Everyone's (Yes that means YOU) things that I have leaned with Light Animation

[sjb]

Failure to plan is planning to fail.  Make sure to have backup hardware.  Murphy's Law dictates that as soon as you decide to NOT have a backup piece of hardware, is the very moment your hardware will fail.  This also goes for having spare triacs and optis on hand as these are sure to be needed when you least expect to need them.

One thing I have learned is that there is always someone who has done a bigger (and usually better) show than I ever have dreamed of doing.  The axiom to this is that there is always (usually? LOL) someone out there smarter than I am (and more skilled).  Most problems that occur have been solved many times over by quite a few folks.  The worst thing you can do is NOT ask for help.

Stealing ideas and construction ideas is not only okay, it is encouraged -- for light layouts and for ideas for sequencing.

The most ridiculous song is usually the most popular for your Halloween show (PSY's Gangnam Style this year, LMFAO's Party Anthem last year).  Embrace it.  It helps to have a teenager in the house to let you know what is 'cool' and will work.

And speaking of Back-up, Please back up your sequences regularly onto a USB flash pen so that if you do have problems with your computer. You are not dead in the water.

[MazdaFan]

What ever you budget for the year, only spend about 75% of it on lights and hardware.  The other 25% will be used on "little stuff" (wire, connectors, tape, etc.)

Listen to the spouse's input.  If she/he wants four leaping arches this year, guess what is going to be in the show this year?  Her/his involvement will help you stay involved with your hobby.

I really have to echo this one... My wife was invaluable to me.  Not only her help, but her input and ideas, and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to work together on something we enjoyed.  She's now involved in the planning for this year's halloween display!


And as everyone else has said, have fun.  There is pride in a job well done.

[kgustafson]

Hit the after Christmas sales (may be too late for this year) for the little things (extension cords, etc.)

Ask the group about when vendors have their sales for things like strings of light.  Most sales of these items require bulk purchases (cases not strings) and are usually in mid-summer.

[DanHouston]

#1 - Mother Nature is a huge fan of your show, but she is not a friend of it....(Wind, Rain, Snow, etc. will make an appearance at your show and if you are not ready for it they will make a mess)

#2 - Never change your software after you have your show running (just because there us a new update or patch does not mean you should get it. )

#3 - With everything you do always keep three things in mind:

• Where am I going to store this?
• How long will it take to setup and tear down each year? (can I improve on that)
• What's my plan for when it breaks?

#4 - Make it a family hobby

[MrChristmas2000]

Allow enough time to possibly get sick. (start setting up as early as possible). I was sick for a week after Thanksgiving.

Be prepared for unforeseen things like the city deciding to resurface the street in front of your property. Right in the middle of November during prime setup time the completely rebuilt the main street in front of my house. Wasted about 10 days waiting for them to finish before setting up most of the front yard.

Always have have spare parts all the way down to extension cords and main power cords. I had a main power cord supplying one of my big elements flake out early one evening. Had a Lynx express burn out a channel, a SSR4DMX loose a channel, etc. etc. I even had a dumb SS Hub flake out. Last year I had a power supply running my Mega Tree fail to run properly even though it was supposedly rated at the current needed.

Even though you have set up things and tested it inside there is always something that will not work when you set it up outside. (The SS Hub that flaked out).

As has already been said that things take at least twice as long or more to do than you estimate. The simplest seeming thing may take you half a day to setup and make work.

[scharbon]

1) Check your lights and controllers BEFORE you set them up in the display

2) Don't climb higher than you are willing to fall

3) The sign on the ladder that says - "Do not step above this rung" is there because someone once stepped above that rung while violating number 2 above  perhaps while trying to make up for number 1 above.

4) Parachute Landing Falls (PLF's) are not just for parachuting.  They are critical come set up time when it is possible that any of the three lessons above are about to be relearned.

Steve

 

[taybrynn]

When your getting no dmx signal, try a different cat5 cable, even if the one your using is new.

[t.jo13]

PAITINCE
If things are going wrong or you are not hitting your schedule step back and take a break it does wonders.

Stay within your budget.. It can get out of control quick if you don't plan and even then there seems to be the tiny little hidden costs that sneak up on you

size doesn't matter !!!  Its the heart you put into it.

Include the family and try to keep your time budgeted so it won't cause issues

 

[hicksjo]

Even though the lights are off, there is 120v on those leads (or whatever v applies to your case), and your body actually is a decent path to ground

Your sequences will never be finished

A place to tinker with the stuff all year long makes planning much easier and more productive

There is a whole lot more DIY to this hobby than building boards ... All the RGB connections, cat5 running, extension cord making and routing, mounting, and waterproofing took considerable more brain power than following the wiki build instructions for the hardware

The software that the members have developed and share freely in this community is awesome ... I am so thankful or that

[shaunkad]

We are are own worst critics most things we see no one else will.

Get in on coops early even if your on the fence as to how many you need/want.

I have had more trouble with store bought stuff than homemade.

[rrowan]

1) Check your lights and controllers BEFORE you set them up in the display

2) Don't climb higher than you are willing to fall

3) The sign on the ladder that says - "Do not step above this rung" is there because someone once stepped above that rung while violating number 2 above  perhaps while trying to make up for number 1 above.

4) Parachute Landing Falls (PLF's) are not just for parachuting.  They are critical come set up time when it is possible that any of the three lessons above are about to be relearned.

Steve

Steve are you related to Clark Griswold ?  

Rick R.

[SteveMaris]

 To the new people:
 When you think you know how many extension cords you will need,
Double that number when you are actually buying them.
If you bought too many, you will need them, along with more new ones, the next year.

[caretaker]

1. Make sure you have enough power to run the display you planned. You may need to add a couple of spare circuits.
2. If you not sure don't be afraid to ask.
3. Unless it is something your show can do with out, have a backup for it. (I had a brand new 1000watt PS quit the second day of my show, thankfully I bought a spare)
4. Take time out to enjoy your show, even better drive the neighborhood and see how others have decorated.
5. Make sure to tell RJ how much you appreciate his time in developing all these neat toys we use.

[duane.mosley]

well, everything thing that i have learned this year(my first) has already been mentioned. lol but i guess i'll give my thoughts.

1.  i'm glad i started in july, but i wish i would have started in January!
2.  BACK UP! BACK UP! BACK UP! AND DID I FORGET TO MENTION, BACK UP! lol nothing worst than spending over 50 hours   on   your first song from scratch, EVER, and thinking that you lost it!
3. i was fortunate in my first year and didn't have any equipment failure, i did how ever have my mega tree blown over by wind.(60mph gusts). wasn't as bad as it looked but still could have been prevented.
 4. i started laying a beat track to monster mash last night. i am not letting things sneak up on my this year!
5.  give yourself a designated area to run your show  and leave it alone!
6.  now that i know how long it takes, i will start putting up the show in september.
7. i will leave 7 open for all of the other stuff i learned but if i type it all in here, you guys will yell at me for writing a book! i crammed 20,000 lights, 192 dmx channels and 1686 channels of rgb for my first year into 6 months and i owe EVERY bit of thanks to all of the people in this forum that dove right in and made sure i knew what i was doing.



 here is to an awesome 2013 

duane

[CW]

If possible, build an extra element item when making them.  If wrapping lights on PVC or mini tree, make 1 spare.  That way if a something goes wrong during the show season, you can swap it out with the spare and fix the broken one later.

Also, buy spare strings and pixels.  You will need them at some point in time.

Craig