Synchronizing lights, another method

[giftoflights]

I dont know if anyone has used the method that I use to synchronize lights, but it takes a little longer but you get a perfectly synched show in the end. I use an sound editor, cool edit pro, to place points in my song where i want lights to change, turn on or off, then i take that list of cues and transfer them over to the animation director software, thus creating all the columns that i need for the song. If i need more i will just add them manually and set the start time of the column.I have been working with Jeff Lacey on a show nowfor 2 yearsin Charlotte, NC and currently we are using 96 channels with animated lighting hardware. Im not a big fan their software but it works, it just takes forever. This year, one of the songswe programmed was a Disney selection from EPCOT's Illuminations show. Reflections of Earth is the name of the song and the video can be seen here (http://www.animatedlighting.com/showcase/customershows.asp). Scroll down the page and its under JEFF L's DISPLAY. Please enjoy the file!

-Nate Mitchell

[gstarr]

Very Cool. It is actually better then Epcot's show. I stayed and watched it on Christmas night and remembered why I don't usually watch the night time show at Epcot.

[Naglitch]

WOW how long did that take to do? I loved that show.

[llbarnes]

Hi. Great video. How the heck did you get away with only 96 channels? Seems like there's a lot more than that with all of the different colors.

[Dale Leady]

that was great. Andmy wife loves it also. she loves the way the trees change colors



Dale

[giftoflights]

It took me about a week spending a few hours a day to program that show. Thanks for the wonderful comments. Jeff wants to start a larger show in the next year or so, so that more people will be able to attend. I started an outdoor haunted attraction 7 years ago and want to get into other seasonal events. Its really awesome doing this kind of stuff for people. have a good one!

[Joe4x4]

Great job ,that was one heck of a show you did. That edit tool sounds pretty neat,... do you have to tap to the beats also ?

Joe4x4

[giftoflights]

No tapping involved...you can see the waveform in the editor, so therefore you can also see the peaks which are the main beats...to get the offbeats, you have to play with it a little...

[Brad Caudill]

Hey you live in Charlotte.. we got atleast 3 or 4 members in NC and about 5 in SC now.

[edmeyerii]

For people who can't afford Adobe Audition (the new name for Cool Edit Pro after they got bought by Adobe) there is a free alternative called Audacity. I'm not sure how you could transfer data from the track to another program - but it also visually displays the wave form allowing you to pick up on beats and other points in the music on time.

Here's the website you can get Audacity from:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Oh - I forgot to mention it is FREE!!! (not even shareware - but really free)

Ed Meyer
Emmetsburg, IA

[John Pidliskey]

I am a drummer, so I prefer to tapping out the beats, this way I can get the taps exactly where I want them.

[ssorrell]

Very very cool show! I love Reflections of Earth, and it's cool to see it set tolight like that.

By chance, are you a fan of drum corps? Just curious...

Carson's video inspired me and I was bitten by the bug, but this one had me jumping out of my chair clapping! Thanks!

[giftoflights]

Im not sure what drum corps is, so no i guess im not a fan hhehe...

[Dan Baldwin]

Very nice. I really enjoyed it. The song is a nice one for lighting.

[Bob Gercak]

Very, verycoolanimation. Did you use Cool Edit Pro to shorten the track, or some other software?

It's funny, I was just reviewing the Disney Millenium Celebration soundtrack last night. As I recall, at the beginning of the EPCOT show, they had a sort of welcoming voiceover with all the ambient lighting in the park on. At the end of the voiceover, the voice "blew out" all of the lights in the park, like blowing out a candle. I thought the soundtrack album would have the "blow out" sound (it didn't), which I thought would be fun for New Year's Eve.



Bob

[Bob Gercak]

I just took another look at your show and it struck me: are those icicles lights on the rooflines? If they are, did you assemble the red and green ones yourself, or did you find a place to buy them? Thanks!

Bob

[giftoflights]

Yeah i used CEP to edit the song down to 5 minutes, as it is a 9 minute track hehe...as for the roof lights, they are just mini lights, not icicles...icicles would be neat though if you had 5 colors like that...of course youd have to replace all the bulbs which would take a while! and yes i know what youre talking about when the voice blows out the torches around the world showcase at epcot, very neat, and would be a good idea for something...man i wish i did show control for a living, maybe someday!

