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Thread: Dealing with the VJ and Light operator….

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phredy1 View Post
    Like I could really figure out what some crap DJ's were going to play next....
    It is your job to know what the DJs will be playing, that's what they are paying you for!



    Quote Originally Posted by Phredy1 View Post
    Leaving an LD in charge of when / what lasers is frustration! And no, I'm not sorry my lasers looked way better than your sharpies and blinding strobes..... What's the ratio of "dude your lasers are amazing" vrs "dude your stage lights are amazing"?
    Don't be so arrogant, if the budget gets cut it will be your lasers that get cut, not the sharpies. Once again, lasers are a special effect, and lose their impact if used excessively.

  2. #22
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
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    The first thing my mentor in Lasers taught me once the "first" gig was set up at a Toronto, Canada rave was counting. Counting to 16*, Counting from 1 to 4 after every time you hit 16. Then "The Wonderful Laserless Darkness Effect"(tm). I Sat there for five hours without a break on the DMX console before he even let me NEAR the laser console. Counting beats is important, Knowing Measures and Codas and Glissando even much more so. Music education is an important, but oft neglected point of the laser art.

    *There are other patterns besides 16, like 3-4 etc.

    And Dnar, One of my favorite bumper stickers is "Drum Machines have got no Soul", so you drummers are appreciated.

    Sound Beat sensors and FFTs are useful, but have no Soul, either. TAP SYNC is a must, Don't Go Home Without It!

    Sincerely,
    Steve the Tone Deaf....
    Last edited by mixedgas; 03-18-2014 at 07:05.
    Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
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    When I still could have...

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by mixedgas View Post
    The first thing my mentor in Lasers taught me once the "first" gig was set up at a Toronto, Canada rave was counting. Counting to 16*, Counting from 1 to 4 after every time you hit 16. Then "The Wonderful Laserless Darkness Effect"(tm). I Sat there for five hours without a break on the DMX console before he even let me NEAR the laser console. Counting beats is important, Knowing Measures and Codas and Glissando even much more so. Music education is an important, but oft neglected point of the laser art.

    *There are other patterns besides 16, like 3-4 etc.

    And Dnar, One of my favorite bumper stickers is "Drum Machines have got no Soul", so you drummers are appreciated.

    Sound Beat sensors and FFTs are useful, but have no Soul, either. TAP SYNC is a must, Don't Go Home Without It!

    Sincerely,
    Steve the Tone Deaf....
    This is true - I have neglected my music education. The weird thing is - as long as I listen to the music, I usually get the changes right without counting - all subconsciously. It's strange how the mind works. I used to work in factories doing electronics and could, more often than not, put my hand in a box of components and take out the exact number I required. Seems the same as with music, although the minute someone speaks to me - it goes horribly wrong!

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Galvonaut View Post
    This is true - I have neglected my music education. The weird thing is - as long as I listen to the music, I usually get the changes right without counting - all subconsciously. It's strange how the mind works. I used to work in factories doing electronics and could, more often than not, put my hand in a box of components and take out the exact number I required. Seems the same as with music, although the minute someone speaks to me - it goes horribly wrong!
    I'm the same way, I don't have to count to know when the drops are, it's second nature.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Displaser View Post
    Folks,

    Please elaborate on what the typical laser use is at a concert now days. Back in the 70's-80's, I always saw lasers as an enhancement to a show, frequently used sparingly. Last time I went to a Pink Floyd cover band concert, the lasers were on for almost the entire show. I thought that it really diluted the impact of the lasers. I would expect that there is considerable laser use at raves? 4 6watt and a 43watt RGB sounds like a huge amount of power for an indoor event - is this becoming more of the norm to counter the amount of lighting now being used?
    HAH! That was probably me. House of Blues in Dec. '13? When I took over doing the lasers from Steve, the band approached me about making the lasers a bigger part of the show. Prior to that, Steve would work out which songs he thought lasers should be included on, and then it was typically just some stabs or effects here and there. On many setlists, there would be several songs in a row with no laser cues at all. For several shows, I resisted the band's wishes and continued Steve's tradition of "less is more". Then, one night in Baton Rouge, I heard several people *shouting* from the audience for more lasers during the set. It was also around this time that I decided to modernize the setup and upgrade from the circa '03 LD2000 to latest/greatest Beyond/APC40. Also, my goal for performing has always been to do it live. So as I was working on the what/how/when of it all, the video/sound cue guy came to me and basically said, "Nobody ever complained of too much lasers." and that's when I decided I'd really let 'er rip and just keep them on as much as I could.

    Did it dilute the impact of the lasers? Perhaps. I gotta say, even long-time veteran fans (think band's friends/family) had a lot of positive things to say about the "new lasers". Did I offer the best show I could've? Probably not, and that's where seat time comes into play. Over time, as I become more familiar with Beyond's particular quirks, I'm sure I'll get better.

    I do hope you enjoyed the show, nonetheless.

    -rick

  6. #26
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    I have no problems going to the beat… I have been doing lasers at electronic music events for over 16 years now, and I know the music well. Gene was helping out on the show by running the second stage of lasers for me. I think that part of Gene's problems with the music is that the 2 main rooms had the speakers FACING each other with nothing but a curtain to stop the sound. This obviously made problems for the DJ's as well as the people running the show at Front of House. The main problem that we were dealing with was EGO's. I understand not over-using lasers at concerts, but this was a "Rave" and people expect more lasers at this type of event, and a totally different beast than a Rock Concert where you only want to use lasers sparingly for 1-2 songs for the whole concert.

    Our lighting guy as it turns out, is well known for Rock Concerts… I guess that explains it….

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