Singing Face Basics

[MeemeeMowMow]

Hi!

I know I am late to the table, but if I want to set up a simple display having 2-4 singing faces ONLY, NO other lights, what do I need?  And what advice would you give me?  Any advice is welcome other than forget about it! lol

My son will be here over Thanksgiving week and is a computer techy guy in the military and will help me, but I just want to have everything here for him.

Thanks so much for all your help!

[Brian Mitchell]

I honestly believe you are too late to the game for this year.   It's an awful large can of worms to open if you have not been fishing before.

[Kapkirk]

MM

 

What items do you already have and at what stage on construction are you at, and where in Florida, maybe some of us can help, we just started putting up the roof stuff today and will start on gutters and windows tomorrow, we are doing 8 houses but have to spread it out to give the lawns enough time to quit growing to assemble mega trees and other such ground effects.

 

Keith

[dibblejr]

I have a lot of singing face sequences. If you need a "special" song just name it and I will whip it up. Provide me with album name, song title ect.

As mentioned above, not to discourage you but being brutally honest, you will not learn how to do it this late in year. 

I can lead you to papagayo but still it will take longer than you have or your son has to learn how to use it. It takes hours upon hours to do the simplest of songs and that is all seat time.

I will help you the best I can. I do not use software but to start out you must understand the basic concepts. so papagayo is the place to start.

PM me a cell and time and I will get you started there.

JR

[dibblejr]

You will also need controllers. Singing faces will eat your controllers alive. 1- singing face 8 or 7 channels depending on if you want an outline. For Christmas an outline is the best way to go.

JR

[MeemeeMowMow]

Thank you all for your brutal honesty!  I have ordered one singing face and will get a controller and buy a pre-sequenced song and play around with it.  I did not have any thoughts of sequencing one myself! 

I have read enough to know that I only can get 2 faces per controller.  I am not really wanting to do any other lights for now, so that is fine by me.

If we get it going by this Christmas, great!  If not, I will have a whole year to make it work for next year!  I really just want to get it to work for my grandkids more than anything!  Next year I would like to do the four faces for out in our yard.  Also, breaking it into a couple of years will spread out the cost for me too.

It has been something I have been wanting to do for a couple years now.  I think I just need to start somewhere!  I will keep you posted if I get it up and running!  I am in Fort Myers.  My son is stationed up in Panama City and works in Cyber Security so he is pretty techy, but he is not down here that often.  I think it will be a fun project for him and I to take on while he is here for a week at Thanksgiving.

Thanks again!  Christine

[MeemeeMowMow]

Oh and I am trying to save some money by buying a used controller on ebay and I will do the led string lights since it seems more newbie friendly than the dumb nodes. 

[dibblejr]

18 minutes ago, MeemeeMowMow said:

Oh and I am trying to save some money by buying a used controller on ebay and I will do the led string lights since it seems more newbie friendly than the dumb nodes. 

Id stay away from used controllers period! In the long run its a crap shoot.

JR

[dibblejr]

21 minutes ago, MeemeeMowMow said:

Thank you all for your brutal honesty!  I have ordered one singing face and will get a controller and buy a pre-sequenced song and play around with it.  I did not have any thoughts of sequencing one myself! 

I have read enough to know that I only can get 2 faces per controller.  I am not really wanting to do any other lights for now, so that is fine by me.

If we get it going by this Christmas, great!  If not, I will have a whole year to make it work for next year!  I really just want to get it to work for my grandkids more than anything!  Next year I would like to do the four faces for out in our yard.  Also, breaking it into a couple of years will spread out the cost for me too.

It has been something I have been wanting to do for a couple years now.  I think I just need to start somewhere!  I will keep you posted if I get it up and running!  I am in Fort Myers.  My son is stationed up in Panama City and works in Cyber Security so he is pretty techy, but he is not down here that often.  I think it will be a fun project for him and I to take on while he is here for a week at Thanksgiving.

Thanks again!  Christine

I share everything I produced/ produce. There are plenty just ask an I may have it. Need a special song I can produce it. Nothing better than custom.

JR

[Mega Arch]

2 hours ago, dibblejr said:

Id stay away from used controllers period! In the long run its a crap shoot.

JR

& that can be messy.. 

[dibblejr]

1 hour ago, Mega Arch said:

& that can be messy.. 

