Starmaze Laser Projector Reviews?

[Chris Chapman]

Hey all.

I'm tired of using "traditional" gobo effects for stars and am toying with the idea of picking up Starmaze Laser Projector. Anyone have any experience with these units and can detail some pro's and con's of them?

Does the green laser pull anyone out of the starfield effect?

StarMaze Laser Projector Rentals from Rose Brand

...if you've never seen one.

[FatherMurphy]

I would say that it's more a question of if it's appropriate for the show - if you're trying to show realistic stars, then the green would be a detriment, since most people think of starfields as white dots. If you just want a psychedelic look, it would be an interesting change of pace.

Star gobos combined with mirror balls can give some interesting results. An old black drop and xmas lights poked through from behind can be a cheap way to do a star drop, without the dotted-line effect of the strings.

[kicknargel]

I've seen that thing used, and wouldn't recommend it for realistic stars. In addition to being green they move too quickly (maybe that's a setting--not sure). Looks more like amoebas floating around. Like FatherMurphy said, it's kind of cool, just not very star-like.

[Footer]

Last year that thing was demoed at every event I went to, I guess someone really wants to sell these things. They work, they look cool, if you are in a club or something of that nature. Onstage, they wash out very quickly and just look tacky. Its not meant for the stage, its meant for clubs, dorm rooms, and tacky cheap chinese places. I don't know why theatrical dealers are even pushing them to their clients.

[MNicolai]

I rented a BL-50 a couple years ago for A Christmas Carol during some of the scene transitions -- looked pretty cool with ground fog and haze, but the price tag on those is way too high for how little I'd use them in a theatre. It's not a bad product, but it'll wash out easily if used for too long of a throw and it's a one-trick pony. There's a small niche of applications they can be used where you either need green laser dots or you want green stars (or lines in haze).

It's just not a great fit for conventional theatre applications. If you need one for a show, rent it. As I recall, even the rental on it seemed pretty high to me though, so really figure out how much you want that effect. In my case, the director I was working with came with me to the rental shop that day, one of the guys brought this out and showed it to us, and the director fell in love with it right away, not caring that the stars would be green. Had he not been there and latched onto that like he did, I probably wouldn't have used it in the show because I would've felt we were spending too much money for too little "bang".

[len]

I used the BL-15 once. Made by Bliss Lights. The field is regimented. It doesn't look like stars at all and it's not very bright. Pass.

[Chris Chapman]

Thanks all. That's the input I was looking for. CB does it again.

[epimetheus]

Umm, I'm going to go the other way here. We use a Blisslight BL-50 at my church during our Singing Christmas Tree every year. It does very well at creating a starfield the way we use it. Of course it's going to get washed out in the presence of full stage light, but in low light situations (the way you'd see a starfiled anyway) it works great. With haze it makes a spectacular effect. We mount it on our booth rail and it covers 75% of the ceiling and walls of our 140'W x 90'D worship center.