VJon (Jon Bonk), curator of the competition, in action. Courtesy the artist.
Along with New York, Boston was really my introduction to what was happening in live visuals and VJing. So, I already took interest when a couple of friends sent word of a VJ competition in Boston. Then, of course, things in that city turned very strange indeed. The festival “Together,” scheduled in May, couldn’t have a better title – we’re thinking of you.
So, Northeast USA, I absolutely am pleased to alert you to this competition; I hope we get some CDM readers in it. And for the rest of us around the world, here’s a look at what a couple of our friends are doing with VJing in Beantown. (This is not by any means a comprehensive list of the folks I know there, but a couple of the artists working on this event!)
NightRide Visuals, a collective led by Jay NightRide, got a visit by Akai Pro which featured how they work with the APC40 controller and their approach to events in general:
And here’s a showreel from curator VJon, kicking off with a shot of him strutting down the floor, iPad in hand – wireless, for the win:
VJ Jon Bonk Live Promo from bonk on Vimeo.
The competition: send a 6-minute demo and entry by May 5, then, if selected, an eight-minute performance at “A/V superspace” Naga Cambridge is your chance to win a prize package with full licenses of Resolume, MadMapper, and Modul8.
There is a US$10 entry fee, I should say, which I know can be a controversial feature of these competitions. (I know some people who simply refused to enter such things; curious to hear your thoughts as an entrant or organizer.) But the event looks great.
And I’m supremely jealous of the event space, which they say “was outfitted with a variety of state-of-the art projector-based systems via Scalable Display, Central Square’s own worldwide leaders in projection-based displays.” That’s just the sort of venue this scene could use more of.
Details:
http://togetherboston.com/vj-competition/