What is that fixture?

[Frisco]

Hey all,

 

Any idea what the fixtures being used in this setup are? Specifically talking about the led "tubes" with multiple cells in.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiFmvbNqW7g

 

Thanks

[Joe Bleasdale]

Looks like Versatube...

 

Thanks.

[Ashley R]

Looks to me like what is called "Happy Tubes" in Australia

[Ynot]

Here's a rather off topic question about this penchant for 'deejays' posing like this...

 

The sheer complexity of the light show behind him almost has to be time coded, and linked to the audio track.

At the very least, there's a very light fingered LX op out front playing with pre-recorded presets and FX sets.

It certainly isn't being manipulated by the guy on the platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what IS the guy on the platform actually doing.....???

 

 

 

 

Twiddling the occasional EQ knob on various mixer channels? To what actual effect on the music?

 

 

 

[DrummerJonny]

Depends on the DJ really.

 

While some will be "twiddling the EQ" (For example cutting the low end on one track while cutting mid/highs on another to allow the bass parts from one track to be more prominent), he may be applying effects on an aux send, or bringing in an individual stem. With products like Ableton, a lot of DJ/Producers are now building their tracks from individual parts live, allowing them to remix their trcks on the fly.

 

Of course, for every person doing that there's another who shoves a mix CD on and plays around with the dead channels in time to the music. At the end of the day though it's about putting on a performance the audience will pay to see....

[Ynot]

At the end of the day though it's about putting on a performance the audience will pay to see....

 

Well, call me an old fart, (and I'm sure many will) but I fail to see the 'entertainment' value of a bloke standing behind a DJ desk twiddling knobs - even if he IS mixing different tracks ad nauseam.

I've seen a few of these videos - often by posters here in the BR - and I've yet to see any that would have entertained me even were I a teenager/twenty-summat (and yes I CAN remember that far back!)

[marktownend]

Couldn't you say the same about most musicians though? Surely it's about the whole experience? In the case of DJs and electronic music much of the experience is about the energy involved, a combination of the music, lights, video, noise and movement of other punters, sweat etc etc.

[Richard CSL]

at least in the good old days with Vinyl you could see what was happening, some DJ's used tricks like mixing with a snooker cue. As you rightly point out , they could be tweeking dead chanels and nobody would be the wiser, however in the book of DJing it is about playing to the crowd in front of you, most punters just want to hear a loud thump thump so they can move to the groove. These days if you recognise the track playing it's a bonus, most of the kids don't seem to care.

 

bring back YMCA, that's what I say. Cheese rules.!

[Pete McCrea]

It is very much each to their own. I love electronic music - Drum and Bass, and house being my main preferences, and I used to DJ -2 kids under 5, and my own business suck up time so I infrequently do it now.

 

Yes, it can be viewed as 'just pressing play', but there's actually a lot of skill in selecting the right tracks and 'feel' for the mix and taking the crowd on the journey - the same as any performer. Simply bat matching (2 tracks, getting the tempo right and then mixing) can sound like a train wreck, or a fantastic. Suddenly going from some jump up DnB to a more liquid track will be jarring. the nas others have said it can move onto effectivly playing in the parts of the tracks and mixing it down live.

 

And it also depends on the sort of venue you're talking about - specialist nights for one genre where people are there for the specific music, and drink (and maybe drugs if you're that way inclined) are almost a side order, where as the main stream high street 'Oceania' chain club type places where it's more about a horrible sounding loud sound system, getting blind drunk and grabbing a handful of flesh.

 

Bring on the 18th of December and The Prodigy in Brixton Academy :-)

[andy_s]

 

Bring on the 18th of December and The Prodigy in Brixton Academy :-)

I'll be putting in my earplugs in Streatham then....

 

(only joking, hope you have a great time!)

 

(ed. for spelling)

[Seano]

Bring on the 18th of December and The Prodigy in Brixton Academy :-)

 

It'll be like witnessing a train crash in a strobe factory. :)

[dbuckley]

Still a great quote that one.

 

I'd have thought by now anything that is going to fall down in the academy has already done so, so the prodigy shouldn't cause any (more) building damage...

[bigclive]

It does look quite timecoded. In which case the performer would have edited all the tracks and then timecoded the lighting in advance if they did the whole thing alone. If they did, then kudos to them. They're up there presenting their work and making sure nothing goes wrong. It follows that they at least have to make an effort to look like they are presenting their work, and maybe that does involve minor tweaks to filters for live effect or just playing with ineffective buttons and knobs for show. I suppose they could just sit at a table with a cup of tea and plate of biscuits with their laptop next to them, but it's not quite going to be the same is it?

 

Technically speaking it's no worse than musical performers miming. The audience is there to be in the presence of their favoured artist. That's why they came.

[Frisco]

.

[Frisco]

Thanks for the replies, and in true BR style the ensuing tangent!

 

I'd hazard a guess that what is actually happening here is each "stem" (loop/sample) from a track in ableton or similar is linked to a video clip. Bringing in the stem brings in a new video clip/layer...audio FX inside ableton are mapped to video FX. Looks like there are a bunch of synths as well so there is still a "live" element to it in the traditional sense. Moving heads I'm guessing still require an ld...

 

As for whether you consider this a live performance, that's your call. Playing his own records, manipulating them in real time, playing instruments (whether they be MIDI controlled or not) and putting on a performance I would say constitutes a live performance personally.