Total Newbie Here

[bblumka]

This will be my first year at the flashy blinky thing. I currently have 5 controllers and I'm thinking I will need one maybe two more for everything I have planned. Here's the question: Would having all my controllers linked up/hooked up and in my sequencer so I can point the visualizer to the correct controller/channel before I start making my visualizer? Thinking that having all of them would make it easier when it comes down to programming the visualizer. Also, I have about another month of construction on my displays. (It will be Christmas only this first year) Am I ok as far as time goes to program the visualizer AND sequence the songs? Looking at the end of August beginning of September before I start working on that stuff.

Thanks

[Don]

In my opinion the first thing you should do is layout your channels for this year. Before you start on the Visualizer, or sequencing, I feel it is best to have everything mapped out. Starting with 80 channels seems overwhelming to some, but the key here is to make sure you have everything defined and ready to go. In the process of doing this, you will also want to make sure you electrical calculations are correct. With more and more LED's in displays it isn't as big of a deal as it used to be. Still, nothing worse than blowing a fuse and as a result having to reprogram everything because your over the amp limit on a controller.

Once you have your channel layout defined, then you want to put it into the Sequence Editor. Add your 5 controllers and label the channels.

After the Sequence Editor is defined with the channels, then start building your Visualization.

Again, just my opinion here, but this is like a pyramid. You can't have the visualizer working without channels defined. You can't have channels defined without knowing what you are going to put where. (Though, you could draw in the visualizer if you wanted to, but linking the objects to channels would not be something I would recommend doing until you have your channels defined.)

Programming - Everyone is different. People who are just getting started tend to say it takes them a long time to do a sequence. Check back with them in a few years, and they say it doesn't take them as long. Depending on who you talk to you either have plenty of time, or you are already out of time.

[bblumka]

So I should buy my other two controllers and get them into my sequencer, before I start doing my visualizer?

I am going all incand lighting for this first year . . . but I also just had a 100 amp sub panel put in for the lights. I don't want to blow a fuse either so I jumped the gun on that one knowing it will be a bigger display next year.

[Don]

I fully understand wanting to have the controllers before you put them in the sequence editor, but it is not necessary. You can put them in the sequence editor and start programming them before you have the controllers in hand.

Once you have everything set up in the Sequence Editor, you would then setup the visualizer.

[Surfing4Dough]

You can assign the channels in the software first and then worry about assigning it to the controllers later. I would strongly suggest that you start sequencing (even if just for 30 minutes) to get the feel of it before you make a final decision about adding more controllers and how much time you should allow. It won't matter how many channels you have come November if you don't have enough songs sequenced to have a show. And most find it looks better to focus on quality rather than quantity, and progress to both with time. Sequencing will probably take you longer than you think.

[Ron Boyd]

http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/15271-official-s3-lor-visualizer-props-and-fixtures-attachments/

Don't forget to look through these. There are 2 pages of Visualizer props that a lot of folks have already drawn out. If you can use some of them, it will make setting up the visualizer a lot faster.

For sequencing, download a few different free sequences to see how other people sequence. I'll be happy to share some of my sequences. I only have a few for this year with 112 channels and all of my 32 channel sequences. PM me if you're interested. I learned a ton about the software from free and paid sequences. Use copy and paste and save a lot, it will save you some time. The software is simple to learn, but it doesn't hurt to see what can be done to help you along. I would start sequencing now and build props in between. Just a suggestion.

Last year was my first year, and it took about 2-3 hours per minute of song with 32 channels. Remember, you can paste the same effect to a different prop and it will react differently. (ie.paste a chase from a mega or spiral tree to a line of mini trees. Same sequence effect, different result.

Hope this helps and welcome to the wonderful world of Blinky lights. There's no turning back now.

Ron