Use Even Numbers Between Events

[Guest guest]

Well I just figured out the hard way that you should always use Even Number times for events when creating a LOR file.

My problem is I made all my shows with .05 timing. This becomes a problem if you want to add more events later in your show. LOR goes to the Hundredth of a second (.00) so if you specify an odd number like .05 and then try to highlight a single event to divide it into two, you will get a .03 and a .02 space instead of .025 and .025 - This causes some problems and your timing will not be the same from event to event.

Now I create new shows with .06 event timing so if I insert events later in the show, the spacing/timing is the same.

[Guest guest]

WOW, Thanks for the tip! I just learned somthing! :waycool:





---Daniel L

[Guest guest]

I would like to see with my own eyes the difference between .02 and .03 seconds when turning on Christmas lights ...... updated I can't see it :shock:

[Guest guest]

Have sequenced a few shows in my life time, I think that .10 is fairly short enough for most people. Granted, there are going to be sections of shows that you want it a little faster, but not many of them.

Then again, I come from the 'tapper' camp. I tap out my sequences to the beat (or whatever I decide) and go from there.

Someone around here expressed amazement at one of the sequences I released last year. They were shocked that every light wasn't sequenced down the .01 second. It doesn't have to be folks.

Please understand: I'm not saying my way is right, and all others are wrong. Simply expressing my opinion, and what has worked very well for me.

[Guest guest]

I use .10 timing on all my sequences and seem to do well enough for my eyes and have had no complaints of my lights being off time.

When you say, "adding an event", (or insert an event), I've done this and it doesn't change the timing of my other events. Just the original cell I inserted an event into. I can have the cell as little as .01 (seconds which is a little small for lights to come on and go off in and really can't see the lights) or all the way to .09 seconds.

Now if you "resize" an event, it will change the timing of the rest of the song. Then if you need, just resize the next event to even the timing back like it was.

And as like Don, I'm just expressing my opinion. There are many ways to sequence so which ever suites you the best...

Tom

[Guest guest]

This is what I am trying to show.



If you insert an event and you have the timing as an odd number such as .05 - Then it will make one event at .2 and one at .3

Yes, it does not change the overall timing of an event but it visually looks strange in the editor when working on the file and can get confusing on the eyes when you have different spacing all over the place.

You are right, you are not really going to notice if a light turns on at .03 or .02 but it is a little harder to edit visually when spacing is strange looking from event to event.

BTW when you are doing sweeps across that yard. It looks much smoother when you go down to tighter event spacing such as .04

Lets say you have have 40 mini trees in a row across the front of your yard. If you wanted one to come on right after the other, the sweep would take 2 seconds at .05 event timing. Now you could turn two trees on at a time and take 1 second but it looks much smoother if you make the event timing .06 or .04 and and have each one come on by itself.

Anyway my point is that .10 is fine for most things but when doing certain effects such as sweeps, you will want tighter event timing. .10 is fine if you plan on only adding .05 timing but if you want to get tighter, you would be better off setting your timing at .08 since you can divide that to get event numbers such as ,.04,.02 and .01

===

I just want to state that this is not a bug or anything in LOR. .00 timing is very accurate and there is no way you would need more than this. You just may want to set the "master" event timing to .12 .08 .06 .04 so if you plan on doing event times lower than .05, you will always have smooth spacing between events.

[Guest guest]

I'll throw another opinion into the mix. I used to play around as a musician and did a lot in the '80's with MIDI music and synthesizers so I always sequence from scratch.. old habits.. but thats not my point..

My point is my experiance when I developed the sequences with a miniture mega-tree in the house (see our website for details) and the results when it all went public on the big tree outside. I also use the .10 time divisions and I have a pretty good ear. When I developed the sequeunces, I was 4 feet from the tree and listening to the music directly out of the speakers attached to the computer. I had my sequences nailed down tight ...

Then I took it all outside. The tree grew from 5' to 15' .. same number of strings of lights (just 100 sets instead of 35 sets), and the radio broadcast etc .. What I did in the comfort of the studio did NOT translate to outside like I thought it would. For one thing, there was more spacing in the lights on the larger tree (both vertical and horizontal) and while everything was in fact spot on .. it just "felt" a little out of sync.

I know it sounds crazy.. but there were more lights, more load, there is the latency in the bulb actually heating/cooling and turning on/off etc etc, the link from the computer to the transmitter, to the car radio .. etc .. My imagination ?? maybe .. but I certainly "felt" it was just a tad off.

My point is ears and eyes are not digital devices. They are not that exact. Persistance of light will also play tricks on you. Have you ever noticed as your driving into a city or town that from far away the lights all twinkle and shimmer.. but when you get to town..they are just ..."on". Technically .. AC lights are always "blinking" .. every time the sine wave crosses zero (ok ok its a ramped fade .. )

Like Don mentioned.. I'm not syaing what I do is right or what I saw was fact.. It was just my experience. Its like when I was finishing the last of the Hardie Plank on my house. I put the level to the course and put up the first couple of rows. I stepped back and it looked like I was nailing up a fun house.. I threw away the level and used my eyes to get what LOOKED right ... is it level? NOPE .. does it look right? YOU BET..

Trust your eyes and ears.

-- Bob

[Guest guest]

I know what you mean Bob. Many times I will do the math when working on a LOR sequence and then when I play it, it seems off. Because of this I always have a few channels hooked up to C9s, Minis, and Floods to see how it is really is going to react and then adjust it to what I hear.

Of course this is only in my computer room and I am only about 10 feet away and I know that I am going to be surprised by a few things when everything is set up in my yard and I am looking at it from 100 feet.

[Guest guest]

neworder wrote:

I just want to state that this is not a bug or anything in LOR. .00 timing is very accurate and there is no way you would need more than this. You just may want to set the "master" event timing to .12 .08 .06 .04 so if you plan on doing event times lower than .05, you will always have smooth spacing between events.

I see what your saying here. Very good point.

Tom