When your Synchronized Light Display is same ole' same ole

[PMC]

I been a light synchronizer since 2007, always enjoyed being the "one and only" for 45 miles in either direction of my house.

Then on last nights local news they showed a few houses and businesses that are doing the synchronize thang they didn't include my house, and as I watched 2 things entered my mind

1) go back to a semi-static display: have my LOR controllers just do a lot of fading and sweeping of my lights for 2012 with no music at all

2) step it up a notch and go above and beyond and do more RGB which was my original plan.

And whats funny is one of the houses showed was playing Wizards in Winter and I got to see it for 30 seconds and I thought.... Hmmmmm that sequence looks familiar....its my sequence. oh well I do share my sequences if asked and I did post plenty of them on lorsequences.com years ago

Am I acting like the only child that just discovered that he is going to have a brother or a sister and I will lose being the main attraction?

Or put on my fighting gloves and "step it up a notch" BAM

UPDATE: as I was walking around outside for the last 1/2 hour and I was watching the traffic and the people, including a police car listening to the lights, I realized that I have my....I hate to use the word "Fans" but it made me feel better

[caniac]

PMC wrote:

I been a light synchronizer since 2007, always enjoyed being the "one and only" for 45 miles in either direction of my house.

Then on last nights local news they showed a few houses and businesses that are doing the synchronize thang they didn't include my house, and as I watched 2 things entered my mind

1) go back to a semi-static display: have my LOR controllers just do a lot of fading and sweeping of my lights for 2012 with no music at all

2) step it up a notch and go above and beyond and do more RGB which was my original plan.

And whats funny is one of the houses showed was playing Wizards in Winter and I got to see it for 30 seconds and I thought.... Hmmmmm that sequence looks familiar....its my sequence. oh well I do share my sequences if asked and I did post plenty of them on lorsequences.com years ago

Am I acting like the only child that just discovered that he is going to have a brother or a sister and I will lose being the main attraction?

Or put on my fighting gloves and "step it up a notch" BAM

1) don't overreact
2) assess what they are doing, are they doing anything cool or all canned.
3) kick it up a notch, maybe some cool add on's to your props. Love my mega tree but saw a video where someone took the pole for it and turned it into a firestick so you know what I will be working on January 2nd.
4) look for music that is a bit non-traditional but would be cool for Christmas (one guy here did angry birds and Crackers fame is legendary - both used non-traditional music to do some really cool displays).
5) once you have done LOR you just can't go back to static, a waste of talent!

[PMC]

well one of my plans for next year was to remove all my trees, 4 of which are 30ft tall (I am really going to think that over) and do my entire house in RGB/CCB ribbons, LED Floods and my 12 CCR matrix... and go full throttle

Ok UPDATE: maybe trim the trees down to 12ft high, that might work... gee I like this I post my thoughts in this forum, read responses and I feel I can now get on with my work on 2012

[caniac]

PMC wrote:

well one of my plans for next year was to remove all my trees, 4 of which are 30ft tall (I am really going to think that over) and do my entire house in RGB/CCB ribbons, LED Floods and my 12 CCR matrix... and go full throttle

that would be sweet, after seeing Cracker's Christmas display I am thinking about a forest of spiral RGB/CCR trees.

[WilliamS]

Step it up. Go Big or Go home. Dont let them steal the thunder, take it back and go absurd!

I have no one in my neighborhood that does the light show, but I assume next year they will, so to make sure Im going bigger just to make sure! Its not about competition its about I WAS HERE FIRST. Well not here per say but you get the drift.

[Guest Don Gillespie]

PMC wrote:

well one of my plans for next year was to remove all my trees, 4 of which are 30ft tall (I am really going to think that over) and do my entire house in RGB/CCB ribbons, LED Floods and my 12 CCR matrix... and go full throttle

I know what you mean I have a guy coming over to my house tomorrow to look over the display, he is thinking about getting into this, my first thought was nooooooooooooooooooooooooo, but then I realized another guy in the same city lets pool ideas and blow the roof off of this stuff, (did I mention he is a welder) all I see are custom displays, singing santas well you get the idea. just my opinion don't cut down your trees they are really a thing of beauty and think how long it took them to get to 30 feet.

[PMC]

I planted those trees 35 years ago, here's a pic of me decorating them


Attached files

[Guest guest]

I guess it depends on your reason for doing your show. If it is to impress people because you are the biggest, then toss more money at it and make sure it truly is the biggest display, and people recognize it as that.

If it is for people to enjoy the experience of seeing lights synchronized to music, then I would vote making sure quality does not take a backseat to size, or being known as the first kid on your block to do it.

There are a lot of very mediocre "big" displays out there. I've yet to see one where size makes up for lack of artistic quality, and attention to detail. 16 channels to 160 channels does not necessarily means a 10x better show.

Just my 2 cents.

[PMC]

I don't really do this for my 15 minutes of fame, I love Music, Lights & Christmas and I adapted very quickly to make a good show.

