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Can a Newbie sequence singing xmas trees first sequence?


Kapkirk

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Hi all, complete newbie here but completely hooked too. My neighbor and I are purchasing 2 sets of the Holiday Coro singing Xmas trees for our first LOR Christmas light displays.

 

Today I down loaded the LOR software and loaded the Christmas Can-Can song to a new sequence and played around with it while I watched a couple of the LOR tutorials, I had a couple set backs, a couple ah ha moments but I am now thinking it's  going to be a real job, still looking forward to it but there is a big question in there too?

 

Am I being reasonable here trying to sequence these 4 singing christmas trees to christmas songs for my first attempt to sequence? Or would you seasoned LOR veterans recommend something a little easier. Or maybe purchasing the sequences from Holiday Coro, assuming their sequences can be used on their trees?

 

Looking for a little advice if you would, and really looking forward to our first LOR christmas 2015.

 

Thanks, Keith

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You can do it.

After one song you will do another....then another. As you said, you had a few ah ha moments. Expect more. It will get easier.

My shows are all about the faces. So I started there. My first sequence was nothing more than 3 singing pumpkins. And I know if I can sequence faces, everyone can.

You have plenty of time. Keep playing with the software and complete the song. You will be done before you know it and ready for another. It will get easier and before you know it you'll be a pro.

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Welcome to the world of Blinky lights, Your spare time will never be the same!

You can certainly keep sequencing the trees yourself but I have found it easier to purchases the face sequences from Robert @ www.holidaysequences.com. They have tons of Christmas and Halloween sequences available. You can't for wrong for $15 per sequence and they do a great job, you will have enough time spent on sequencing the rest of the song. I personally was not happy with the ones I purchased from HolidayCoro (before I knew about Robert)

 

Getting the mouth movements precise is critical, if you don't it can ruin your display. That being said, you should keep learning but for your first year you might want to consider purchasing the sequences, or at least a couple to see how it's done.

Good luck and ask lots of questions, these boards are filed with very knowledgeable people that are willing to share with you

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For no more than what singing faces/ trees equences cost, it's more efficient to purchase sequences.  

Spend sequencing time on other elements of the display.


Holliday Coro sequences are a good vavle at $8 or so (they have Can Can).  Even $15 for some other sequences is a fraction of what you're spending on software/hardware.

With other vendors and some "shared" singing sequences from other hobbyist, you'll be able to put together a very good play list without getting caught in in "I just have to have that song".  
 

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Appreciate your insight guys, i have ordered a few including Can Can, and I am going to do one myself right off if for nothing else than the experience. My wife couldn't believe I was actually making headway on the computer and sequencing, she said something about if it isn't  a Glock i'm surprised you could figure it out, I usually have very little patience with the computer and she knows it ha ha.

 

A couple of the sequences i Purchased for the trees are meant for 32 channels, I was hoping i could just modify or add to the channel count for the rest of my display, the plan was for 48 channels total this year, 32 for the trees and 16 for the rest. Do you think I can just add 16 at the end of the purchased sequences?

 

Thanks, Keith

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Search for threads on Papagayo, it's a mouth sync program that a lot of people use to help program the mouth movements. Without it I would not be doing singing faces

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you can absolutely add as many channels as you want to the Sequences you purchased, in the sequence just right click on any of the channel buttons and choose insert channels

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1983ss454, Thanks, I have seen Papagayo mentioned a lot in my reading and will do some more reading up on it since our plan is to base most of our display around the singing xmas trees, the grandkids love them.

 

godman, Thanks too, i will give the add channels a try this weekend, I received three of my sequences and will get working on them more Friday and Saturday, still have to get used to the new PC with windows 8, we are having issues getting acquainted, I usually use Mac for everything and had to get a PC for the sequencing. And I thought I was just getting used to the Mac finally LOL. Kinda looks like Microsoft tried to go AP crazy with windows 8.

