curious.
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This post was deleted by jean
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Re: curios about perceptions
Wed, June 13, 2007 - 9:12 PMBeauty, which is what is meant by art, using the word in its widest sense, is,
I contend, no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave,
as they choose, but a positive necessity of life.
William Morris, The Beauty of Life, 1880
Ah, yes, or, uhm...OH no! Art and commerce, or Art in commerce...
I've been pondering the evil gene chaining of music and business
for 30+ years and the jurys still out for me...Morris wrote many essays
on the subject as an artist, idealist and activist over a 125 years ago
and darn they still read as unsettlingly contemporary in content...
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Re: curious about perceptions
Tue, June 26, 2007 - 2:28 PMSure, commerce, for all I know Cosmic Goo is capable of cooler stuff... He's probably just doing what sells.
One thing is certain after learning more and getting more experience... there are vj's getting paid and there are more and more promoters interested in hiring us. It's up to us to position ourselves in the market the way we want to be perceived and treated.
So how do you want to be treated as a VJ? if it's more like dj's than lighting venders, I think vj collectives is a good way to go... the promoters can get more for what they might pay someone with ton's of gear and each artist gets to strut their stuff and even go in on some costs sharing a mixer, travel costs etc...
If you are following more of the vending model, which seems to be what promoters prefer, how is that for you? Are you happy with that?
Personally i'm finding myself preparing to fullfill more of the vending model even though it's not really the way I want to go as an artist. I'm still exloring the opportunities and getting to know a few promoters here and there, finding out where they really stand and how they feel on these issues.
I'm also exploring options of getting published which seems like it could lead to more of the role of being a featured artist rather than just the cool dude making visuals happen behind a band or DJ. At first I thought it waould be natural for record labels to pair up vj/video artists with recording artists for tours because then the recordingi artists get more of a branded look and feel associated with their music just ike they do now with hiring particular graphic designers for album covers.
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 9:18 AMSafire,
I don't think there are too many VJ's in the sense we're talking about here in the union...I've never met any union VJ's out of the local 16 (the SF theatrical union). FWIW, union rates tend to be astronomical...
Has anyone heard of union VJ's? Grant? -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 5:53 PMNo rep here ...although i am lookin for one .....seriously
and on the VJ Union thang ...i was kinda jokin
although i came across a venue recently ...who only work with union vj`s
i am curious .......... what is a typical hourly / nightly rate ...
this seems to be a very sensitive topic........ -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 12, 2007 - 6:27 PMIt's definitely not something anybody whose serious about gigging is going to post here in a public forum. :) -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Wed, June 20, 2007 - 1:35 AMwell i am a inactive member of IATSE.
i was a union projectionist for a while many years ago.
not that it ever did me any good.
but now i project in a, err, slighty different fashion.
:) -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Thu, June 21, 2007 - 1:34 PMI used to run movie propjectors too. some old ones wiht carbon arcs for the light. It was neat. DLP projectors are neat too. LOL. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: VJ RATES ..........
Fri, June 22, 2007 - 8:34 AMI still run OLD SKOOL STYLIE......
but it was seriously messin with my back...
transportation became an issue...
and Bulbs became harder to find
so now i travel lighter ....
my little pet Puter ... n Cables
......... Camera 4 LIVE FEED..............a Shadow Screen ....
......some old Skool Slides ......
........of ....................... organic materials such as..............
............... fabric ... decaying leaves ... dragon fly wings ... snake skins.....
................................... a projector............
.........................and COSTUMES ..................
still alot of equiptment for some but ...........way scaled down 4 me .................
makin it way easier to throw those RANDOM ACTS of ART .......
that i love so much ..............
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Sat, June 23, 2007 - 7:17 AMYou should be getting close to what a lighting person would get. I have a base fee of 400.00 and it goes up from there. Most of my events run 500-900 for 2-3 screens. Multi-stage setups can run much more. Do not under sell yourself! You are right, visuals are a big part of the atmosphere of an event and the promoter needs to pay you accordingly. Its worth every penny, ask the audience, they are your witnesses. Encourage people that compliment you to tell the promoter they like what you do. They need to know the audience appreciates you, if they don't then they have no way of knowing what your value is. -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 26, 2007 - 5:25 PMi like the fact that this thread is still up n runnin........
and I am beginnin to enjoy the idea of VJ Collectives ...and Jammin...
Rather than sloggin it out on my own...
thanx Kevin for actually throwin some #`s in there........
my Highest vj moments to date........
jammin it out with Dj Nomad and a 9 piece band....
