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Thread: Selem 2008 Contest

  1. #1
    mixedgas's Avatar
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    Default Selem 2008 Contest

    Laser Wizardry (Karl) and Laser Wizardry East (me)
    are sponsering a contest at this years SELEM.
    Winner gets 3 new MM1s 3 new L brackets for MM1s and new3 MM1 angle mounts , plus one of Karls Optiklenze(tm) optics cleaning kits. Buffo knows about this already. The prizes already shipped to Buffo.
    More prizes may be added.

    A beam capable projector with some rather excellent real time software from a big west coast laser company will be attached to a standard PC keyboard. I will NOT disclose the software type, but suffice it to say it is bug free and most excellent. Beam effcts will be assigned to the function keys in banks using shift, control, and alt to switch banks. Mouse driven icon mode is available if you wish to go that way A rather upbeat song that will be musically challenging but not THAT hard will be played, the same song for each contestant. Each contestant will have to do the whole song, or may surrender at any time. The contestant and projector will be up in the balcony, alone except for a safety person. Your peers will be looking up at your work, litterally. NO audience scanning though :-) From my point of view one song is easy, try doing it for a 12 hour long rave to say, goa, hiphop, or trance.


    You may not change settings in the software, although mouse activated x,y, and z rotates and a cancel button will be enabled.You get to fire two optional bursts
    of smog from a small 19$ antari fogger , if we get the alarms off.

    You thus have to do a beam show in real time using gear you've never seen and you'll have never seen the frame bank either! When I went to classes on doing laser shows in Canada, this was a common test. Contestant order will be randomly choosen from a hat. Judging will be by non contestants, maybe even the auditorium staff. (and if its like last year, a firefighter with a thermographic camera). Buffo and I have have the final say. We will preview you 10 of the 40 or so effects and you can take notes on the key assignments for those effects. Things may be color, things may be yag, thats a matter of logistics, you dont know till you get there.

    If I'm not there because of my medical condition, Buffo may elect to put the prizes in the regular drawing or run the competition. Contestants may NOT discuss the software or song until every one has competed. If buffo wishes to compete, he may nominate a "second" dualing style to act as moderator.
    after all the guy does a heck of a lot of work to put this meeting on, it is unfair to single him out. I've had a jury of professional peers say I did well at this,more then once, so I'm out of it as its my gig.


    First prize, the above mentioned MM1s and a optics cleaning kit and a cheezy trophy.. Since its low level hazmat, if you flew in you may elect to receive it FOB Phoenix AZ. For overseas attendees we may have work something out, as pure acetone is illegal in any amount on airliners

    Second prize One bag of pure pinto beans and a cheesy trophy, and a copy of the frame set on CD.

    Third prize, A box of Krafts macaroni and cheese and a cheesy trophy and a copy of the frame set on CD.

    If you surrender, a super soaker may just be along for fun !(naw, just kidding!)

    This is really a fun contest and a good teaching exercise. My mentor in the laser business used to do this with his students and guests, its a riot!

    PS, please note that while a understanding of how to play music is helpful, it does NOT guarentee a win at this. You would be surprised at whom may do well and whom will fail.
    Some people really sweat it, others just set there and laugh. Either way, you learn something and have fun.

    Hint for noobies at keying a real time show,for techno or dance, learn to count to 16 and you might want to google what "coda"s and "refrains" are in terms of music. We may even play the song once to make it easier on the first guy or gal.

    The main goal is to learn how to become more then a "projectionist"

    Comments and suggestions welcome, but remember the goal is to learn and have fun. Void where illegal, many will enter, few will win, all will have fun.


    Steve Roberts
    Last edited by mixedgas; 05-03-2008 at 12:33.

  2. #2
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    Cool

    I think this will be a fun contest. And while I might have a go at the console just for grins and giggles, I'll remove myself from the competition for the prizes. (More fun to be a judge anyway!)

    Might be a good idea to not let the competitors see each others' shows though... (That would give a huge advantage to the guy that went last!)

    So whatdya think, guys? Who's up for the challenge?

    Adam

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    Default

    Depends on how much liquid bravery I had the night before !
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

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    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    Depends on how much liquid bravery I had the night before !
    Randy;

    Well, if last year is any guide, I think we'll all have had our fill of "liquid bravery" by the time the pre-SELEM dinner party breaks up late Friday evening. (Damn - when was the last time you saw a bar tab for 9 people that ran 4 figures!?!)

    Of course, by Saturday morning many of us could be nursing a hangover...

    Avoid hangovers! Stay drunk!

    Adam

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    Default

    I usually get drunk on Halloween and stay that way 'til Easter.
    No hangovers during the holiday season!
    I guess I'll have to change my date(s) to take SELEM into account...

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    Default

    Please get some of it on video for us Europeans, sounds like a great idea..

    Mark

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    Default

    awesome, I am in. Sounds like what I do already, buffo could have competed in this as well had he not been a judge . I am glad to see this contest, now people will know how a live show is done right. There is no preprogramed show that you hit play and walk away to. Just 40 frames to choose from and alot of hot keys. Everyone there who hasnt done this before should try it, even if they are judging (just wont be able to win)

    a couple questions though, whos projector and what are the powers. is it a projector with a beam table and if so are there gonna be some beam triggers in it.

  8. #8
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
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    Default

    a couple questions though, whos projector and what are the powers. is it a projector with a beam table and if so are there gonna be some beam triggers in it.[/QUOTE]


    So nobody could practice, I'm using something similar to x29/fullauto keyboard layout,but not a NML?OSLS product. I DO NOT have actuator support in this software. It may appear by then :-) I wanted something simpler then LIVE! console for obvious reasons, but a little more forgiving then Showtimes built in LIVE! on the quadmod 32. LASER is TBD depending on what my doctor says. If I'm not in the hospital, I was gonna show up with 1 watt RGY for the contest. My goal is simulate real life, you walk into a club or a show after you get a call that club just remodeled, the normal showop has just got back from mexico and drank the water, and thus cant make it in for the reopening, and you've just got off the plane. thus some mystery is in order. The software does support analog rgb. So right now its RGY and a hazer. If there was real complaining on this I'd go my projector and the simple older Pangolin Live! programed with 34 hotkeys and 6 beam positions. I'd like color vs power. I have a new dichro coming that claims only 2% loss on red, less then 2% loss on green and a exact 45' angle. So there would be decent power in this. The software does have a setting that converts color frames to all green if needed.

    OK, if it all fits in the honda, the beamtable is in, and I'll bring the button box. I was gonna bring "Merlin", which is a 1 foot cube with 300 mW of yag and 450 of maxy's

    One of the nice things about this event, that I was gonna spring on everybody who competes, is you will walk away with a copy of the complied program and the source code when done with the contest.

    I'm gonna shut up now about the code before I give away too much.

    Steve
    Last edited by mixedgas; 05-06-2008 at 14:57.

  9. #9
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
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    Default re selem contest

    OH,...... I just got a mean idea, bring the DMX software for the beam table on the cheap laptop, now we'd have two pieces of code in front of you with hotkeys,....,.

    OK, NAW, too hard on a noobie.

    we need a evil grin Icon to replace the green and black arrow!


    how do you copy icons into a post?

    Steve

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mixedgas View Post
    how do you copy icons into a post?
    use the IMG code
    [*IMG]http://www.whatever.com/pictures/pic.jpg[*/IMG]

    without the star

    oh yeh, and stay with the current software, i am already used to the alt, shift, clrt hotkeys

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