[RZHILL]

Great show , how many channels of lor are you using, what is your peak current draw?

RZ Hill

[MichaelC]

Nate:

I'm not familiar with the software you mention, but I do use Steinberg's wavelab. I used to DJ on the side and I have many mixed tapes that I wanted to convert to CD's. I digitized them using my built in Soundblaster recorder. I then used Steinberg's wave editor to clean them up a bit, manually insert track markers and save the individual tracks. I then use NERO to burn my new mixed CD with track markers and CDTEXT.

I'm guessing your 'cues' are similar, but what format are your cues in? Is your method specific to Animation software? I use LOR, but would love to be able to use my audio software to mark the cues. Or if it is truly "CUES" that you are working with, I also use PCDJ Red to assign auto mixing cues. I wonder if they are all the same thing.

[skipper69]

that is way cool i would like to have someone do a synchronizing song like that I work too much to do that i now have 96 chanels on light o rama ordered 5 more this year dont know when they will ship them i work a lot but love to put up lights

[Steven Singleton Jr.]

hey skipper just start sequncing now and you won't have to worry about being so busy next fall. That is why we all stay around here YEAR ROUND:]

[skipper69]

i work a lot on the farm and also cook at a club no time off for me

[Rich in NJ]

Nate

Very nice display, I like the way you used "lights-off" in you timing, Very nice indeed.

A question on your display.
What did you use to get the twinkling independant lights in your center tree?
Are they independently fired or a stringer of some sort?

The one's that are very noticeable while the tree is lite in a darker color ie.. green, blue.


Thank You
Rich in NJ

[skipper69]

changed it

[giftoflights]

The lights are actually a strobe rope that is in the center of the tree, it contains 12 small strobes that blink totally randomly. they cost about 80 bucks and you can get them from any dj or lighting company. Curtain strobes are also good because they do the same thing and are a little more powerful. hope this helps

nate

[Rich in NJ]

Yes Thank You

just as I found the Site...lol


Thank You
Rich in NJ

[madkayaker]

Giftoflights- how do you get the cues out of Audition and into LOR? I have audition, but that step escapes me.

[Joe4x4]

I`ve been looking at the way you sync . so you see the peaks of the song on the wave (I loaded the software you are using) trial version . So how to you transfer the info ? Do you write down the timing or can you copy and transfer it ? This is where I `m trying to figure out your technique.



Joe4x4

[giftoflights]

when you create a cue list in the audio program, you just have to print it out and enter the cues as column start times into your light software...Im not sure how LOR works but I use AD.

[jeffmill]

giftoflights wrote:
I use an sound editor, cool edit pro, to place points in my song where i want lights to change, turn on or off, then i take that list of cues and transfer them over to the animation director software, thus creating all the columns that i need for the song. -Nate Mitchell

Nate,

You are a master at this!I have an MP3 editor that will create a limited number of cues, but I have only been able to manually copy them over. As you said, it takes a little longer but my cues are certainly better placed. Thanks for the pointer. It was very good of you to share your wonderful talent.

Jeff

[giftoflights]

I dont know about "master" hehe...it is VERY tedious work but when you see the finish product you know its well worth it.

[jeffmill]

Nate

I spent the entire day taking cues from Babs Streisands Jingle bells...(approx 4 from each second) in my MP3 editor and copying them down on paper. Then I inserted them into the LOR sequence editor. The timing is perfect. I never would have thought it would be so easy(yet time consuming) Thanks again for the insight. I think this'll go pretty fast now that I have a plan. I think I'll pick 5 songs and get the timing cues down just right. Then later I'll program channels when I have a design for my yard.

Jeff

PS I watched your vid again, with a crowd this time. Crowd consensus: "YOU ARE MASTER" Most common statement heard: "It's still going?"

