|
|
Back
Issues of The Laserist:
Summer 1998
Special Reports
Show News
Tech Focus
Special Report:
Rimini Trade Exhibit Highlights Lasers and More
By
Patrick Murphy
Pangolin Laser Systems, www.pangolin.com
The SIB International
Exhibition in Rimini, Italy, showcases products for discos and
nightclubs. The 1998 show, held March 29-April 2, had far fewer
laser exhibitors than the 1997 show. There were only three stands
exhibiting large lasers: LOBO, tarm SLL Technick and Laser System
Europe. In addition, Laserland was showing a small, diode-based
system and there were about six additional stands with simple
laser fixtures.
Why the low turnout? It’s hard to pinpoint one cause. For
example, one company that was prominent in past shows had a number
of concurrent jobs, and decided that these jobs would take precedence.
Other companies may have reevaluated SIB since the show organizers
decided to hold SIB every two years, instead of yearly. (The
next SIB will be in 2000.) Whatever the cause, the entire show
seemed smaller than last year, with fewer attendees.
In past years, there were some concerns about laser safety issues.
Powerful pulsed copper-vapor lasers were aimed directly into
audiences and passersby in aisles. Shows seemed to compete for
“biggest and brightest” honors.
But in 1998, there were no egregious safety problems. No copper-vapor
lasers were exhibited. YAGs were safely aimed high above the
stands, to attract fair-goers to follow the green beam back to
its source. Audience scanning in the three major shows was bright
enough to be impressive, but usually not bright enough to be
worrisome.
What follows is a booth-by-booth discussion of laser exhibitors
at SIB. For more specific information on the products or services,
the company’s phone number and web site (when available)
is listed.
tarm: The most impressive show was at tarm SLL’s
stand. The performance area was small (relative to LOBO and LSE),
but the show quality was high. The show had a very cinematic
feel, partially due to having a title sequence at the start.
It began with credits: “tarm presents/A Jörg Isermann
picture/’Living Lines’.” The first half was graphics
only: four projectors each running Laser Animations software.
The second half was beamworks only. At times there were so many
beams (created with diffraction and Machida gratings) that it
felt like being beneath the surface of a swimming pool of light.
The entire show took two months to produce. The time spent was
definitely evident in both the storyboard and in the digitizing
and programming.
(+49) 234-45907500; www.tarm.com.
LOBO: As usual at Rimini, LOBO had the largest laser stand.
This year’s show was on a theme of a skeleton party. As
always, LOBO used a number of different presentation techniques
during the show. This included water screens, scrims which moved
up and down, and about eight scanner heads. In addition, LOBO
used indoor fireworks and live dancers who moved through the
beams. The award for most impressive laser hardware has to go
to LOBO’s Lacon-5 controller. It would look at home in the
Transporter Room of the Starship Enterprise. The stylish console
sports an LCD touch-screen and a separate color LCD display panel,
both running under Windows 95.
The heart of the new Lacon-5 is a flexible hybrid parallel multiprocessor
engine that can control up to 12 laser projectors, lighting systems,
slides, video and other peripherals in real-time out of one computer
platform. The hybrid hardware structure combines a transputer’s
parallel real-time computing structure, the computational power
of digital signal processors and a PC front-end. To handle this
complex stream of data and signals, LOBO’s optical Digital
Data Link connects all necessary components to each other. One
fiber can control four projectors consisting of high-speed graphics
scanner and corresponding color mixing units.
A safety monitoring system enables each attached device to react
to malfunctions and triggers a safety shutdown of the whole system.
LOBO describes the Lacon-5 as “the most advanced and fastest
laser animation system in the world.” Prices start at DM
65,000 (about US $36,000). An expansion module to run additional
projection systems costs about DM 13,000 (US $7,000). Among the
other companies exhibiting at LOBO’s stand were Laser Entertainment
of Milan, which produces many LOBO shows.
(+49) 7361-9687-0; www.lobo.de.
Laser System Europe: The most surprising booth was organized
by Laser System Europe. Although LSE has exhibited at past shows,
this year they had a significantly larger stand with LOBO-like
dimensions. The LSE stand was a joint venture, with other companies
and products also participating: Laser Magic U.K., Spectra-Physics,
Laser Show Systems (LSS), Pangolin Laser Systems and an “energy
drink” called “Virus”.
The centerpiece was Laser Magic’s upward-shooting water
screen onto which graphics and beams were projected. (LOBO and
tarm used ceiling-mounted water pipes to form downward sheets
of rain.) Unfortunately, the ceiling was low, and in the confined
space the water screen was not uniform enough for really effective
graphics. A conventional screen was hung on the back wall for
better use with graphics.
The most unusual presentation was from LSS, a Russian company.
LSS has a laser raster projector which sells for about US $80,000.
