How To : Light-O-Rama Light Shows & Projection Mapping For Halloween & Christmas - Behind The Scenes
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- Опубликовано: 26 окт 2021
- Since 2017 I have been creating Halloween and Christmas light and video shows at our house here in Guelph, Ontario. Although I regularly post those shows, as viewed from the road, here on RUclips, I have never done a full behind-the-scenes look at our lighting, show control and video projection equipment.
For 2021 I designed an entirely new show platform, that relies both on Light-o-rama sequenced light shows as well as projection mapping to create an immersive, concert like experience with video, audio and lighting right in my front yard and I am going behind the scenes to share how it all works with you.
In this video I cover both a top-level overview of the hardware and software used to create these light shows as well as some tips, tricks, and considerations that both beginners and seasoned "christmas light enthusiasts" will find helpful.
If you are just getting started with your own Christmas lights or Halloween setup then the content in this video may be overwhelming, but don't let it deter you! You can get started with a basic setup and a bunch of lights for a small house for under $1,000, and get more advanced as time progresses (and your collection of hardware and light fixtures compiles!). Projection mapping is something that I dabbled in during our 2020 shows and now have made it front and center to our holiday displays, but it certainly comes with its own significant costs particularly for larger homes and projection surfaces.
Questions? Comments? Love it or hate it? Leave a comment below and make sure to subscribe to this channel for even more cool how-to content just like this. You can also check out video of our past light and video shows on our channel here: / shawnmakes
Resources:
-Light-o-rama Light Show Hardware: lightorama.com
-Christie Digital Projectors: www.christiedigital.com/
-Fitz Studios Projection Mapped Pre-Made Shows: fitzstudios.org 
Хобби
I’m so getting ready for 2023 🎉
I am just going to say "AMAZING"!
Absolutely amazing!
Thanks so much for that Alex!
Please never take this video down!!! So very helpful!! I’m hoping to create a show like this for the after dark hours of my family’s pumpkin farm, and this is the most helpful info I have found yet!!!
I don't plan to. But thanks so much for saying that. I tried to be thorough.
Looks at pixel controllers
Amazing work 👏
Thank you! Cheers!
Great job on making this
Thanks for saying that Ernest
Wow! This literally has to be one of the best and thorough videos I’ve seen. Great job! I’m definitely going to start putting some content regarding my builds on my channel. I’m an electrical engineer and started projection mapping last year. It went so well and was so well received that I’m of course making it even better this year. My house is only 3,400 sq ft in comparison… but it is the perfect size for a single ST projector to show some really nice effects! I also built an aluminum enclosure with heating and cooling and a WIFI thermostat that is anchored in the ground for security. This year I want to add physical lights to my Christmas show. I’m trying to determine what the best method would be to sync the lights to my projected video (created in Adobe AE) and stay in sync on the loop. Currently the media player is in the enclosure on a wireless outlet switch which turns the projector on via “HDMI source power on”. The media player is set to play the file that’s at the root of the SD card which is my show. It works perfectly and starts the countdown for the show right away as soon as soon as I press the button to turn everything on. I use an Optoma GT1090HDR but will be upgrading to an Optoma ZH606TST. So I guess with all that being said, my question is how’d you sync your lights to both projectors perfectly? I understand every part of your setup… but I’m new to LOR so I might be missing something here… but I’m very intuitive and I’m sure I’ll learn it very quickly. Using the triggerable media player you have, can I just use LOR to trigger at a specific time (right away at the beginning) and then that will start playing precisely enough to sync to the lights during the show? The lights and projected video are coming from 2 different sources correct? I’m thinking repeatability as well since I’ll run this show nightly during the season and I want to just be able to hit a button to turn it on and the same to turn it off… Ideally.
Sorry for the lengthy message… this stuff just excites me! haha
Unbelievable..You do an amazing job with not only your display but with the video. I am just getting started in the RGB world and your information was most helpful. Thank-you for taking the time to do this right! (I am in the live production business and we are Christie Dealers btw)
Thanks for saying so. It means even more coming from someone who is in the industry!
