Photographing Laser shows

[Pianoman]

Hi everyone. I am setting up the Lexel color pro this weekend for a video shoot and some photography. My plan is to get enough good pics and videos to create a "promo" dvd for my buisness. That way people that want laser light at their event, but know little about it, can get an idea of what it looks like. In other words, I need REALLY good footage that will really show it off. I'm setting up inside a gymnasium, I'm going to terminate on one of the walls, or the stage area. I lined up a rental deal with the same science theatre I bought the laser from, to rent their fog machine. I don't remember the brand, but I remember it's one of the nicer professional models, really big. It should really be able to fog things up nicely. So! To the question. I need guidance, I have never photographed or made video of a laser. My first time has to be the charm, as I cant get a fog machine and hook up the system every weekend. How can I get the best pics? Also, I can't just shoot beams wherever I want for beam shots, because I don't have any software yet, just the shows that came with it. I was thinking I could get some highlights from each genre (rock, country, christmas, halloween, classics).
I also need to know if footage should be shot with the house lights off or if I should just dim the house lights? When I shoot in total darkness (except for laser of course) there is not much of a depth/ size perception. So, please I need ideas. I really need to get some good footage, hopefully this will really help get things going!

Camera is a SAMSUNG HD cam.

Regards,
Jonathan

[Doc]

I'd go with a hazer if they'll allow it in the gym. Too much fog will spoil your shots.

I'm not familliar with that camera, but normal photography rules will apply i.e. small apperture = big depth of field and vice versa.

[Mr.Coffee]

I'm going to say the darker the better. Also, i'd check out some of the shows on youtube to get an idea of what you want to do regarding placement and the like.

From what I've seen, the most impressive results come from shooting the laser head on, with the laser passing through a screen of some sort, so you get beams and graphics.

also, if you're not going to be doing any crowd scanning, I wouldn't film any.

I'd watch out for laser hits, as they could damage the camera's chip. Other than that, I say fog that place up and play around, shoot a lot of video from a bunch of positions and see what looks good.

I'd think you probably want to turn auto focus off, and play with your zoom and aperture settings (if you can).

Good luck, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

[mliptack]

Since, I am unsure of your projector output, I second Coffee's suggestion to watch out for laser hits on the camera.

If you do not have access to a hazer, bring fans! blow the fogger directly into the fans shooting out in the same path that the laser takes on. The closer the beam is to the aperture the brighter the beam will look... but again, just be careful.

I usually take a 3x5" notecard and tape it to the lens of cameras and projectors. I flip it down when I am adjusting stuff, and flip it back up when I'm ready to take pictures.

I ruined my projector for my home theater when I shot a scanned 1watt into the lens!

[buffo]

A few thoughts:

Don't worry about depth of field; it's not that important when taking beam-shots. If your camera is more than 20 ft away from the projector, you can probably set the focus on infinity and leave it there.

Definitely keep the beam out of the camera though. The 3x5 index card trick that Max mentioned is a good one.

Long exposure shots work well, but if you can "freeze" the output of the projector (pause button on the ADAT?) it will look better. (Moving beams + long exposure = blurry laser pictures.) If you want to shoot a picture of the image on the wall, pick one that isn't moving very much.

Use a tripod! For all shots!

Best beam shots are with the camera pointed in the general direction of the laser (towards the source). Perpendicular shots are the worst.

Experiment with camera position. Try putting the camera on the floor and aim up towards the projector. Get closer to the projector when you do this. You might end up with a shot like this one:



(That one was taken about 2 ft below the lowest beam.)

Shoot lots and lots of pictures! You'll be surprised at how many of them look good on the tiny camera screen but are actually blurry and lame on a computer screen (or printed out). Since this is your first attempt, figure on 10 losers for every winner.