@ Uprising out door fest in NZ
with 2 other Vjs Yetimon and Funkatron mixin and mashin it down...
i swear im not a geek ...
but the amount of time i spend geekin out arround my visuals..
im begining o wonder....
what constitutes a geek ...
and should i start a new thread
??????????????????????????? -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, June 26, 2007 - 5:59 PMI think by default, most-if not all-VJ's are a bit on the geeky side. :)
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 8:03 AMAzul is be the cosmic polar opposite of
a cyber geek, the ubiquitous cyber goof...
no tech wizardry but tons of enthusiastic
gear surfing...and yes flying solo can
be good and toughens the get out and
do it muscles and skill sets, but contact improv
and someone else for gear-a-robics and
set up/load out is mucho gracias, as well as
the perceptual percolation that extra sets of
ears and eyeballs provide...
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Sun, September 16, 2007 - 8:08 PMI'm sure rates fluctuate from location to location.
Luckily for us, we are in an area with very few serious vj's. We did our first event for free and the crowd loved it! We are getting paid a decent amount now.
That being said, neither of us (we are a two person collective) depends on vjing for a living. As long as we make enough for gas and a meal, we are happy.
![[ fladry + jones ]](http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/f4b/de5/f4bde550-e5ae-4a26-8e15-1d3584f2d165.mugshot "[ fladry + jones ]"){kind=small}
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Unsu...
Re: VJ RATES ..........
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 10:14 AMGreetingz!
For me it depends on the nature of the event. If it's low-buck/non-profit I don't expect $. If people are paying $20 to get in and buying drinks, I expect more. I usually negotiate booze into the deal. :] If I'm coming in via the lighting company I sometimes barter for gear.
People will assign a similar value to your goods or services that you apply. If you charge $250 for a service that others are charging $1000, they'll assume your 1/4 as good.
I would generally advise not working any situation where visual arts are not appreciated. Even if you love doing it so much you're willing to do it for free. There are, after all, rewards to be reaped other than just $.
--K
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 11:05 AMI completely agree with the idea of only playing where visual arts are appreciated. Personally I get alot more respect, and positive interaction with people doing a video installtion than I do vj-ing at a large music event where people are partying for 36 hours straight. I'm hoping that changes at some point. I have formed partnership with a local Vj who appreciates the visual aspect and we have found the visual element helps keep people in the venue during the ealy hours of the event before the crowd has built up and people are peeking in to see what's going on. -
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 10:29 AMThere's nothing better than rocking a party proper, both as a VJ and a DJ, but you can't expect partygoers to always be attentive and responsive to the art and music. Surprisingly, a lot of folks are paying attention...
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 2:30 PMTrue, i can't say i haven't experienced the thrill. -
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Unsu...
Re: VJ RATES ..........
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 2:41 PMAll artists and performers contend with finding a receptive audience. Projected video/visuals can also be used as lighting for any kind of performance, not just clubs & raves. It's just a matter of connecting with open minds, which granted can be a challenge.
As far as making a DVD for a club to play, I'm a little more mercenary with the pricing. Projectors are relatively cheap these days, and for every club you give a DVD is another club you'll likely not be called by to do a live show. And they'll probably make copies ... -
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and for every club you give a DVD is another club you'll likely not be called by to do a live show
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 2:44 PMHere here. I totally agree, thus why I haven't gone there... -
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Unsu...
Re: and for every club you give a DVD is another club you'll likely not be called by to do a live show
Wed, September 19, 2007 - 2:59 PMYears ago, I was naive enough to give out a few full-length full-res demo DVD's hoping to at least gain exposure. I got exposed alright. One evening I walked past the joint and saw my stuff on the screen, minus credits at the end. Friends reported seeing my work at other installations, again minus credits. Nothing new under the sun of course, it happens to musicians all the time.
If someone wants to preview your work, sample streams on a website will suffice. Use just enough compression to create clean images at 320 x 240 but keep it tight enough to not look so great at full size ...
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Re: VJ RATES ..........
Fri, November 30, 2007 - 12:44 PMUntil I am fully booked, I'm charging $150.00 a night for a basic package of one screen, one projector, a V4 and midi setup. four hours of live mixing. With the caveat that everything is always negotiable depending on the size, status of the event and how busy I am etc...
This is pretty much a steal for promoters looking for hot professional new eyecandy to make there event just that more spectacular. At that price I think it's even worth it for promoters to add me on as an extra screen in addtion to whatever they ordinarily do. It seems to me that lighting crews and full set design stil weigh more heavily into event budgets than VJs.
We'll see how it goes this coming year. This year is my first attempt at really putting myself out there in a real way by sending out booking packages and making calls etc...
