Slow tunes sequencing

[Meegan]

Hi all,

Some of my all time fav Christmas tunes are very sloooooow: "please come home for Christmas", "sending you a little Christmas", etc. I just can't seem to get them look good or at least interesting.

What tips tricks do you Vets use when sequencing a song that is slow and doesn't have a lot of movement?

Thanks!

[Denny]

For me, slow songs are the most difficult to sequence.  For me, I use a lot of slow fades, sometimes, fading from one color to another such as blue to white.  Where possible, I also try to use video with them.  If I can find video of the artist performing the song, I will use that.  Otherwise, I might make up a slide show with pictures I can find that are appropriate for the song. 

[George Simmons]

Primarily due to the fact that slow songs do tend to be incredibly boring, I choose to mostly avoid them.  (And that even extends to my custom sequencing.  I'd prefer to turn down those jobs rather than doing a sequence that even I wouldn't sit through as a viewer.)  What sounds good when you're all mellowed out curled up in front of the fireplace with a nice glass of wine often looks like crap from the street.  Some songs just aren't made for sequencing.

Edited September 21, 2014 by George Simmons

[Mega Arch]

I haven't done a lot of my own sequencing yet, but I know what I like to see/hear. That is after all what got me started with LOR. I do agree with both George and Denny. If you feel you must use a slow song, to honor a family member or whatever, fades and videos are about the only way to pull it off. Maybe shorten the song some, maybe D.E.'s voice over. But mostly, like George said, probably will look like crap. On a bright note - keeps traffic moving along!

[Don]

Well timed color fades. Quick color changes  when appropriate, and maybe some slow chases.

[Meegan]

Thanks guys! The up fades, which I keep forgetting to utilize, seem to make an improvement and some slow, spaced chases give it a cool effect too.

[75redman]

I'm with George on this one.  I try to stay away from the slower songs.

[Softball Shawn]

I can say that the first year I did a LOR display, using too many slow songs was my biggest mistake (by far). Even with all of the work I put into sequencing the songs, I couldn't wait for the slow songs to be over. I might have one slow song now for every 10 faster paced ones.

[jlowe]

Here's how I look at it: this whole hobby is an off-shoot (or expansion of) traditional Christmas LIGHTING. No crowds would come by to just listen to your music selections while the lights stayed static.

I love classic Christmas tunes, but the slower ones don't showcase the light display well. Therefore, I tend to avoid them. Doesn't mean I dislike them, just that they aren't a great choice for animated lighting.

[Steven]

Sometimes the viewers want to see "all lights on" so they can take pictures, etc. This is where to use a slow song, but only one per show, and keep it less than 2 minutes.

 

My favorite slow song is "Merry Christmas, Allah" by Bob Rivers (sung by Sue Nixon).

Edited September 23, 2014 by Steven