That's 5 words or 4 words and a character abbreviation LOL

JR

[Kapkirk]

MM

 

You will need a RS485 adapter to connect the controller to your computer, a Cat 5 cable to go from computer to controller, and get some SPT wire enough for the 8 channels (measure distance from controller to face times 8, and a couple bags of SPT vampire plugs both female and male to make up your wiring to the controller to the face. You will also need a LOR license to put on a show.

 

I would agree with dibblejr and Mega Arch, If you can't wait till next year then just purchase the LOR starter package now, it has the license, adapter, data cable and controller. And you could probably get it running in time with a little help, you still have to make a frame to hold the face, look at their web page they have a example, and get the bulbs in the face while you wait on your package.

 

Im over near Jacksonville, if you get stuck or have questions just PM me your phone number and i'll give you a call, kind of hard to give a step by step here, and I'm sure I forgot a couple things but if you purchase a sequence or two you can get the face singing I'm sure.

 

Keith

[dibblejr]

I share all of my face sequences 95% any way for free. The other 5% are songs that you cant buy so I don't share, along with sequences I didn't produce.

JR

[MeemeeMowMow]

Thanks everyone!  Ordered my face and my lights and will assemble them as I wait for my controller.  Still looking at used ones (I know, I know) but thinking about a new one from the website.  I would have to get a major deal to order the used one, so not sure that is going to happen

I will post my progress!  

[bryan.hurley5]

MM,

This is my first year doing a light show. I have a singing gingerbread woman that is "homemade". I got the idea from "the singing snowman" guy on YouTube.

The best advice I have is to think about what kind of notes the person is singing (whole notes, half notes, quarter note), then transcribe that on sequence editor with different mouth movements...to be honest, being computer savy won't really help with programming. It's more understanding music concepts IMO.  

I too live in Florida so if you have any questions please P.M me and I will gladly help you out! 

Bryan

[Irish Alan]

where can the faces   be bought?  I cant see them on the LOR site

[Kapkirk]

11 hours ago, Irish Alan said:

where can the faces   be bought?  I cant see them on the LOR site

http://www.holidaycoro.com

 

Keith

[MeemeeMowMow]

Irish Alan and Kapkirk, Here is the link to the singing faces.  This is un-assembled and for the face only.  You still have to buy the lights, controllers, etc.  And you need to build the frame around it.  I bought one and then am going to trace onto Coroboard I am buying at Home Depot.  Much cheaper but not sure if it will be worth the savings for all the work.  Gonna try one and see how it goes.  This is also for the led lights, not the nodes.  They have a different version available for the nodes, as well as an entire kit with everything to build one face (about $360).  

http://www.holidaycoro.com/Singing-Christmas-Trees-p/100.htm

Bryan, thanks for the advice.  I am very musically inclined (was in band and choir for years in high school) so hopefully that will be a plus! 

[dibblejr]

16 minutes ago, MeemeeMowMow said:

Irish Alan and Kapkirk, Here is the link to the singing faces.  This is un-assembled and for the face only.  You still have to buy the lights, controllers, etc.  And you need to build the frame around it.  I bought one and then am going to trace onto Coroboard I am buying at Home Depot.  Much cheaper but not sure if it will be worth the savings for all the work.  Gonna try one and see how it goes.  This is also for the led lights, not the nodes.  They have a different version available for the nodes, as well as an entire kit with everything to build one face (about $360).  

http://www.holidaycoro.com/Singing-Christmas-Trees-p/100.htm

Bryan, thanks for the advice.  I am very musically inclined (was in band and choir for years in high school) so hopefully that will be a plus! 

In other words you are stealing someone else's work. Nice to openly admit it. Saves me the time I offered to assist you and share sequences with you.

Please do not ask for any of my shared stuff.

JR

[MeemeeMowMow]

dibblejr, honestly I don't see it that way.  But Potato, po-taw-to.  The way I see it, I am paying for the face I am buying.  If it comes with a copyright that tells me I cannot use it to pattern other faces, I will respect that.  I would never infringe on any copyrighted or proprietary rights.  Nowhere on the page did it mention anything about it.  If the paperwork accompanying the face says anything to that effect, I will respect it.  As I stated before, it may be more work than it is worth and I may end up buying another face anyways.   

That I openly admitted what I was doing only supports that I didn't feel I was doing anything wrong.

I will also respect your request to not ask for any of your shared stuff.  You have been so generous with your advice and generous with your offers to help.  My apologies if my different way of seeing things has offended you.

Happy Holidays!