Visual Programming of Laser Fixtures (new product!)

[gremlintech]

Hi all,

As a VJ by night and engineer/product designer by day, I have been working on a side project utilizing Resolume as a graphical driver for "virtual lighting" effects that can be accomplished with a custom fixture I am developing.

As VJing with large LED screens becomes more popular in most smaller EDM venues, and many lighting desingers work on seperate consoles, and I see a need to integrate certain lighting effects (i.e. lasers) visually so that the lighting and visuals remain in sync. It is also possible to allow traveling VJs to perform the same show at different venus since every one of these fixtures would be identical. Thus as a VJ you would map your screens as normal, and then map your fixtures (numbers, master/slave, mirroring, etc.) utilizing the same effects. For home VJs this technology is far beyond what currently exists on the market at a considerably cheaper price as well (sorry Guitar Center).

I can currently emulate strobes, washes, beams, lasers, moving heads, etc. using Resolume's built-in generators, and am working on developing new generator presets which make simulating and animating fixtures easier than traditional console design.

I would love to know if anyone has tooled around with this idea, or if you forsee any limitations in this concept. The proof of concept fixtures are built and tested, and the prototypes will be manufactured by the end of the year. The hope is to have production fixtures availiable for mid-to-late-2021, so I am working hard to figure out aditional features that I can implement, or other considerations that I may not have thought about.

Let me know your thoughts!

Josh

[Zoltán]

Not sure about lasers, but with sources, SMPTE sync https://resolume.com/support/en/smpte could be a start to get this working in Resolume.
You can set clip timelines to SMPTE and params to clip position, so you can have params synced to SMPTE this way

[gremlintech]

the idea isn't to connect normal stage lasers and controllers to resolume, but instead to visually output raster images that are then turned into light beams, which can emulate lasers and whatnot.

[Zoltán]

visually output raster images that are then turned into light beams

You mean like a projector?

[gremlintech]

In a basic sense, yes. Most projectors won't get the correct contrast and brightness you would need.

[zerowaitstate]

Don't mess with the coherent light baby !

I dont mean that (secretly i do).... it will be very hard to compete with some thing that is punching through 3D space, with the clarity that a laser does.

The software out there for lasers is pretty mature and flexible, running standalone or integrating with lighting desks

If you manage to putt it off, it will be quite a coo, as, if lasers are managed properly with all safety considerations its quite a PITA to manage. (but worth it)

i would be happy to provide feed back on anything you come up with, shoot me a PM

[Arvol]

So are you expecting the led walls to emit beams such as a beam fixture or something as narrow as a laser? Because that will never happen (coming from a led system tech and oem distributor for the better part of 8 years).
Even if the entire room was filled with atmosphere the leds on a panel won't have enough punch to create a beam more than an inch or two. The more pixel you have on at a time will just make the screen glow for about 10-15 inches in front of it. So if you have someone vj'ing then whatever content they have will be played under these lighting fx and said fx won't translate (or possible even be seen).

Maybe I'm not envisioning this correctly? When i think of using a led wall to emulate lasers, I'm thinking of a linescape art generator with only a few lines at 1 pixel in width.

led walls don't project as a typical laser of 5r fixture will. Using a projector on the other hand would give you better results. I've seen some really (and I mean REALLY) cool stuff being done with projectors.

phpBB [video]

[gremlintech]

The wall idea is awesome but no, I use a lens to focus the light beams.

The goal is not to get direct laser effects (i.e. point laser lines rather than beams).

I am working with some local clubs in Tampa to do some VJing and light tests; I will attach videos of the sets so you professionals here can determine if the lighting looks good or if any changes need to be made.

[Arvol]

Gotcha (sort of) so you're using a lens or filter on a moving head or static light to replicate a laser? but not led walls right?
We own a few of these products and even our most talented programmer could get 1 descent look out of them after 2 days of messing around. Complete garbage fixture and probably the worst investment we have ever made on a fixture lol.
https://www.elationlighting.com/sniper-2r

I'm really interested in what you have come up with. Please send some video's showing how you get your results.

What is your end goal with this? to sell this solution to smaller clubs? is it a lens that attaches to a regular fixture like a par56 (which makes color mixing a pain) or something more specific like a dedicated led light of some manufacture?

I'm interested, creative idea

[gremlintech]

No, the issues with current systems are that they are limited to the hardware filters/beamsplitters that are factory installed in the moving heads, as well as the limitations of the DMX system itself. My system uses a special "digital gobo" chip which allows for virtually any beam/shape to be projected. I get a "focus/unfocused" effect by feathering the edges of the shape. Because the entire imaging system is digital you can create an unlimited number of shapes/patterns and move/warp each individual beam independently.