(Actually, it is a vector projector, since it can randomly address
thousands of pixels. But the visual effect is TV-like.) The LSS
projector uses acousto-optic deflectors to project any bitmap
picture. LSS expects to be adding live video capability later
this year. The image was bright and clearly visible, although
a bit fuzzy (due partially to the visual effect of the laser
light’s coherent speckle). Owing to the narrow projection
angle, and thus smaller image, the presentation did not have
quite the same overwhelming effect as traditional beams or graphics—but
then again the images were much more detailed and were easier
to create with a computer.
In another corner of the LSE stand, Pangolin was demonstrating
the new (to Pangolin) capability of image masking. This is the
ability to have one object automatically mask out or block other
objects. Pangolin was also emphasizing speed of programming,
stating that the main beam show in the LSE stand was programmed
by one person in three hours, the day before the show. (+32)
29-425-1999.
Laserland: Laserland presented their Wizard, “the
world’s smallest programmable laser display.” Dimensions
are 250 x 150 x 100 mm (9.8” x 6” x 4”). The Wizard
software runs under Windows 95 and is used to create a self-running
sequence, which is then uploaded via the printer port to Laserland’s
diode-based projector. The price for a 20 mW green unit is DM
8950. For large-scale use, Laserland has the AutoMagic system.
Features include remote monitoring (the system sends a comprehensive
status report of all operating data via E-mail to the Laserland
service team); touch screen control; DMX, MIDI and multimedia
support; and “active safety monitoring of the laser beam.”
(+49) 8055 1551; www.laserland.de.
Nu-Light Systems: This U.K.-based company sells
laser heads and controllers with preset patterns for disco and
nightclub use. One model has a 60 mW, 650 nm diode with scanner
failure protection, for a price of £530. (+44) 1925 243075;
www.nulightsystems.demon.co.uk
Superstar Lighting: The Superlaser is a single
laser head which looks like a lighting instrument. It produces
lissajous patterns and comes in 5 mW and 3 mW versions. Fax:
(+88) 62-2980-8080; www.superstarlighting.com.
Yagang: The Guangzhou Yagang Stage Equipment Industrial
Co. Ltd. of China has a wide range of conventional lighting equipment.
Their laser graphics projector, the XY-B213, is built around
an Ion Laser Technology air-cooled argon. As their literature
states, “The YX green computer-controlled cartoon-scanning
laser lights are the only products which have been elected as
‘trustworthy’ by various television stations across
the country.” Yagang also claims to have developed scanners
which are equivalent in capability to Cambridge model 6800’s.
(+16) 008620-81361191;
www.YaGang.asiaep.com.
Laser Lights International: This Italian company makes
various lighting instruments and sound products, plus the bazooka-like
Model 9 100 mW HeNe laser head and controller. This has “munito
di galvanometri, con centralina di comando.”
(+39) 85 451-0013.
B.L. Systems: B.L. manufactures lighting instruments and
four laser controllers. The Laser Crab and Baby Crab are self-contained
diode-based Lissajous pattern projectors. The more advanced Mini
Graphic has 48 preset patterns accessed from a handheld infrared
remote control. The most dramatic projector is the Mini Star
War, which evokes a Klingon Bird-of-Prey spaceship. It does beam
sequences by shining onto six hand-adjustable mirrors. (+39)
89 848821.
Top
Show
News:
Lasers Light Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame
When
officials at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum needed
to celebrate the opening of a new $5 million exhibit wing, they
launched an opening-night gala culminating in a eye-popping laser
show that transformed the exterior of the museum—and the
skies over Cleveland itself—into a massive canvas for laser
light.
Created by Science Faction, the laser show was the finale of
a celebration that featured rock and roll legend Bo Diddley entertaining
a crowd of fellow Hall of Famers that included Little Richard,
Wilson Pickett, George Clinton and Joe Walsh.
After the festivities for the new Hall of Fame wing were over,
the laser light show kept going. The show was repeated nightly
throughout the month of April, attracting thousands of viewers
to the lakeside museum and catching the eyes of thousands more
who saw beams streak over the city’s skyline.
With sponsorship from AT&T, the museum brought Science Faction’s
“Laser One” mobile projection truck to Cleveland to
produce the nightly extravaganza. In creating the show, Science
Faction faced the challenge of using the facade of the building
as a screen for its laser projections.
The unusually shaped building, designed by architect I. M. Pei,
is dominated by two glass enclosed pyramid-like structures that
work poorly as projection surfaces. Science Faction used three
towerlike structures behind the glass pyramids as screens for
laser graphics.
“We sometimes used all three structures at once and other
times moved images from one to another,” said Science Faction
President Dick Sandhaus. “In some cases, we tried to unite
all three elements. At one point we had two enormous hands at
each end plucking guitar strings that stretched across the center.
