Gary Evans from Lasertainment
Gameops.com: Sounds like there have been some new developments in laser productions. What is new in sports entertainment as far as lasers are concerned?
Lasertainment: The biggest news concerns a new laser called "The Stinger." The Stinger is a Green Hornet™ Micro Yag laser. Unlike its predecessors it is much smaller and needs only a 110 volt outlet to operate. Most lasers need 208 volt outlets and access to a water supply to keep the lasers cool. So the Stinger becomes much easier to install and in turn much more affordable.
The Stinger is extremely mobile and lasts much longer; our mounted systems can even run 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Gameops.com: Let's take a step back...What is a Yag Laser and what can it do?
Lasertainment: A Yag laser is a single green laser beam that is able to accept complex programming. Yag lasers excel in producing a beam effect that can fill an arena as well as complicated animations. A Yag is different from a white light (or mixed gas) laser which can produce multi-colored light.
Gameops.com: In the context of sports, how does the 'Stinger' Yag help teams?
Lasertainment: The Yag is much more economical to use and install. Instead of days to set up a show, now it can be done in hours. Simply stated, with this new technology you just get more for less. It also allows us more flexibility in creating shows. Now we can position these lights on the court for a halftime show by simply carrying them out to the court. Before, the lasers were heavy and cumbersome, needing special handling, power and water supply.
Gameops.com: What is the process of producing a custom laser show for sports teams? 
Lasertainment: After meeting with the team and determining what they want, we start to design and program the show. We combine custom programming with our extensive library of sports animations. We also determine the best place to cast the laser. We have the ability to shoot into the rafters or we can shoot onto the floor. Sometimes we decide its best to cover the court and shoot down onto a white screen we lay over the court.
Gameops.com: Other than player introductions, what are the applications you have produced?
Lasertainment: We have produced player introductions, pre-game and post-game displays and halftime shows. We also have the ability to produce shows combining lasers and pyro. Lasertainment has a Class C (Close Proximity) Pyro license. Our shows have also been produced for basketball, hockey, football and baseball. With the recent breakthroughs, we are also starting to do more full-time installations for teams, allowing teams to bring their fans a custom laser show for every game, not just once a year.
Gameops.com: I recall a CBA All-Star game years ago that had a laser show prior to the game (not produced by Lasertainment). The arena was fogged to highlight the laser show. The fog was so thick that by about half-time you could see the court again. Is the use of fog still an issue for indoor shows?
Lasertainment: Not really. There are a couple options now that have resolved those problems. Most importantly we now use a hazer, which produces a very fine mist in the air that is barely visible to the naked eye. In an NBA-size arena we would turn on one machine about 30 minutes prior to the show. The haze is also totally safe for the players and fans, and it allows fans to see the beam effects while the beams fill the arena. We still occasionally supplement the hazer with a fog machine placed right by the laser to highlight the beam.
We also work closely with the building to find the most effective use of their air circulation system to help remove any lingering fog or haze.
Gameops.com: What do you see as the real strengths of your laser shows?
Lasertainment: I think our strength is the ability to incorporate team or event sponsors. We can format logos of your sponsors and build them into the customized show. We build these logos for nearly every show that we do, so we have a lot of interesting ways to highlight sponsors.
We also have some built-in advantages of having an in-house art department, and we are also capable of working with intelligent lighting systems, large format video, streamers, and as I mentioned earlier, pyrotechnics.
More Information and Links
- http://www.laser-fx.com/
- http://www.laserimagepro.com/
- http://www.fullspectrum.cc/
- http://www.mobolazer.com/
- http://www.showlasers.com/
- http://stellardesigns.com/
