Before we arrived on Saturday, ZeeZee and I thought we would be splitting the time with another VJ. I discussed with ZeeZee that my intention was to give the club 2 hours without charge, and ZeeZee could cover another hour.
When we arrived and started to discuss with Aria that (for example) I viewed this as unpaid work (unlike the photographer exhibiting there who gets free gallery space), and pointed to an example of another gig at Ł50 for two hours, he said that DJs weren't getting paid and he had canceled the other VJ. Based on the "agreement" made on Wednesday we were obliged to (or made to feel obliged to) play til close (expected up to 3am, or about 6 hours).
I wasn't very happy about that, but, remaining polite, asked if we could in that case at least have a couple of drinks or something, which Aria immediately negotiated (or rather just stated without inviting negotiation) down to one drink each.
On Wednesday we were asked questions about promoting through connections we have, and on Saturday while the gig was on I was asked about getting in people to do workshops and so on, so it is pretty clear that they are looking for ways to bring in both artists and paying customers.
At close, Aria said he was happy with what we'd done (though he did also complain about a couple of glitches) and said he'd like to "work with us" again, next time paid.
The "business model" discussed then (I enjoined Nebulus to the discussion), apparently only just formed, is:
1. VJs come to Open Decks night (Wednesday)
2. If they like you, come back for a "trial" (ie unpaid) gig to see if your visuals work well with a crowd.
3. If the "trial" is successful, following gigs paid at Ł50 per night.
That is, he expects all VJs/artists to give a free night.
We pressed him with a few questions (Q&A paraphrased):
Q: How much do you pay the bar staff?
A: Can't tell you. (Additonally, they are mixologists, not just bartenders.)
Q: How much do you pay the DJs?
A: Can't tell you.
He cited an example of himself DJing at Zigfrid (von Underbelly) in Hoxton, and said he was paid Ł120 for a night, so already he's saying he wants to pay less than half (and that's not even taking into account the "trial") what he would accept himself.
Note that he'd earlier told us the DJs weren't paid; we asked the DJs themselves who said they were paid.
We're also skeptical about his story that he canceled "the other VJ", and conversely that if he had done that it was bad news at short notice for whoever that was. If that person was you, please contact me to let us know what happened (subpixel@subpixels.com).
We invited a number of friends and industry contacts to the night, so have already put money in his pocket and given him exposure, and, given that the bar clearly needs new business, don't think Aria is treating his new contacts very well. We don't appreciate being lied to for a start.
I've played enough free / low paid gigs to know when I'm being screwed, and ZeeZee, although new to VJing, has put on parties herself, so can see the same from the other side of the fence. Nebulus mentioned he knows people who could potentially put on a proper multiscreen show, and the offer still sits at Ł50 for the night... not even worth bringing the equipment. Given that the bar's thing is the video/visuals/art angle (there is no other lighting system), he's not given much thought about who is going to fill all those screens.
Having said that, this is so far an initial verbal offer that we assume Aria hopes people will accept, hence the advice against agreeing to anything face-to-face. If he wants me to come back he's going to have to give me an offer in writing, and it's going to have to be good enough to make up for Saturday as well.
-spxl
Technical Details
The video is fed through an 8x8
Kramer matrix switcher where any and all of 8 inputs can feed to any and all of 8 outputs.
Inputs
1. Video Mixer
2. DVD
3. Bar PC
4. DJ/VJ 1
5. DJ/VJ 2
6. VGA Dance Floor
7. VGA BAR
8. VGA Front
I've seen inputs 3, 4 and 5, and next to 4 & 5 is another "Video In" with what looks like S-Video, composite and component inputs
Outputs
The 8 outputs are the seven projectors in order from the left of the DJ/VJ booth (looking from the bar/dancefloor) around the bar to the front of the bar and channel 8 is a VJ output (VGA connector next to the VJ1 & VJ2 inputs).
I don't know what the projectors are but they are very bright (for the space) and have nice colour and contrast. Aria came to complain that people might think the bar was closing when some video played at 100% (that is, when the filter layer used to reduce the output brightness was accidentally removed).
Layout
Simplified diagram below showing projector location and beam direction (> left, < right).
----------------------
== Essex Rd ===
----------------------
| . . . . . . |
| >6 . 7< | (in3)
| . . . . . . |
| . . . . . . |
| >5 bar |
| . . . bar |
| . . . bar |
| >4 bar |
| . . . bar |
| . . . |
| >3 |
| . . . |
| . . . . . . |
| >2 . 1< | toilet
| . . . . . . |
|decks|. . . |
|. DJ ./____|
|*VJ /
===
The place marked * has VGA inputs 4 & 5, video inputs and VGA monitor output (channel 8). I didn't notice the location of input 6 (VGA dance floor).
As the diagram indicates, the space for the VJ is in the booth behind the DJ. There is enough space to stand (rules on the booth door say 2 people at a time maximum, though practice shows 5 can fit, if not comfortably). There is bench space and some shelf space. Under the bench is the amp (which will keep you rather warm). There are two deep shelves, the top shelf will probably usually host bags, jackets, etc. The lower shelf (about a hand span beneath the upper shelf) has four power sockets at the rear.
There is one obvious disaster: the VJ space is facing the back wall of the venue. View of the screen(s) is past the DJ, and you are totally disconnected from the rest of the venue. To view the output I had my laptop half hanging off the edge of the bench with my back to the left wall (as facing the front of the club) to view projector #1. It seems Aria has the intention to put a monitor on the back wall which could be helpful, but you might as well be in another room. Personally, I'd rather see the actual output.
There is no chance of being confused for the DJ as no-one can see you, and it didn't feel to me like I was at a party. Greeting and talking to friends who came along was difficult, as standing at the edge of the booth meant obstructing the DJ, so I basically spent most of the night standing in the corner on my own and another hour or so cramped in the corner assisting ZeeZee.
Audio
Mostly unknown. Probably not geared for massively loud (it is only a small cocktail bar, after all), but sounds quite alright. All the audio is passed through what Aria called a "sound web". There is a control terminal at the bar which he can use to reel in the DJ's desire for more volume. This is probably a good idea, though I noticed on one of my few visits to the dancefloor that the music wasn't loud enough to give it feeling (and I usually complain when I think the music is too loud).
I didn't pay much attention to the DJ gear, but there are two turntables (I think they are Technics), two CDJs (Pioneer) and a cradle in the middle for a laptop. It looks like the mixer is 5 channels, but other than that I didn't notice (sorry audio people).
