This screen points you in the right direction, whatever it is you want to know about VJing. There's a short overview of how VJs work, and then more detailed sections linking to demos and info about popular (and weird and wonderful) VJ software, hardware and other resources - there are shedloads of good sites and forums out there where you can pick up specialist know-how and chew the fat with other VJs the world over.

CONTENT! - Some ideas on making VJ media from VJ Klaatu

VJ Resources - Info about Software and Hardware for VJing

If you've had a look at GoVJ and the Masterclasses you'll have sussed by now that VJs' setups and creative approaches vary wildly. But there is a certain amount of common ground.

Many VJs now use a single laptop for their shows, but most still prefer the flexibility and reliability they gain from having a Video Mixer with a variety of sources connected up - we all started out with 2 VHS decks and a Panasonic AV5, but these days you're more likely to see an Edirol V4, a MAC/PC laptop or a Shuttle, a DVD deck or DVJ-X, a DV camera, and a variety of MIDI devices connected up to the software and the mixer for real time custom control.

And then there's the whole question of Audio-Visual mixing - whether it's producing visuals tightly linked with the music, or using real audio-visual sample material. Currently nobody quite makes a proper A/V mixer but our spies tell us that a few manufacturers have them in the pipeline. Meanwhile a few brave souls have gone out on a limb to build custom hardware so they can get on with what they want to create!

This DIY culture has been crucial to VJing since the early days - only very recently has it become possible to go and buy and off-the-shelf setup. Even in the world of software development you'll find that most of the leading apps out there have been written by VJs for VJs, and currently one of the most exciting developments is Freeframe - the new open-source universal realtime video effects standard supported by all the best VJ software - it's getting to the point where if the effect you want doesn't exist you can just go and create it yourself.