AI and the Future of VJ Loops
Look, I get it. Every day there's a new AI tool promising to revolutionize everything. Sora creates movie-quality videos from text. Veo 3 makes stunning visuals in minutes. ChatGPT writes code faster than most programmers. And you're sitting there wondering: "Am I about to become obsolete?"
Here's the thing—I've been working with VJ loops for years, and I'm not worried. Actually, I'm kind of excited. Let me tell you why you shouldn't panic either.
Everyone's going to get tired of AI visuals (and that's great for us)
Right now, everyone's blown away by what generative AI can do. Photorealistic dragons, impossible architecture, mind-bending abstract art—it's everywhere. But here's what I've noticed: it's starting to all look the same.
You know that feeling when you scroll through Instagram and can immediately spot an AI-generated image? That's visual overload happening in real time. People are getting saturated.
And what happens when people get overwhelmed? They crave simplicity. Clean lines. Basic shapes. Colors that make sense. Hell, even black and white is coming back strong in the VJ scene.
While everyone else is chasing the most complex AI-generated madness, you can stand out by going back to what actually works—good design principles, perfect timing, and visuals that serve the music instead of fighting it.
AI doesn't have a childhood (and that matters more than you think)
This is the big one. ChatGPT can write decent copy and help you solve technical problems, but it can't recreate the visual you remember from staring at your bedroom ceiling as a kid, or the way light hit the water at that one festival that changed everything for you.
Think about it—you could create a VJ loop pack inspired by the woodworking patterns you remember from your grandfather's workshop, or base loops on the specific rhythm of rain hitting your childhood bedroom window. Maybe it's the way shadows moved across your wall during summer afternoons, or the geometric patterns in that old building you walk past every day. Try getting AI to tap into that.
AI has access to millions of images, but it doesn't have your memories, your cultural background, your emotional connection to certain colors or movements. It doesn't know what it feels like to be you.
And honestly? That's what makes visuals memorable. Not technical perfection, but that weird personal touch that makes people go "I have no idea why, but this just hits different."
AI is your new coding buddy (not your replacement)
Here's where AI actually becomes useful. Remember when you needed to hire a programmer just to automate simple tasks in your creative software? Those days are over.
I built the Cycloid Loops pack using a custom Python app that generates geometric animations and exports them as SVG files. The whole app was coded with ChatGPT's help in maybe two hours. Two hours! Before, that would've taken me weeks of learning Python from scratch.
Same goes for Blender scripts, TouchDesigner components, or After Effects expressions. You describe what you want, ChatGPT writes the code, you tweak it until it works. It's like having a really patient programming friend who never gets tired of your questions.
The trick is knowing what to ask for and how to guide the process. That's still 100% human skill.
Making VJ loops with AI isn't as easy as they make it sound
Sure, AI makes content creation "more accessible," but let's be real about what that actually means for VJ loops:
- First, you'll need to pay up. A decent premium plan for AI video generation runs €200-300+ per month. That's not exactly democratizing creativity for broke artists.
- Getting something that actually loops properly? Good luck. AI is still terrible at understanding that frame 1 needs to connect seamlessly with the last frame. You'll spend hours fixing jumpy transitions.
- Most AI-generated stuff looks impressive in isolation but falls apart when you need consistent style across multiple loops, proper resolution for big screens, or specific timing for live performance.
Making quality VJ content still requires understanding visual rhythm, color theory, and how different loops work together in a set. AI can't learn that for you.
The human stuff is becoming more valuable, not less
Here's the paradox: as AI gets better at generating content, the stuff that's uniquely human becomes more precious.
Think about it. When anyone can generate a technically perfect loop, what makes yours special? The story behind it. The way it fits a specific moment in a set. The fact that it was made by someone who actually understands the crowd, the music, and the vibe.
I've noticed this already in the scene. The VJs who are thriving aren't necessarily the most technically skilled—they're the ones who understand their audience, who can read a room, who create visuals that connect emotionally.
That social intelligence, that cultural intuition—that's not getting automated anytime soon.
The bottom line
AI isn't going to kill creativity. It's just changing the game.
The creators who adapt—who use AI for the boring technical stuff while doubling down on their unique perspective and emotional intelligence—those are the ones who'll thrive.
Your VJ loops don't need to be the most technically complex or use the latest AI wizardry. They need to be yours. Made with intention, crafted with understanding of how they'll actually be used, infused with whatever weird personal aesthetic makes your work recognizable.
In a world flooded with AI-generated everything, authenticity isn't just nice to have—it's your competitive advantage.
The tool doesn't make the artist. Never has, never will. And that's exactly why you shouldn't worry.