I vote for Laserman532, and his sidekick "the cobra" , to take charge and arrange this meetup, count me in!
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I vote for Laserman532, and his sidekick "the cobra" , to take charge and arrange this meetup, count me in!
I love organizing events, but unfortunately I would have NO idea how to organize it. My knowledge of lasers is minimal but my love is great. I have no idea where LEMs usually take place and what is required.
I am becoming very giddy though.
We spend over $500 on the venue for SELEM; $50 for the FLEM venue... *DZQuote:
Originally Posted by djlightspin
Pat is right; if no one steps up, it will forever remain an idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by allthatwhichis
Ah I had no idea! I'll ask around as I do have a couple places in Los Angeles that we could possibly use...
Nothing to it, really. First order of business is to find a venue. Cheaper is better. Once you have a venue, set a date and do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by instinct
Questions to ask yourself and the venue manager:
1) Can we use a fog machine? (Call it a "Theatrical Fog machine" or they'll freak) This is the *most* important question, and will rule out more venues that you can imagine. Explain that it's not smoke, but a thin fog like you'd find in a dance club. Explain that even though it's not smoke, it *will* set off a particle smoke detector. Bring a fogger with you to show them. Ask about disabling the fire alarm if they have these smoke detectors. (We disable the smoke detectors only for SELEM each year, but leave the thermal ones on. We also disable the alarm's call-in feature by disconnecting the phone line. If we trip a smoke detector in the lobby <hey, it happens> the alarm still sounds, but it doesn't call the fire department! The venue manager is OK with this.) In a pinch, if you want to play dirty, you can cover these smoke detectors with a wet towel to defeat them, but this is against the fire code...
2) Do you have 3 phase power available? (And can we use it without hiring an electrician?) Not a big requirement, but it's nice to have if someone wants to bring a large ion laser.
3) Do you have a source of running water and a drain (for cooling)? Again, not a big deal, but you'll need it if you want to run anything bigger than a 60X or an HGM5.
4) Will we have complete autonomy? (That is, can we be sure that the general public won't just walk in on us while we've got laser beams flying around...) Also, do you require us to pay to have the fire chief present or to have security present? (If they say yes, find some other place!)
5) How long can we stay? (This is important - most places are used to a 4 hour event. You want all friggin' day and well into the night. Be up-front about this.) Try to get 9 am till midnight at least.
6) Can we have food / drinks / alcohol? Do we have to buy it on the premises or can we bring our own? Better find out beforehand...
7) Who cleans up afterwards? For the record, we usually sweep the floor and bag the trash ourselves at our LEM's. At the FLEM's we take the trash to my mom's place, since the venue has no outside trash cans or dumpster, but at SELEM we just move the full cans to the hallway backstage and the janitor takes it from there. We do sweep the stage though.
8) Are there tables / chairs that we can use? Can we move them around if we put them back when we're done?
9) What about windows? Can they be blocked to make the room dark?
10) Adequate parking?
11) Nearby food? Nearby lodging? Special rates for rooms?
12) Any chance of Internet access in the building? (Wi-Fi? Wired connection you can use? Cell service so you can use an air-card?)
13) How many 110V outlets? Will it be enough? (figure on a minimum of four 20-amp circuits.)
Edit: The minimum space I would look for is a room of at least 15 ft by 25 ft with an 8 ft ceiling. Ideal would be 30 ft by 40 ft with a 12 foot or higher ceiling, but that's hard to come by. For example, the venue we've been using in Florida is just 24 ft by 38 ft with a 7.4 ft ceiling, but it's cheap ($60) and nearly always available, so we're still using it.
Good luck!
Adam
I'll see what I can do, I have a couple possible venues I know that may possible. I've thrown small raves and helped with other big ones so I know some venues that for sure allow fog and should be good on power, my main concern is the $.Quote:
Originally Posted by buffo
How large should the venue be? I guess it really depends on how many people are going though..
I'll do some research and see what I can find.
Any place that would work for a rave will work for a LEM. Find a place that is cheap and you're all set.Quote:
Originally Posted by instinct
See my post above. A room 15 ft by 25 ft will be enough for 8 people or so, but I'd prefer 20 ft by 30 ft.Quote:
How large should the venue be? I guess it really depends on how many people are going though...
On the other hand, a room 30 ft by 40 ft (especially if it has a high ceiling) will be enough for 20+ people.
Bigger is better until you get to the 1500 to 2000 square ft mark. At that point a larger room is really pointless unless you're talking about a theater with *very* high ceilings. (25 ft or more)
Adam
I'm from Fullerton. Right at the 91 and Harbor.Quote:
Originally Posted by instinct
I have a friend that I can talk to, but I'm not sure how open he'd be to having a LEM at his place. I'll find out and let you guys know. He's located in Garden Grove.
BTW, what's considered cheap as far as renting a place from 9am to midnight?
Forgot to mention, I think that he's got 3 phase power. I know for a fact that he has a truss with bounce mirrors, scaffolding, and water with a drain in his place. Larger systems should not be a problem there. I'm sure that if we offered him a couple of bucks, that he may be a little more open to it. I'll talk to him soon. He's normally pretty busy, so I probably won't hear from him till the weekend.
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Originally Posted by redgoat
Awesome.. I'm trying to talk with this guy that has a warehouse and he throws a monthly event for his band that plays there. He put an ad on craigslist looking for artists/projections or whatever for his show, I was hoping maybe he would exchange let us use his warehouse in exchange for a light/laser show.
I'm talking to another guy as well.