my first sequence... opinions on it and thanks to all

[bhunt240]

First off id like to say thank you to everyone on this forum with out reading and researching on here theres no way I would've been brave enough to buy and attempt this lol! But im doing it, I plan on buying some sequences or "borrowing some to make my own" for my small show this year if it does fail or if hate this sequence when it goes on the house and real lights ill either stick to others sequences for this year or just do a gradual fade and some on off animations. .. lets hope I dont have to do that!!! Id say iv got 10 hours into sequencing but granted the first few hours I was piddling trying to figure out the software

Anyways iv got the video uploading of my first sequence to carol of the bells by august burns red.

Current setup

C9 blue led roof trim lights

All other lights are c6 or mini

Blue led window and front door trim lights

Ultra white led "fire sticks" I have 4 of them but ill have each one wired as a whole just as say a solid light bar bc of the shortage of channels (tempo and timing accents)

Ultra white 24" home made mini trees with 1/4" round rod rolled into hoops and all the straights as well I have 6 of these.

Next year if this goes decent ill be adding red white and green to the roof and all the windows and hopefully wiring the fire sticks like they should be and adding some arches but like I said we'll see how it goes

Im in a small neighborhood and not many people do Christmas lights in our town much less neighborhood lol hopefully it will be a success and good for the community

Again I thank everyone for the knowledge and know how on this site its helped me a great deal!

Thanks

Blake

Ill post the video as soon as its done uploading

[bhunt240]

Ill have close to 5,000 lights this year

And while im on the topic whats a good number of mini leds to put on 24" tall mini trees standard iv seen was 100 of each color but my trees will stay white so is 100 enough? Or should I double that?

Thanks

[bhunt240]

[Santas Helper]

Waiting for that video.

 

On your last question.

I have white only on my mini trees and 200 is a good number (if I remember right), at least for me. They are 2' high too.

[Santas Helper]

Okay, you posted the video while I was replying.

That's a good start!!! While I'm not into headbanging Christmas music your sequence was laid out pretty good for the amount of channels you have.

I would add the while columns as a quick shimmer in the doublebass rapid fire points where there is nothing going on. In real life, the shimmer effect does good on areas like that.

Other than that, good job.

[bhunt240]

Okay, you posted the video while I was replying.

That's a good start!!! While I'm not into headbanging Christmas music your sequence was laid out pretty good for the amount of channels you have.

I would add the while columns as a quick shimmer in the doublebass rapid fire points where there is nothing going on. In real life, the shimmer effect does good on areas like that.

Other than that, good job.

Thanks for the feedback! I had some stuff like that going on but i took some of it out i felt me being a drummer i was doing too much... like i said thats why i posted it to get feedback from you guys that are more experienced! Also Thanks for the info on the trees ill go pick up the 200ct minis for each one tomorrow

So in your opinion how did I do for starting from scratch and being my first sequence? I tend to over think alot of things like is there too much going on right here or I wonder if it will seem empty or blank here..

[Santas Helper]

Thanks for the feedback! I had some stuff like that going on but i took some of it out i felt me being a drummer i was doing too much... like i said thats why i posted it to get feedback from you guys that are more experienced! Also Thanks for the info on the trees ill go pick up the 200ct minis for each one tomorrow

So in your opinion how did I do for starting from scratch and being my first sequence? I tend to over think alot of things like is there too much going on right here or I wonder if it will seem empty or blank here..

 

I felt you did pretty good and starting out, you have a basic idea of how to segment the song. Of course being a drummer probably helps figuring out the beat. I'm a bassist which I think helped me with my beats in the sequencing.

One of my sticky points in a sequence is the beat thru out the song. It's got to be right on the money before I move on. it drives me nuts to see off beat tempo to lights. But that's just me.

One thing I try to highlight in each sequence is the peak moments, like using floods (brighter lights) for loud cymbal crashes or tight knit (all together) beats.

The more channels you increase, the more gradual you can make the sequences thru-out the songs.

 

But I think your on the right track.

 

BTW, with that song, there has to be alot going on, especially in it's high points. It's a high energy song so the action needs to be high energy. If it's a slower song, it should use less activity/energy.

[bhunt240]

Awesome man thanks agn for your feedback now on to finishing up the mini trees and on to the next song! Im pretty excited to get this rolling

[Santas Helper]

And just to add...

The more sequencing you do, the better you get and the easier it gets sequencing.

Of course adding more channels adds to more time sequencing, but all in all, it gets much easier after getting a few under your belt.

[TonyD]

I think it looks great. My only comment would be to add something around the 2:00 minute mark where there's lots of drum activity but you don't have much going on light-wise.

 

As this is my first year too I am struggling with how the display will translate from the Visualizer to real lights. How will the fades look and will it be too "flashy", etc.

 

I am also struggling with some of the chases and which beat to start on or "light" on. For example, start a chase on beat 1 always? Turn the lights on for beat 1 and 3 or 2 and 4?, etc.

 

I thought all of yours look great.

 

TonyD

[Santas Helper]

Tony,

IMHO, the visualizer will give you a pretty good idea of how the display will "act" like. The twinkling and shimmer effect are far better in the actual display. The fades are pretty much the same as you see in the visualizer.

In my experience, the actual display always looks better, more dramatic than on the computer.

if your visualizer looks too flashy, then you might think your actual display looks too flashy. But sometimes it's hard to tell until it's up and running. Good thing is, you can make adjustments all season long and nobody will even know it. I'm always changing something in my sequences thru-out the season.

Everyone is different on their own effects but I like to start a chase at beat 1. It makes the chase look in time with the song from the beginning of each chase.