 

Thanks Again, Keith

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Just wanted to add a thought here, I am fairly new myself, last year was my first year but i am already up to 8 controllers and 32 DMX universes. Now i wont lie i think i took on to much to quickly , but with the madness comes a enjoyment like no other when people walk up to you just to tell you how much they liked your display and take interest in what you have done. But yes Papagayo is probably the best program i used to do the mouth movements. 

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Just a thought for KapKirk concerning your sequences, since you have a few already consider this, instead of creating and configuring new channels in every Face sequence you have, make 1 "Master Sequence" with all of your channels already configured then just copy & paste to the new sequence, it will save you a ton of time!

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Just my 2 cents worth of opinion but www.holidaysequences.com is the ONLY way to go.  Why strain the brain in your first year.  Let the professionals there do the job for you until you get your feet on the ground..... Great personal service and excellent pricing. 

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Just my 2 cents worth of opinion but www.holidaysequences.com is the ONLY way to go.  Why strain the brain in your first year.  Let the professionals there do the job for you until you get your feet on the ground..... Great personal service and excellent pricing. 

While they're pixel tree sequences are top notch I have to admit I'm less then impressed with some of the face sequences, maybe that's just my opinion, and also I always run a lot of songs that others don't have.

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I too am new and have been working on a singing tree . Have got tips from people here , thanks guys , and am still workin on it . After working with papagayo some , it does have good things about it but can be a pain. Been working on sequencing in SE this week to compare. Just got it set up in visualizer and channels set up. I have also purchased two from holiday sequences and have been editing to suit my own preferences a bit more . It does give you something to use as reference and it's already done . I will get a song done eventually and as stated before it should get easier . It did help a lot to get a couple sequences to get started. Although I too want to do a few songs that most people won't be using.

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If you are new to face sequencing, be prepared to spend some time on the songs. if you don't have a lot of time then using the holiday coro sequences is a good way to go (they sell a lot of sequences I have done for them. Kenny Jure is my name) but if you chose the path of time and work there is 2 ways to go. the sequence editor way and Papagayo. I use a combination of both. one thing I wanted to share is If you choose to go with the sequence editor your best friend is 1/2 speed. it is not hard at all to sequence singing faces. I love to do them and I'm good at it. Kapkirk I have a lot of sequences that I can share. PM me what you are looking for and if I got it I'll send you a couple. 

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I have seen your sequences Kenny and they look very good . So you get all the timing and the mouth movements done in papagayo then move it to SE for final editing ? Do you use any fading on the mouth movements or is it strictly on or off ? I see you fade the outline and such but wondered about the actual mouth movements . A newbie here just getting started. Figured I would be spending a lot of time but cold here in Indiana and nothing else to do.

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Appreciate all the advice guys, I like your idea godman about making a master sequence and pasting it into the new sequence. I am having PC issues trying to get the new PC useable and haven't done too much this week, I am hoping to get some real headway tomorrow. Kenny J thanks for the offer of sequences and the 1/2 speed advice, I will PM you when I get a little more ahead and am ready to plan my show, I have 3 songs/sequences planned so far with the grandkids in mind and now I am looking for a more traditional christmas pair of songs.

 

Thanks to all for the help, You guys are the best.

 

Keith

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I have seen your sequences Kenny and they look very good . So you get all the timing and the mouth movements done in papagayo then move it to SE for final editing ? Do you use any fading on the mouth movements or is it strictly on or off ? I see you fade the outline and such but wondered about the actual mouth movements . A newbie here just getting started. Figured I would be spending a lot of time but cold here in Indiana and nothing else to do.

Yes. Papagayo first then move the data to SE and fine tune it.  I don't use any fading for the mouth movements for the singing parts. I do fade the mouths in and out along with the outline but mostly fading in just before the singing come on and fade out after the singing part ends.  I want the singing element to look like an actual cartoon so there is always a mouth position on when the element is lit up, even if it is just smiling and not singing. That is just my personal preference. I did see a set up that Tom BetGeorge does where on non Christmas songs ( The Star Wars Tribute) the outline of the singing trees was off and just the face was singing, I liked that Idea. 

 

Keith,

Your welcome and looking forward to hearing from you, Stay warm. lol

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