Ever wondered what it would actually feel like to play in front of a stadium of screaming fans? Perhaps you just want too see if they were actually mixing live or if they were dropping a pre-recorded mix? How cool would it be if you could see everything the DJ is doing, from his or her view? After the jump, we take a look at how DJs are letting us see what they see.
One of the largest hurdles in the world of digital DJing has been a profound disconnect between the performer and the audience – when focused on getting a mix just right or selecting the next song, it can often times look like the DJ is doing very little. This has been often counteracted by fancy visual light shows, on-stage dancers, or even well-timed fireworks.
But even then, those don’t connect the audience to the performer – instead they entertain and distract as supplementary experiences to the actual actions the DJ is doing.
If only you could just see everything that the DJ is doing, from their point of view. We’ve found some brilliant examples of this using GoPro cameras – check out Skrillex beatmashing in first person (and diving off the stage!):
In the next video, you can feel the excitement of a live performance about to happen at a major festival while watching through the eyes of Norman Cook – better known as Fatboy Slim. You can even hear him singing along:
DJs could even keep their POV camera recording for their entire set, like in this video that NumberNin6 shot at the Starscape Festival in Baltimore, Maryland earlier this year. It does have drawbacks – how long can one watch a bouncing camera shot before you start to get a little queasy?
We’re ready for the next level – and we’re pretty sure we know who is about to take us there. Last fall, Deadmau5 livestreamed video and audio of his entire set at a New York nightclub, with the camera directly next to the mixer, so you could see nearly everything he was doing. In case you missed it, check it out here.
The latest is that he’s having a Mau5head built that has a built-in livestreaming camera – allowing anyone to tune into his stream when he’s DJing and experience a set from inside of that giant mouse helmet. Retract that – mau5mau5 is his house, not his helmet.
Have you all seen any other awesome first person DJ videos? What do you think the coolest way to document a DJ performance is? Let us know in the comments!