Thank you very MUCH....
Glad you found it helpful.
Todd... also I have a couple projectors for sale including 2 high brightness ones (6000 lumen or higher). One is older and $1500, one is a newer Christie, likely the one from this video, and is $5000
what is the plane of polarization for your FM transmitter? What is the receiving range?
Hi thanks for the info. Could you tell me what relays your using to trigger your sprite media player? I’d like to do the same but need to know what relay will trigger the sprite? Thank you for the info.
I gotta say that is an awesome setup. I was worried about that mysterious hand popping at 32:44? 😃Middle of the screen at the bottom. Cheers Shu!
Haha! That is most definitely one of my munchkins. Although I can't tell which one exactly.
My PC laptop is extremely old, I'm nervous that it's going to crash one day - would the Easy Light Linker replace my computer or should I get the G4-MP3 Director instead? The Linker still needs a computer, I don't own a windows PC anymore, only the one that's about to crash. I'm only running 3 controllers, not a big show. I can't find any videos on the Linkers or the G4 controllers. Hoping you're experience will help point me in the right direction for next year.
My entire show runs over wireless ELL's from a mini director with MP4 player. The whole show of 12 songs plays from the time I plug it in until I unplug it at 11:00 pm. It's all pre-recorded and runs all the channels wirelessly, including transmitting the synched music to car radios and playing over speakers in the yard. I only use the desktop pc if I want to make any changes to the programs and sequences. Once you set up your "show", you save it on an SD card that plays from the mini director. A 4-ch ELL AC controller in the house runs the lights in the windows in the house while broadcasting over wireless to Four other ELL units outside in the yard. I just run AC power cords from outdoor wall plugs to the various types of LOR controllers for the show. Other than a few AC extension cords running power out from the house, I have NO ethernet or RG cables in the yard, and only use very short extension cables between the controllers and the actual strings of lights.
You can use wireless linker with light o Rama residential Controllers
Hey Shawn, since each LOR box draws 30amps, how do you plug two boxes into one 15 amp plug? Would think that would trip breakers all day? Thanks!
Steve. It only draws what it needs. Yes each input to each box will handle up to 15A, however, all the lights its controlling are LED, low current. I have no incandescent anything, and not all lights are ever all on at once. With the kill-o-watt meter I have connected, the LOR controllers, the 12V PSU, and the 1 projector (4000 lumen one) draws 1600W on average total, never approaching the 1800W limit that would trip a 15A breaker. If i had all devices (fog machines, 700W each, 12K projector... varies, but likely draws 800-1000W) it would surely trip a breakjer.
Hi Shown great job. I’m looking to add projection mapping to our large haunted house facade. What model Christie projector did you use on your house?
Thanks! For 2021 I used a Christie D12HD-H which is just under 12,000 lumen. The previous year I used a Christie laser projector, Christie DWU630-GS I believe, which is around 6700 lumen. It definitely was not as bright (obviously). I also have an older NEC 7000 lumen in storage, that I have as a backup
Excellent video. I’m impressed by your relay use. Did you make a video just on your relay box? Since I’m in healthcare I struggled getting my double switch relays wired correctly.
Hi! Unfortunately I did not make a video on just the relay box. I do have one or two of these boxes for sale though if you want one (the boxes shown in this setup). Likely $100 + Shipping each.
My apologies if you already covered this… I am gearing up to do my very first projection this year so I am super excited! I would love to get a copy of the show (Mac version) with the Haunted Mansion. It’s especially perfect for me since I live in Orlando, FL. Also I am getting ready to build my projector housing. What material did you use again? I barely caught any of that part. Is it sold by the sheet, etc.? I have seen people on RUclips make their boxes with computer server containers and it works well for them. Finally, it looks like your property is massive, but are you still using a short throw lens for your projector? Thanks!
I built it out of HDPE (high density polyethlene). It is likely the best material to use in terms of plastic options. You can buy it by the sheet but its quite costly.
For the haunted mansion show, in order to fit your house you can get Fitz Studios to make it for you (www.fitzstudios.org/)
The projector has a short throw lens but keep in mind its a 12,000 lumen projector.
