Laserium

[laserist]

is new laserium content being actively developed?

Well there's content and then there's content. Jon's done some wonderful stuff and I've done a couple of things, but keep in mind the original Laserium was basically "in production" for 3 years before it saw 1st light at Griffith in '73 and evolved further over the next year or two. Laserium II needed an upgrade to the Mark 6 console & projector and didn't premier in L.A. until 3 years after Laserium's 1st light. Even after the introduction of the Mark 6 (basically the console I recently used in St. Louis) each major show involved upgrades to the console and projector and at least two man years of show design and choreography. I'm a bit systematic and before I'll be involved in show production on that level I'm going to want to design and build the new console and projector(s) that we're going to use going both forward and backward. The total fragmentation of the music scene over the last couple of decades has lead to one common thread that everyone can agree on - As William Joel put it, "It's still Rock & Roll to me." And we've got that truly covered...

[absolom7691]

Isn't "new content" kind of a misnomer since the majority of the show is performed live? I understand the artwork and a few of the graphics that are thrown in but how much is done in the "studio" vs. what is done on the fly? Aside from new music being used, what more "new" needs to be added? Perhaps I am failing to grasp the scope of things here but I thought that is what made Laserium great... the uniqueness of each show because it was live.

[laserist]

Can I get up and jam? Sure!
Did some Laserists just jam in the days gone by? Yes.
Did they last long? No.
Does doing a show live imply unrehearsed or unplanned? No!
Does having a framework constrain creativity or enhance it? It depends.
What does it depend on? "…that is what made Laserium great..."

Isn't "new content" kind of a misnomer since the majority of the show is performed live? I understand the artwork and a few of the graphics that are thrown in but how much is done in the "studio" vs. what is done on the fly? Aside from new music being used, what more "new" needs to be added? Perhaps I am failing to grasp the scope of things here but I thought that is what made Laserium great... the uniqueness of each show because it was live.

[dsli_jon]

..You've answered your own question.. ..here, lemme help ya:

....the majority of the show is performed live..

..And, the fact that in reading the word "content", your (and most everybody's, these days.. ) minds first turned to "graphics" & animations, only more perfectly makes Brian's point.. (..and I isolate this for emphasis:

.."Art" with Lasers is SO MUCH MORE than some sequences pooped out of some 3D program and milled thru Pango-something-something!! Sure - those 'elements' can make for cool-moments in a show... but, just like a "Philharmonic Orchestra" - full of only different guitars - is not 'quite the same' as a real, full Orchestra, well.. You get the point.. V A R I E T Y! (..yes, including 'Black'.. Choreography.. Pacing.. Ebb / Flow.. Synesthesia.. these are all part of 'the Art' - far-more than just those 'indie-elements'..

..Just like a 'symphony' is crafted before any performance, in the Laser Studio, you start with your 'instruments': Your Laser / Pj(s); Then, you create your 'movements' - Scans: sprials, rasters, dots, for petes' sake; Optical-FX: lumia (which is practically an entire 'universe' in itself..) diffractions, optically-distortive elements (dimple-tube, et al), fiber-fx, scan-thru fx, And, sure, (perhaps) some Beam / Aerial-systems: Cones, tunnels, mirror-matrixes, etc, etc - all crafted to work 'in Concert' - *that* is your "content".. (which, you also have (much more of..) access-to, at your fingertips, for the.. Performance..)

..THEN, you take your 'orchestra' (instruments + content) out.. and, you Perform live. ..And, when people start seeing stuff they've never seen before (or, is so-uncommon, these days, it seems that way..) that's when.. Minds: Blown...

..anyhoo, get yer bootie up to Oakland, sometime.. Danny (the Laserist, there..) will be glad to 'skool ya'.. Too-bad Sir Brian is 'on-hiatus'.. we'll see if I can 'fix' that..

cheers..
j

[absolom7691]

..anyhoo, get yer bootie up to Oakland, sometime.. Danny (the Laserist, there..) will be glad to 'skool ya'.. Too-bad Sir Brian is 'on-hiatus'.. we'll see if I can 'fix' that..

On my to-do list, I assure you! I'll just tell him "Jon sent me" and maybe he'll show me a few things.

Thanks for the clarification, guys. I think a lot of us have been so far removed from the "live" shows of the 70's, 80's and even part of the 90's, it is easy to forget how laser shows used to be done. Cheers to the project and good luck!

[laserist]

Hey Jon, I especially liked "just like a "Philharmonic Orchestra" - full of only different guitars" - I guess my response was a bit too Zen. Thanks for stepping in...

[djeric68]

Jon,

Here you go....

Quint Davis is the man behind the festival. http://www.fpi-no.com/whoweare.html He is very hands on with the fest, does lots of tv interviews, and also introduces the major acts on the main stage. I have never met him (but I have gone out drinking with his daughter and some friends in the past) but he seems to be a personable guy.


Festival Productions, Inc - New Orleans
336 Camp Street
Suite 250
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504-410-4100
Fax: 504-410-4122

the list of events he has produced is quite impressive.... http://www.fpi-no.com/festivalsandevents.html

[Bradfo69]

(but I have gone out drinking with his daughter....)

Now THAT's a testimonial.

[djeric68]

Now THAT's a testimonial.

And I forgot to mention I stayed at a holiday inn, too.

[dsli_jon]

Thx, Sir E.. I'll contact him on Mon.. Right now, I'm posting from the Wif's iPad-thinggy, cuz the fluo-tube in my Mac-screen just up and died last nite, while I watched it.. +_+ Actually, tube is ok, since I re-soldered both ends good, and tickled it w/ a neon-tester (it lit..) but.. Tbd if the Driver ate a taco..we'll see.. Gory-job, replacing a fluo-tube in a 15" LCD screen, I tell-ya!..

cheers..
j