year: 2021
materials: Jadū Dala - Golden Child & JuLo - Pharaoh (JADŪ103) | Organ Donor - DJ Shadow | Creme de la Crate - DJ Nu-Mark | Joey Diaz | Various sounds
tools: Serato, Phase DJ, Pioneer DJM-S9, Mac Mini M1, Ableton, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator
My goal was to show some kind of connection process before the music starts. With the focus on the 2 main gear components: Phase units and mixer which reflects Serato. The gear is in off mode (black-white) and as soon as the cables connect, the music starts and the gear lights up.
I wanted to manipulate the beat, using one hand (on one turntable) while another hand would enter the frame from above. Pretty happy with the outcome.
To highlight the Phase units I create two ‘solo moments’ showcasing them in a 3 x 3 grid. I want people that don’t know what this Phase product is, to go ‘What is that?!’.
Again to highlight the product (Phase) I created a moment where all the attention goes to the unit itself. One of my most favorite moments in the video.
This is the classic ‘gear set-up’ I used for 20+years. I wanted to use this shot for the last sentence of the ‘Echo Loop chorus’. Don’t know why but I really like this still.
I wanted to manipulate the beat, using one hand (one one turntable) while another hand would enter the frame from above. (next picture)
To switch things up, I tried a ‘record-swap’ effect to create some visual variations on beat. In total 3 Serato records are used. The 20 Years record, The Neon Blue and my favorite red & blue record.
The accuracy of this new update is just perfect. To highlight this updated feature I made a visual marker showing that after pulling the record back multiple rotations, the cue point stays at its 12 o’clock start position.
Using the ‘Echo Loop’ effect I tried to create a chorus, looping the word ‘Technologic’ and replying with different sentences, each on their ‘own’ incoming turntable.
The video ends by going back to a clean 1 turntable-shot with the Serato record and the Phase unit on top.
Serato asked me to create a video for the new Phase DJ x Serato integration release. As a creative it feels like a dream come true to work with brands which already are part of my creative toolbox and process for many years.
I’ve been using Serato since 2004 and it impacted my creative workflow forever. The same goes for Phase. After seeing the first promo, I knew this innovation would have a major impact on my work. They created something I didn’t know I needed. I love technology and the way it can expand your creative possibilities.
This project has been really fun and inspiring. Working with the awesome Serato team made everything even better.
Part of the briefing was to create a 2-3 min video. I usually make short clips so because of the length I decided to create a visual work with a lot of different ‘scenes’ to keep things interesting.
Above you can find an overview of scenes with the thinking behind it. The colors red and blue are linked to the brands and their gear, highlighting the ‘no RCA cables’ part of the new integration.
Besides my Bic pen, all my tools are made with technology. I knew I wanted to cut up the Daft Punk lines after the first briefing. Break it, Fix it, Cut it, Paste it, Trash it, Change it, Mail Upgrade it. These lyrics are embedded in my brain forever and it’s very cool to use them for this project.
The beat I used is Jadū Dala - Golden Child & JuLo - Pharaoh (JADŪ103). I found a small part to play around with and liked the way I create variations with these short parts of the track.
For the ‘second’ part of the video I used a sample & track that inspired me to become an active ‘maker’. DJ Shadow and his work really influenced me as an artist to ‘create your own lane’. (Sidenote: He and Kid Koala had that same impact on me.)
I like looping using the echo effect. Don’t know why, but I just love to play around with short parts of music to create something new. In this case I used it 3 times. First to stack the sample, beat and scratch chorus on top of each other. Second time a variation of a 1x + 4x echo, just as a top line to backspin a beat and phrases over it. A third time to repeat the ‘Technologic chorus’ over the actual track.
