New format for laser shows - time to upgrade the show production

[Greg]

We still remember
We who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees
The starlight on the western seas

How many planetarium shows are happening these days? How many projectors are used for trade shows with logos, etc, or with large concert tours?

The ILDA file format and projector standard are antiquated but they still meet the needs of most.

I get your frustration, but if people don't want to see that planetarium type stuff anymore then what is the point in having technology to support it? If there was a demand, it would exist.

[james]

The motivation to make art or explore technology isn't always about making money or appealing to the masses. When it's very personal and a way to connect to individuals, it is perhaps far more valuable and rewarding.

[dchammonds]

Design by committee is a well known horrible approach.

Just look at the ilda file format!

It sucks.

This is due to the fact that it was poorly designed in the first place and managed by a small group of egomaniacs who would rather have their name on it than for it to be correctly implemented.

For better or worse, the ILDA format beats the option of being saddled with some black box proprietary horsepoopy that locks you into a specific product line.

As for correct implementation of a free and open standard, that lies on the head of the implementor.

[james]

The ilda file format specification is poorly designed, plain and simple. Storing the number of elements in each section header without any indication of the size of each element type is just wrong. Then to extend this blunder by adding two new sections that have no relationship to the original section types is doubting down on dumb.

Does it work? Sure it does. But it's not robust and will not survive any major shift in the laser vector art paradigm.

You want an open standard file format? Try plain ascii text! You can read and write that in Notepad.

[dchammonds]

Does it work? Sure it does.

As they say in football, a win is a win.

You want an open standard file format? Try plain ascii text! You can read and write that in Notepad.

I think I'd rather scrub the latrine with a toothbrush instead.

[swamidog]

Says the man who advocates for wave files and 1980’s style color palette cycling.

The ilda file format specification is poorly designed, plain and simple. Storing the number of elements in each section header without any indication of the size of each element type is just wrong. Then to extend this blunder by adding two new sections that have no relationship to the original section types is doubting down on dumb.

Does it work? Sure it does. But it's not robust and will not survive any major shift in the laser vector art paradigm.

You want an open standard file format? Try plain ascii text! You can read and write that in Notepad.

[james]

Well get your favorite toothbrush and take a look at the dxf, obj and glTF file formats. These are all vector art formats. The glTF format is the open standard for exchanging the most detailed information between applications for 3D virtual reality rendering for gaming and computer generated animations.

All of these are plain ascii text.

Says the man who has written several substantial file formats and script languages.

The question is, why don't you advocate for wave files? What's wrong with pallet cycling? It's good for all kinds of neat effects. But, to do it, your software must be able to properly manage palettes.


.

[dchammonds]

The question is, why don't you advocate for wave files?

I did long ago, but no one got onboard...

[james]

I did long ago, but no one got onboard...

You just didn't stick with it long enough. It's actually quite popular with a lot of visual artists who are not interested in using a commercial product to make laser signals.

[masterpj]

Well get your favorite toothbrush and take a look at the dxf, obj and glTF file formats. These are all vector art formats. The glTF format is the open standard for exchanging the most detailed information between applications for 3D virtual reality rendering for gaming and computer generated animations.

All of these are plain ascii text.

Says the man who has written several substantial file formats and script languages.

The question is, why don't you advocate for wave files? What's wrong with pallet cycling? It's good for all kinds of neat effects. But, to do it, your software must be able to properly manage palettes.


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Wave files and pallet cycling... hell no.. we aren't in the 1990's anymore
Regarding the digital hatred: Digital is robust with standards that allow clear collaborative effort. Open formats and file exchange is important but sadly not a common future for most "industrial" industries these days.. at least not on the leading edge.

The art form has grown.. if you are willing you look for it you can see.. yes there are lazy people out there but that same can be said for the music industry... pulling a blind eye to the boundairy and leading edge of the art form right now would be ignorance.
While some parts of the industry have gotten easier and stagnated.. others are still in heavy development with insane requirements of tools and skills that most probably don't even realize... motion capture.. intensive scripting.. coding.. 3D modeling..3D animation.. 2D animation.. frame by frame work.. vector flash animation.. its an insane list now rather then just spinning a 2D image and calling it a day.

What has also changed and to keep in mind is accessibility.. and opened an extreme low and end mid low end which is what you see spammed on social media which is the "trash" you talk about.. but then again these are different budgets for different people... I wouldn't judge them up against other works.

Standarization was some of the best things that happened.. while im not a fan of ILDA as a board itself.. i do think this was one of the most important things to come from it.