North London Primary School Laser Show

Introduction

In September 2022, we were approached by a primary school PTA enquiring to the feasibility of a Laser show. They had in the past locally hosted a fireworks event, but those grounds were inaccessible for an event this year and they wanted to continue fund raising but on their own playgrounds which weren’t at all suitable for a fireworks show.

We explained how a Laser show worked, it’s benefits, limitations and provided a few basic examples of what could be achieved.

Planning

From a practical standpoint one of our primary considerations for Laser shows is power. It’s not that the Lasers themselves consume that much, but that the audio system and haze machines do require some level of power planning. A site visit revealed that we were within 50m of a suitable mains power supply so it was not necessary to supply one of our generators. We have plenty of outdoor rated event power cables, and so this was an easy and convenient option.

As the event approached filed the relevant paperwork and created a show plan. The show was built around our award winning fireworks music from the Badminton 2022 fireworks competition. This was a masterpiece of audio (even if we do say so ourselves!) and it lended itself really well to a Laser show.

Implementation

Show day was here and we arrived at the school after lunch time as to avoid too much disruption, whilst still giving us enough time. Access wasn’t that great, but with all our kit on wheels the van was unloaded and we started to position our kit.

Following our plan we positioned the PA system and lighting in a way that was both subtle and effective. Audio is a crucial element of a Laser show so it has to be as equally suitable for the occasion.

As dusk approached, we were able to test and position the Lasers with respect to their beams at a lower power than would be used later. This was carried out whilst guests were onsite, and always causes some excitement! Given that the show was already planned and tested at HQ with projection zones already defined it didn’t take long and then we were ready for show time.

Using our PA system, the headteacher announced that it was show time and following a short countdown we hit the GO button! The show completed exactly as planned, followed by a satisfying cheer at the end – that is the goal of course, and with the Laser systems being fairly new to us at the time it was satisfying to know we had done a great job!

Even better, we were promptly booked again for 2023!