The way I started was many years ago my son was getting his treatments for Leukemia and he had to stay in the house almost all the time so he was on the computer and he stumbled on William's Wizards in Winter video on youtube and as he was watching he looked up at me and said, Dad....you can do this, can't you? what was I going to say. So I spent all of early 2007 trying to build my own controllers, I found how to build one on a DIY website, there was no mention of LOR at this time. so 10 months into it and not having much success I searched again and I found Wowlights, I emailed them before Thanksgiving 2007 and I purchased my 1st 16 channel controller and by the 1st week of December I was up and running.I kept the entire project to myself until a week before lightup when I told the wife and the night I turned the system on, we took Michael out to dinner and as we were driving home I put the radio on the frequency I was transmitting the lights on and I was looping WiW and he heard the song and said.....Hey, Turn that up I like this song, and as we got closer to the house and he didn't see it right away and we told him to look out the car window and he started to give a big smile and looked and said, You did it...you really did it. I will never forget that

and folks that's my reason for the lighting season

and if you look at my LOR forums sign up date it was December 2008, I spent all 2008 just watching and learning I didn't feel good enough to participate in any discussions on here, and if you look at my videos from 2007 and one from 2008 you can see I learned alot on this forum, and I hope I help the new people as much as the seasoned lighting pros taught me back in all of 2008 and they didn't even know they did.

but now with all this competition and if I should go bigger and stronger, I asked my son, who is now going on 15 said, are you nuts?.... your the best at this better than those wannabe people

And has anybody noticed that this forum now has over 10,000 members

so here I am putting songs together for 2012 lighting season

[Surfing4Dough]

PMC wrote:

I don't really do this for my 15 minutes of fame, I love Music, Lights & Christmas and I adapted very quickly to make a good show.

The way I started was many years ago my son was getting his treatments for Leukemia and he had to stay in the house almost all the time so he was on the computer and he stumbled on William's Wizards in Winter video on youtube and as he was watching he looked up at me and said, Dad....you can do this, can't you? what was I going to say. So I spent all of early 2007 trying to build my own controllers, I found how to build one on a DIY website, there was no mention of LOR at this time. so 10 months into it and not having much success I searched again and I found Wowlights, I emailed them before Thanksgiving 2007 and I purchased my 1st 16 channel controller and by the 1st week of December I was up and running.I kept the entire project to myself until a week before lightup when I told the wife and the night I turned the system on, we took Michael out to dinner and as we were driving home I put the radio on the frequency I was transmitting the lights on and I was looping WiW and he heard the song and said.....Hey, Turn that up I like this song, and as we got closer to the house and he didn't see it right away and we told him to look out the car window and he started to give a big smile and looked and said, You did it...you really did it. I will never forget that

and folks that's my reason for the lighting season

and if you look at my LOR forums sign up date it was December 2008, I spent all 2008 just watching and learning I didn't feel good enough to participate in any discussions on here, and if you look at my videos from 2007 and one from 2008 you can see I learned alot on this forum, and I hope I help the new people as much as the seasoned lighting pros taught me back in all of 2008 and they didn't even know they did.

but now with all this competition and if I should go bigger and stronger, I asked my son, who is now going on 15 said, are you nuts?.... your the best at this better than those wannabe people

And has anybody noticed that this forum now has over 10,000 members

so here I am putting songs together for 2012 lighting season

It is very possible that the "other display(s)" that has invaded your territory has a son that "stumbled on [your] Wizards in Winter... and as he was watching he looked up at [his dad] and said, Dad....you can do this, can't you? What was [he] going to say?"

How can you blame them for having a display? Think of how blessed you are. Think of how blessed those other dads must feel. They aren't competition. We are all in a wonderful and privileged group together that gets to bring joy to lots of sons and daughters in such a unique way. If we reach a point where we can no longer be content with "just that" then it is time to move on to another hobby.

[PMC]

good point, another reason why I like posting my thoughts here

I don't feel like I'm being invaded, I have helped lots of people with this "hobby" and yes that includes sharing sequences with my neighbors okay people who are in the 3 states surrounding me I encourage this to anybody who wants to attempt it, I just felt like I should move over and let the "kids" give it a shot. or...lets reword it I felt as though I should go into semi-retirement

But, since the start of this thread, I changed my mind, you are right.... welcome the newbies and help them from not making the same mistakes I did

[Robin]

Okay here is my two cents. Take it or leave it.

If you do it because it make you, your family and others happy then continue. If you do it for competition and the competition makes you happy then continue.

However, if it consumes your life, if it consumes your wallet, if it takes away from family time the remainder of the year then back off a bit. I offer this from experience.

For three years, 365 days a year I ate and slept my display. I built things no one else has built, designed things no one else had. However, I was tired. I never went anywhere during Christmas. I had a good time, loved playing Santa, loved donating the money to my charity but it became a job.

I truly believe that the more channels you acquire the quality of your sequencing suffers as well. Twelve to twenty hours per minute of music is just Not fun after a few years.

