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Review of Nomig and Visual Streaming
Why won't VJAMM and VJ's be the media phenomena of the future?
Allow me to introduce the concept of visual streaming on the Internet
by saying that there are two parts to consider in visual streaming.
While aesthetically and technologically the concept proves to be revolutionary,
the general usefulness of the technology seems somewhat unnecessary.
By examining the Nomig site, through a visual description (also in comparison
to the Coldcut VJAMM session), and a discussion of the problematic accessibility
issue, it is evident that the visual streaming (Nomig) sensation will
be short-lived.
Although the concept of Nomig's VJ attaching music with images and mixing
and free styling with audio images is extraordinarily unique and technologically
advanced, the longevity of this phenomenon is doomed. Although the general
idea of Nomig is clearly a revolutionary idea, the reason for why Nomig
exists is still somewhat unrecognizable.
While I quite enjoyed the virtuetv Coldcut VJAMM session (the audio
portion being comprised of a mixed reggae-African drum beat), I found
myself almost physically disturbed by the Nomig session found on piratetv.
In comparison to the Nomig visual streaming, the virtuetv clip, depicting
the audio/visual display at a particular club was interesting and somewhat
enjoyable. There was a discernable beat and melody, stemming from the
drums in the audio piece. The visuals were swirling masses of mixed
colors that appeared ready to provoke personal reactions within the
viewers, but not ready to actively invade the viewers mind.
After plowing through the Nomig site, there was a distinct sense that
while the images were fascinating in terms of their psychedelic quality,
the sounds associated with the swirling colors and figures were chilling
and unpleasant. They can be described as hard, sharp, choppy and almost
cruel melodic phrases that have been butchered to individual sounds
thrown together. While the colors were predominantly dark in nature,
the sounds were menacing and daunting, as something out of a new age
horror movie would be. There were infrequent images behind the colors,
predominantly of faces of people that appeared to be extremely eerie,
and unpleasant.
It is important to not only consider the aesthetics and small population
who have pioneered this genre, we also must consider the issue of accessibility
when predicting the success of this new media revolution. So we return
to the initial question, why won't VJAMM and VJ's be the media phenomena
of the future? The answer is that they are highly inaccessible to people
who do not have a computer and who live in locales around the world
that cannot supply or support the technology to enable such a task.
While I think that the idea of the VJ is revolutionary, I believe it
is not realistic to consider the possibility that VJAMM may be an international
media fad.
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