life span of your layout?

[duane.mosley]

i have been running the same set up for 4 years. i am definitely adding some elements  and changing songs next year. my question here is, how often do you change your layout? do you keep the same layout and just keep adding elements? do you completely rearrange your layout from time to time?  due to some personal issues this past year, i ran the same exact show i ran last year. most people don't realize or don't care, but i do. i am completely changing the song line up for next year and  i am adding several new elements. i am considering moving things around but then i won't be able to use some of my older sequences without completely changing everything. right now i am sitting at just under 8000 channels (350 dmx)and i plan on adding around 15,000 more. i guess either way it's a lot of work! thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[sirloinofbeef001]

I seem to change everything every year. I've never set up the same. Last year I was about 3000 channels mix of dmx and rgb. This year I'm all rgb with about 15000 channels. Every year has and always will be a new challenge. Next year my wife and I will add another 20000 channels. Gonna be a challenge but its all good.

[zwiller]

I am finding much less time for blinky and would urge a guy to stick with at least the same basic layout.  My layout is never exactly the same but the basics probably won't change much but I am the less is more guy.  That said, if you got the time and funds, go for it!  I am tweaking my sequences daily, and with all rgb it is quite bizarre to see how much the show changes with lifting a finger outside!  In addition, I do my best sequencing NOW during the season while I am fired up. 

[caretaker]

When I ran my show for 6 years I changed elements, incandescent mega tree to pixels and changing other items to RGB. I left the basic layout the same. I would change songs from year to year but would bring back favorites and older songs after they had been out of the lineup for awhile. Ultimately it is your own decision based on how much time and your budget for your show.

[duane.mosley]

i'm not going to scrap everything in the yard, this hobby is way too expensive to just change everything out! i was thinking along the lines of just moving stuff around, ie. move the mini trees to opposite side of the yard, relocate arches, etc. i  am one that usually has a lot of projects going on but next year is all about the lights! lol

[sirloinofbeef001]

i'm not going to scrap everything in the yard, this hobby is way too expensive to just change everything out!

I guess I made it seem like I scrap everything or get rid of props but its not what I do. I have wicker Santa, and angel, a snowman, and deer in excellent shape so I left the older white lights in them but put rgb in them as well. So I do reuse a lot of my stuff. Now the small cage trees we used 3-4 colors of incans, they are gone. But it is up to you. I change things up alot.

[taybrynn]

Change every year.  FInally doing less this year and it was a smart move.  Like others, I've gotten tired of doing so much change ... so I think a more sustainable approach is to stay with a design once you get something your happen with and just do minor enhancements and improve the sequencing.    My sequencing has always suffered because I did too much change on the display elements side.  On the flip side, it was the change that I think fueled my general excitement to do the show each year, so without anything new ... it can be a challenge to get motivated, etc ... unless you make the change in the sequencing, etc.

The general pattern for me has been to go from typical (house oriented design) to more of a Holdman cloned design ... to more of a show centric design where I use my yard (shared front yard between homes, since its a two home display) ... and also to simplify in many ways.  The first year I had so much going on ... that is truly was overkill and doing too much (poorly) vs. doing less very well.  This year I actually simplified and removed what amounted to about 8-9 16ch controllers of stuff ... and I don't miss it.  I honestly think the less is more can really work if you think about what the key elements of your show are going to be.  For me, that was getting away from the typical house and windows things ... and moving into display elements ... where the houses are just a couple key elements (roofs, wreaths) ... and the rest centers around megatrees, tree lines, rgb toppers (stars, crosses, etc.) and matrix(es), arches.  I've been changing every year, even when I didn't want to.  There just seems to be some change that happens, whether you plan on it or not.  For example, my neighbor puts the wrong star topper on the megatree ... or stuff breaks and you have to change hardware or channel assignments on the fly ... so even when its the same, its still a little different.  I have found xlights to be a godsend for allowing easy changes each year. 

[jnealand]

Most of my elements have stayed the same, but they have been upgraded in increments from incans to LEDs to RGB and there is never a year when elements in the front yard are all in the same place as the previous year.  I also have things that get rotated in and out in my side yard, inflatables, wire frames, etc.  I even put up lights on the back deck just for me and the neighbors, now the neighbors are also putting lights on their back decks.  Last year was all new sequences and this year is also all new, mainly because I am now 100% RGB in the front yard.  Looks great BTW.

[tbone321]

And the PIC's are where???

[jnealand]

And the PIC's are where???

they are in the Etd, Active Hub, SSCs, etc  And there are spares in my parts supplies.

[meman]

Generally the same show, although I always add or improve some elements. I like to make setup/teardowns more efficient every year, so always improving the "way" I do things. I have a lot of custom wiring harnesses and most of my show features immovable objects (oak trees), so I don't have much option for changing layouts....just the colors and sequences.

Mike E.

[taybrynn]

I agree ... a lot of it is about what can be done to streamline the setup and take down.   I usually take notes at the end of the season on what worked, what didn't (or was not impressive or was of little use or significance).  I also look at things like "what was the biggest pain" ... and is there a way to remove or minimize that going forward?   ANd maybe ask yourself ... whats missing?  What could I add that would really add to the show that wouldn't be that hard to add?

[smeighan]

it took me 7 weeks to setup this year, never again!

I will be making harnesses, using the exact same channels for arches, ssc's .etc for 2016.
The two megatrees went up in less than 4 hours, target next year is everything in two days.

i still have broken lights on the eaves.

maybe ill be done before christmas

[plaberge]

I've kept the same basic design over the last three years. My megatree's base is cemented into the ground so that pretty much sets the anchor point. First year I just had the megatree, tree-top star and arches, last year added starbursts, soffits and deck lights, this year, chimney panel, columns, ground lights, stake lights and P10 panel as shown below. I also have a bunch of AC elements, like the salmon run that run in different part of my yard.

This year took me three weekends to set-up everything. Time to do everything is starting to limit how many more elements I can add...