SELEM 2013 (7th annual!) August 16th-18. Sign up now!

[Displaser]

..Uh, not sure if you meant ..or if that was a 'typo'j

No typo... the face depends on what beverages I can find on my drive into Newton. We'll miss ya!

[steve-o]

iirc the truss was motorized and came down to a reachable level.. here's a pic from Selem 2007 .. the mirrorball is up there.. kinda hard to see tho ..



From Adam's (Buffo) Selem 2007 pic gallery

[JohnYayas]

I'm not planning on taking time off from work this year so the earliest I'll be able to make it is late Friday night. Still trying to decide if it's worth the trip for basically a single day (Saturday).

[polishedball]

yes I will have 2

Are all channels able to support DC output modded? I have some 3 head shows using all 24 tracks and also control on the last 8 for some shows. Trying to figure out what to bring still. Thanks

[buffo]

I'll go ahead and bow out early this year

Aw crap, Randy... I know why you're doing it, but it still sucks. Sure wish you could make it pal. (For what it's worth, Marie is in the same boat re: DOD contractor status this year, so we feel your pain.)

Re: Mirrored-balls and laser-rain...

it would be breathtaking in there, with those nice, tall ceilings.. But, (iirc) you'd need a Genie, etc to get one up there, right?
Or, is there one? Memory-fail...

There isn't a Genie lift, but there is a very dangerous 40 ft tall A-frame stepladder with an extendable center section that will (just barely) allow you to reach the ceiling. However, it is terrifying to see someone up on that thing. (You have to climb up to within 3 steps of the top to have any hope of stretching to reach the ceiling. At that point everything from your waist up is beyond the top edge of the ladder, and you still have to reach up over your head!) A fall would surely be fatal.

And yes, Jonathan (Platinum) has scaled the ladder all the way to the top a few times for us in the past. I still have the willies from that! I really hope we don't have to do that again though... It really isn't safe at all.

Anyhoo, even-if all ya can do is the 'Club' - ya, if Brad brings 4 MBs?? Cripes, it'll be eyegasmik... And, ya really-don't need a lot of power - easy to both keep it safe, and make it look spectacular.

Agreed. I think slightly lower power would actually be better for that effect, and truthfully I think it will work better in the cafeteria (Club-SELEM) anyway, because it's a larger space. The auditorium is tall, but it's not very large, whereas the cafeteria is almost the same width as the auditorium but nearly twice as long. (And it still has 20 ft ceilings, which should be enough.)

I know there is a picture of platinum out there somewhere covering a smoke detector in the ceiling (and giving buffo a queezy feeling of apoplexy at the notion of having to deal with the possibility of a tumble!) Jonathan.... ya gotta make SELEM now, dude! We need you!

I still have that picture on a drive somewhere. If I find it tonight I'll post it. But yeah, it scared the hell out of me to see him up there. Liability waiver or not, it was frightening nonetheless.

Well gosh, if you're going to put it that way, fine! I plan on showing up with my friend Andrew (laserlackey) this year. Will get the registration figured out soon. Grabbed hotel already.

Hot damn! Very cool Jonathan! Will be great to see you there! And with any luck, we will only have to use that ladder in the Cafeteria, so you won't need to be so high up...

I'm equally as eager to run up tall ladders in less-than-optimal conditions

Be careful what you wish for! That ladder is truly terrifying. I need to find that picture and upload it. It's insane...

iirc the truss was motorized and came down to a reachable level.

Yeah, if we put the balls on the truss it would be easy. But since we keep the main curtains closed now, that won't work. (The truss is behind the curtain.) If we wanted to hang mirrored balls in the auditorium, they would need to hang from the ceiling, which is ~ 40 ft above the floor.

Plus, that sort of effect (laser rain) is probably better suited for "Club-SELEM" anyway. The idea for the auditorium is to have pre-choreographed shows (both graphics and beam shows) running on set-piece projectors. Whereas "Club-SELEM" is more of a free-for-all where we can experiment with different layouts and live performances.

Adam

[steve-o]

Yeah, if we put the balls on the truss it would be easy. But since we keep the main curtains closed now, that won't work. (The truss is behind the curtain.) If we wanted to hang mirrored balls in the auditorium, they would need to hang from the ceiling, which is ~ 40 ft above the floor.

