B.l.e.m. 1.1

[allthatwhichis]

Oh, well, the O.P. just was suggesting more time in the seats and less *tweeking* time...

I knew that's what ya meant and it is a very good idea. We'll put this idea in the "organizer's" hat and let him take care of it for next time.

[steve-o]

Actually what I meant to say was seat-time=party-time

[steve-o]

You dont have the 'edit' button when you start a thread
Oh well, Who is going to wear this hat?
-edit- I see an edit button now, but not on the above post...hmmm...
-edit2- Oh.. I bet it's because of my semi-illegal usb modem I hooked up at work 'cause they yanked our i'net..

[buffo]

For what it's worth, we'd already talked about some changes to the layout for SELEM 2008. One of the changes we're considering is to set up an area in the dressing room so people can work on projectors and stuff with good lighting while laser shows are playing in the auditorium. Yeah, it will tend to separate people somewhat, but at least we can have the lights down in the auditorium most of the time so the lasers look great while still making it easy for people to work on their stuff.

However, I think it's important to have both the laser "Party" aspect as well as the technical support part. There were a lot of people (myself included) that learned new things while the lights were up. In fact, Steve-O, you have to admit that you never would have gotten a chance to share the construction details for your home-made argon laser power supply *OR* your arc lamp if we had left the lights off the whole time. Then too, laser shows are about graphics as much as beamshows, so there will always be some of each going on.

The other thing to remember is that when the lasers are on, people need to make a point to be out there looking at them. At SELEM we had a couple folks that wandered out into the lobby and missed several shows as a result. I can't blame them for wanting to stretch their legs, but if you hear music playing, chances are good the lasers are on too. That's a sure sign that it's time to head back up to the stage.

Finally, remember that most of the lasers were aimed up on stage. So the best place to watch the show(s) was up on stage, not down in the audience. A few members stayed in the seats in the audience area for most of the time, and they were disappointed by how few beams were headed their way. We might try to change that for the next one; it might be interesting to see if we can fill the auditorium area with light. But we'll also be fighting the very large air handler for that seating area to try and keep fog in the air. Then too, it's a much larger volume to try and fill with beams. I don't know if we'd have enough optical power to pull it off or not.

Still, it's good to have input. This was the first time we've tried to hold anything like this in an auditorium. Next time will undoubtedly be better.

Adam

[steve-o]

Can we have a cigar smoking auditorum next time? It would add to the beam-shows..
<I hear ya Adam> -Good points.
-edit- Oh and maybe we could turn the air-handler off <cough> hack-wheeze...for the laser effects of course..it might be worth it .. if it werent for the emphazema factor -hehe- aw haill-- time to go to bed-- Whats everybody else here got- 2nd shift jobs? I might have to go back...

[allthatwhichis]

I like the idea of pointing a few projectors the other way, but didn't we have an airhandler problem? It got a little warm there for a few.

[steve-o]

I guess what we need is just an all-time concert- I bet we could hire Van Halen for a couple grand

[buffo]

I guess what we need is just an all-time concert- I bet we could hire Van Halen for a couple grand

Couple hundred grand, maybe. Maybe... Sure would be cool to have them there though!

I agree that cutting off the air handler probably won't work. It gets hot in there mighty quick! And there's no way they'll let us smoke in there. They just spent thousands getting the curtains cleaned last summer!

Adam

[MechEng3]

I am game for a mid-winter gathering. I would like to see more activity in the show creation dept. Wish I could attend a siminar on the LD2000/Showtime class. I am getting more into the show portion now as well as enjoying a good beamshow.....thanks to the big P.

[allthatwhichis]

Ok- Selem was ok, sorta seemed like a how-to galvo-tuning cable-splicing seminar. It was ok but from a seaters standpoint, not all that impressive. The sound system was though, and the music was great

What I'm proposing a BLEM..uhhhh..that sounds about as good as FLEM..but..
BLEM is Beam Laser Exravaganza Meet -where you set up your lasers and sound.. do testing.. then kick back and drink beer and listen to music while 20 lasers are doing the thick air, the music is loud and clear, the beams out of the lasers are brilliantly beautiful and when you look on the back wall you can see flying pigs and astronauts..all synced to the music.
Just a huge laserists party for hours.. What'chall think?

2 WEEKS!!!