Fantastic video. Thanks for taking the time to do this. How do you control what video from the SD card plays when triggering the projector to come on? I am an experienced LOR user, but a little intimidated to integrate my projector into the show. Are you able to provide a link of the hardware you are using to control the projector from the LOR controller? Thanks so much!
Hey Greg! I thought i mentioned this in the video but maybe i missed it. There are two options, if you are doing a single video projector / single screen show, there is a version of the LOR sequencer software that outputs video (use video instead of an audio file), then you just run an HDMI cable to your projector. In my case, I have two projectors and two separate areas of projection, so i use triggerable media players, called "Medea Wiz Sprites", they are under $100, and have a triggerable input. So basically a button press on the input I/O connector of the box will trigger the video file to play. To control this from the LOR, you just use a standard relay. An AC relay works the easiest, so one of your LOR channels turns on the relay momentarily (which acts like a button press), then on the other side of the relay, two wires (which are connected / circuit complete when the relay has AC power) goes to the input I/O trigger connector of the medea wiz sprite box. Cool?
@@MakeEpicThings Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation!
Hey! Awesome job explaining a pretty technical topic. Do you have a separate trigger to initially turn on the projector at the start of the night or is the trigger to the media player powering on your projector? I guess the short form of my question is, how are you powering up the projector at the beginning of the show and then powering down the projector at the end of the night? Thanks!
I manually turn on the projector at night, and turn it off when the shows are done. Its a pretty high powered one so there is a notable heat up and cool down period before or after use.
@@MakeEpicThings thanks for the clarification. Also, how do you go about synching the audio coming from the files you’re playing on your projector to the music you’re choreographing your lights to in LightOrama? From what I could tell you are broadcasting the audio file from the projector, but when you create your show you design it from the sound file in LightOrama.
@@reverseprollc3295Good question. Yes you are using the LOR with the audio track. The key is to insert a small amount of silence on the LOR audio file, but not the video file on the projector (if you are using a media wiz sprite triggerable video player for example). You trigger the media wiz player right away in your LOR sequence, and move the trigger point around until you more or less have the LOR audio synced with the projection audio. Its never perfect, but its pretty close.
@@MakeEpicThingsawesome. So I’ll insert maybe like a second of silence in LOR and then play around with the trigger point so that they sync “as best as possible”. I’m not looking to go crazy with light syncing, but would like to integrate some uplighting in my trees and some fog cannons. I think this will work out perfect, thank you! Can you link or give a specific relay you’re using to trigger the projector? I hope to get to your level one day!
Look at vegetable glistening for fog machine get thicker clouds ;)
Does your LOR trigger the Sprite for each sequence? If so, what are the Sprite setting? TIA
To my knowledge there is only one trigger on the sprite. Hit that trigger and it plays one video. So I dont have any way of triggering different videos on the sprite from the LOR. Its just one video triggered with the AC relay.
Why wouldn't you use Light o Rama DC controllers? ie model CMB24D
Love the lighting Truss - something I need to look into. Projection also looks great
Damn You Peter! I didnt even know that existed. Definitely could have avoided building the relay boxes for the 12V / 24V DC lighting. -> www1.lightorama.com/dc-low-voltage-boards/
@@MakeEpicThings A least you got to be creative and build those boxes. All roads lead to blinky lights
Here in Ohio, I always fear lightning strikes to vertical support like your trusses. This could blow out the triacs in your 16-ch AC boxes. DC controller do have a limit to length of cords as voltage drops become a concern if you are pulling much power over them. Since you are already using Easy Light Linker wireless, I suggest that you put a 4-ch wireless AC box (such as CTB04-PC-ELL) on each truss. This would eliminate all cords going to your trusses, except a single extension cord that would simply plug into any outdoor GFI outlet. The control would be wireless for up to 4 AC channels. (Note: you would need to move your DC relays to the trusses and add a small power supply, but the entire truss would be independent and safer against lightning, especially at Halloween.
