Laser Over Video-Does it Work?

[planters]

Other than the world handball championships show by Pangolin on P. Showspace, is there some history of good laser/video cooperation for a show? There is such a huge resource of You Tube videos available this is tempting. However, the two light sources are so different...

Here are a couple of examples. Try to produce a winter background for a X-mas show. Even 10 snowflakes strain the scanners and the screen flickers or has to be constructed with severely stylized subjects. A second scanner relieves this somewhat, but a video could create orders of magnitude more detailed background. Or how about laser polygons flying through a 1080P Mandelbrot background etc.

I'm willing to try this , but not if this is known to be naive and ineffective.

[planters]

I am surprised that there has been no response to this post, But, Ill give an update anyway. I have ordered an Acer P7500 projector and updated the projection screen in or viewing room to a FLAT rigid surface smoothed and primed and ready to accept a paint mix described on an AVS forum as, light grey, moderately reflective and with a gain of 1.4 (called Magic mud LL). The image will be VERY large and if this is a blow out, we will at least have a really big TV. I am now waiting for Pangolin to release a driver for this projector.

[chad]

This is not really anything new. Lightspeed Design did this like 15 years ago.
And as for controlling video there are much better things for that than pangolin. like on the high end: http://www.green-hippo.com/
And http://www.modul8.us/ in the affordable end.

I never really liked laser over video. The laser contrast is jarring over the video. But then I am more of an abstract type of guy rather than animation..

chad

[planters]

[QUOTE][I never really liked laser over video. The laser contrast is jarring over the video. But then I am more of an abstract type of guy rather than animation../QUOTE]

Yes. That's my biggest concern. Have you any experience with these control programs? I mention Pangolin only because of the" laser show on to video" and maped to allow non-coherent audience scanning.

[mixedgas]

What really looks good is laser projected over old black and white movies on film.

I did a demo in a theatre. Only theatre in town not owned by a big chain. I did a cold call and approached them.

The projectionist thought lasers did not belong in "His" theatre. He would not shut down the old black and white horror film during the demo. This was just before diode lasers really caught on. A old 60X with a PCAOM and a big HENE had about a 2000:1 contrast ratio OVER the horror movie that was running. MSTK was popular at this time, and the theatre owner loved the idea of Laser comments projected on the film. It looked really great! Like neon over a faded newspaper.

Sadly, he hired another laserist for the gig, a friend of the projectionist. The argument was that guy had more watts and projectors then I did. That laserist brought in a Pink Floyd tribute band. The tribute band brought its Biker fanboys. They trashed the 1920s Beau Arts theatre dancing on the seats, and smoking pot. The cost of the repairs far outweighted the profit from the gig.

Never could even rent the theatre, after that, even for Christmas shows.

Steve

[Picasso]

Pink Floyd tribute band + Biker fanboys? Ok thats a new one for me. Are you sure it wasnt mopeds?

[planters]

I like that approach. Kinda like a sepia photo exhibit I saw at the Calatrava Museum in Milwaukee. Rather than tying and failing to eliminate the contrast between the two sources, this could be a nice counterpoint.

Steve-I'm still trying to understand. So when not ordering femto components you're wandering dark streets promoting Art. Leonardo would be proud.

[dsli_jon]

Hey Sir Eric -

...Lightspeed Design did this like 15 years ago.

Ayyyep. In fact, I seem to remember an 'ILDA-award' for some-piece, that had 'synced knock-outs' in the video, so, the laser-characters looked like they were actually *in* the scenes, not just 'on top' of it.. something, something whale / dolphin / bubbles-something.. Memory is fuzzy on that part, but I remember it was very-cool..

RE: Laser over video, I've grown fond of RP-lasers, thru scrim, with video some-distance in the background.. even a 'simple starfield', with RP-laser projections, in-front, creates a rather-nice feeling of 'depth' / quazi-3D, and is rather enrapturing.. ie:


...can even work in a large-format / corporate setting, with FP video / RP laser, ie:
(..kinda-hard to see the laser in this shot, as the cammy-gamut was blown-out by all the ambient, but, in 'real-life', it worked rather-nicely..

..though, knowing your 'attic-club' setup and 'not-exactly portable' RGB, I suspect that a 'video-behind RP-scrim'-layout would be a non-starter, there.. but, perhaps, if you someday build a smaller RGB-rig, you could manage trying something like that, and still have the 'BigRGB' for your OMG aerials, etc..

Anyhoo, imo, yes, 'lasers and video can play-nice', but getting the 'balance right', is a bit of an art..
Dos centavitos..
j

[planters]

Jon,
Yes, this is what I'm going to aim at.
The newer DLP based projectors are pretty impressive. When set at aprox 50% or less brightness they maintain VERY high contrast. To my eye, this particular projector is every bit as contrasty as my LED monitor.
So, these two sources may not clash as noticeably as they have in the past.
This scrim idea looks nice too.

By the way the "projector" is no more. The blue and green components have been moved to join a 6 diode Mitsu module on a 2'x 2' deck. The complete 6" high projector is pretty portable now. There are now two somewhat smaller, but similar satellites. The yellow is a stand alone waiting for a "hand me down" scanner from one of these projectors if and when P releases their scanner around the time of Photonics West.

The options abound.

[mixedgas]

Movies done with carbon were nicely Sepia, made the argon look great!

Quote:
Steve-I'm still trying to understand. So when not ordering femto components you're wandering dark streets promoting Art. Leonardo would be proud.[/QUOTE]
End Quote

Art and Being on the Road Servicing gear kinda helps pay the bills when being a "Soft Money" scientist doesn't. During the times in between science gigs.

Thank You Jesus for those who taught me laser repair around 1988! Also Thank You Sea World Inc for paying for Ion Laser Service Training on site! Thank you John from Spectra, I hope your enjoying your retirement.

I started with training and ops on 171 Large Frames...

Steve