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

[laserist]

Dude, you're looking at a television resolution video of laser effects that are vastly higher resolution, and it is 43 years old. Feel free to come up with a body of work that sells 20,000,000 tickets. What is a little embarrassing is an ILDA standard projector can't do Danube because it doesn't have 4 sets of scanners, and most don't conform to the pathetic requirement where "The ILDA Standard Projector shall have at least one rotating lumia of medium angle and generic texture." Generic texture! God knows why they didn't specify a generic laserist too.

I watched the YouTube above...

What a great example of why laser shows aren't popular.

[JohnYayas]

Dude, you're looking at a television resolution video of laser effects that are vastly higher resolution, and it is 43 years old. Feel free to come up with a body of work that sells 20,000,000 tickets. What is a little embarrassing is an ILDA standard projector can't do Danube because it doesn't have 4 sets of scanners, and most don't conform to the pathetic requirement where "The ILDA Standard Projector shall have at least one rotating lumia of medium angle and generic texture." Generic texture! God knows way they didn't specify a generic laserist too.

Laserium may have sold 20 mil tickets but it won't sell 20 mil more even with a brand new audience. You aren't going to impress anyone with slowly rotating circles anymore. No one goes to see silent movies anymore, either.

[laserist]

You can ignore the past and recreate its failures or you can learn from the past and avoid it's failures. One of the most dangerous things you can do in a creative endeavor is pick the wrong analogy. Are old laser shows akin to old movies or old music? Is lumia painting with light or dancing with light?

[absolom7691]

What I find interesting is that laser shows today aren't popular and yet, the Blue Danube laser show hasn't been done in decades. I think that is a pretty good indicator of the real reason laser shows aren't popular. Like all fast food, today's "press play" laser shows are forgettable.

[laserist]

Actually I did Laserium I in 2013. I wanted to find out if audiences would still like the old Laserium shows. Mainly because I don't like what's being done today. The result of the experiment was today's audiences did like Laserium I, but the marketing challenge is much greater today. Funny thing Danube almost always got the loudest applause -not the rowdiest but the the loudest...

[laserist]

OK my last post wasn't totally true. It was mainly because I loved doing Laserium and I took a stupid promotion that took me away from doing shows all those years ago. And now I'm back in the planetarium world, I wanted that feeling back.

[absolom7691]

It's still pretty cool that you were able to get it going, if only for a brief while. I imagine your experience of bringing it to the audience again was worth the hurdles as daunting as they may have been. It's a shame that side of the business has changed.

[laserist]

I discovered that the only thing standing in the way of another Laserium was a good enough show and a good enough marketing model. If I knew then what I know now I would have gone for the win.

[snowmaker55]

Hi everyone, FIRST, I'd like to say its a pleasure meeting all of you and thank you for the varied welcomes! I have to say that I was impressed by the variety of topics that came up in this thread and that there are a number of VERY GOOD points made. Some of those, I have to admit, were eye openers, but also poses excellent challenges to consider and even to work at. Agreed, its a balance of entertainment, story telling, music selection, graphics, beams, multi-media, special effects, venue and location that can make or break a show. The variables are many, but that's not to say that a successful program cannot be created, engineered, programmed, and marketed. Sure odds these days are perhaps against you, BUT as they say, only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
Any further comments on music rights, ASCAP / BMI, syncro rights, etc. are still of interest to hear more about........ thanks everyone...

[Bradfo69]

^ Hits the "like" button.