I am using 5 ELL devices for my big setup at Halloween and it also control servo prop figures, RGB flood lights, and a limited number of RGB Pixie 2 controllers.
I hope you will see this but i really would like to know what model the speakers are im trying to find them and i cant
I think these are Pyle speakers. However, honestly any decent $150-$200 "PA Speaker System" on Amazon would do the trick.
Where did you get your rgb panels? What brand are they?
We don’t have rgb panels. Do you mean rgb flood lights? Those are Loftek brand from Amazon
So I got 30 strand of lights for 1 tree at my house can 1 outlet handle the whole 30 strand lights just fading them on and off, or do I need more boxes cause I have 9 trees which take up like all the outlets for each tree if I want each one to fade on and off
You need to determine the power draw / load in watts first. Often the box will say what the power draw is. LED's these days, even a full strand of them are very low power consumption. An average house circuit has a 15A breaker, and is 120V AC (15 A x 120 V = 1800W load). However, most breakers will trip before that due to line loss, resistance etc, so you want to keep it under 1700W. If your light strand uses 2W for example, you can use 34 strands total on that circuit. Remember a circuit is not necessarily an outlet, most of the time there are multiple outlets on the one circuit. So if you have 2, 5, 8 whatever outlets around the outside of your house, they may share the same circuit.
@@MakeEpicThings How many boxes would I need?
@@TechWithAndrew How many watts does each of your light strings draw? Are you using all 30 strings on one control channel? Or are you lighting different sections of each tree with a different control channel (which has a different on and off time from other channels)?
Commercial 100 LED string lights (up to C9 size) draw about 10 watts per string. 100 strings would draw 1000 watts, which would comfortably run on a single LOR AC channel. A 16 ch controller can handle 1600 watts from a single AC power cord. If you have 30 strings of 100 LED lights on each tree, that would be 30 strings x 10 watt/string = 300 watts per channel if all strings were put on one channel (the whole tree goes on and off at the same time) For 9 trees, you would need 1 AC controller and lots of extension cords. If you have trees that are spaced further apart it may be easier to use several controllers just for convenience.
But if you want 30 different channels per tree, one channel for every single string of LED lights, you would need two 16-ch controllers for each tree or 17 to 18 controllers so every single string for all of the trees can have a different timing control channel.
Does anyone know the type of relay used to trigger the sprite digital media player from LOR? I don’t know what kind to buy to trigger the sprite to play the video? Is it AC or DC is it 5v or 12v? Someone please let me know if you know. Thank you I hope someone can help me.
Any standard AC powered relay works. All the LOR is doing is "activating the relay" (which means the other side of the relay makes contact). Those two contact sides dont have a voltage out, they merely connect the trigger circuit coming from the sprite media player. It literally is the equivalent of touching two wires together.
Hello Shawn! Nice job with your video! Would you be willing to let us post a link on our website?
You guys are ALWAYS welcome to take or share whatever LOR related content I make!
@@MakeEpicThings Thank you! We'll keep an eye on your channel for other videos!
Are the projectors using relays? If so, what’s the purpose of them?
You are 100% correct. AC relay gets triggered by the LOR (whatever channel you plug it into). When AC voltage applied to that relay, it makes contact, effectively mimicking a button press. The other end of that relay (the "button press" end, the end that makes contact when AC is applied) is attached to the trigger input of the Medea Wiz Sprite solid state video players, that are then connected to our projectors. This setup essentially allows the LOR to trigger the video player, to play a video sequence on demand (as part of the show).
@@MakeEpicThings why can’t the light o Rama cable be directly plugged into the sprite?
@@jakemoodie7798 Video players have a trigger input (for a button basically). You cant just run AC power into a trigger input like this, it will destroy your video player.
@@MakeEpicThings you said that the box should always stay warm. In the winter, would that create moisture because the warm air from the box is being mixed with the cold air from outside (vents)?
@@jakemoodie7798 Suprisingly not. We use Canframo RV/Boat heaters. They are 75W each and warm the interior and circulate the air to prevent any moisture issues. I have NEVER had moisture inside one of our projector enclosures with these running in them,