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Saturday, 09 December 2006 |
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Some of my 2006 videos are posted. You can see them here. |
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Thursday, 07 December 2006 |
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I added a video from the outside. This matches the video from the inside, and it can be found here. |
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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 |
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Here is a post to show you the inside of my window. If you aren't familar with the project, it has 2,424 lights in one window. The holder is built out of coroplast, and the whole thing is just a grid of lights controlled with LOR. One pane has a dancing santa and the other has a guy playing guitar. I clipped the following from a web post I made earlier: The santa is in the video clip below. (He's at the 2 minute mark and at the very end.)
You can see higher resolution images and video here. The video is from inside, so you lose some of the lights due to the wiring being in the way. I dropped a copy of the audio on top of the video, so hopefully I did a good job syncing it correctly. I can get you some footage from the outside if you like.
I'll try to dig out a picture of the front for you, but I can't seem to find them on my computer at the moment.
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Monday, 27 November 2006 |
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I decided to use nearly all the songs and divide them up into 10 different shows. Some of my favorite sequences are in 3 shows, while the ones that aren't as good are only in one show. I run one show per day, so it loops continously until midnight. - Intro Disaster
Debuting in 2006, this funny THX clip was an experiment. Retired: 2006.
- Jingle Bells by Yellow
Debuting in 2006, this usual song came from Richard Holdman, and it was modified to work for the window display.
- Holidays are Coming the Coca Cola Holiday Theme
This classic coke ad hit your television both in the past and very recently. The "holidays are coming" ad features a train of red Coca-Cola lorries bedecked in fairy lights driving through a snowy landscape. Everything they pass lights up as people turn to stare at the lorries driving through. Do you remember it? This debuted in the display in 2006 and has made numerous appearances in future years.
- Jingle Bells by Bare Naked Ladies
Debuting in 2006, this usual rendition of Jingle Bells changes the flow of the show with its unique style. Watch as this piece starts out slow, and the spontaneously explodes into the fastest version of Jingle Bells you're ever heard!
- Good King Wencelas by Mannheim Steamroller
Debuting in 2006, this classic come from Marty Slack as a starter sequence to learn from. With some additional programming, this fit quite nicely into the display. Who doesn't enjoy a little Mannheim Steamroller?
- Sleigh Ride by Brian Setzer
Debuting in 2006, this Marty Slack special has the attitude to spice up any display. Take Sleigh Ride and turning it into hot big band swing, Brian Setzer breathes new life into this piece. Additional programming by Michael Farney.
- Most Wonderful Time of the Year Remix By
- 34th Street Overture
- Little Drummer Boy
- Carol of the Bells
- Nutcracker Suite
- Boogie Woogie Santa Clause
- Jingle Bell Rock - Hilary Duff
- Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops
- Sweet Home Alabama
- Jingle Bells Techno
- Wizards in Winter
- Deck the Halls - Shedasiy
- Appalacian Snowfall
- Boughs of Holly
- Layla
- Crazy Train
- Christmas Medley
- Cartman sings "Oh Holy Night"
- Christmas Cannon
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Sunday, 26 November 2006 |
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I finally got everything hooked up early this morning, but I had to stay up until 4am to finish! So, I stood outside for an hour and watched all the songs cycle through. It was neat, but I wish I had a bigger area than a window. I still have a few minor details to hammer out and need to get the shows and pre-music scheduled, etc. But, I should be able to finish up today. |
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Friday, 17 November 2006 |
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So...are you finished with your display? On time? Behind? Well, I am actually two weeks behind schedule! It's not all bad...I have the display completely assembled and ready to go. However, I don't have my pre-show or voiceovers done. No sign yet either. I also don't have any songs for my guitar man, so I'll be feverishly working on starting two new songs from scratch. I also don't have the shows figured out. Boy, could I use another weekend! But, the show will go on! It's 7 days before the show goes live. |
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Monday, 06 November 2006 |
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Here is the list I have to work with. It's everything I worked on, and they are all completed or close enough I could finish them. I haven't decided which ones I will use, or how many shows I will put together. I am planning on creating shows of 3-5 songs each, followed by a quick intermission. - Boughs of Holly - TSO
- Good King Wenceslas
- Jingle Bells Techno
- Little Drummer Boy
- Nutcracker Suite - Setzer
- Sleigh Ride - Setzer
- 34th Street Overture
- Boogie Woogie Santa Clause - Setzler
- Carol of the Bells
- Coca Cola
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Jingle Bells V1
- It's the Most Wonderful Time of the year
- Appalachian Snowfall
- Sad Santa Story ... Tells the meaning of the spirit of christmas, not religous
- Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops
- Wizards in Winter TSO
- Jingle Bells V2
- Christmas Cannon
- Good king joy? (not started)
- Snoopy Theme? (not started)
- Crazy Train
- Here was a Man - Bible story
- Disney Medley
- Jingle Bells V3
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
- Christmas Eve Sarajevo
- Walking in a winter Wonderland
- Layla
- (20 different intermission pieces) Not sequenced.
There's a couple of other ones I have been "eyeballing", so we'll see. The project is taking long enough I doubt I will have time to start any new ones from scratch at this point. Ok, so it's a bit long. But, most of them are shared pieces, so i didn't have to do all the work. Plus, I'm not sure what I will actually use yet. I'll probably just pick out the good ones. Those that were "copied" and not completely reworked do not look very impressive. I hate to throw all that work away, but at the same time, it's all just a learning process! So we'll see how many I'll pick to put in the shows. Is is quality over quantity? |
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Monday, 06 November 2006 |
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Well, it is taking so much longer than I would have imagined. I have the design finalized, and the channels are all allocated. I have 2 of the boards completely finished, and I worked on the sequencing for my dancing santa. I will have to get photos up because I keep saying I will... At least, here is a channel list for your viewing pleasure. Now, keep in mind this is ordered by controller. I do have them arranged logically in LOR! :-) | 1-1 | Red Top Left | | 1-2 | Red Middle Left | | 1-3 | Red Bottom Left | | 1-4 | Green Left | | 1-5 | Guitar Man -Guitar and Body Base (Alway On) | | 1-6 | Guitar Man -Body Position 2 (Kicking) | | 1-7 | Guitar Man -Left Hand Frets 1 | | 1-8 | Guitar Man -Left Hand Frets 2 | | 1-9 | Guitar Man -Left Hand Frets 3 | | 1-10 | Guitar Man -Left Hand Helper Required for Hand Position 1 + 2 | | 1-11 | Guitar Man -Right Hand Strum 1 | | 1-12 | Guitar Man -Right Hand Strum 2 | | 1-13 | Guitar Man -Right Hand Strum 3 | | 1-14 | Guitar Man - Body Postion 1 (normal standing) | | 1-15 | Blue Left | | 1-16 | Yellow Left |
| 2-1 | Red Top Right | | 2-2 | Red Middle Right | | 2-3 | Red Bottom Right | | 2-4 | Green Right | | 2-5 | Santa-Hurrah! Pose | | 2-6 | Gold Frost Border Center | | 2-6 | Gold Frost Border Outside | | 2-8 | Guitar-Right Hand Strum Helper REQUIRED for Right Hand Positions 2 + 3 | | 2-9 | Santa-Right Foot Right | | 2-10 | Santa-Right Foot Left | | 2-11 | Santa-Left foot Right | | 2-12 | Santa-Left foot Left | | 2-13 | Santa Body - Always On | | 2-14 | Blue Right | | 2-15 | Amber Right | | 2-16 | Santa-Disco Pose | |
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Monday, 30 October 2006 |
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Well, I spent all weekend working hard on my LOR project, and I got quite a bit accomplished. I will get photos and the design posted shortly for you! My project turned out to be on 4 coroplast pieces that fit in the window exactly (cut to fit.) I have the grid drawn out and drilled on all 4 pieces. Do you know how long it takes to draw out 600 dots and drill them all? UGH! Not to mention tediously stuffing in 600 lights one light bulb at time..... But the end product will be well worth it! So, I have 600 lights stuffed into 2 coro boards already, and I'll be finishing up the other two panels (and santa) this weekend. I do have my dancing santa designed, drawn out, and drilled. So, all that is left is the guitarman, ordering the santa and guitarman lights, and stuffing them! Oh, and the other 600 lights of the grid. And drilling. And..... :-) Since I still need to order the lights for the santa and guitarman, I have to get the guitarman design finished up and drawn this weekend. Otherwise, I will run out of time! I also have around 14 songs sequenced, and I'll work on getting a play list posted. Pictures coming soon! |
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Friday, 27 October 2006 |
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I hooked up all 1200 lights to LOR and laid them on the floor. Here is my version of Marty Slack's Nutcracker which I edited for my window show. I used a cheap digital camera to make a movie, so the quality is horrific. However, I still posted it here for your viewing pleasure. Take a look at the lights in action! |
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Wednesday, 25 October 2006 |
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Not terribly exciting, but it is finally here! Time to sketch out the design on my coro. I haven't posted any new sketches yet, but the sketch is basically the same.   |
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Saturday, 21 October 2006 |
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I got another box today with 1200 lights for my window! These are Bethleham lights, so they should be excellent in brightness, quality, and color. 


