2008 ILDA Conference: Post-conference report

The 2008 ILDA Conference, on board the Carnival Imagination, was hosted by LaserNet (Laser Production Network). Thanks to Tom Harman and Christine Jenkin for inviting ILDA and making the arrangements.

Thanks also to the sponsors listed above. They made the Conference possible, and helped ILDA keep the cost down to a very reasonable level for the attendees (just $149; the lowest ILDA Conference registration ever).

This is an official ILDA Conference report. You may also be interested in Tim Walsh's diary, which details his experiences and activities during the cruise.
 

Sunday, September 7 2008

Arrival in Miami

Many ILDA Conference attendees arrived Sunday night to a hotel in Miami arranged for by LaserNet. This ensured that they would not miss the Conference due to any late or missed plane connections.

Weather was a concern due to Hurricane Ike. It missed Miami, fortunately. Due to damage in our scheduled shore stops (Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay), we visited Freeport (1 day) and Nassau (2 days) instead.
 

Monday, September 8 2008

Boarding the ship

The first official ILDA action was riding a bus on the morning of Sept. 8 to the ship. (The bus cost was $20 per person, vs. the $65 it would cost by taxi.)

ILDA attendees were invited to attend the wedding of Glenn Wright of LaserNet, and Theresa Finn. The bride walked in under an "arch of swords" like the Marines do, except that 150 mW laser pointers were used instead of swords. The pointers were courtesy Chuck Maricle from Aixiz. After the ceremony, the new married couple walked out under the the arch of laser pointers.

ILDA held a reception for all registered attendees and their guests, before dinner. LaserNet had prepared "goody bags" for the attendees. These bags included a 20mW green laser pointer, also courtesy Chuck Maricle from Aixiz, plus the ILDA logo t-shirt, an ILDA logo lapel pin, a towel, sunscreen, lip balm, snacks, water, pad and paper, and other items. Even the bag was a souvenir as it had the ILDA logo imprinted on it.

Two Blisslights projectors were used, along with an Aixiz star projector, to create an appropriate laser atmosphere. Christine Jenkin found an excellent projection surface in Theresa Wright's wedding dress.

At dinner, ILDA attendees ate together, with about 12-14 people per table.

Tuesday, September 9 2008

2008 ILDA General Business Meeting, session 1

Prior to the Business Meeting, attendees received a copy of The Laserist magazine, which had just been printed the week before. (The issue is online; hard copies will be mailed to Members as time permits.)

The Business Meeting was gaveled to order by Tim Walsh. He welcomed everyone to the Conference, and noted that proof of notice of the meeting had been done via email and the ILDA website. Tim read the Code of Ethics.

Committee chairs who were present gave reports:

• Ethics Committee (Peter Mayer) reported that a number of Ethics issues had come up and had been handled. There were two issues currently being worked on.

• Safety Committee (Greg Makhov) reported on working with SAE G-10T and others. He also reported on a person who was concerned about lasers causing a sneeze reflex (due to bright light) which could be dangerous to someone working at a show site.

• Technical Committee chair Daniel Cohn was not present. Bill Benner stated that the ILDA File Format update was ready to be finalized [this was worked on the week after the Conference]

• Awards (Tim Walsh) reported that the ILDA Awards had been done for 2007, and the categories and rules for 2008 were expected to be similar to 2007's.

• Marketing, Advertising and Synergy: Tim discussed this committee's purpose (awareness of ILDA, marketing members) and invited members to contact Yousri El Gazar if they have an interest.

• Professional Status Recognition (Christine Jenkin) reported work on on the ILDA Professional certification for companies. Also discussed that ILDA Certified for equipment and other certification/accreditation for non-show companies, individuals, manufacturers etc. would be considered after getting one program off the ground.

• Conference and Trade Show (Christine Jenkin) was focused on the 2008 ILDA Conference. Note that this committee does not choose conference sites; it helps improve the ILDA conference and coordinate ILDA attendance at other conferences.

• Business Practices and Product Quality (Executive Director) reported that the Code of Business Practice was adopted early in 2008.

Patrick Murphy gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting ILDA activities since the previous Conference in March 2007.

Next, elections for the Board of Directors were held. All Board seats are for two-year terms. This year, three seats were up for election due to the two-year term expiring (Dirk Baur, Hugo Bunk, Peter Mayer). An additional seat was up for election due to the resignation of Jim Hardaway, due to new work committments.