[giftoflights]

Hey thanks, again for the comments! much appreciated..by the way, I just noticed last week that my video made it onto eBaumsworld.com which if you dont know is a big video site on the net. I just thought it was cool they selected it...of course both of carson's videos are on there too! take care. nate

[InBox]

Nate,

Great show! In your description of using Cool Edit Pro and transferring the list of cues, did you have to manually transfer those cues?

Thanks, Neil

[LightsByGreg]

that was soooo cool. I wish i could copy, but then yours wouldn't be unique. oh well

[skipper69]

thats great i downloaded audacity now how did you use it with light o rama or did you just find the beats then put that on there some how new to this last year but adding more in april and want to do that with other songs

[giftoflights]

Im so glad everyone was thrilled about our show. I cannot wait until next year...of course we are pretty much forced to move it elsewhere and get it out of the neighborhood, kinda like Carson said in his post. I truly believe we all as Christmas light animator fanatics, if you will, have only scratched the surface of this amazing technology. I plan on incorporating more elements into my show for next year, such as water and perhaps fire. As you know I was inspired by Illuminations when I saw it for the first time a few years ago. I am thinking of also doing live music and perhaps drama for part of the show as well. This is all assuming of course we lock in a public location :)I have had a little experience with Gilderfluke's animation technologies with their digital controllers and DMX interface as well, so thats always an option too.They have some pretty awesome products, of course the prices are high, but you get what you pay for. For those of you who arent familiar with Gilderfluke, they do a whole lot of show control for alot of major attractions around the world. Well, until next year, yall take care and of course its never too early to start planning for next season!

[Brad Caudill]

Finally watched the video.. Awesome job!

[Scottsgrfx]

giftoflights wrote:
This year, one of the songs i programmed was a Disney selection from EPCOT's Illuminations show. Reflections of Earth is the name of the song and the video can be seen here (http://www.nightmareon901.com/video/Reflections.wmv). Please enjoy the file!

-Nate Mitchell

Nate or anyone else...... Is this song available on cd for purchase anywhere???

Awsome show Nate !!

[giftoflights]

yes, you can purchase this music from disney directly, like at the park or maybe online. You might want to check CD websites as well. The CD is called EPCOT Tapestry of Dreams. Reflections of Earth is the first track on the CD. there are 4 tracks total. thanks!

[Scottsgrfx]

Thank you so much.:waycool:

Scott

[Daniel]

WOW that is good! Was their strobes in that middle tree?



---Daniel L

[giftoflights]

Yep, that is a strobe rope it has 12 small strobes on it, flashes at random. Thanks!

[LightsByGreg]

here is the info on the cd from gracenote:
Epcot: Tapestry of Dreams (http://www.gracenote.com//music/album.html/gensoundtrack/051ed82e1778eba8a8e9d92db403c219.html)

[Daniel]

Thanks for the info!



--Daniel L

[LightsByGreg]

no prob
i have to sign up for emusic or something (or just go buy the cds) because whatever I want iTunes doesn't have

[Daniel]

I showed my Dad the video last night and he liked it!



--Daniel L

[RobertB]

STEVE SORRELL!!
Are you still monitoring this thread? Sorry for being off topic guys....
Email me direct Steve at:
kd4ydc at bellsouth dot net
Drum and Bugle Corps...very cool :]

BTW...to get back on topic....
Audacity....very cool :waycool: It will allow you to "Record" or make mp3's of ANYTHING you can play through your computer. Just be sure and get the LAME add-on. He is right about being able to go and edit with the PEAKS in the music. If you wanted to ramp up your lights....I would imagine you could do it with that too. Don't know exactly since I am a lowly "Want To Be Computer Christmas Light Controller" :(

Audacity works real nice though. This is what my students would record their "homework" on and then email me.

Robert Burton
http://www.jcboothband.org

ps Almost forgot; look at http://www.jcboothband.org/convention.htmlfor "A Northern Odyssey". This was a HUGE wav file that was converted to mp3.

[dribbles]

What happened to the link, this was my favoriteto watch!

[tsmith35]

The video is 7.3 mb, so it was probably eating up a bunch of bandwidth, but it's also available on eBaumsworld:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/2005/12/xmaslights5.html

I added the video to my library of show videos when I first saw it (never can tell when a show video will disappear).

