NWLEM

[DjHeadie]

Havent seen mention of this in a while... know they used to do it in pdx, but it really seems that the interest or drive died down.

who all would be interested? can i get a good idea of what a NW roll call would look like? I know we have nth degree, slick, top notch, kes and others up here, so would this be something i should put some work into?

i' really like to at least get the creative ball rolling on this, any input or insight helps! thanks

[Laserchik]

How about one in Texas? We are centrally located.....

[DjHeadie]

a little too south central to be completely honest, you would benefit from both SELEM and the other upcoming LEM.

however, i have seen none so far that dont require at least a plane ticket for us rainy-corner laserists.

washington down to cali/az and east as far as interest extends!

[Laserchik]

I see what you are saying, but we have VERY mild fall/winters. Weather is fantastic during that time, typically.....until January that is. I wouldn't mind going to San Francisco.....Seattle......Northern California preferably....I am ok with where SELEM is located, now that I know where to go and what to do. Of course next time I will have a car......no offense to ex-honey

[buffo]

There was some talk about trying to do a texas LEM in the future, but I think it would be several months in the making.

A NWLEM would probably be something that LaserMan532 could attend, and I'm sure Platinum would be up for it as well.

Adam

[DjHeadie]

There was some talk about trying to do a texas LEM in the future, but I think it would be several months in the making.

A NWLEM would probably be something that LaserMan532 could attend, and I'm sure Platinum would be up for it as well.

Adam

im sure slicklasers, jamesx and blowfly would also be in attendance, although we havent met, i know phredy is local to seattle as well as others.

in case my intent is not as clear as id hoped, i would be interested in looking into/not limited to:

1) booking a venue for our use. i would be shooting for something we can really go all out as far as projection. wide and tall. there are a few places that come to mind, and to be completely honest, there are tons of places in town that i want to look into, as this type of event is much friendlier to your average venue than the type i am usually booking/on the hunt for.

2) organization needed. will ask on here for things as needed, will figure what exactly we will do hah.

3) try to bring in some outside parties, i.e. possible clients, promoters etc, as i see that our craft is rising in popularity, and i doubt most people know where to legally employ some.

4) want any suggestions for this, as i would really like to see it happen. in the northwest.

if this remains my task then it will likely go down in or around seattle. there is plenty of accomodations available on the cheap through internet or walk in deals. plenty to do at night, and plenty to do period. id say that as a collaborative effort, it could turn into alot of fun.

also, laserchik:

sorry to shoot your idea down but as indicated in the title and in my intentions, i would like this to remain in the northwest, as i as well as many others are up here, and have since had our LEM dissolve (it seems)
because of work, other responsibilities, and the need to be around homebase consistently, it is not easy for me to go anywhere, especially not for laser bizness. it is something i take seriously, but it has not paid me well enough yet for me to invest time/money like that.

[Laserchik]

@djheadie - no problemo....I would actually welcome a chance to go to Seattle anyway. I just wanted to through the whole Texas possibility out there to whomever may be listening....Good luck! I hope you get one going up there!

[DjHeadie]

@djheadie - no problemo....I would actually welcome a chance to go to Seattle anyway. I just wanted to through the whole Texas possibility out there to whomever may be listening....Good luck! I hope you get one going up there!

i do too!

im honestly surprised nobody local has expressed interest yet.

[blowfly]

I would totally be down for a NWLEM. Either Seattle or Portland would be great. Platinum was talking about doing one in Portland one of these days.

Mike

[buffo]

Hey Mike;

Since you've been to SELEM already, maybe you can work with DjHeadie (and maybe Platinum as well) to try to put something together. You've already got a feel for what one of these things is like...

Remember that the biggest hurdle to making one of these events happen is always going to be finding an affordable venue that will allow you to have fog machines, lasers, and loud music late into the evening. Get that nailed down, and the rest is gravy.

But make *sure* you check out the venue thoroughly. Fire alarms are a big deal, and just about any fog or haze machine will set them off. Ask if they have a monitored system. If so, you'll need to contact the monitoring company and be sure they understand that "testing and maintenance" will be taking place on such-and-such day, so please call us to verify all alarms before dispatching the fire department! (I suggest you test the system beforehand, with the venue manager's permission of course. Bring a large fogger and fog the place up really good. Then see what happens.)

Think about power distribution. Are there enough outlets? Will you need to tap into a panel to get more power? And if you're thinking really big, do you want to try to mess with 3 phase power and water cooling so someone can bring a large ion laser or two?

Think about chairs and tables. Are there enough, or do people need to bring their own. And what about a kitchen? Is there someplace to prepare food, or at least a place to set some food out? Will they allow you to eat in the venue? What about smokers? Bathrooms? Parking? Loading dock?

How about Internet access? Can you use the venue's Internet connection, or will you be stuck with a cellular connection. Always nice to be able to broadcast live from an event like this, but it's also good for downloading last-minute drivers to help get everything running.

Remember the need for a sound system. And you'll want a mixer so you can connect multiple machines to the sound system without plugging and unplugging cords all the time. Think about where you want to place the speakers, where the computers and projectors will be, and where the screen or scrim will be. Get the basic layout in your head first, and the setup will be a breeze.

Once you've got those basics down, just pick a date and get the word out to people. Once you do that, things start to happen pretty fast. People start volunteering to bring stuff, and it sort of snowballs from there. Someone needs to be the point man to keep it all together, but it's not as hard as it sounds (at least not until you get to 70 + people in attendance, that is).

Sure hope you guys can make this happen. I'm sure there are plenty of people on the west coast that would make the trip.

Adam