Quote Originally Posted by TheHermit View Post
Wireframe graphics can't compete with Disney/Lucas HR computer graphics and VR. The effort doesn't justify the visual impact, IMO. I watched lasershow audiences change from "Oooh! Look at that! I've never seen anything like that before. How do they do make it move to the music?" to "Meh, wireframe vector graphic. Let's go watch a 3D movie."
I agree that it's difficult for laser graphics shows to compete with film, to say nothing of Virtual Reality. These days you need to pick your audience. Some people still "get" lasers, and those are the ones we need to cater to, at least for any sort of show were the main focus is an image that is displayed on a screen.

In contrast, I find that beam show audiences are often quite different. I think the demand for beams and aerial effects will always be with us, even as the demand for graphs shows seems to wane. But for the die-hard fans of laser graphics, there are still cool things that can be done to "wow" the crowd.

That being said, there's a huge difference between the brilliantly animated stories that are found in some of the classic AVI shows of the past, compared to some of the stuff I've found on the Pangolin Show Portal where the laserist simply grabbed stock cues from the default frame library and pasted them together. (Guitar solo coming up? Time for the spinning guitar animation! You know the frames I'm talking about...)

And before people call me a hypocrite, I admit that I'm guilty of making shows like that myself. Custom animation is *hard*, and I'll be the first to admit that I can't draw with a damn, so sometimes the default frame library is all you have. But if you want to stand apart from the crowd, custom frames and smooth animation is an effective way to do it.

Fortunately, the renewed interest in abstracts has opened up another avenue for artists to create unique and compelling images, and this method doesn't require any drawing or animation ability. True, the ability to create good abstracts (especially on a console) has a learning curve of it's own, but it's different from learning how to draw. (At least in my experience.)

Re: The Laser Business -
I don't candy coat it as being a glamourous lifestyle nor an easy path to fame and fortune.
I completely agree. There's a lot of hard work involved, and traveling long distances to do a show is never fun. If someone loves lasers and wants to get into the business so they love their job, that's fine, but I always warn them that after a while it's quite likely that the unsavory parts of the job will begin to outweigh the cool parts. And that's not even addressing the fact that it's difficult to make good money doing lasers. The Laser Effects Handbook had the perfect take on the subject. Chapter 2: "Can You Make Money Doing Laser Shows?" NO. (end of chapter)

That's why I'm glad that I always kept things on a part-time basis. I never felt that I *needed* to take a gig, and as time wore on I found myself doing fewer shows per year. If I thought a gig was going to be more trouble that it was worth, I'd simply pass on the event and suggest a few other laserists to the client instead. But that also meant that the shows that I did take on were very memorable.

I've already reached out to key resources within the community (including the generous late Ed Keefe) and they have been very helpful.
Ed was a real treasure. His passing was a tragedy for everyone.

are we not already forging mutual bonds, w/o SELEM, my newfound laser friend?
Indeed we are! I stand corrected.

Adam