Creative VJ – Online Course

Fully booked

This course is aimed at English speakers and run at 7.30 pm Eastern Time USA, see below for exact times.

At the crossroads between DJing, live cinema and the visual arts, VJs create live performances using video to create a heightened experience of music. This creative practice originated in club culture but we now see VJs in a wide range of venues, from art exhibitions to box-office theatres and of course music events.

Throughout the next six weeks, we will take you on a tutor-led journey into Resolume and reinforce your learning with live tutorial sessions.  We will look beyond the software itself and show you how to set up live streams, record high-quality VJ sets and even use Resolume to create your own visual content for both your own use and how and where you can share your own visual clips online. 10 x 60-minute sessions and 1 x 90-minute sessions (11.5 hours). Maximum 7 learners (Course run over Zoom.).

Throughout the course, you will be able to use the fully functioning Demo version of Resolume if you don’t want to buy it (all it does is watermark your output, but doesn’t stop you from learning the software).

Sessions are run on Zoom and are recorded so you can “catch up” on missed sessions or watch again. 

Creative VJ – online tutors

Tony Coleman first caught the visuals bug with the beginning of the Commodore 64 demo scene, hanging out with the prolific demo scene creators Ian & Mic in Basildon in the 1980’s and feel in love with electronic music throughout the same period. Utilising a Commodore Amiga he created his own software and produced VHS video cassettes to mix at a local nightclub and decided he wouldn’t pay to get into another venue again (something he’s achieved to date).

Michelle Ferguson has been a creative writer and performer for over a decade. Producing her own projection-mapped theatre as well as performing live at many events throughout.

Together they perform at many cross-genre events and pride themselves on their hands on approach to playback.

Further Credits include The Brickworks, Detonate, Detonate Festival, Shambala Festival, Green Meadows Festival, Toxic Orange, Secret Garden Party, El Dorado Festival, London Warehouse Events, Spectrum, Next Door, Global Gathering UK, We Are FSTVL, Glastonbury Festival, Shangri-La, Ministry of Sound, Eclectricity, Drop Beats Not Bombs, Firefly to name but a few. Website: theLABVisuals

Software used many thanks to Resolume:

25% discount on Resolume available to those who take the course.

No particular experience is required to join the course, although a working knowledge of computers is essential, as well as a genuine enthusiasm for working with moving images in a musical context. You must have a good internet connection and webcam with a microphone.

Creative VJ – online course outline aimed at USA participants but anyone can join.

NOTE: Due to daylight saving in UK and USA the UK times will vary by one hour for some sessions

[Session 1] – Introductions / Exploration. Wednesday 2nd March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EST USA (UK time 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

As the title explains, it’s the first hour of the workshop so let’s introduce ourselves, cover the required paperwork together and your tutors will offer a little bit of a VJ set to set the mood. 

[Session 2] – UI / Preferences / Composition. Monday 7th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EST USA (UK time 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

Stepping directly into the software (we assume you’ve already got it downloaded and installed at this point), let’s take a gander at the basics of the user interface, and the structure of the files. 

[Session 3] – Layers / Sources / Presets / Effects. Monday 14th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT (daylight saving) – USA (UK time 4 hours later starting 23:30 Wednesday)

Last session we discovered what a composition is made up of; in this session, we will delve deeper into the individual components that make the whole.  That and start you on your generative content journey #Exciting!

[Session 4] – Audio FFT (mic) / Audio reactive sources. Wednesday 16th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time 4 hours later starting 23:30 Wednesday)

We’ve played about a bit, and now let’s get that generative content doing something on its own, shall we?  Taking a look at the microphone in your laptop or webcam as an input to make your sources bounce, bump and throb to the music.

[Session 5] – Clips / Conversion /  Content loading. Monday 21st March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time 4 hours later starting 23:30 Wednesday)

Content IS King they say!  And they are right to all intent and purpose.  Let’s look at how to bring the content in, what format to use, and how to arrange your content into decks.

[Session 6] – Decks / Hidden menus / Autopilot. Wednesday 16th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time 4 hours later starting 23:30 Wednesday)

The UI has a little more to it than meets the eye.  In this session, we will delve into some of the more obscure options available and see how we can utilise those options to our benefit.

[Session 7] – Keyboard // MIDI Mapping Monday 28th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time – BST – 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  All work and no pla…. We’ve covered a lot in the past weeks, this session we will explore how to utilise the keyboard to open performance possibilities to you in readiness for the live sessions.

[Session 8] – Record / Render / OBS. Wednesday 30th March 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time – BST – 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

As we have progressed through the course you will have undoubtedly created some amazing compositions.  In this session, we will explore how to record and keep them for all eternity (or until hard disk failure at least!).

[Session 9] – Own audio / Composition FFT (WAV) Monday 4th April 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time – BST – 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

From the beginning, we said you’d be using an audio track of your own choice, so this session we will look at the quirks of Resolume audio playback, and bringing it all together.

[Session 10] – Practice sessions. Wednesday 6th April 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time – BST – 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

Collectively we will look at your own Resolume setups, and experiment with performing to your chosen music.  Open discussion of technique, concepts, ideas are actively encouraged here.  It’s about to get real!

[Session 11] – Live performance. Monday 11th April 2022 7.30pm-8.30pm EDT USA (UK time – BST – 5 hours later starting 00:30 Thursday)

The final class and it’s an extended one.  Most of these sessions will have moved on past the allotted hour slot and this one is no exception.  You will have one (1) practice run of your live set and then we progress in turn to your final performance.  Names will be drawn from a hat, and we encourage you to have your favourite tipple to hand to celebrate your hard work.  No expectations, no pressure, no panic.

Early booking discount & concessions

Book early to get 10% reduction on the full price course fee. See the date at top right of this page (usually two weeks before the course start date, but may vary).

Concessions eligibility for online courses –  UK based Students, NHS workers and people on some means-tested benefits. Evidence is required, such as student card, NHS staff card or benefit letter.

Means tested benefits: JSA, Income Support; Working Tax Credit (not child tax credit); Council Tax Benefit (not student/single person/reduction due to disability); Housing Benefit; Pension Credit (guarantee); Unwaged Dependent of these benefits & Universal Credit.

Oxfordshire residents can book this course at the concesssion rate.

All Film Oxford Courses are subsidised by Oxfordshire Adult Learning

If you like Creative VJ – online course, you may also like our follow on intermediate course (Classroon based):

Projection Mapping – mapping, Fluid, and GarageCube LED