Nominations were opened for the four seats. Four persons had been nominated prior to the Conference (via email): Christine Jenkin, Daniel Cohn, Todd Rogers and Peter Broerse. Nominations were opened up from the floor. Dirk Baur, Peter Mayer and Paul Berthot were nominated by Members present, and accepted the nominations.

Each nominee had a prepared statement read (if they were not present) or gave a short speech (if they were present). Then voting took place. Ballots were distributed, and the voting procedure was explained. Any Members holding proxies for non-attending Members, received additional ballots. In this way, votes from non-attending Members could also be cast. It was announced that there was a quorum based on Members present and voting by proxy.

After filling out the ballot, the votes were counted by two different people. The top three vote-getters would fill the next two-year terms; the fourth-highest vote-getter would fill the remaining time of Jim Hardaway's seat (this seat will be up for election next year).

Discussion/seminar on "ILDA Professional"

While votes were being counted, a discussion/seminar was led by Christine Jenkin, chair of the Professional Status Recognition committee. She stated that in 2004, Members had voted to establish a way to identify Members who had higher-level qualifications for doing laser shows.

Christine said there are at least three areas of certification/accreditation under consideration: one for lasershow-producing companies (ILDA Professional), one for equipment (ILDA Certified) and one for individuals (having initials such as C.L.P. after one's name). Peter Mayer discussed having additional opportunities for manufacturers and other Members who do not fall into the above categories. Christine said this could be done but "we have to walk before we run" so the committee was concentrating on ILDA Professional first.

For ILDA Professional, there will be an objective set of criteria, each with points assigned. There are various categories such as number and size of shows, safety experience, awards won, etc. Each category has a minimum and maximum number of points which can be earned.

Patrick Murphy demonstrated an interactive spreadsheet where points are entered and a category turns "green" if the required number is met. There are linked spreadsheets where details about shows, conferences attended, awards won, etc. can be listed. The idea is to automate this as much as possible to make it easier for the submitter and for the person reviewing the submission (Executive Director).

If the total points is above a threshold, then the company is designated as "ILDA Professional". They can use a special logo, and they get special marketing recognition.

There is a cost to apply and an extra cost each year for Professional-level dues. The extra income supports administration of the program, extra marketing efforts, and ILDA operations. The company must reapply every 2-3 years.

Details of the program are still being worked out. For this reason the program will not be discussed in detail here. The program will be submitted to Members for their comments, suggestions, etc. so nothing is "set in stone".

2008 ILDA General Business Meeting, session 2

The Business Meeting reconvened. The results of the election were announced: Dirk Baur, Peter Mayer, Christine Jenkin and Paul Berthot were the top four vote-getters.

Next came election for ILDA President. Four Board members declined to run for president; the fifth member, Tim Walsh, accepted nomination. Since there was only one candidate, Tim became ILDA President by acclamation. (This will be his second term.)

The floor was then opened up for other business or discussion. As there was no other business, the meeting was gaveled closed by Tim at approximately 12:14 -- about 45 minutes earlier than scheduled.

ILDA Advanced Technical Workshop

The ATW was less organized than in previous years, due in part to there being fewer Members to present. Nonetheless, the presentations were excellent and all seemed to be of great interest to attendees. The topics were:

• Coherent's new OPSL lasers (Greg Makhov, LSDI)

• QM2000.net laser controller (Bill Benner, Pangolin Laser Systems). The QM2000.net is used to control multiple laser projectors at widely scattered locations. It combines the award-winning QM2000 laser controller board with a network adapter, in a convenient package. A single QM2000.net is perfect for use with laptops that do not have a slot for the QM2000 board. For remote use, a QM2000.net is placed at each remote projector to be controlled. Typically this is done in a wired configuration with 10/100 Ethernet. It can also be done using standard wireless Ethernet devices. A key advantage is that every projector is powered by a full Pangolin system (e.g., QM2000 board). The system will not slow down or lose sync, no matter how many projectors are being controlled.

