Purchasing Sequences

[SecurityMan]

Hi Guys,

Not really my intention to purchase sequences 'long-term', as I think they are best done by the show designer themselves (you/me).

However, I have a question - out of curiosity more-so than anything;

If I buy an 'editable' sequence for example, 1.) How many channels does it come configured for, and 2.) How/what is the best way to reduce it, or 'apply' it to suit *MY* show? (Will only have 48ch initially).

It looks to me like theres nearly as much work modifying the sequence as there would be to create your own?

Or am I missing something here?

Thanks.

[MikeA]

It looks to me like theres nearly as much work modifying the sequence as there would be to create your own?

Or am I missing something here?

Thanks.

That is what I have always thought. To buy a sequence that works for you it would have to have the same setup...house lights...mega tree, arches...ect. I really have never understood the need to buy or even share. As you said, it would take just as much work modifying them to work for you. Unless of course someone has the same set up as you.

[evan.a]

I've shared a lot of my sequences. most all are set at a .05 cell. I haven't heard of any complaints.

anyone who got and use a copy can chime in.

[overeazy]

Nothing wrong for me with using a sequence someone is kind enough to share. I purchase everything and set it all up for the enjoyment of others not to get any personal satisfaction out of saying I make all the lights move myself. Why would I go to all the trouble of setting everything up if I did not want it to look its best and if that means using the talents of others I can live with that. Anytime I see some sequences I see someone is willing to share I will down load them and take a look at them. If its a song I might want to use and I really like the job they did I will start trying to figure out how to make fit my display. The best ones to look at are the sequences that have the animation with them as I can run the sequence looking at the animation screen several times to get a feel for it. I will have a drawing of my display and start assigning elements of the sequence I am looking at to elements in mine. I then start cutting and pasting from his elements into my configuration and then play it and observe and make changes and additions as I see fit. I know I am tone deaf and don't know what a beat is so people being willing to share keeps everyone from knowing about it too.

[dgrant]

I bought one sequence this year for two reasons. One to compare a more expert version of sequencing to my own thoughts on that and secondly to save myself some time. Turns out, the sequence that I bought was done very nice. Of course I had to modify it for my own display and there were significant changes for that but it ended up being one of my favorites. I did learn from there sequencing efforts and kept their style intact.

[caniac]

I have bought sequences and gotten them from others, have never found modifying them to be overly difficult as long as the audio and sequence match up nicely. The majority of my setup is similar to what WoWLights sells and where it differs it is easy to modify as long as you have a good understanding of what you want your prop to do.

[jeff bush]

I purchased one as well and it turns out it is in S3 and I am running S2 advanced and can not view it. Is that correct the Sequences in S3 will not play on S2 or is it something I am doing wrong?

[Don]

If you purchased a "Ready to go" sequence from the LOR Store, it will not open on S2.

If you purchased a "Sequence you can modify" from the LOR Store, then you *might* (maybe, possibly, with effort) get it to open on S2. It might require quite a bit of leg work to make it happen though. (Which is a long winded way of saying if you get sequences from the LOR Store, you should have a license that can support S3.)

[dougd]

It is my understanding that S3 sequences will not work with S2.

[jeff bush]

Thanks Don.

PS.. I like the "maybe,possibly with effort" statement

[Premier]

I am just a newbie myself and haven't purchased any sequences but I certainly did think about it. I downloaded some sequences others on the web were willing to share for free and found out since their displays were no where near mine ( light configuration, number of channels, etc ) I spent nearly as much time trying to re-do their efforts to fit my show. For me personally I would rather just start with a blank canvas and create my own, maybe its just a matter or pride ( or ego ) that I did it myself. I can;t wait until the holidays to show off what I have been doing.

[ClydeL]

... I downloaded some sequences others on the web were willing to share for free and found out since their displays were no where near mine ( light configuration, number of channels, etc ) I spent nearly as much time trying to re-do their efforts to fit my show....

I use shared sequences in my show. I've gotten very good at converting them. The "trick" is to realize that someone already went through and found the "major" parts of the song and tapped out the beat, or came up with some sort of organization. I find the hardest thing about creating a sequence is the 5 hours of "prep work" that is required. Don't get me wrong, I receive much satisfaction from creating my own sequences. I just don't have the time to. But I can take someone's sequence, and very quickly locate the "like elements" or things that would be useful and copy it to my configuration. About 1 hour and I can have a "shell" completed... then it's just a matter of adding in my personal special effects for the items that are unique to my display. Usually I can convert a sequence into my 272 channels in around 6 hours. To be honest, that is a huge CUT OFF of time and effort as opposed to the 3 new sequences I did this year. Those cost me around 30 hours or more to sequence each one.

