https://photonlexicon.com/forums/sho...911#post362911
I appreciate and find it very interesting what others have experienced, if only to learn of shared common or similar experiences.
In retrospect, as someone in the right place...a 40' Spitz 512 planetarium, at the right time, not near any of the large, Laserium targeted planetariums, being one of several involved with the aural and visual magic of producing astronomy related planetarium shows, using an array of different special lighting effects and pan/tilt/zoom slide projectors, orrery projectors, with the right artistic and technical skills to cope with the planetarium directors request to "figure out how to do laser effects, here's a Metrologic .5mW HeNe". I was lucky and the next 12 years were enthralling, exciting, at times a bit stressful and terrifying, but always rewarding from an artistic performance standpoint.
On creating laser shows, planetarium based or otherwise, picking the soundtrack special effects and musical numbers, planning, experimenting and choosing how they come together, as a sequential aural experience was every much as important as the ebb and flow of the visual laser effects that accompanied the eclectic music. I got to decide these things, many times with suggestions from others, once with a committee of friends, that today would be called "influencers", spent hours with me listening to hoards of albums to derive a final eclectic soundtrack that became my signature show, "Laser Fusion". With nearly every planetarium laser show, regardless of the music used there was one ubiquitous sole who shouted out in the dark "RUSH!" I agree with @TheHermit, a performance soundtrack must have dynamics of all kinds, temporal, amplitude, mood, harmonics and dissonances.
The vibe between me, the person moving knobs, switches and sliders, and my assistant knob/switch twiddler and string puller, to render a visual color experience or spatial mood on the dome or screen and the audiences' real time reaction was as rewarding to me as it was for them. Playing a laser harmonograph to a music soundtrack is no different than drummer jamming with a guitarist and other musicians. At the beginning and for quite a few years, every show was a impromptu, ad-libbed laser jam. After a ton of repetitions every show eventually had well rehearsed guidelines for what followed, but every show was unique like @TheHermit alluded to. I was lucky, I got to choose.
Later, even when being involved with a few rock concerts or tours, Showco/Varilight typically was the sound & lighting company that sub'd out for lasers, I would be asked by whom every hired me to "come up with some visual thing during the bridge" of some number(s) or an intro, or do some kind of beam work on this number. It was left to me to decide what to do for a given time slot. I don't recall a time that I was overruled. That was true most if not all of the time even with corporate show clients. I was lucky.
That's my take, as of today.