Three years ago I decided I was going to change my display. I started selling some items. Last year in injury prevented me from doing the display. This summer I sold everything, including 49 controllers. (I wish I would have kept five.)

I would suggest that you have 2-4 key elements in your display each year. Concentrate on doing those items perfectly. Change them up from year to year to keep you fresh. I believe the optimal number of channels to do good is around 128 or so.

Most importantly, take time off. Don't post on the forums, don't read them. Walk away, read a book, go to a few movies. Pay attention to your family. Hell, paint your house. Then start back with a fresh outlook and a fresh mind.

As far as contest are concerned I have a love hate with them. Pretty much I feel they are stupid. A few years back a guy thirty miles from me bragged about all year long about winning a TV contest. I mean it was brutal. So the next year I entered. I don't think anyone ever won first and second place before. Never heard from him again. That was the first and only contest I ever entered. However, the love part was the $500 mall gift card!! My wife and daughter love it.

Happy New Year!

[Robin]

GoofyGuy wrote:

Step it up. Go Big or Go home. Dont let them steal the thunder, take it back and go absurd!

I have no one in my neighborhood that does the light show, but I assume next year they will, so to make sure Im going bigger just to make sure! Its not about competition its about I WAS HERE FIRST. Well not here per say but you get the drift.

With 32 channels and 4,000 lights you might want to get back on the porch boy rather than make a statement like that. Oh and I can say that, 350,000 plus lights and 649 channels.

[bk2nrml]

i do it for fun. i enjoy it. i do it because i love the smiles on everybody's face that see it. its about sharing my joy of the season with anybody who sees it. i dont do it to get on tv or in the papers. i dont chase awards and post to the forums begging for people to go vote for me. no offense but if thats what its all about attention, youre doing it for the wrong reason, imho.

thyno
www.tzchristmas.com

[Guest wbottomley]

I love it Robin. hahahahahaha

I'm with ya' - 150K here and 714 AC channels.


Thyno.... good to see you bro!

[PMC]

Robin, have you thought of doing a smaller version of your show, maybe just 32 channels just to keep your show alive?

And my son won't let me give it up, he told me that over an hour ago he said his girlfriends love our house, I should have talked to him first and I never would have started this thread, once I found out my display was a chick magnet

[George Simmons]

I do it because that's what I do at Christmas - put out lights. I have since I was a kid. Now they dance, back then they just stood still. I do it because it makes me feel good to see so many others feeling good. I like hearing people tell me my lights are becoming part of their Christmas tradition. When I was a kid my mom would pile us 4 kids into her station wagon every year the Saturday before Christmas - regardless of weather or whatnot - and we'd go look at people's lights. One of my favorite memories. Now I'm on the giving end. I do it because Sharon and I both like it and it gives us pleasure to watch. I do it because I can.

I use the same yardstick today as I always have from the time I was a kid. If it isn't good enough to make people stop, then you're not done yet. I suppose one day it will become same old, same old, but that day hasn't got here yet. When it does, I'll sell my controllers to Robin.

Paul - I agree with your idea of making a hedge out of those trees.

[Dale W]

I know I was the first guy in the city, probably the state, to do this.

I do not have any problem helping anybody that asks or giving free advice.

Are some of the new displays bigger and better than mine? You bet. But it isn't about how big you are, or how better you are. It is about the impact you make on the people that watch your lights.

I used to put up my display for me. Now I put it up for the others. And that is all I need (cause I am sure there is somebody that will throw more money into their show than I will do each year).

Work what you have.

[Robin]

PMC wrote:

Robin, have you thought of doing a smaller version of your show, maybe just 32 channels just to keep your show alive?

And my son won't let me give it up, he told me that over an hour ago he said his girlfriends love our house, I should have talked to him first and I never would have started this thread, once I found out my display was a chick magnet

Oh it would be smaller. I had 200,000 lights in boxes for stock! Sold them all. About 400 wireframes gone. Forty-nine controllers, poof.

I kept my bubble machine, and FM transmitter. I have about 4,000 LED lights. So it would be smaller for sure.

[Bill P]

Ever since I can remember my mom and I drove around looking for Christmas lights, it is tradition. So now I pass that along to my kids. thats how I found this house in Absecon, NJ on Sooy lane, thousands of lights all playing to music. That was it, I was hooked! I had always had a static display, but this was it....
Like you I searched and found wow lights.com. That lead me here. My job at the time wouldn't let me afford LOR and I ended up with a LOSAC box which got modded to use with Vixen for a whopping 6 channels. Landed a new job who's Christmas Bonus landed me 3 shinny new LOR controllers and the advanced software for this years show.
This forum also lead me to find another member in my town, Mike Ammirato,(and now the point of my babble)While my daughter and I were out front handing out candy canes and greeting visitors I would often tell them about Mike's house, to which some said they had been there too and really liked the fact that there were 2 places to visit and that the it was nice that they each were different.
So to me more show's means more visitors, more visitors means more happy kids, and happy kids makes it all worth while.