I think I've found only 1 or 2 sequences that were not worth the time or effort. No offense, but some are not done very well. I learned very quickly what to look for (it's very subjective) in a shared sequence. By far, I believe that most all shared sequences have value and can be adapted to any display.

[caniac]

I am just a newbie myself and haven't purchased any sequences but I certainly did think about it. I downloaded some sequences others on the web were willing to share for free and found out since their displays were no where near mine ( light configuration, number of channels, etc ) I spent nearly as much time trying to re-do their efforts to fit my show. For me personally I would rather just start with a blank canvas and create my own, maybe its just a matter or pride ( or ego ) that I did it myself. I can;t wait until the holidays to show off what I have been doing.

I was initially intimidated by the sequence editor and my display originally was pretty close to what WoWLights recommended/sold. So for me it was plug and play and I was ok with that. But after that season I got really curious as to what all could I do and started experimenting with props and non-WoWlights sequences.

[plasmadrive]

In the beginning I purchased sequences but they really didn't apply to my setup. So what I did was modify them and use things like the arches and mega tree parts of the sequence to get me started.. I wound up programming pretty much all my own stuff from there.. I have shared my sequences with others but not sure what good it did.. but maybe like me the first year, they used parts of it and built around it..

[thevikester]

I too was a product of the wowlights sequences, until things got a bit bigger and more sophisticated. I think Mike had done a very good job with them, and I still cut n past some of the elements in my show now, but with 3 colors and now throwing in 2200 channels of RGB this year, I will have alot of reconfiguring to do on the sequences, thus, I've been on it since I took the lights down.

[MCas4380]

I use shared sequences in my show. I've gotten very good at converting them. The "trick" is to realize that someone already went through and found the "major" parts of the song and tapped out the beat, or came up with some sort of organization. I find the hardest thing about creating a sequence is the 5 hours of "prep work" that is required. Don't get me wrong, I receive much satisfaction from creating my own sequences. I just don't have the time to. But I can take someone's sequence, and very quickly locate the "like elements" or things that would be useful and copy it to my configuration. About 1 hour and I can have a "shell" completed... then it's just a matter of adding in my personal special effects for the items that are unique to my display. Usually I can convert a sequence into my 272 channels in around 6 hours. To be honest, that is a huge CUT OFF of time and effort as opposed to the 3 new sequences I did this year. Those cost me around 30 hours or more to sequence each one.

I think I've found only 1 or 2 sequences that were not worth the time or effort. No offense, but some are not done very well. I learned very quickly what to look for (it's very subjective) in a shared sequence. By far, I believe that most all shared sequences have value and can be adapted to any display.

This is what works for me.

[Premier]

I use shared sequences in my show. I've gotten very good at converting them. The "trick" is to realize that someone already went through and found the "major" parts of the song and tapped out the beat, or came up with some sort of organization. I find the hardest thing about creating a sequence is the 5 hours of "prep work" that is required. Don't get me wrong, I receive much satisfaction from creating my own sequences. I just don't have the time to. But I can take someone's sequence, and very quickly locate the "like elements" or things that would be useful and copy it to my configuration. About 1 hour and I can have a "shell" completed... then it's just a matter of adding in my personal special effects for the items that are unique to my display. Usually I can convert a sequence into my 272 channels in around 6 hours. To be honest, that is a huge CUT OFF of time and effort as opposed to the 3 new sequences I did this year. Those cost me around 30 hours or more to sequence each one.

I think I've found only 1 or 2 sequences that were not worth the time or effort. No offense, but some are not done very well. I learned very quickly what to look for (it's very subjective) in a shared sequence. By far, I believe that most all shared sequences have value and can be adapted to any display.

Well its probably because I am so new to all this, I bet by this summer having spent hundreds of hours programming ( getting way more comfortable and most importantly knowledgable as what to and what not to look for ) I will be leaping at the chance to alter and adapt other sequences. Luckily I am only at 32 channels...this year

[George Simmons]

... I find the hardest thing about creating a sequence is the 5 hours of "prep work" that is required.

Could you elaborate on that?

[thevikester]

Could you elaborate on that?

If I read his post right George, its the listening to the music a handful of times, probably running the music thru audacity to get CBR, etc.. trying to visualize in his head what the music should look like on the house , and then laying out the various beat tracks to different timings. He may be using 5 hours as a bit of exaggeration, but definitly some time element in getting ready to color in the first box....

[caniac]

Well its probably because I am so new to all this, I bet by this summer having spent hundreds of hours programming ( getting way more comfortable and most importantly knowledgeable as what to and what not to look for ) I will be leaping at the chance to alter and adapt other sequences. Luckily I am only at 32 channels...this year

when asking for sequences make sure you specify what song you are looking for and your basic channel setup, most likely there is someone out there that has a setup that is close to what you are doing.