Tom

[giftoflights]

The video was posted on my haunted attraction website and i updated it last week so its no longer on my web server...but youCAN find it on eBaumsworld.com orhere (http://www.animatedlighting.com/showcase/customershows.asp) under Jeff L's show. Glad you enjoyed it!

nate

[nickieyow]

Well I just watched this tonight on AL and it was awesome. I did read earlier that someone asked what I wanted to know about the roof line lights - whether they were icicle or not. I caught your answer but I did not wade through all of the pages to see if anyone had a suggestion on how to use the icicle lights if you wanted to. I do have a suggestion for multi-color icicle lights. Just use the colored caps. Granted it will take some planning and time to create but is is certainlydoable and allows you to create the colors you want on the roof - if icicle lights are what you want to use. I thought all of your show was awesome and the roof line looked great just the way it was. You can get light caps from Christmaslightshow.com. Darryl is awesome and he can hook you right up! Great job!! Oh, and where in Charlotte, we may need to take a road trip this Christmas. :) Nickie

[giftoflights]

Its actually in Mint Hill a small town suburb east of Charlotte about 15 minutes from uptown. We are not doing the show this year however, because due to the high volume of traffic in the neighborhood we are going to have to relocate it to a public facility, also allowing us to do more with the show. I have also been doing the haunted attraction for 7 years now and it has become so big that this is our last year doing it at its current location! So if you like haunted stuff, id be more than happy for you to come down here and check that out. let me know, our website is www.nightmareon901.com (http://www.nightmareon901.com) so check it out sometime. thanks!

[gps]

Great Video ! I loved the Tapestry of Dreams music. I was thinking about using the first part as music for a halloween light show with my AL controller.

Getting back to using markers from the audio editor program to create colums in Animation Director, I have a question. Could you walk me through the process in AD as to creating the column and start times? I take it you start off with a grid routine and then enter times for each column? Whats the best way to do this? Do you create columns for just the markers? Or do you have colums in like realtime seconds with splits where the hit need to be?

In my case, My routine is quarter note is equal to 60 beats per minute and most of my effects fall on the beat, but I have a few places where I need to have an effect on a offbeat. say inbetween, :50 and :51 at 50.250 on the audio waveform editor. How do you work with AD to achieve this? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Greg

[giftoflights]

i will get with you soon and tell you more in depth, it is now 1230 am and im going to bed soon, but email me at nate@nightmareon901.com (mailto:nate@nightmareon901.com) and we will talk, or if you have AIM, my SN is "icandrawem2" thanks man

[FandomFilms]

Pretty Cool. I loaded a couple songs into cool edit and love this as an option. This is my first time using music and I didn't like the tap thing. I'm afraid as a white man with litle rythme that I'd mees it up big time.

[GS]

Is Cool Edit showing you themusic waveformlike Audacity or does it provide some other helpful features for syncing lights?

Thanks

Glenn

[Bob Chrisp]

Nate How do you pull the beat from the music selection? I am guessing that you set up a bandpass filter in CEP and center the filter around the dominant frequency of the beat. You method makes a lot of sense and I have a copy of CEP in the mail to me so I can work with it.



Best regards,



Bob Chrisp

Sebastian FL

[giftoflights]

OK...here goes...all that i do is when i get the waveform in CEP, i will play short snippets of the song to see when the main beats occur and see where the playline crosses the waveform at that certain beat or whatever...i will put the marker on that point and insert a cue, this places that particular timecode on the cue list and marks it with a number..i will do this for every single cue where i want to change lights or effects. Once i get into AD, i will import the song, and then start inserting columns, editing the start time of the column to match each cue in CEP. This is the process that takes forever seemingly...its very simpleand works flawlessly, but it takes some time. if those guys at AL would find out a way to import a comma delimited text file into AD, we would be in business! all youd have to do then is type the cues into excel or notepad, save as a CSV file, and then import it into AD and all your columns would instantly be created. If i were a programmer Id have all of you buying my product..oh well. thats why i design shows instead i guess. hehe

[MichaelC]

Instead of attacking the problem with workaround solutions, all AI/LOR whatever need to do is include a beat counter in the program. My PCDJ Red takes songs and figures out how many BPM they are. That same type of program could be used to use beats to insert cues.