It was as if the whole museum was a guitar.”
Another challenge Sandhaus faced was how to choreograph laser
images to a 10-minute audio soundtrack comprised of short outtakes
from 100 rock and roll songs. The songs represented the artists
highlighted in the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wing, and it
was essential to visually represent each artist with a laser
image synchronized to the audio material.
“In no case did we use pictures or caricatures of the artists,”
said Sandhaus. “We relied on emotional images associated
with the artists and their times.” When Elvis Presley’s
voice came over the soundtrack, for example, the laser projected
a set of gyrating hips. When psychedelic songs of the 1960’s
were featured, viewers saw swirling abstract images.
The visual tie-in with the soundtrack was also important for
promotional reasons. In a contest promoted by a popular Cleveland
rock and roll station, listeners were invited to guess the names
of all the artists represented in the 10-minute medley. The grand
prize was 100 compact discs featuring artists highlighted in
the audio compilation.
To bring even more attention to the new Hall of Fame wing, the
laser show was presented free of charge every night. That may
have been somewhat of a gamble, as the museum rarely keeps evening
hours and was closed all but one night each week during the time
the laser show was running.
“We think it worked very well, both in terms of capping
off opening night and drawing people in. You see families coming
down with their kids at night to watch the show,” said Tim
Moore, communications director for the museum. He estimated evening
crowds as high as 1,500.
The laser show—which was entirely projected from inside
the Laser One vehicle—concluded each night’s show with
a 90-second aerial beam display synchronized to audio segments
from rock and roll’s greatest drum solos.
“We projected beams out toward the skyline of Cleveland,
moving the beams as if they were giant drumsticks. It looked
great,” said Sandhaus.
Science Faction: (+1) 212-586-1911; lasernyc@aol.com
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum: (+1) 216-515-1212; www.rockhall.org
Top
Planetariums
and Museums
Omniscan Comes
to Europe
Planetariums in Valencia, Spain and Genk, Belgium recently added
state-of-the-art laser effects to their astronomy shows. Both
sites are now using the Omniscan projection system developed
by AVI-Imagineering With Lasers (AVI). It marks the first time
the Orlando, Florida-based AVI has provided European planetariums
with laser technology.
The L’Hemisphere Planetarium in Valencia and the Europlanetarium
in Genk, which recently joined ILDA, will be using the wide-screen
Omniscan laser projector to highlight astronomical phenomena.
The patented technology provides full-color laser images that
fill a planetarium dome with a 360 x 180 degree projection field.
Each system comes with a library of 88 constellations that highlight
individuals stars, line segments connecting the stars, and an
artistic illustration representing the constellation. Other effects
that can be projected with Omniscan include pulsars, exploding
novas and the aurora borealis.
AVI President Joanne Young said the company recently created
a new division dedicated to developing astronomical shows. The
division is currently working on four new constellation programs
that tell the story of the night sky for each of the four seasons.
AVI also recently debuted its Omniscan projector at two American
locations—the Dr. Phillips CineDome at the Orlando Science
Center in Florida and the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Audiences at both locations can view Laseropolis,
a show that features classic rock and roll, new wave favorites
and alternative music artists. The CineDome theater seats 310
people and boasts a projection screen that is eight stories tall;
the four-story high Omnimax theater at the Carnegie Science Center
has 320 seats.
AVI: (+1) 407-859-8166; www.av-imagineering.com
Laser Show at the End of the Universe
The Boston Museum of Science and Laser Fantasy International
continue to merge laser graphics into the Hayden Planetarium’s
public shows. The latest production, The Life and Death of the
Sun, incorporates lasers to visualize the sun’s inevitable
death some five billion years into the future—from an apocalyptic
solar wind at the end the sun’s life to an accurate representation
of the sun’s white dwarf remains.
A second show, Cosmic Adventure, highlights some of the Universe’s
greatest wonders as visitors fly through familiar constellations.
The show uses lasers to show the three-dimensional nature of
the stars in the evening sky. Davin Flateau, LFI at Boston Museum
of Science: (+1) 617-589-0175;
davin@laserfantasy.com
Top
Tech Focus:
DMX Opens the Doors
for Companies to Share (and Sell) Complex Laser Shows
By
Tim Walsh, President, Laser Spectacles, www.laserspectacles.com
Just
a few days ago, I set up for a party of more than 3,000 people
at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas. I did what I can only
call a “complete, full scale, hittin’-on-eight-cylinders,
crazy, lunatic, beam show.” To me, this means that there
are more laser beams flying around the room than you can count
or keep up with, all you can do is stand there and try to take
it all in by keeping your eyes open.
