Definition needed please [Archive] - Mobile Disco Directory Forum

Silver

04-09-2011, 07:03 PM

Last night I did one of my finest gigs ever, it was an absolute cracker, brill, fab beautiful etc. at the Dudsbury Golf Club in Ferndown.

I would post the play list but the last time I posted one, somebody made a comment that I had played some clinkers or clankers or something. I didn't understand the word, so asked for some clarification but didn't get the decency of a reply, so I'll never post a playlist again, shame.

Anyway, back to the point of my post ... As I said a wonderful night,the dance floor came and went, sometimes overflowing, dancing in the aisles, sometimes only half a dozen or so dancing.

I have done many gigs over my career but can honestly say I have never had a FULL floor all night ever!

This term, to be honest really annoys me. What is the definition of a full dance floor? One hundred and fifty guests with a dance floor that holds say, forty packed.

Let's use a wedding as an example, you play the first dance and the guests join in at the end and the floor is full, packed, a few then tail away but it is still fairly busy, is that a FULL floor or simply just busy? Does it have to be rammed all night? What happens when the buffet is served and people go off to eat and you slow the tempo down?

I see post after post saying "Great night, dance floor was full all night". I can honestly say I have never, ever seen one, as a dj or guest.

My issue with this is that it could be off putting to a new, up and coming dj. New dj's view threads and see "I had a full dance floor all night" but when they play they have a full, half full, empty floor, then gets busy, quietens down etc.

I just feel this could make somebody feel they are not doing a good job as their floor was not full all night

So, please what is the definition of a full dance floor?

BeerFunk

04-09-2011, 07:26 PM

If it's a small dance floor, it could be 'busy' all night, but at no point will you have every possible dancer on the dance floor, at the same time. The exception might be the final song, but otherwise... no :)

Pe7e

04-09-2011, 07:28 PM

CRAZY K

04-09-2011, 07:51 PM

It's a bit like beauty, it's in the eyes of the beholder, I wouldn't put much importance on others descriptions if I were you. If you have 30 at an event and 25 are dancing, I think you would be entitled to claim a full dance floor, if 300 were attending the event and 25 were dancing, it would be an empty dance floor IMO.

Unless the dance floor was very small;)

Yes a liberal amount of bull is spoken about these matters by DJs, there are so many factors to take into consideration its almost impossible to give a comparison---one example--guests have been drinking at a Wedding all day--First dance then the floor is full---well it would be wouldnt it---all the guests have consumed large amounts of booze and been waiting all day to have a boogie.

This happened last week to me when I did the opening set as a Barn Dance--

Im not saying I am an entertainment genius--but the response was extraordinary and would have been similar whoever was there--perhaps I have certain extra skills to maximise the effect.

The crunch---a party where people turn up late not having had any of the
happy juice and need to be persuaded to dance by music or the DJs personality and ability.

No comparison and no dance Floor rammed all night---;)

YOU know if your hacking it or not.

Excalibur

04-09-2011, 08:08 PM

If I have to take my shoes and socks off to count the number of dancers, it's officially packed by my definition. ;)

funkymook

04-09-2011, 08:50 PM

If I have to take my shoes and socks off to count the number of dancers, it's officially packed by my definition. ;)

22 then!

ppentertainments

04-09-2011, 09:17 PM

supersound

04-09-2011, 09:46 PM

If I have to take my shoes and socks off to count the number of dancers, it's officially packed by my definition. ;)

If you took your shoes and socks off Peter the whole room never mind the dancefloor would evacuate lol:eek:

Silver

05-09-2011, 06:43 AM

22 then!

http://planetsmilies.net/tongue-smiley-8855.gif

I love these 'full dance floor all night',
'loads of people asked for business cards',
'the venue manager says I was the best he has ever seen',
'everyone loved it'

Sort of quotes, especially week after week :D :D :D

Couldn't agree more! :)

DiscoMagic

05-09-2011, 08:54 AM

I love these 'full dance floor all night',
'loads of people asked for business cards',
'the venue manager says I was the best he has ever seen',
'everyone loved it'

Sort of quotes, especially week after week :D :D :D

On the flip side, I rather dislike these kind of comments (although I would guess that comment "like" is actaully not meant in that way.

Coming from a previous sales background where the vast majority of your collegues in the network would :BS: about how many sales they had made, how they were the best salesman in the network blah blah blah, I find it ludicrous and somewhat annoying.

Dissapointing then that we sometimes find the same attitude here on the forums. I sometimes even find myself questioning my ability simply becuase of what I read on here - and we should be here supporting each other, not creating an atmostphere of "I am better than you".

