post your eye melty abstracts here

[flecom]

1st and for foremost - I was speaking to the entire planetarium community.

2nd - The question about focusing on developing your audience certainly applies to your under attended planetarium shows.

3rd - Really?! Planetariums and Giant Screen Theaters are in death spirals and you're proud saying "we sell out pretty much every show we do" which sounds REALLY impressive until one remembers you slashed the schedule down to one evening a month! Many planetariums have also renovated and cut the number of seats in their theaters by a factor of 2. Do you have a reality check scheduled at any point prior to simply closing the museum's doors forever?

we make more money running them once a month than once a week, it's a psychological thing I think, if they are weekly people think "ahhh fuck it I'll go next week" if they are monthly, well, we better not miss it!

if for example we ran them every afternoon we would be lucky to even pay for the employees/power

obviously things are "not what they used to be" but nothing is... been to a movie lately?

and that's why I really despise the "laser Illuminati" because we should all be trying to help each other and raise the laser show (planetarium style) industry as a whole, but no, instead everyone as a group just seems to be thinking "what can we sell Brad"

[laserist]

Rationalization isn't a pretty thing...

we make more money running them once a month than once a week, it's a psychological thing I think, if they are weekly people think "ahhh fuck it I'll go next week" if they are monthly, well, we better not miss it!

if for example we ran them every afternoon we would be lucky to even pay for the employees/power

obviously things are "not what they used to be" but nothing is... been to a movie lately?

and that's why I really despise the "laser Illuminati" because we should all be trying to help each other and raise the laser show (planetarium style) industry as a whole, but no, instead everyone as a group just seems to be thinking "what can we sell Brad"

[flecom]

Rationalization isn't a pretty thing...

jealousy isn't either

anyway, fuck if I care I have a real job, and none of this had to do with anything, I don't personally care about your secrets, I just care about the preservation of knowledge for the greater good

[laserist]

I'm jealous of you??? If you really want to know what's killing planetarium laser shows - look in a mirror.

jealousy isn't either

anyway, fuck if I care I have a real job, and none of this had to do with anything, I don't personally care about your secrets, I just care about the preservation of knowledge for the greater good

[flecom]

I'm jealous of you??? If you really want to know what's killing planetarium laser shows - look in a mirror.

LOL

ok buddy

I am killing planetarium shows, you got me!

you hear that eveybody, IT WAS ME!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!

(although I do appreciate you thinking so highly of me that I would have the ability kill an entire industry!)

[absolom7691]

Conventional Wisdom

The audience for laser light shows in planetariums has moved on. Movies, television, and computer games have raised the bar beyond the reach of laser light shows. Today's young adults just don't have the attention span for planetarium shows. People today have so many demands on their time that the planetarium just can't rise above the background noise. In other words, "It's not my fault the theater is empty."

I really don't agree with a lot of your views but I am completely in agreement on this point. I don't buy this rationale for one second. The reason is because no show I have seen today looks anything like the old school planetarium shows, Laserium or other. I also agree that we have let computers do too much of the heavy lifting. Graphic shows are a waste of time. Graphics have a place but you can't get lost in a vector cartoon. It's the mind-blowing undulations of abstracts, the nebulous clouds of lumia scatter and the music/light fusion that is what it's all about. Yes, the industry has lost its way as it pertains to planetarium shows. Arial beams and club/rave shows fit where they're at. Graphics are fine for trade shows. None of those techniques belong in a dome. It's not that people have become desensitized, it's that they aren't even being given a mind blowing show. Good looking women are still great to look at and the media bombards us with them. Why shouldn't it hold true for a *great* laser show?

Why do you really think the industry has lost its way? Is it because of the emergence of point and click shows? Mediocre (as in no artistic talent) having access to "good" equipment? Couldn't it also be that the real artists admidst the sea of mediocrity are not being passed on the information and tutelage of the "pros"? I'm not implying that it is, but couldn't it be? Certainly there are many other facets to the problem but withholding information or ONLY doling it out to those who are deemed worthy is also destructive. Yes, it would be nice if someone worthy took the knowledge forward but to be selective is, for a lack of a better word, stupid.

I am also disappointed to hear that you have faced an uphill battle in your recent attempts to revive the planetarium scene. I can understand your reluctance.

***Back to the interest of this thread: One of the many major differences that I see between Laserium shows and modern shows are borders. One of the things I am trying to do with my shows is to remove borders. I don't like a "virtual screen" and I try to make sure that none of my abstracts touch the edge of the drawing area. It's one of the things that made Laserium cool. The fact that the entire dome seemed to swallow you. It didn't look like it was just a big screen.

[Bradfo69]

LOL

ok buddy

I am killing planetarium shows, you got me!

you hear that eveybody, IT WAS ME!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!

(although I do appreciate you thinking so highly of me that I would have the ability kill an entire industry!)

(I didn't want to get into this but...)

Yeah... that made no sense to me either. You're doing sold out monthly shows for several years now and.... on the flip side... he's had a failed attempt at Laserium in a smaller Midwestern city and (as written) didn't bother to be involved in marketing it, and assumed it would be done for him.

If I'm investing that kind of time and money into a project of that nature - and I'm the one with experience - I think I'd share how it needs to be marketed with the people I've entrusted my business with. And be checking up on them.

Oh, wait... there's that sharing thing again.


Seems to me people around St Louis presently could now have the lingering perspective of, "Huh.. Laserium... Well, I guess that didn't last long."

And yet people in Miami? "Dude... what are you doing next Friday? You gotta come check out this Floyd show."

Who exactly, has done more to "kill" it again??

[planters]

Planetarium shows and Laserium have been around for a long time. For a moment, I'd like to put aside the arguments about old school technology/techniques and new technology. The progression of other entertainment such as immersive computer games, low cost and nearly ubiquitous club lasers and over the top concert venues with huge lasers and LED screens etc, has reduced the novelty of the planetarium show. So, over the years, a decrease in the attendance at these shows should be expected even if no one is doing anything wrong and even if the promoters are being reasonably innovative. If they are profitable or they draw an audience that then spends time at the museum and that requires the management to optimize the scheduling and content, that's good management. You might consider adding a segment where a staff worker is eaten alive by a reptile. That should be appealing and keep you in step with modern entertainment standards.

There may be more going on here than I understand, but the vitriol seems misplaced. If flecom is asking for some support and the request is inappropriate then PM him and reach an understanding. Personally, I find it very gratifying when I am asked to help. It is an honer and a complement and when its too much or I can't or I'm restricted, I just say that and that's cool.

[Stuka]

WTF ~
Anybody rememeber when this used to be a REALLY cool thread to showcase some really awesome laser abstracts and the ways to produce them?

Wait, here it is, way back on page 19...
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...608#post304608

+1 on planters' comments to keep it current.
Otherwise -
Way to derail folks...

[SaltyRobot]

WTF ~
Anybody rememeber when this used to be a REALLY cool thread to showcase some really awesome laser abstracts and the ways to produce them?

Wait, here it is, way back on page 19...
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...608#post304608

Totally agree. This probably should have been moved to another thread a couple pages ago.