This video of Tim Exile promoting his new product for Native Instruments is making the rounds lately, as it's simply fantastic. I've known about Exile's work in Reaktor for a while now, but this latest set of videos gave me a run for my money. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels a little inadequate when I see stuff of this sort, but I thought i'd share some tips on the subject of preparing a live performance, since i've been working hard on a new setup for the past few months. 1. Be Reasonable It's easy to look at a good live setup and want to do something similar, or even worse, the same. Be reasonable with yourself and understand your skill level, the gear you own, and how much time you can devote to this. If you are unreasonable with yourself, you will certainly have to give up at some point because you are working beyond your parameters. I also think it's silly to say to yourself, "I can't get this done because I don't have ____ piece of gear". With that attitude it is easy to say that at every stage of the game. 2. Have a plan Set some guidelines that you will live by when creating your live performance. Do you imagine it to only exist in a certain environment? Do you want it to fit in with other DJ sets? Have a plan that will guide you through this journey. Similar to a