Additionally the OP referred to negative comments a previous thread - and again I would ask: Is this really nescessary? All too often I come across threads or posts were people are being wholly unhelpful and sometimes rude which is not the point of the forum!!!

For the record my average night consists of First Dance creates a full dance floor which remains for approximately 4 / 5 songs before they start to drift away, and then til about 9.30 - 10.30 there are only a handful of dancers at any one time, and then about 50% - 75% of the guests move to the dance floort until the end. The last song always has every one on the floor - but thats becuase I go around and rally everyone up.

I am however very aware of the fact that we as DJ's can only do so much. If you have a miserable B&G, or guests who can't be bothered then the best DJ in the world couldn't fill the dancefloor, and the audience needs to be up for it to make it happen. All I can say is that these DJ's who have great nights week in week out with must be very lucky ;)

Finally, there is an old saying that goes like this...
"Those who talk about it, just talk about it, whilst those who do it, just do it!

Feel free to comment should you disagree....
Rant over :D

BeerFunk

05-09-2011, 09:15 AM

The last song always has every one on the floor - but thats becuase I go around and rally everyone up.Yeah, that's not true though is it. What you mean is most of the time, the last song always has every one on the floor.

If there are people there who are too tired or drunk, you won't be able to 'rally them up', and even designated drivers may refuse at times if they're just not in the mood.

DiscoMagic

05-09-2011, 09:19 AM

Yeah, that's not true though is it. What you mean is most of the time, the last song always has every one on the floor.

If there are people there who are too tired or drunk, you won't be able to 'rally them up', and even designated drivers may refuse at times if they're just not in the mood.

'Tis a true story and fair point! - But it would be fair to say that for most wedding events I have 90% of the people on the floor for the last song!

Ecstatic Events

05-09-2011, 09:32 AM

People love to talk bullshine. A virtual forum is a perfect place to stretch the truth, massage your ego and write utter nonsense. Let's just say I'm selective with my reading.

For me personally, if I can have activity on a dancefloor for over 80% of any night, I'm happy.

As it's been mentioned, a party is only as good as the hosts/guests. I've DJ'd at functions that on paper, should of been blinding, whereas in reality they have been wet and lacked atmosphere (I must add at this point that I have been amazing at these functions - lol)

I also agree with the comment you read week in week out about

"the manager said my set-up was the best they have ever seen"
"I handed out 12 business cards"
"this guy said I was the best DJ he had ever seen"

However, the "packed dancefloor, all night" is the best one ;)

The truth is, since I have been mobile I don't think I can honestly say I have had a packed floor all night, just very busy periods. That said, I have had guests dancing all night in fluctuating volumes.

I'm better than the average DJ, I don't need to get him out and give it a little wave all the time. He's fine where he is :)

Silver

05-09-2011, 09:34 AM

On the flip side, I rather dislike these kind of comments (although I would guess that comment "like" is actaully not meant in that way.

Coming from a previous sales background where the vast majority of your collegues in the network would :BS: about how many sales they had made, how they were the best salesman in the network blah blah blah, I find it ludicrous and somewhat annoying.

Dissapointing then that we sometimes find the same attitude here on the forums. I sometimes even find myself questioning my ability simply becuase of what I read on here - and we should be here supporting each other, not creating an atmostphere of "I am better than you".

Additionally the OP referred to negative comments a previous thread - and again I would ask: Is this really nescessary? All too often I come across threads or posts were people are being wholly unhelpful and sometimes rude which is not the point of the forum!!!

For the record my average night consists of First Dance creates a full dance floor which remains for approximately 4 / 5 songs before they start to drift away, and then til about 9.30 - 10.30 there are only a handful of dancers at any one time, and then about 50% - 75% of the guests move to the dance floort until the end. The last song always has every one on the floor - but thats becuase I go around and rally everyone up.

I am however very aware of the fact that we as DJ's can only do so much. If you have a miserable B&G, or guests who can't be bothered then the best DJ in the world couldn't fill the dancefloor, and the audience needs to be up for it to make it happen. All I can say is that these DJ's who have great nights week in week out with must be very lucky ;)

Finally, there is an old saying that goes like this...
"Those who talk about it, just talk about it, whilst those who do it, just do it!

Feel free to comment should you disagree....
Rant over :D

You have totally nailed it, my feelings also.

Going back to the adverse comments I had previously, I didn't have to post a playlist on here, I did it, with the view of trying help others, it was good for me on the night, it worked well. Now, if somebody had felt I had played something they would not have played, then why not suggest what I could have played instead of an unsubstantiated silly snipe. I could post Saturday's but I won't, why should I?

