Jaynee Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 This time last year when I got my first controller and started using the software, I became obsessed and it was ALL I DID when I got home from work. I sequenced 10 songs in five months (only used 6 of them that I felt were good enough once Xmas arrived). The display was fun and I got a lot of positive feedback from everyone that saw it. Cut to this year - I have a second controller now, we purchased some new stuff to add to our display, and we removed a tree from our front yard that was used in last year's display. So needless to say, everything needs to be reprogrammed or reworked in some way to use the additional 16 channels, add in the new display pieces and counteract the now missing tree. And as they days go by, I'm feeling NO MOTIVATION to get started. It's the weirdest thing. I sit down at my computer and I have a complete mental block when it comes to ideas once I have the software open and ready to go. Don't know where this post is going. After typing all that in, I thought, "So what?" *lol* So let me ask a couple questions in the hopes that the recommendations turn into inspiration which turns to motivation: 1) What NEW songs are you putting in your Xmas display this year? 2) When you have to reconfigure a song due to additions or deletions in your equipment/landscape, do you do the whole song brand new, or just tweak an existing sequence to adjust to the changes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith37064 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) You got rid of a tree... replace it with a spiral or mega tree. Your new controller will work great for that That way your overall base sequence would not have to change all that much if any. How many channels did you assign to the tree? Did you have the 45 lighted animals hanging from it? Edited July 16, 2016 by gsmith37064 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Jaynee, I've been there several times. Adding, deleting, changing the display up. I've also had mental blocks at times. So you're not alone. There is no need to start over on sequences. Just add the new 16 channels at the bottom of your current channel config. I'm still using sequences I created back in 2006. Went from 16 channels just like you to hundreds of channels in a matter of a couple years. And that was before pixels and CCRs/CCPs and other LED stuff. As Greg mentioned, a mega/spiral tree would be a good addition and easy to add in to existing sequences. A couple 8 channel arches would be easy too. I would at least get existing sequences updated before starting new sequences. This way you won't be overwhelmed as the season gets closer trying to play catch up. So keep us posted on what you plan to add. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdNetman Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Maybe it's time to add some singing trees or a mega tree, or a field of candy canes. One way to get motivated is to watch other people's shows on YouTube. It helps give you ideas and motivates you to want to try something similar. ~Ed Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinkagainagain Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I'm feeling ya on the lack of motivation... I'm in the same boat.... Complete mental block! I've been doing the fun stuff,... Buying lights, building boards, building mega trees, etc... NO SEQUENCING!!! I have my songs kind of narrowed down, but I pull it up to sequence,... And nothing. So, I'm playing around with display setup, channels, ...everything I can possible do, except SEQUENCING.... I guess just do the other stuff that's fun for you and hopefully the procrastination bug will disappear in time to get it done before Christmas! Good luck, you're not alone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Jaynee, don't feel like you are alone. Personally, I won't quite say that I hate sequencing, but not far from it. I am not an artist and have absolutely no artistic talent. I can make the software do whatever I want, but coming up with what I want is torture for me. The central piece of my display is my pixel tree, and I have bought the sequences for almost every song in my show. I just have to look at what someone else did (in what I purchased), and add in my additional several thousand channels. That also gets most of the timing set up for me. Currently I am re-working all of last year's songs to add a little under 200 new channels and re-arrange some of the others. Personally I'd rather go to the dentist... Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need more lights Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Sorry to say, but when I went from 16 to 32 the only thing that was easy was saying "I'm just adding 16 channels". Ya, about that..... I tried to use my old sequences but basically ended up scraping most of them. the only thing I could really save was the timings and 8 channels. Thank god for small favors. You just need to find a nice dark quiet spot at a time when no one will interrupt you and you'll find your motivation. Don't let it become a chore tho, the minute it does is when it's more like a job than a hobbie. Keep having fun with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainyoregonchristmas Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 A virus or internal failure took out my show computer this summer. Haven't dealt with it yet. I have a backup thumb drive, but haven't touched that either. Life's been rough, and I have been toying with a year off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebuechner Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 When I was stuck last year one thing that helped was making up a spreadsheet with all the elements in my display and the songs that I was sequencing. I can go through each song and check off when each element was to my satisfaction. Once all the boxes were checked off I could move the file to a folder that was marked done. Doing this helped me with more of a Feeling of satisfaction and kept me going seeing the done folder filling up. While I'm sequencing I usually pick one element that I want as a focus and work from there I try not to get into a rut picking the same thing each time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaynee Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thanks everyone. Tomorrow I'll at least create my updated visualizer with my new components, and connect my 2nd controller to load up those channels for assignment, and see what happens from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75redman Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 On 7/17/2016 at 4:15 AM, Ebuechner said: When I was stuck last year one thing that helped was making up a spreadsheet with all the elements in my display and the songs that I was sequencing. I can go through each song and check off when each element was to my satisfaction. Once all the boxes were checked off I could move the file to a folder that was marked done. Doing this helped me with more of a Feeling of satisfaction and kept me going seeing the done folder filling up. While I'm sequencing I usually pick one element that I want as a focus and work from there I try not to get into a rut picking the same thing each time That's a good idea. I may have to try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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