Feature request, I guess...

[tkhowse]

I would have to say that I think LOR should do this, too. I was talking to some people at work about LOR (one was very curious about it) and one in particular was disappointed that it did not have something like a beat counter in it. I think this would be a great addition to the software (Suggestion for Dan).

[MichaelC]

I just used AUDacity to figure out the beats of my songs. I used a 50% threshold and it seemed to work pretty good. The only thing is the 4.4 minute song generated about 697 beats.

I then used the audacity export label function and exported to excel. Once in column "A" of excel, I did a little math to figure out the delta between each beat (B2=A2-A1; B3=A3-A2...etc).

For my purposes the majority fell between .38 and .47 seconds. There were some obscure pickups in the .005 range, so I then used the COUNTIF(range,>.3) to get the total number of averaged segments.

The final step was to take that number of segments and create multiple evenly spaced events in LOR.

This is one way around entering almost 600 data points into LOR.

BTW: Another down and dirty method is to figure out the BPM with a stopwatch, then multiply that by the total length of the song.

Both of these methods created timing events within 12 time codes of each other (Calculation= 568; Down & Dirty=580) I'd say that's pretty good. You probably won't notice a difference during a show.

[Bob Chrisp]

Just tried CEP with about a 30 sec. selection and then entered the data into AD software...WORKS like a DREAM!!:waycool::waycool: As you said the hardest part is transcribing the data from CEP to AD, but the synch isa lot closer then I could ever get tapping!!!



Thanks again,

Bob Chrisp

Sebastian FL

[gps]

I too tried it over the weekend with success. I have to use Adacity so even though I could create markers, I could not figure out how to transfer the markers into AD. It is alittle time consumming but the accuracy is great. Thanks Nate again for your helpful tips. That's what make's this forum so great!!!!!!

Greg

[markm]

Thanks Nate!!

I was also frustrated by the timing issue and checked the web for alternative free s/w similar to Audacity, but maybe with more features. I found a completely free package with multiple plug-ins called Wavepad >>http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/masters.html.

It also uses wave-form graphics, but adds a BIG feature (as far as we are concerned) called Bookmarks. You highlight the moment where you need a cue, press "<ctrl> B", then "yes" and the cue is inserted. THEN, it even compiles a sequenced list of the bookmarks (it will always insert them in time order regardless of when you created the bookmark) which can then be displayed. The bookmarks can also be renamed to something more useful than just the time-stamp.

Wavepad will not print anything for you, but that is easily overcome with the "<alt> PrintScrn" command, then just paste into Word and print.

Also! Beware! Wavepad and its plug-ins all shut-down WITHOUT saving after 10 minutes of inactivity. Yes, losing 230+ sequence points is depressing to say the least. "Save early, Save often"....

Wavepad also includes FREE! plug-ins to rip CDs into about a dozen formats, another package does file format conversions, a sound recorder, sound generator, CD burner and more. I've only been using it for a week, so I expect I'll find more good stuff.

Hope this helps. This will be my first year using LOR (48 channels) and so far the programming tedium is the number 1 problem. Way ahead of scope-control, electrocution, budgetary concerns, solder burns, electrocution .......

[Brian Anderson]

Hello,

I am tone deft and have no sense of rhythm. I was glad to long on and see this thread. I tried using Audacity to mark my beats but they look odd. There does not seem to be a pattern. I know it must have something to do with my lack of music skills. I have tried tapping but the music goes by to fast for me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Brian

[GS]

Try changing your lights to transitions in music instead of beats. Watch how they change scenes/camera angles in music videos or commercials with music. They will not change on every beat but they change more often than you realize.

[giftoflights]

Very well put GS...i couldnt have said it better myself. Ive made my share of video montages and the best places to change shots is not always on the beats, but when the music changes. You can create very dramatic effects this way. good luck.