Technical challenge, Christmas spirit, and the chance to spread that joy to our visitors! Besides, I just love the term we use to describe what we do: “blinky-flashy”. First year: to plan, buy, make everything, then set up the lights and controllers, sequence the music: 1000+ hours. People usually suggest that one should start out smaller than we did – I now concur! How much does something like th
is cost? We prefer not to say exactly, but if you have to ask, you can’t afford it! To help keep costs down, I made most of our stuff (do-it-yourself). Cost is not the real issue: WHERE do we STORE everything?? We watched other peoples’ light shows for ideas. We also considered our light props and found some songs that seem to go along with the lights. Many of these songs are our all-time favorite songs anyway. Do you accept suggestions for new songs?Do you accept comments? We’re always looking for good songs to sequence. Constructive comments are also welcome. How do you synchronize the lights to the songs? We use special (but free) software and spend from 2-15 HOURS per song. First we determine and mark the beat. Then we listen repeatedly and start choosing certain elements for certain parts, motifs, or patterns. Sometimes the song looks like chaos until it all comes together at the end! How many channels do you use? How many lights? We use 180 channels, controlling about 250 strings, including about 19 thousand lights…
Q. How much power does your light show use? Surprisingly little. If my calculations are right maybe $10 in electricity all month! The lights really aren’t actually ON very much, compared to a static display that is all on all the time.With all the lights turned on and left on, the display would draw about 35Amps: two household circuits worth. How did you record Santa Claus’ radio communications? I wrote the script and recorded my son playing Santa. I digitally altered his voice and added ‘radio static’. I guess he doesn’t really sound like Santa, rather more like Santa’s pilot. I’m the tower voice. How did you get Santa to appear? We’ve had the ‘Santa in Plane’ inflatable for a couple years. We put his internal lights on a separate control. Then we timed his inflation to occur while distracting you with other lights. At the appropriate moment, we turn on ALL the Santa lights (internal and external spot lights) and voila! Could I HELP you next year? Absolutely! I can use help putting up and taking down the lights. If you have the skills, we can work together on other things. We could even use a radio link to coordinate light control at your house…
Q. What do your neighbors think about it all? (They tell me that) They love it! Many thank me for doing this. We’ll see how they feel after the traffic jams in front of our home increase until Christmas! (So please be courteous to our neighbors so they won’t complain: don’t block their driveways, dim your lights, and drive carefully.) Some light shows accept donations for charity. Do you accept them? No. But if our light show inspires you donate, then please give generously to your favorite charity!