• PASS Professional Audience Safety System (Bill Benner, Pangolin Laser Systems). PASS is a unique system that, when used with the proper projector integration and show production techniques, can guarantee the safety of audience scanning shows. PASS continually monitors the laser power, scanner signals, and other projector-related parameters. It can make adjustments to the projected imagery in real time to maintain safety. PASS does this in a very intelligent way so as to not destroy the intended visual effect. However, in the event that a problem is detected within the projector (or within PASS itself), PASS aggressively and vigorously protects the audience from mistakes in the show programming and from system failures. PASS is significantly more advanced than any previous "scan-fail" or "laser show safety" products. It went through ten years of R&D, and two years of U.S. government scrutiny to determine that it provides true safety. PASS received the first place 2006 Fenning Award for Technical Achievement.

• LASORB laser diode protection (Francesco von Loon, Pangolin/LASORB). LASORB is a semiconductor device that is designed specifically to protect laser diodes from ESD and power surges. It is easy to integrate for laser designers and OEMs because it is connected directly across the terminals of a laser diode. LASORB protects a laser diode in two ways. First, it completely prevents reverse-bias of the laser diode. Second, it prevents ESD or other power-related faults from exceeding the maximum forward-bias voltage of the laser diode. LASORB is able to do this while not adding significant resistance or capacitance to the laser diode, thereby not complicating the task of driving the laser diode. Since it is connected directly to a laser diode, LASORB is able to protect the diode at all times – whether the power to the system is turned off or on, and even when the laser diode is fully operational.

• Necsel diode lasers for picoprojectors and (possibly) lasershow use (Chris Stuart, Novalux Lasers)

• ILDA Test Pattern generator and scanner tester (Tom Harman, LaserNet)

• Infinity laser projector (Dirk Baur, MediaLas)

We have asked each presenter to give a brief summary of their talk; please check back later for these.

ILDA Safety Workshop

Greg Makhov (LSDI), assisted by Bill Benner (Pangolin) gave a PowerPoint presentation about audience scanning safety. His conclusion is that it is not possible to tell whether an audience-scanning show is safe simply by looking at it. Measurements must be done. A good rule of thumb is that if the laser power is 5-10 per milliwatts per square cm for a static beam then the show will likely be safe assuming a typical scanning show. The level can be reached by a combination of limiting power or increasing divergence, or both. It is best to increase the beam divergence (using lenses), since it allows more total light. Although the beam is fatter, this is better visually than trying to reduce power on a thin, non-diverged beam.

Dr. Alexander Timofeyev (Orion-Art Productions) reported on the Aquamarine laser incident near Moscow. He spoke with the doctor who the examinations. Normal sight has been restored in all but four of those injured by a pulsed laser in early July. Four people have spots or other noticeable injuries. Doctors think that the use of drugs may have exacerbated the situation, either directly or indirectly by slowing normal avoidance mechanisms and increasing pupil diameter. The person(s) responsible has not been identified and may never be known to the authorities. The laser is most likely a copper-vapor laser, not a pulsed YAG, because these are much more common for laser shows in Russia.

ILDA Artistic Workshop

Alex Hennig (LOBO) discussed the LDA Award-winning Amaceon multimedia show.

Dr. Alexander Timfeyev (Orion-Art Productions) described the ILDA Award-winning multimedia show TVC - 10 years.

Tim Walsh (Laser Spectacles) presented pictures and a description of his new show for the To the Moon exhibit at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin, TX, on the University of Texas campus. The show is unusual in that no laser graphics, beams, smoke, or mirrors are used. Coming from two projectors, all effects used are optical lumia or diffraction grating effects, projected on the walls and ceiling of a small white room along with video projection on the front wall. Two DMX-controlled Blisslights were also used for an intense green star field. The show is running daily, every 20 minutes, until July 20, 2009.
  

Wednesday, September 10 2008

ILDA Awards Presentation

The 2007 ILDA Awards (entered in 2007, judged and awarded in 2008) were presented at a ceremony in the ship's opulent theater. The official laser projectors used for the Awards were MediaLas Infinity Showlaser projectors. Three were used, two for beams on each side and one in the center for graphics; all worked great.

Unlike past ILDA Awards events, there was a firm deadline. Due to other use of the theater, the Awards had to be presented in 90 minutes.

A detailed spreadsheet and script showed exactly how much time was allocated to each presentation, depending on whether the recipient was present, whether the show was on video or laser, etc.

The show got off to an inauspicious start when the laser/video laptop was accidentally unplugged, running down the battery which quit just as the presentation began. (It was not possible to notice this due to how the screen was set up for the show.) So the show was stopped while the computer was rebooted.

