Tag Archives: christmas light show

Joy To The World – Go Fish – RGB Pixel Light Show (2018)

A funky version of Joy To The World that’s a neighborhood child favorite. Camera is a Sony FDRAX53/B 4K HD camcorder (https://amzn.to/2Qu24CQ). Multiple camera angles mixed in Adobe Premiere.

EDM/Dubstep RGB LED Christmas Light Show (2018)

This is the sequence I spent the most time on last year and added the new 2018 props to the mix. The music is two custom songs I created on my iPad. Also trying out the multi-camera feature of Premiere – I like it. I hope you do too! Camera is a Sony FDRAX53/B 4K HD camcorder (https://amzn.to/2Qu24CQ).

If you’re new to the channel and want to learn how to do this, check out my Beginner playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFyrAfJ-kKd4ZfPdXWIt8v_bav61mW_KW

I also have a very basic online course for RGB Pixel beginners (instructor coupon included): https://bit.ly/2Kso7HO (designed to bring someone up to speed quickly – you won’t need to take this course if you’ve seen all my videos)

Links to some stuff I recommend at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PJoNY5

Hardware and software:
Falcon Pixel Controllers: www.pixelcontroller.com
Falcon Player Software: https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases
xLights sequencing software: https://xlights.org
FM Transmitter: http://ebay.to/2yx4pRi

Christmas Lighting Forums:
https://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/
http://diychristmas.org/vb1/index.php
http://doityourselfchristmas.com
http://falconchristmas.com/forum/
http://nutcracker123.com/forum/
http://www.planetchristmas.com

Facebook Groups:
Advanced RGB Pixels and Controllers http://bit.ly/2zEMrgX
Official xLights Support Group http://bit.ly/2zBMwnv
FPP, Falcon Player http://bit.ly/2yvc7v3

and finally, if you like what I’m doing here and just want to donate a little do-re-mi, I’ll gladly accept at https://www.paypal.me/JeffLacey. Thank you!

Power Chat – Mains Layout (2018)

This is a short video on my 110v main layout for the display. I’m running one circuit and powering off most of the display after the show ends. The big switch is a Wemo Insight (https://amzn.to/2Q4X4VU) module from Belkin controlled from Home Assistant (https://www.home-assistant.io) or the Wemo app on my phone.

RGB Pixel Light Display Walkthrough and SNOWPOCALYPSE!

Giving some details of the display at night and I cover Snowpocalypse 2017 that we experienced. Chilling video!

Song: Still Young
Music provided by Rewind Remix https://goo.gl/08ZthI
Free Download: http://myaudiograb.com/Ol9jBoZB
Artist: Speo

Christmas and You – Go Fish – RGB Pixel Light Show

Enjoy Christmas and You by Go Fish synchronized to RGB Pixel lights. This was shot with a Lumix GH5 http://amzn.to/2AlvY1x with an Olympus 12-40/2.8 lens http://amzn.to/2jxPPTe, both rented from a local camera store. The video was filmed in 4K about 15 minutes after sundown with the following camera settings: sensitivity set to 3200, shutter speed set to 60, aperture set to f11, white balance set to incandescent. I made some minor exposure and saturation changes in Final Cut Pro.

Song: Christmas and You
Performed by Go Fish
Written by Jamison J. Statema
Copyright 2010 Found Free Music (Administered by Fun Attic Music)

Recording available at www.GoFishResources.com!

This was the song I sequenced “live”, well, on video anyway. I let xLights choose random effects and edited some of them afterwards, but if you watched the earlier video, you’ve seen how the sausage was made! LOL!

Joy To The World – Go Fish – RGB Pixel Light Show

Enjoy Joy To The World by Go Fish synchronized to RGB Pixel lights. This was shot with a Lumix GH5 http://amzn.to/2AlvY1x with an Olympus 12-40/2.8 lens http://amzn.to/2jxPPTe, both rented from a local camera store. The video was filmed in 4K about 15 minutes after sundown with the following camera settings: sensitivity set to 3200, shutter speed set to 60, aperture set to f11, white balance set to incandescent. I made some minor exposure and saturation changes in Final Cut Pro.

Song: Joy To The World
Performed by Go Fish
Written by Jamison J. Statema
Copyright 2010 Found Free Music (Administered by Fun Attic Music)

Recording available at www.GoFishResources.com!

This is the first time I have used a talking head in my display. It was a neat skill to learn and I hope I’ve done it justice.

