What is good lasershow music?

[dchammonds]

Hi you all!

Don't know if there's a thread like this (if so let me know I will delete this).

But I was interested in what do you find good lasershow music?

That's a loaded question! I think the answer is pretty obvious- here's a couple classics just for starters.

http://www.vh1.com/video/rupaul/1005...ter-work.jhtml

Oh, and let's not miss the unforgettable combination of Diana Ross and Ru Paul performing I Will Survive before a sea of drag queens...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BSBe42Fb48

[dzodzo]

music from movies or games is always a good choice as viewers can associate the music with something they have experienced and have memories of

for the creator it's best to have the "source" be it midi file or module so you can examine the notes and adjust the effects, i experimented with this and assigned an effect for each instrument that popped up as significant, however the choice of patterns for effects are important as well, this is not as impressive when viewed as beamshow because of some inappropriate use of effects (sorry no beamshow video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwBm5jcFXg

[Bradfo69]

Here is a classic example of the sort of set up my mind "see's" a lot of the time when listening to muisc. And this is the sort of set up I frequently use when "playing". I also do something similar with a large marketing event I host for brides a couple times a year - not Star Wars of course but something like Party Rock. This to me, is the perfect laser show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34DbUb-5Hko

I have enough projectors to do this - they're just not as well matched. (Yet...)

[Bradfo69]

oops... double posted kinda - deleted.

[Steve Milani]

This is a part (14 GB) of my personal collection of soundtrack albums...
Maybe it could be helpful

[dkumpula]

i'm thinking about this for my next show:

http://music.sjtucker.com/track/we-a...erald-city-mix

it might be fun for all of us to make shows to the same piece of music and see what we all come up with.

Good tune! I can visualize the light and video for this piece. If we want to make this the song that several of us try to cover, I am game . . . Deadline? SELEM perhaps?

David

[swamidog]

awesome!

i think that will be really fun. maybe we can all inspire each other a bit.

Good tune! I can visualize the light and video for this piece. If we want to make this the song that several of us try to cover, I am game . . . Deadline? SELEM perhaps?

David

[Bradfo69]

Interesting tune. Maybe I'll try and commit to giving this a whirl as well. Here is a thought.... Swami, I know you'll probably use LSX, David I think will use Pango and maybe I'll try something in Moncha or Fiesta since I know they are a little easier for a new person to grasp.

Humm... maybe post this in the meet and greet thread as a SELEM project and let others jump in too?

[swamidog]

yes, by all means!

all software/show styles welcome. not a competition, just a "let's see how different laserists interpret the same piece of music"..

Interesting tune. Maybe I'll try and commit to giving this a whirl as well. Here is a thought.... Swami, I know you'll probably use LSX, David I think will use Pango and maybe I'll try something in Moncha or Fiesta since I know they are a little easier for a new person to grasp.

Humm... maybe post this in the meet and greet thread as a SELEM project and let others jump in too?

[buffo]

Well, I guess I'm going to be the odd-man out here.

I *do* recommend that you select a song that is popular, even if it happens to be playing on your local top-40 radio station right now. Sure, it might sound dated in a few years, but that's the chance you take.

Hell, "Gangnam Style" by Psy is already old news, yet when they played it at the beach party on the island of Utila during Caribb-LEM, I have to say that it was still great to experience that song with live lasers. And the crowd loved it too.

Bottom line: If you want lots of people to see your show, start with a popular song!

I have a few rules when selecting a song for a show:

1) Most importantly - It has to be a song I really like to listen to. Because I'm going to be previewing it - a LOT - I don't want to get sick of listening to it halfway through the creation progress. If I do get sick of it, the end of the show will suck. Also, I need to pick a song that I'm already very familiar with, so that I already have a good idea as to where to insert cues into the show for best effect.

2) It has to be a song that is already insanely popular, or else the song needs some unique "hook" or element that sets it apart from all the other music out there. (Examples of unique music I've used include "Rising", by the Yoshida Brothers, and "Above", by the Blue Man Group.) Remember: a great song can save an otherwise average laser show, but even the best lasers in the world will look lame if you're playing "Happy Birthday" on the speakers...

3) The song needs a driving beat, a strong baseline, or other solid percussive events (think of the cannons in the 1812 overture) to punctuate the action. This makes it easier to use the lasers to accentuate the natural high points in the song. It's very difficult to do a good laser show to a pure melody. Yes, it can be done, but it's much more difficult, and in my opinion shows like that are best left to experienced professionals.

4) Try to avoid songs that are overly repetitive. Some dance music numbers fall into this category. If you can't figure out where the bridge verse is in the song, it's probably not a good choice for a laser show. The reason is that if the music is repetitive, it's hard to avoid making the show look repetitive, and repetitive = boring.

Rules 1, 2, and 4 apply to all shows, but rule # 3 is mostly applicable to beam shows. If you are doing a graphics show, then you can relax rule # 3 a bit, especially if you plan to tell a story with the show. The idea here is that the lyrics control the flow of the show (along with the visuals) more than the beat does.

Of course, telling a story in a graphics show usually requires a lot of hand-animation work, which takes a lot of time to get right... But if you're willing to do that, then you can select a more mellow song so long as it still fits within the narrative of your story. (I have an awesome concept on paper for a graphics show set to Jan Hammer's "Windows", which is very mellow, but I don't have the time or the skill to animate all the artwork I'd need...)

Adam