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Thread: Need Technical Suggestions for a new On-Going Laser Light Show in a movie theatre

  1. #11
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    Alaska if I remember.

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    Interesting - I think we may have a slightly different definition of "laser show", and were they really paying for the lights?
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

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    Quote Originally Posted by laserist View Post
    Interesting - I think we may have a slightly different definition of "laser show", and were they really paying for the lights?
    You enter and watch the show while you get the car washed.
    you are not in the car. It is automated.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Oh. I get it. Laserwash. No actually laser show

  4. #14
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    i worked with walt meador a while back on a project that had live laser projection in a theatre while there was a movie playing. both beams and projection onto the screen on top of the movie. i did the abstracts in LSX and imported them onto a beyond timeline so they would properly synch to the audio of video of the movie.



    he's a great guy and i expect he'd be happy to provide some answers to your questions.

    i don't want to post his contact info here for the spam bots to scrape, but his phone number is on his website: http://www.lightspaceusa.com/

    Quote Originally Posted by snowmaker55 View Post
    Hi Everybody,
    Back in the laser light show game again after 30 years ago. WOW things have changed! All for the good, Id say! We played with home-built helium neon tubes we hand made and I was even the guy who sold Laser Light Optics plans in the back of Popular Science magazine... LOL Im based in the Midwest USA and have an opportunity to own/operate/promote an on-going laser light show in a movie theatre in a well known resort town. Its being renovated, so all will be new and fresh! A great place for a show!


    I am very clear on current day rules and regs and will work solid to make sure those items are high priority. My current/past background has been a special effects coordinator for movies, tv, commercials, etc., so this is going to be an exciting and fun venture!


    Currently, I have decided to go the Pangolin route with their QuickShow 3.0 and, on order, a ClubMax3000 to just start with for the graphics portion. I will be running the new FB4 interface.
    From the projection room to the screen is 64 feet. The width is approx. 40 feet. There are 220 seats. Very high ceilings, especially in the front of the room.


    I appreciate and seek your advise on several fronts please-


    Beam show- Suggestions for number of units to be used for a beam show and what wattage do you think? Will put a very slight haze in the room.


    Music- I know that the Pangolin Cloud programs don't come with music. I understand why. IF I were to create shows and use music like Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, etc., does anyone have any experience how to deal with the rights and use? Some say you need to sign up with ASCAP and BMI, some say just buy and use the music, some say use the words "tribute to" in the PR. Interested on YOUR experience and thoughts....


    Ticket Pricing- So, I've been jumping between $10 - $20 per ticket in $2 increments and interested in your thoughts. Sure some of this will depend on the market, the tourist traffic, if your thinking a 7 day a week show or 3 day weekend show, the amount of equipment invested into the show, etc. ANY COMMENTS are appreciated- Im open to listening.


    Thanks everyone.................
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

  5. #15
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    Hi Snowmaker,
    .
    I fully appreciate your enthusiasm and, for years I have had a similar aspiration since I manage a large banquet and conference center. My venue is more than twice the size of your theater and is nearly perfect for lasers. A little bit taller ceiling would be welcomed but aside from that, it works well. Twice, I have taken the time to design and set up a show similar to perhaps what you envision. Once was a demo/holiday party for my staff and the other was a public demo with select invitations being sent to past clients. I've spent a bunch on marketing materials, signage, and the infrastructure to put on shows like that on a regular basis so that, "when that day comes" I can be filling the seats for three shows a night. Logistics have been worked out, pricing established, some music rights sorted and over $200,000 in gear and content acquired but....
    .
    Reality has a cruel way of rearing her head. Fact of the matter is, this isn't the 70's. Audiences are different now. They're jaded, as lasers and special effects have become so commonplace. They have awesome effects simply as their screen savers. Heck even the latest update for the iPhone has a feature that allows you to place a laser beam show as a background to your texts. America is aiming a ton of $40 red and green twinkling lasers at their houses for the holidays since its faster and easier than stringing up lights. As has been said, laser shows are either great or crap. And great is rare. There are few laser artists whose work I would pay to go see - swami, Mike Dunn, Anthony Garcia, and a couple others. Fewer and fewer planetariums are running laser content and Laserium is gasping it's last breaths. Attention spans are shorter. To hold their attention for a 40 minute show and, if surveyed, have them saying they would absolutely come back, is a major undertaking that is going to require incredible artistry. 10 minutes is a LONG time to watch something that's even above average. You're going to have to find and market to that segment of the population that is into lasers in the first place and that's a narrow bandwidth.
    .
    Location is huge in terms of the success of this too. If you're in a tourist area you've got a better shot. Miami, Niagra Falls, Vegas, San Francisco, are places where you've got improved odds of getting traffic coming to your show. Possibly a good college town but, students don't have a lot of disposable $20's laying around to fritter away on a laser show.
    .
    I'm not saying don't attempt it. We all like to imagine a place where we can share the magic of laser light that has captured our soul and, make some money by doing it but... reality is, it's going to be very, very hard. And take more than just a couple lasers and some early learned attempts with Quickshow or Beyond. I would love to hear that you're doing it and having success, as it might re-invigorate me to the idea of finally following through on the same idea I've had for years now.
    PM Sent...

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    Audiences aren't that much different once you get them into a seat, but getting them into a seat is so SO much different.
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

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    The ILDA Standard Projector is a big part of what's killing planetarium laser shows. It's especially hard to hold people's attention for a hour with nothing but scans.
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

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    I don't care how good an artist anyone is, beams are boring after about 10 minutes. It doesn't matter if you have one projector or twenty-five... still boring. As for graphics, they have their place in laser displays but again, after a very short while, they get boring too.
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

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    Sure, lasers get boring but you aren't just looking at lasers, you're listening to music. Generally, it is the that attracts the people more than the lasers. I'd go see a Laser Skinny Puppy Show in a heartbeat. I would not bother to see Laser Kanye. I am saying that without having any idea if it would be beams, graphics, or just a guy with a laser pointer.

  10. #20
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    You really need a complete almost mixed media show I think. For mine, what I had set up both times was three large 12' x 16' scrims with rear projected content, the idea being the center was the graphics show and the flanking scrims were live abstract output from say the Z-5 for example, then between scrims and outside the left and right are the beam projectors - both mixed and single color, also played live. On the wall behind the center scrim was various lumia and diffraction effects . Also mixed in were moving head intelligent lighting and my goal was to run that tied to the timing of the canned graphics show. That's the most recent part of the puzzle in getting Beyond and Chauvet's ShowXpress which I use for my DMX control, running together on the same timeline. Since it was Christmas both times I did it, I also tied in two of our 9' Christmas trees with 1800 white lights each to be triggered to flash on via DMX as well in certain spots, that are situated behind the scrim. The drawback to this whole thing has been that setup was a three day proposition.
    .
    Edit - I did 3 shows, each about 45 minutes. First being Christmas related to the music of Manheim Steamroller, second was a bit edgier with mixed classic rock tunes and the final show being strictly Pink Floyd. I had about 25 people for the friends / staff attempt and 18 tickets sold for the one that I put on there for past clients and such. I didn't aggressively market it as it was still a bit of a "test".
    Last edited by Bradfo69; 12-21-2016 at 02:46.
    PM Sent...

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