Going back to the main thrust, I just feel if some young up and coming dj views the full dance floor comments and thinks "Heck I lost the dance floor five songs after the first dance, I must be doing something wrong" If you read it time and time again it could really give your confidence a bashing.

P.S. I too have worked for over thirty years in direct sales, so I know precisely where you are coming from! ;)

Shakermaker Promotions

05-09-2011, 09:44 AM

I posted a thread like this the other week where I asked - Why do some people feel the need to bend the truth etc etc...

Mike is correct, it's a forum and there will always be people who will try to make things better than they really are. It's a shame. I tend to think of Number 1 and no'one else. I'm not really worried about what anyone else is doing and if they feel the need to tell tales because I concentrate on what I am doing. I do think "What's the point?". If you can't be honest and say "Well, tonight was rubbish..." for whatever reason then in my opinion, don't say anything.

For the record........If I do a function and there are 100 guests and there is a dancefloor that can take 30 or 40 and it's full, that's cool by me. We go on about it all the time but remember, you don't have to dance to have a good time. I'm a people watcher and although there may well be times when the dancefloor is pretty thin on the ground with dancers, it's the people that aren't on it that I am watching and if they look like they are enjoying themselves, that's also cool with me.

You can't MAKE people dance. You could give £10.00 notes out to everyone to encourage them but then you wouldn't be in business long would you!?

Corabar Steve

05-09-2011, 09:46 AM

Going back to the adverse comments I had previously, I didn't have to post a playlist on here, I did it, with the view of trying help others, it was good for me on the night, it worked well. Now, if somebody had felt I had played something they would not have played, then why not suggest what I could have played instead of an unsubstantiated silly snipe. I could post Saturday's but I won't, why should I?
Oh dear, I really stuck a stick up your bum on that thread.

Correct you didn't have to post the playlist in question, but you did.

Having done so, you left it open for criticism & peoples opinions, which is what you got. Opinions on the tracks played (Fernando FFS!), why are you taking it as a personal attack on you? (OK I can see the comments about the order could be & were directed at you, but In all honesty they were constructive. Some of the genre jumps were unbelievable & probably best avoided)

As for unsubstantiated & silly, if I played that many new / urban tracks at the majority of functions we do it would've killed the floor . You got away with it. At all but the smallest percentage of our gigs I / we (our other DJs) wouldn't have.

Now I suggest you would do well to remember that anything you post on a forum will be subject to people's opinions & often they will be different to your own

DiscoMagic

05-09-2011, 10:06 AM

Now I suggest you would do well to remember that anything you post on a forum will be subject to people's opinions & often they will be different to your own

Steve, be fair mate... surely you must appriciate that there are number of people who I won't mentioned on here that are plain rude and unhelpful, and I think that is what we are getting at here, as these negative comments serve no helpful purpose whatsoever. The OP did say ask for feedback on his previous thread which he got none !!!

I am open to critique and critisism as much as the next guy, in fact I usually ask for it, as I truly understand how important it is to better myself. However take this as an example. I put a picture of my rig and setup on here. Two people come on look at the pics and post ...

Person 1 says.... "Its amaturish - I don't like it"

Person 2 says... "Its not great, you need to tidy up cables, change your lights, straighten your star cloth and remove the clutter behind the stand - which would make for a better appearance"

Which of these would be more helpful to me. We all know that both these people types exist on the forums, but for me I always prefer Person number 2.

Corabar Steve

05-09-2011, 10:16 AM

Steve, be fair mate... surely you must appriciate that there are number of people who I won't mentioned on here that are plain rude and unhelpful, and I think that is what we are getting at here, as these negative comments serve no helpful purpose whatsoever. The OP did say ask for feedback on his previous thread which he got none !!!
I do appreciate that (& god knows I can be guilty of it on occasion), but my point is that by the very action of posting something on a forum you do open yourself up for criticism both good & bad whether you ask for it or not. Some of it will be more in depth than other replies & some will just be of the "I don't like it" variety.

I've re-read the previous thread & there was plenty of feedback on it.

To get upset by a post that called something you played naff / a dud / rubbish / whatever is silly & refusing to post similar subjects because of it is plain childish.

DiscoMagic

05-09-2011, 10:25 AM

I concur :)

Silver

05-09-2011, 10:37 AM

Oh dear, I really stuck a stick up your bum on that thread.

Correct you didn't have to post the playlist in question, but you did.

Having done so, you left it open for criticism & peoples opinions, which is what you got. Opinions on the tracks played (Fernando FFS!), why are you taking it as a personal attack on you? (OK I can see the comments about the order could be & were directed at you, but In all honesty they were constructive. Some of the genre jumps were unbelievable & probably best avoided)

As for unsubstantiated & silly, if I played that many new / urban tracks at the majority of functions we do it would've killed the floor . You got away with it. At all but the smallest percentage of our gigs I / we (our other DJs) wouldn't have.