And finally, even though it's a marketing gimmick, get some shots "inside the tunnel", as it were. That is, a shot inside a circle. True, Mr Coffee is correct in that you'll never be able to do this effect for a paying audience because it violates the 3 meter rule... But even so, it's an awesome shot. More to the point, every other laser company has a picture like this on their website, so you'll want one too. (Besides, even if you don't use it as a promotional shot, it will be one we'd like to see here!)

Adam

[Pianoman]

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys, keep em' coming! With regard to the index card, that will work, but my adat player doesn't have a pause option (I don't think), so the only way to ensure a beam doesn't enter the aperture is to place the camera out of the scanning field. Perhaps, I could place it just on the edge of the scanning field, looking at the projector. Also, I would love to do a "beam tunnel" shot, but there is no way, that I know of to do this without any software. After I do a few shows, and make 500 bucks, I'm going to invest in Flashback, but for now, I wanna focus on making, not spending. Unfortunately no one that I know has a hazer, so I resorted to the massive science theater fogger. If any of you guys have a hazer or some software, and wanna make a trip down to dunlap for the weekend.... yeah, let me know. I'm also trying to locate a nice set of speakers and an amp. Unfortunately, I don't have anything beyond my home surround sound system which is built in .

[daedal]

What you really want is a camera that allows you to control the exposure on every frame in video mode. That significantly reduces or even eliminates the flicker, and you get a wonderful video of what it would look like in reality.

As about the location, I agree with being dead ahead of the laser, and shooting into a scrim.

Without software, there isn't much you can really do besides the shows. A flashback is a great addition to any laserist's arsenal (unless you have the LD2K of course). Also you can control any aspect of the output easily... An initial investment into a pangolin DAC can pay back multi-fold very quickly in my opinion.

Good luck;
DDL

[Pianoman]

I don't know if our camera has that function or not. It has a lot of cool stuff but I'm not sure if you can control the exposure on every frame in video mode. How would u do that anyway? If it's taking 25 or 30 frames per second you wouldn't have time to adjust each one. I'm sorry, i'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to that sort of thing.

Since I don't have the ability to put the beams where I want, couldn't I just run the beam through the effects wheel in my projector. One of them splits the beam into like 8 different beams that lie horizontally, but the lens can rotate. I could place a diffraction grating on the exit of the projector, splitting all the beams into their individual colors. That might look pretty cool. There is also a lens that splits the beam into a matrix of evenly spaced beams. I just have to get a good diffraction grating. Anybody have have an extra? Or perhaps I should ask where should I get one? I know they are easy to find, but I don't know if they are all created equal.
Just another laserist necessity that I am yet to acquire.

[daedal]

I don't know if our camera has that function or not. It has a lot of cool stuff but I'm not sure if you can control the exposure on every frame in video mode. How would u do that anyway? If it's taking 25 or 30 frames per second you wouldn't have time to adjust each one. I'm sorry, i'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to that sort of thing.

I don't remember what it's called, but it's a sort of a blending feature... i.e. you are correct that the frames are limited by the 1/30 or 1/25 of a second (depending on the number of frames per second). But the feature I am mentioning allows you to take portions of the next frame and blend them into the prior frame... so you can get a longer exposure per frame.

Since I don't have the ability to put the beams where I want, couldn't I just run the beam through the effects wheel in my projector. One of them splits the beam into like 8 different beams that lie horizontally, but the lens can rotate. I could place a diffraction grating on the exit of the projector, splitting all the beams into their individual colors. That might look pretty cool. There is also a lens that splits the beam into a matrix of evenly spaced beams. I just have to get a good diffraction grating. Anybody have have an extra? Or perhaps I should ask where should I get one? I know they are easy to find, but I don't know if they are all created equal.
Just another laserist necessity that I am yet to acquire.

See my site for the diffraction gratings

--DDL

[Pianoman]

I'll check out the camera and play around with it some. I'm also trying to find a sheet of material, similar to what they use on screen porches (so that I can capture the beams and the graphics. Thanks for the suggestion Daedal. And very cool picture Adam. I hope I get lucky enough to capture a few like that!

-Jonathan-