Plus, that sort of effect (laser rain) is probably better suited for "Club-SELEM" anyway. The idea for the auditorium is to have pre-choreographed shows (both graphics and beam shows) running on set-piece projectors. Whereas "Club-SELEM" is more of a free-for-all where we can experiment with different layouts and live performances.

Adam

Oh, ok .. seems some changes have happened since Selem I ..

[Bradfo69]

Five mirror balls it is. And I agree the cafeteria is probably better. Do you think we need the motors too? That adds an element of electric and lots of extention cords. Or a bulk spool of 18 guage and some plug/socket ends so we can make it custom.


And I really think Jon needs to make the effort to be there and show us how it's done. What's a day or two, really - especially if you're in PA that week anyway.

[buffo]

Oh, ok. Seems some changes have happened since Selem I.

Haha! Lots of changes, Steve. And all of them for the better, trust me!

The main auditorium is now used exclusively for pre-choreographed graphics and beam shows. We have a 6 watt Krypton-Argon whitelight laser feeding a dual scan-head projector in the balcony, and that unit projects graphics onto a 12 ft by 20 ft screen that rolls down in front of the main curtain right at the proscenium. The projector has dual PCAOM's and is powered by a pair of QM-2000's. One head even has multiple scan-through effects that can be pneumatically snapped into and out of the scan field. Graphics shows have never looked better!

In addition, we will have 5 more solid state projectors (three 1.2 watt units, and two 1.7 watt units) on stage aimed out into the auditorium for beam shows. 4 of the projectors are mounted on a pair of tripods located to the left and right of the forward stage (near the stairs), with the 5th projector sitting on the floor near the forward edge of the stage, right in the center. These projectors are used for beam shows.

All of this is controlled from a master station that is set up in the rear of the ground-floor audience section just in front of the sound and lighting booths.

The area behind the main curtain is now used for general demonstrations and goofing off. The work lights are left on in there all the time so people can see. With the main curtain closed, it's still dark in the auditorium, so shows can be running while other people are messing around behind the curtain.

Finally, we have added yet another display area... The school cafeteria (the brick building to the left as you drive in through the gate out back on your way to the loading dock) is the space that we use to set up "Club-SELEM". This is a free-for-all area where we have multiple projectors set up (something like 15 last year), plus we have beam rails, intelligent lighting, and lots of other cool stuff. We also have a live DJ stand set up in there, and Mario (Ragdoll) will be spinning for us from time to time.

The sound systems that Mario provides are THUNDEROUS! Nothing at all like we had back in 2007. He actually brings two complete systems - one for the auditorium and one for the cafeteria. The centerpieces of these systems are these MASSIVE folded-horn subwoofers that have to be heard to be believed. They weigh in at close to 400 pounds and are roughly 4ft x 4 ft x 6 ft, but oh my God do they sound awesome!

So yeah, you might say that things have changed a little bit since 2007... We've definitely stepped up our game! Sure hope you can come out and join the fun...

Five mirror balls it is. And I agree the cafeteria is probably better. Do you think we need the motors too? That adds an element of electric and lots of extention cords. Or a bulk spool of 18 guage and some plug/socket ends so we can make it custom.

My small 12" mirrored ball has a battery-powered motor. I think something like that might be easier, assuming you could find one that could handle the weight of the larger mirrored balls you have...

If we have to go with 110 power, maybe we can gang a bunch of lamp-cord extension cords together? After all, I'm sure those motors don't draw much, so we don't need large wire...

But yeah, either way I think rotation is a must.

Adam

[steve-o]

Woah! Sounds awesome Adam. I hope I can make it. I'll try to be signing up soon.

My small 12" mirrored ball has a battery-powered motor.

That sounds exactly like what I've got .

[Bradfo69]

My motors are all 110v. 4 balls are 12" and 1 ball is 20 or 24, (I forget). The motor for the 24 is already mounted in the ceiling of the ballroom and I haven't installed the other four motors for the recently aquired 4 balls so, rather than take down the one motor, I'll just order another. If I recall, there are actually drop lights in the cafeteria which may be able to be utilized for mounting somehow and "maybe" there is a power solution with them. I don't recall them being HID 220v lights. They look like globes we may be able to just remove. I've got wireless remotes we can use to turn the motors on and off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZYtZ_GQY_E