Now I suggest you would do well to remember that anything you post on a forum will be subject to people's opinions & often they will be different to your own

I have no problem with criticism in anyway shape or form, as long at it is substantiated not just a glib throwaway comment as yours was. I did ask for a reply at the time but didn't get one.

Had you at the time said certain tracks were inappropriate then surely suggesting a replacement would have been helpful to one and all.

The other thing of course is, you had no idea what were requests, what was on the brides playlist, what I had to play and how I linked one genre to the next. That's what I found annoying.

I have played, as we probably all have certain cast iron favourite floor fillers that have killed a floor, you just don't know. I have been asked to play tracks I would put money on it would clear the floor but they have had the opposite effect.

In other words, had you have posted a playlist and I had thought some of your tracks were inappropriate, then instead of slagging you off I would have suggested an alternative. That's all.

No, you didn't put a stick anywhere, I've just got a very good memory! ;)

Corabar Steve

05-09-2011, 10:48 AM

Had you at the time said certain tracks were inappropriate then surely suggesting a replacement would have been helpful to one and all.Whilst I was re-reading the thread in question I was surprised to see that I hadn't gone into more detail later in the thread as I remember thinking to myself that I should explain what I was on about. All I can think is there were no more new posts on the thread after I decided to make a more in depth reply & it slipped my mind to go & find the thread again.

The other thing of course is, you had no idea what were requests, what was on the brides playlist, what I had to play and how I linked one genre to the next. That's what I found annoying.True, but we did see what you played & in what order, & you must admit, it did jump about quite a lot (& there's only so many times in one night that you can make a "& now for something completely different" type announcement)

I still think it's silly to let something that happened months ago stop you posting a playlist should you want / need to.

In other words, had you have posted a playlist and I had thought some of your tracks were inappropriate, then instead of slagging you off I would have suggested an alternative. That's all.
Nowhere in the thread in question did I slag you off

WWDJ

05-09-2011, 10:48 AM

To get upset by a post that called something you played naff / a dud / rubbish / whatever is silly & refusing to post similar subjects because of it is plain childish.

I concur :)

I don't. Over defensive yes, but not childish.

I've been back and looked the said playlist and i'll admit a few of the tracks wouldn't be my first choice but it looked ok to me. Sometimes I make massive genre changes, and that's because at the time it was needed.

The forum could quite easily deconstruct my playlists in the same way and pictures of my setups and have done on many occasions. (i'm still smarting from the first picture I posted .... talk about Lions Den!!!!)

... but all told, personally I post because I want feedback and I am of course happy to receive good feedback but it's the constructive negative comments that actually make me better at what I do.

Back on topic .... the dancefloor is full when you can only see people and not floor, so very rarely for me is it 'full' all night.

Silver

05-09-2011, 11:00 AM

Nowhere in the thread in question did I slag you off

By saying my choice of music was naff, to me slags me off as a dj. I honestly do not want to have a war over this, I'm not like that, I haven't got the time, I'm far too busy slagging everybody else off! ;)

Anyway end of, as far as I'm concerned. Please have a http://planetsmilies.net/eat-drink-smiley-7858.gif on me.

Corabar Steve

05-09-2011, 11:03 AM

The forum could quite easily deconstruct my playlists in the same way and pictures of my setups and have done on many occasions. (i'm still smarting from the first picture I posted .... talk about Lions Den!!!!)But that's the nature of most if not all forums.

Back on topic .... the dancefloor is full when you can only see people and not floor, so very rarely for me is it 'full' all night.Spot on, or very close. I'd say it's when you can see more people than floor. Although what percentage that is would depend on the size of the floor & number of people in attendance, so your reply is still probably nearer to the truth than mine. I've had nights when a 15' square dancefloor has been so full from the off, that people have danced all around it in whatever gaps they can (even the corridor) when the venue has been full to capacity, or the same dancefloor with only 25 - 30 folks on it all night when there have only been 50 people there. I would probably consider both to have been packed all night, even though I could see a lot more wood in the second instance.

Silver

05-09-2011, 11:08 AM

Back on topic .... the dancefloor is full when you can only see people and not floor, so very rarely for me is it 'full' all night.
That is the point I'm making, when ever is the floor full all night? Okay some may say I'm being over sensitive but you can only read what is written and take it as the truth.

