Stranger Things - Christmas Lights

[justageorgiaguy]

Hello All,

I am seeking some guidance. If you've seen the Netflix show Stranger Things, you know the Christmas Lights scenes. If not, here's the basic effect I am trying to recreate for my Halloween yard display:

1) C9 style lights over a painted alphabet - I need the ability to flicker all lights and then independently control & light up maybe 10-15 individually to spell out messages.

2) a string or strings of lights that each pixel lights up in a sequence, marking a path through the space, as if someone under it is making those bulbs light up.

I believe i will need the intelligent pixel style lights for this type of control, but what kind of driver/controller would I need to push this? I'm looking at maybe 2-3 strands of intelligent lights and maybe a few dumb strands that will all blink on/off at other intervals.

Thanks for the help!
 

 

[rolandblais]

I'm going to attempt to recreate the message wall for a Halloween work installation using an Arduino and these - 5mm diffused NeoPixel LEDs - https://www.adafruit.com/products/1938. I wanted something easy to solder; the regular smd neopixels are a bit of a challenge. I was also thinking about using two strings of GE G-35 lights, as I have those already...

[justageorgiaguy]

I ended up buying a pixlite 16 and some addressable bulbs to hopefully recreate the effect, plus it will be expandable for future halloween & christmas decorations.

[George Simmons]

1 hour ago, justageorgiaguy said:

I ended up buying a pixlite 16 and some addressable bulbs to hopefully recreate the effect, plus it will be expandable for future halloween & christmas decorations.

What sequencing software are you using?

[justageorgiaguy]

I'm working on learning xlights now, but I'm open to other software as well.