Light of Christmas RGB Pixel Light Show

Enjoy Light of Christmas (feat. tobyMac) by Owl City synchronized to RGB Pixel lights. This was shot with a Lumix GH5 http://amzn.to/2AlvY1x with an Olympus 12-40/2.8 lens http://amzn.to/2jxPPTe, both rented from a local camera store. The video was filmed in 4K about 15 minutes after sundown with the following camera settings: sensitivity set to 3200, shutter speed set to 60, aperture set to f11, white balance set to incandescent. I made some minor exposure and saturation changes in Final Cut Pro.

Song: Light of Christmas (feat. tobyMac)
Artist: Owl City
Album: Light of Christmas (feat. tobyMac) – Single

EDM & Dubstep RGB Pixel Light Show

Enjoy a medley of EDM & Dubstep synchronized to RGB Pixel lights. The first two songs are original music by me (created using an app called GarageBand on my iPad) and the last is from Dany Vin. This was shot with a Lumix GH5 http://amzn.to/2AlvY1x with an Olympus 12-40/2.8 lens http://amzn.to/2jxPPTe, both rented from a local camera store. The video was filmed in 4K about 15 minutes after sundown with the following camera settings: sensitivity set to 3200, shutter speed set to 60, aperture set to f11, white balance set to incandescent. I made some minor exposure and saturation changes in Final Cut Pro.

Song: Christmas Dubstep [Rewind Remix Release]
Music provided by Rewind Remix: http://tinyurl.com/rewindremix
Artists: Dany​Vin

This is my oompa loompa song for 2017. It’s a medley of two songs I created on my iPad. The first is EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and the second is dubstep. They don’t have anything to do with Christmas, but are neat to program the lights to. The third is from Dany Vin and is a short Christmas dubstep song. I hope you enjoy the show!

Central RGB Pixel Controller Box Rebuild

I’m rebuilding my main RGB pixel power and data distribution box, leaving room for expansion for next year.

I try to run most of the lights from a central controller box underneath the mega tree. I created a box last year that worked great, but did not have room to expand so I rebuilt it this year using some lessons learned form last year. I also got some new cable glands to hold onto the wires protruding from the box. They don’t make it water tight, but they do hold onto the wires well so they won’t get pulled away from the controller if I happen to accidentally trip over the wires.

I also used a different layout for the internal components. I left room for expansion as I’m sure I’ll add more pixels next year and will need more power supplies. All electronics are mounted to a 1/2″ piece of MDF. The board can not be removed once the wires are attached, but provides a solid base for everything and adds a little weight to the box.

I mounted the controller and expansion board to a piece of PVC “wood” left over from the P10 sign build and oriented that vertically to save some room. It makes it a little hard to make connections, but since that won’t happen a lot, I felt the tradeoff was worth it in space saved. The box is tall enough to add a second controller on top if needed.

I used fuse blocks for power injection distribution for safety. Last year, I totally bypassed power distribution on the controller, but felt I could use it this year for props that don’t need power injection. It does make managing power among the four power supplies a little trickier, but given enough thought and planning, it can be done.

I’d still like to build a small cover for the box as I’m using trash bags and straps to secure it. A cover in the shape of a Snoopy house or Christmas present would hide the box and provide some protection from rain or snow.

Amazon Affiliate Links:

Quick RGB Pixel Sequencing RGB Technique – Part 2

We went to a polo match last weekend and we continue sequencing the song we started last time. Set your clocks back an hour and we have less than three weeks to get ready for showtime!

Richard left a comment on the previous video to use two or three layers of random effects so I add those in this video. Excellent suggestion. It gives xLights the opportunity to fill in more effects when it chooses one that is probably better suited for adding on top of another effect as opposed to acting as a complete effect.

I also completely changed out some effects and created a standard pattern for parts of the song that repeat – like the chorus. In other words, the same group of effects are used in the song where the melody repeats. It sounds the same and looks the same.

As happened last time, I needed to go through and tweak some of the settings for effects. xLights randomizes everything and with some effects, some settings either don’t do much or look weird when set “incorrectly.” Fortunately, you can see what changing a particular setting does in the preview window for immediate feedback. Very quick and very cool.

I play the full sequence again at the end so you can compare the two versions. I may make a few tweaks here and there once I look at the sequence on the display, but I will run this as is in the show this year.

This technique is new to me this year, but I do like it as adding props simply requires a re-render to get some pattern on the new props (which usually takes seconds depending on the length of the song). I hope this helps.