After a 15 minute delay, the show started again. And it went exceptionally well. Within 20 minutes the show caught up to the scheduled time. Six pieces were shown in laser, the rest in video or stills (photos).

At about midpoint, it was announced that a certain award for LOBO was their 100th ILDA Award. Show co-hosts Tim Walsh and Dirk Baur gave a toast to Alex Hennig of LOBO. The entire audience had free champagne or other drinks for the toast. A confetti cannon went off just after the toast.

The Artistic and Technical (Fenning) winners have been previously announced. New at the Awards presentation were awards to ILDA volunteers, including host Tom Harman and Volunteer of the Year Christine Jenkin. Also, the Career Achievement Award winner was announced: Bill Benner of Pangolin.

The Awards ended after Bill's speech, about 7 minutes early. Even with the false start, it was a rare occasion when the Awards ended early. Despite this we got in all video and laser winners.

Lido Deck party

At around 11:45, three lasers were set up on the Lido Deck. This was for a party open to everyone on the ship. The official laser projectors used for the Lido Deck party were MediaLas Infinity Showlaser projectors. Three were used, all for audience-scanning beams. They were run by Phoenix live showcontrol software, played live by Aje Moussa (and his girlfriend).

There were some discussions about the power levels being used, relative to the proximity of staff and passengers. In terms of artistic quality and a laser party look, the show was a good "live" show.
 

Thursday, September 11 2008

Pangolin User Meeting

Pangolin had scheduled a user meeting on Wednesday for customers and other interested persons. Unfortunately, this was cancelled due to setup time for the ILDA Awards. On Thursday, therefore, Bill went through some LD2000 features as well as presenting the Pangolin Prize entries. More details are at the 2008 Pangolin User Meeting report page.

It should be noted that this was probably the only time audience scanning was used, when the beam power was definitely at or below the MPE. Other times, due to setup difficulties it was more problematic to measure MPE levels. Those who were at the Pangolin User Meeting can comment on how they liked the show in terms of brightness, beam quality, comfort, etc.

ILDA Tabletop Tradeshow

A number of vendors showed their wares during the ILDA Tabletop Tradeshow. These included:

• Phoenix/Bocatec (Boris Bollinger)

• Smart Laser (Jian Chen)

• LaserNet (Tom Harman)

• Laserlight Showdesign (Patrick Dietzel)

• Necsel Lasers (Chris Stuart)

• Pangolin Laser Systems (Bill Benner)

• NewAje (Aje Moussa)

Aixiz (Chuck Maricle) had been scheduled to display as well, but he had to leave the ship in Nassau to fly back to Texas in preparation for Hurricane Ike.

We have asked each vendor to give a brief summary of their displayed products; please check back later for these.

ILDA Lase-Off

At 11:30 pm, the ILDA Lase-Off was presented. There were three main systems being used, from Pangolin, LaserAnimation Sollinger, and Phoenix. Interestingly, the Phoenix system controlled not only the official ILDA laser projectors from MediaLas, but also the lighting instruments in the theater.

Pangolin presentation

Pangolin showed winners of the 2008 Pangolin Prize competion, held earlier in the day: First place: "Standing in Motion" by Johannes Coppes, Laser Presentation. Second place: "Carol of the Bells" by Doug Cenko, Strictly FX. Third place: "Rhythm is a Dancer", Harry de Boer of DTL Lasertechnology. Honorable Mention: "We are the Champions" by Jay Heck, LFI International. Also shown was Tim Walsh's "Sidewinder" where the soundtrack and laser control signals are identical.

We have asked each person presenting at the Lase-Off to give a brief summary of what they showed; please check back later for these.
 

Friday, September 12 2008

"Free day"

This was scheduled as a free day with no official ILDA events. However, there were private meetings between some attendees. For example, ILDA held a meeting with Renato de Oliveira from Brazil, Greg Makhov and Bill Benner, regarding laser safety meetings for Brazilian laserists.

After dinner, attendees gathered in the ship's atrium to pose for a formal photo. Most wore their official ILDA t-shirts, designed by Andreas Groth and submitted through ILDA Member spectrabeam.de.
 

Saturday, September 13 2008

Disembarking

At 9 am, passengers began leaving the ship. A few ILDA Members stayed in Miami for sightseeing or business. The rest scattered back to their hometowns after having a week filled with lasers, ILDA business, and good conversation.