Corabar Steve

05-09-2011, 11:15 AM

when ever is the floor full all night?
The two instances I mentioned above :sj:

Admittedly the second one was when the contestants from the first series of "So you think you can dance" were staying & it was them that started the dancing (from the last track of the background set), but as they were all trying to outdo eachother they didn't stop all night.

Shakermaker Promotions

05-09-2011, 11:18 AM

"When ever is the floor full all night?"

I will say though that I have done a few 16th and 18th Birthday parties this year and the dancefloor has been full for most of the night as they have danced their bits off to current chart etc...

Corabar Entertainment

05-09-2011, 11:19 AM

Okay some may say I'm being over sensitive but you can only read what is written and take it as the truth.
People use expressions / a turn of phrase that isn't literal all the time everywhere in life.

I think to suggest that people are lying because they use such a phrase is taking it a bit to the extreme.

People aren't going to go in to great depth about the ebb and flow of the dance floor action throughout the night, and I think that most people would understand that there would be more dancing for a particular song than for a.n.other, but so long as there is a good percentage dancing throughout the night, then I can't see the harm in that particular phrase myself, but we all have differing opinions.

Although I do agree that there is plenty of :BS: around, but again, that's everywhere in life and I take it with a pinch of salt.

WWDJ

05-09-2011, 11:19 AM

That is the point I'm making, when ever is the floor full all night? Okay some may say I'm being over sensitive but you can only read what is written and take it as the truth.

This is full ... anything less is just exaggeration ;-) ... well from 1m 30s!

Wahoo Oxford 2011-08-26.mov - YouTube

Silver

05-09-2011, 11:20 AM

The two instances I mentioned above :sj:

Admittedly the second one was when the contestants from the first series of "So you think you can dance" were staying & it was them that started the dancing (from the last track of the background set), but as they were all trying to outdo eachother they didn't stop all night.

Yep, sorry hadn't read that. I was too busy writing my earlier post :D

paulg

05-09-2011, 12:53 PM

Dancefloor envy. Whatever next!

I count up the guests, divide by 5 and that's about the amount I'd be happy with to make what I'd just call a healthy dancefloor. Any more is a bonus except at the end when the usual night end tracks appeal to people who really can't dance but can get away with a bit of leg kicking. There's a bit of variability but I find that a minority of people like to dance. Most people are naturally quite reserved and will sit, chat, watch and listen.

E.g., this Saturday night saw only a few dancers - a couple of waltzes (for your playlists - True Love Ways is a great slow waltz) and some people danced to rock and roll and some to newer stuff. However, lots of people were singing along and foot tapping all night. At the end people made really nice comments about the music and I got a twenty quid tip. In terms of dancing, that's probably closer to reality for most gigs so for the OP's definition, try thinking more about a "healthy dancefloor".

Now as far as comments go about being the best etc etc, more often than not I get that kind of feedback and so you shouldn't try to deny it exists or ridicule it. Forget the dancefloor envy, if you are not getting consistent positive feedback, you should be asking why. Being realistic, I'd put it down to the quality of some of the 'competition' around here as much as my 'talents' but there are people out there who try very hard to stay a cut above and get rewarded accordingly.

Alchemy

05-09-2011, 04:31 PM

I started reading this thread with interest, I have indeed become a bit disillusioned at times when the dance floor is not full, "what am I doing wrong" I asked myself, "everyone else has a packed dance floor except me". So this thread has calmed a few of my self doubts (for the time being). ;)

I hadn't read the OP's playlist thread until now, so imagine my surprise when I read this,
and I quote......... "I would say for 95% of the night the floor was full" :D

Silver

05-09-2011, 05:51 PM

People use expressions / a turn of phrase that isn't literal all the time everywhere in life.

I think to suggest that people are lying because they use such a phrase is taking it a bit to the extreme.

People aren't going to go in to great depth about the ebb and flow of the dance floor action throughout the night, and I think that most people would understand that there would be more dancing for a particular song than for a.n.other, but so long as there is a good percentage dancing throughout the night, then I can't see the harm in that particular phrase myself, but we all have differing opinions.

Although I do agree that there is plenty of :BS: around, but again, that's everywhere in life and I take it with a pinch of salt.

Okay I accept the lying point but shall we say economic with the truth? ;)

People don't go into the ebb and flow but surely there lies the problem, if the floor is not packed all night then don't say so. If you do say it was, then all readers of the post can do is believe it was.

Maybe I do take things too literally but I can only speak as I read. However there does appear to be some support though for my view. As Alchemy says when you read it and you think, heck I had a really good night last night but the floor emptied on a couple of occasions after possibly being pressured into playing a request, what am I doing wrong.

Still, the thread seems to have made a few happier and not so insecure (me included) job done! http://planetsmilies.net/party-smiley-7483.gif