Stay tuned! I'll work on getting up video of the lights. |
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Wednesday, 18 October 2006 |
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New post on the window project. One of my enclosures came in, so it's time to install! |
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Wednesday, 18 October 2006 |
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I received the box for my 8 channel LOR card. It's the multimedia enclosure from allelectronics.com that has been floating around the PC forums. Here are a few pictures of the enclosure. I'll get some more pictures once the board is mounted. 



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Tuesday, 10 October 2006 |
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I was very excited to receive a package today! It looked suspiciously like it came from LOR. 
So, I opened it up and sure enough...it is. I ruffled through the peanuts and found 
The first box is the USB boster, and the second box is an eight channel LOR controller. I removed the boxes and shuffled through more peanuts. However, all I found were dumb manuals. Bah! ;-) The manuals were the last thing on my mind, but they will come in handy later. 
Time to dig deeper into the box. 
AHA! I knew my 16 channel controllers were hiding in there somewhere. I pulled out those boxes and the cords started to appear. 
After pulling out all the cords, I surveyed my inventory. 
Cool! So everything arrived OK. Time to check out the boards.

And I hooked up the 8 channel board.
 You may notice the power cords are missing...I added those later. And the grounds are tied up so they don't flip around to the back of the board and cause a short. This will be fixed when my enclosure gets in. I am very excited to own my first LOR controllers! Needless to say, I hooked it up and played my sequences over and over and over again. Such fun! |
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