There was a group of guest DJ’s from Caffeine Records in
New York, so everybody was pretty excited. I was excited, too,
but for a different reason. This show was the dawning of a new
age for me in the history of the laser light show. For the first
time, I was controlling everything via technology called DMX-512.
Not only does this allow me to record the entire contents of
my show on tape, but it also allows me to send this tape around
the world, where my crazy, lunatic beam show can be faithfully
reproduced by any company that follows the ILDA DMX-512 standard
and uses an ILDA Standard Projector.
First Target: ILDA Awards
Let me explain what this means for ILDA and the laser industry
and why I consider this “the dawning of a new age.”
One of my favorite yearly events has always been the ILDA convention.
My interest in the possibilities of ILDA has grown as the organization
has matured. At first it was the possibility of meeting other
laserists, then the technical standardization, and finally, the
possibility of sharing the laser artwork that we all create through
the ILDA Awards.
But the awards themselves are becoming boring. For me (and I
admit to being Chairman of the Awards Committee) watching laser
graphics on a 12-foot screen is somewhat tedious. Although we
had a few beam shows at last year’s conference, we have
yet to see my idea of a full-bore beam show at the awards ceremony.
I want to do something about this. My goal is for all of us to
share complete, full scale, hittin’-on-eight-cylinders,
crazy, lunatic, beam shows at ILDA, just like the one I did Saturday
night for eight hours.
Second Target: New Markets
At the Austin show I used my newly rebuilt projector setup that
was made to conform as much as possible to the ILDA DMX standard.
I could have recorded everything I performed on ADAT tape. The
tape could be shipped around the world and the show duplicated
with another ILDA standard projector and ADAT deck. ILDA has
made the standards, now it is up to us, the laserists, to build
and use projectors that conform to these standards and make this
exchange of complex shows possible. My hope is that as audiences
and clients demand more from their laser shows, companies will
be able to sell complete DMX-512 programmed shows to venues and
other laser companies.
Up until last year, the only laser display standard available
was the ILDA Standard Projector, which is basically a specification
for creating a laser graphic on a screen and defining its color
using one pair of X-Y scanners and a color modulation device.
The specification also includes such essential show ingredients
as scanner tuning, color tables and recording the control signals
(which are not DMX-signals, but can be synchronized with them
using a time code) on tape for later playback. Now, via the DMX
standard, we can do more than trace out signals using scanners.
We can insert lumia effects in and out of beam paths, control
the lumia’s motor speed, cross-fade beam positions, insert
dichroic filters to change the beam’s color, and do just
about anything else that employs an “actuator” or uses
a voltage control signal.
Worldwide Standard
DMX is widely used in theater lighting to control the brightness
of lamps and, in some cases, more complicated functions such
as pan, tilt and focus. It can also be used for devices such
as pyrotechnics and fog machines. ILDA’s newest standard
for laserists sets aside 32 DMX channels (out of a possible 512)
for laser show effects. Once I have created my laser masterpiece
using DMX, I can record it for later playback with an ADAT digital
tape recorder equipped with the CADA-MOD Plus DMX encoder/decoder
board from Pangolin. This will create and playback tapes with
up to 512 channels of DMX encoded onto one track of a multi-track
ADAT tape. The other tracks on the tape can be used for X-Y scanner
control signals and for the show’s stereo audio soundtrack.
The result is a complete crazy, lunatic beam show recorded on
one ADAT cassette. I can play this back at any venue equipped
with an ILDA standard projector and the effects called for in
my show (remote beam tables, fog machines, etc.)
Of course, it will be necessary to supply drawings along with
my show tape to specify as accurately as possible what my intent
was for the show. I often use remote mirrors and other effects
placed away from the main projector, and I want to make sure
whoever plays back my show gets these effects right. I want all
of you laserists out there with big beam tables to get moving
on DMX so that we can all have an amazing time with beams when
we next get together. Audiences around the world will thank us
for it!
Companies
mentioned in this story (Note: this is not intended to be a comprehensive
list of all vendors of DMX equipment):
DMX
Signal Sources
LaserAnimation (+49) 30-788-1950;
www.laseranimation.com
LOBO electronic (+49) 7361-96870; www.lobo.com
Leprecon (+1) 810-231-9373; lepsls@caeinc.com
Crescit Software (+1) 519-523-9224; www.crescit.com
DMX
Demultiplexers
Laser Animation (see above)
Production Design International
(+1) 905-479-4070;
www.pyrotekfx.com
Hardware
Drivers
Laser Animation (see above)
Lighting Systems Design, Inc.
(+1) 407-299-9504
Precision Projection Systems
(+1) 310-865-8552
Actuators
General Scanning (+1) 617-924-1010
MFE (+1) 800-843-8011; www.stkr.com
DMX
ADAT recording device
Pangolin Laser Systems
(+1) 407-299-2088;
www.pangolin.com
Top |
|