getting started early

[bdwillie]

OK, So we have always wanted to do this,  discussed the pros and cons,  discussed the work involved, the money involved  yadda yadda yadda....  Bottom line is wifey said do it!  Invested in a 16 channel starter set, and added another 16 channel controller.  All of it showed up last week.  We are stoked!!!  Already starting to figure out the sequence editor, gonna try to keep things simple until we get this figured out.  We have the controllers sitting on our office table, with lights plugged into the controllers and lights are a blinkin!!!  Wish us luck on our endeavor and I am sure we will be asking tons of those stupid newbie questions that will make you seasoned guys roll your eyes  lol!!!

 

See ya

 

Bobby

[k6ccc]

You are right to start early.  Figure out your layout and start sequencing.

 

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Newb]

Good luck!  I just started last year with 16 channels and had a great time!  Some advice, invest the time and sequence your own - it is most of the fun and bought sequences just don't look the same imo especially anything from eBay.  The LOR ones are actually not as bad, but still wouldn't do them either unless you spend extra and get the modify ones.

 

I have started trying smart pixels this year (quite a bit more difficult than the regular light controllers), but love the addition now that I've figured out some things.  This forum is very helpful btw.

[zvacman]

Welcome to the insanity!  Last year was my first year and the channel count that started at 32 ended up at 80.  I have added RGB's and Smart RGB's this year, whole different animal.  Don't feel afraid to ask questions, everyone on here is awesome.  One piece of advice, don't wait until October to ask questions.  A lot of forum users do Halloween displays and don't have much time to help.  Welcome.

 

Z

[EARLE W. TALLEY]

I think there are 2-3 other LOR  displays in the Jacksonville area look them up and seek their advice and help if needed.

[dgrant]

Welcome to our hobby! Absolutely you must start early. Most of us are already making changes for this coming season and accommodating those changes in our sequences, hardware and fabricating new props or changes to existing props. I know I am already. Feel free to ask questions. Watch the LOR tutorials. 

[Need more lights]

Another victim! WELCOME! Need any advice just ask! There are no dumb questions, so don't be afraid to ask. My first bit of advice is get your animation working, or visualizer your choice. (I like the animation) And save your channel configuration in the Export channel config found near the bottom of the edit tab.(once you have your channels mapped/named and color coded) It will save you a ton of time when you make a new sequence (select Import config) and all your channels will be synced with the same mapping. (I learned this trick later than sooner...Ugghh!)

[Bizywk]

Welcome aboard.   BTW, you're not early because it will likely take you a while longer than you initially expect to finish your planning, become familiar with tools, get your props completed, and finally TEST.    Lots to do.     You may also find email threads like this one below to be helpful to you.  There are a number of threads like this out there.  Watch the training videos available on YouTube as well.

.   Keep doing your research and don’t get frustrated. You’ll find lots of people who will make themselves available to help you overcome nearly any issue.   Watch for the spring and summer sale for the best deals.  Best of luck to you BD and welcome aboard.

 

.  http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/29074-whats-the-one-great-idea-youd-share-with-a-newbie/&page=3#comment-355843

 

[Orville]

One advice I can give for when I started is not to buy pre-made sequences, they usually can't be changed/modified.  But get some from those of us, like me, that share our sequences, this can and will help you to see how things work and flow in the Sequence Editor, then you can modify them to suit your display and taste, or create your own, but using shared sequences will help you to learm the ins and outs of the SE much faster than just sequencing outright first off.

 

Many of us used shared sequences when we started, and many of us still do, but re-create them to our display set up.  I do this quite often myself.   Especially helps if you get stuck on a particular song sequence and someone has already done it.

 

And Welcome to the insanity, er...addiction.     Like one other said, there are no dumb or stupid questions, always ask, if it's been covered before, someone will know where that info is and will post a link in a response to the question, if not, someone will try to answer it to the best of their ability to get you going in the right direction.

 

Welcome to the madness!

 

BTW: here's a couple links to my sequences to start you off:

Link to my 2014 Christmas Sequences
http://1drv.ms/1DK4QII

Link to my 2014 Halloween Sequences
http://1drv.ms/1J3wFMr

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by Orville

[EmmienLightFan]

This is not early. This is late!

 

Last November is not even early.

[bdwillie]

Thanks Everyone for the Warm Welcome!  It's great to know there are so many people that "have my back" so to speak!  Will remember all the advice and thanks Orville for allowing me to snag your sequences!  Great way to learn!

[saxon]

welcome, enjoy the ride.

If you think this is cool now, wait until your first show......

 

[BryanZ]

Welcome to the insanity and here is wishing you the best of luck! 

[jstorms]

Pretty much these days you need to have a pretty good idea of what you are doing for next year by end of December if you want to save on the presales deals. 

Then once it does come in there is all the testing, soldering, building, and more testing. We call that spring.

Then towards the end of summer need to test the controllers, radio, and all those strands of lights.

Since everyone wants to have something up for Halloween October and November are the setup months.

busy busy busy

[ericm]

Welcome to the madness!  Last year was my first year... It was amazing, all hard work was worth it.  Couple things I figured out, start as early as possible.... spend the extra time now making and designing your elements to shorten your setup up time and for storage space.  You'll need double the extension cords or spt wire you thought you did.  Once it's all setup and running take pics and videos so you know how you did it and where your runs go.   And last don't be afraid to ask what you think are dumb questions, people here are willing to answer almost anything, trust me ask before you set your house on fire.  This group saved me from a really bad electrician that would have set my house on fire had I not posted pics of what he did.  

 

[bdwillie]

Thanks for the advice all!   Definitely taking notes!

[Orville]

Hey John, my Halloween setup starts in mid-September!

[ebrown1972]

Always start early. Last year during 4th of July week I was in the backyard building my ccr tree. I got it all hooked up and tested during that week. I like to have everything that I will be using tested no later than August and after the testing is done I spend the rest of my time sequencing. I also sequence off and on throughout the year. Anyway good luck to you and welcome to the fun!!!!!!!

[robigd]

Just sent you a PM. I am in Jacksonville as well.

[George Simmons]

I have to agree that many (okay, maybe most) of the sequences on Ebay suck pretty bad.  No matter where you buy sequences (Ebay, LOR, Clearwater Lights, wherever) make sure you watch a video of the sequence.  Doesn't matter if it's an actual video or if it's a Visualizer/Animation playback.  Even if all you see is a minute-long snippet, you can always tell right away if the sequencing is worth paying for.

And don't even consider buying any sequences that can't be edited.

Edited February 27, 2016 by George Simmons