Hey Mike;
Since you've been to SELEM already, maybe you can work with DjHeadie (and maybe Platinum as well) to try to put something together. You've already got a feel for what one of these things is like...
Remember that the biggest hurdle to making one of these events happen is always going to be finding an affordable venue that will allow you to have fog machines, lasers, and loud music late into the evening. Get that nailed down, and the rest is gravy.
But make *sure* you check out the venue thoroughly. Fire alarms are a big deal, and just about any fog or haze machine will set them off. Ask if they have a monitored system. If so, you'll need to contact the monitoring company and be sure they understand that "testing and maintenance" will be taking place on such-and-such day, so please call us to verify all alarms before dispatching the fire department! (I suggest you test the system beforehand, with the venue manager's permission of course. Bring a large fogger and fog the place up really good. Then see what happens.)
Think about power distribution. Are there enough outlets? Will you need to tap into a panel to get more power? And if you're thinking really big, do you want to try to mess with 3 phase power and water cooling so someone can bring a large ion laser or two?
Think about chairs and tables. Are there enough, or do people need to bring their own. And what about a kitchen? Is there someplace to prepare food, or at least a place to set some food out? Will they allow you to eat in the venue? What about smokers? Bathrooms? Parking? Loading dock?
How about Internet access? Can you use the venue's Internet connection, or will you be stuck with a cellular connection. Always nice to be able to broadcast live from an event like this, but it's also good for downloading last-minute drivers to help get everything running.
Remember the need for a sound system. And you'll want a mixer so you can connect multiple machines to the sound system without plugging and unplugging cords all the time. Think about where you want to place the speakers, where the computers and projectors will be, and where the screen or scrim will be. Get the basic layout in your head first, and the setup will be a breeze.
Once you've got those basics down, just pick a date and get the word out to people. Once you do that, things start to happen pretty fast. People start volunteering to bring stuff, and it sort of snowballs from there. Someone needs to be the point man to keep it all together, but it's not as hard as it sounds (at least not until you get to 70 + people in attendance, that is).
Sure hope you guys can make this happen. I'm sure there are plenty of people on the west coast that would make the trip.
Adam
Originally Posted by buffo
Hey Mike;
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buffo
Nice place!
