Amazing Christmas light display

[Devhux]

http://www.planetvids.com/html/Best-Christmas-Light-Display.html

This has got to be one of the most creative Christmas light displays I've seen -- and definately the one that took the most amount of work to set up and synchronize. :)

(edit: Changed the link -- it may take a minute or two for the video to load, but it's worth it).

[gear02]

holy

crap

that's really cool.

[Cheesypuff]

man...that was so freaking cool!!

Though...I would hate to live next to them!!!

[ooBaKeep]

That's just awesome! It's ahrd to keep up with those "Jones". :pfft:

WARNING! Do not view if you have a seizure disorder. :abduct:

[Jenny]

Ok, so first, that's amazing. Second, Scott & I think they probably did that somehow with video editing, rather than actually turning the lights on & off the whole time. How, I dunno. but damn.

[Cheesypuff]

no...it would prolly be easier if you already have the box to do the lights. It's really not that hard...my school has one of these, and it's kinda fun playing around with it.

[Sirrich3]

Cool! Alot of time and effort

[gear02]

Ok, so first, that's amazing. Second, Scott & I think they probably did that somehow with video editing, rather than actually turning the lights on & off the whole time. How, I dunno. but damn.

Yeah I think it would be easier to rig this to do it for real than to do it via video editing. Look at the shadows and the light reflections around certain objects. That's hard to do properly if you were video editing.

GuruX, do you have any backstory about this? Like how he did it, what his neighbors thought, or even what the song is?

[chadlnc]

Yeah I think it would be easier to rig this to do it for real than to do it via video editing. Look at the shadows and the light reflections around certain objects. That's hard to do properly if you were video editing.

GuruX, do you have any backstory about this? Like how he did it, what his neighbors thought, or even what the song is?

I disagree. The first thing I thought when I saw this was that it is edited. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the grass on the lawn right in front of the camera. Watch it throughout the show, it jumps around, there was probably a slight breeze that night when they shot the house. I personally think it is a series of stills strung together.

[Devhux]

Sadly I don't -- but I've asked in both the other forums I've seen this video posted to see if anyone can dig up such info.

(The tune does sound familiar though -- despite the fact my cell phone provider's "Name That Tune" service couldn't recognize it).

[ArkiStan]

If I were a neighbor that would be the worst christmas light display EVER!!

[Jenny]

I personally think it is a series of stills strung together.

:stupid: That was our thought. Either way, it's very cool. :D

[nickel]

the trans siberian orchestra :thumb:

[Thesifer]

Im going with some video edit strung together thing. But cool nonetheless

[chrissy]

software will do it.

the guy probably does lighting for concert halls and the such. Most of those are programed and wired into a computer set up

[Devhux]

I disagree. The first thing I thought when I saw this was that it is edited. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the grass on the lawn right in front of the camera. Watch it throughout the show, it jumps around, there was probably a slight breeze that night when they shot the house. I personally think it is a series of stills strung together.

It's hard to say -- especially since the video obviously was compressed, and doesn't appear to be using a full 30fps frame rate.

...and for those who are commenting about the neighbors, I'm pretty sure if someone is crazy enough to pull this kind of a display, that the neighbors would be made well aware of it beforehand (though of course you never really know).

[BigJon]

I disagree. The first thing I thought when I saw this was that it is edited. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the grass on the lawn right in front of the camera. Watch it throughout the show, it jumps around, there was probably a slight breeze that night when they shot the house. I personally think it is a series of stills strung together. Look just left of the house. You will see a blinking tower light (like an antenna) that blinks at the same rate the whole video.

Plus...lookie what I found:
http://www.animatedlighting.com/products/christmaskit.asp

[gear02]

Look just left of the house. You will see a blinking tower light (like an antenna) that blinks at the same rate the whole video.

Plus...lookie what I found:
http://www.animatedlighting.com/products/christmaskit.asp

SWEET! This is the new toy all geeks must have!

[Jenny]

Dude! lol

[Sirrich3]

Ahhhh, must find out the price

[BigJon]

Ahhhh, must find out the price
Price is on the site...looks like about $400 and up...I wouldn't pay that much for holiday cheer....I tell ya that much.

I shop for my lights and stuff in the bargain bin.

[Sirrich3]

Price is on the site...looks like about $400 and up...I wouldn't pay that much for holiday cheer....I tell ya that much.

I shop for my lights and stuff in the bargain bin.

You're right, that is alot of $$$. I'll stick with what I have...

[kgsilvas]

$400 is alot of coin, but that would be really cool. It was fun to see.

[yippiekiyeh]

It's cool, it's been done... time to think of something else that is equally impressive.

[esme]

if i could afford it, i wouldn't mind having one .....and annoying my neighbors would just be a bonus :heh:

[Cubsfan]

Looks like a lot of people do this, just not as well:

http://www.planetchristmas.com/

Here's the guy who did it:
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:quCkcoivEGMJ:cr.planetchristmas.com/default.asp%3Faction%3D9%26read%3D10130%26fid%3D83%26FirstTopic%3D40%26LastTopic%3D45+site:planetchr istmas.com++%22Carson+Williams%22&hl=en

[dougadam]

cool

[Burzhui]

Yeah I think it would be easier to rig this to do it for real than to do it via video editing. Look at the shadows and the light reflections around certain objects. That's hard to do properly if you were video editing.

GuruX, do you have any backstory about this? Like how he did it, what his neighbors thought, or even what the song is?


See what happens when neighbors stop being nice, and start being, well, not so nice.
One man takes revenge on his next-door neighbor for keeping him up all night with his bright lights, and creates his own little show, with sound!


Music Credits:

Wizards in Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

[Markel]

Last December we were visiting my sister near Atascadero. There is a house there that has mega-lights set up in their (corner) yard. They have to rent an auxilliary generator to power the whole thing. They also have hot cider and chocolates (the Andes type) out for the taking. My sister heard that they spend something like $10,000 each year on the whole shebang.

[oblongmelon]

the video was annoying-but the other link (for purchasing the thingy) was nice with the music..very creative. I imagine you can do some wild things with it.

[johnnymk]

The local news channel had a little blurb about this house last night. It's real and there is music which is coordinated with the blinking lights.

[Markel]

Link (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20051205/D8EAC2IG0.html)

Man Decks House With Synchronized Lights

Dec 5, 5:38 PM (ET)

MASON, Ohio (AP) - Some people at Christmas time are content to deck their homes with evergreen wreaths and holly, and maybe a few strings of lights made to look like glimmering icicles. Not Carson Williams.

He spends nearly two months hooking up 25,000 lights, then programs them to dance to Christmas music.

Hundreds of cars drive by his house north of Cincinnati every night to see the display, which also is posted on several Internet sites.

"So far, everyone's been really courteous," Williams said on NBC's "Today" show Monday. "I told the neighbors, I told the sheriff, if they get any complaints, I'll shut it down, because the neighbors are more important to me than the Christmas lights. I do the Christmas lights for myself."

This is the third year Williams has assembled the display, which grows every year. He said he merely built on a suggestion from his wife, Sherry.

"She wanted some lights on the house, and I work with computers, so I said, 'There's got to be a way to control it with computers,'" Williams said.

He explored the Web and found examples of other synchronized displays. It takes him about an hour to program each minute of the display, which flashes to music by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

That doesn't mean neighbors have to listen to the sound track repeat itself all night.

"The sound, we actually broadcast on a low FM transmitter, so there's actually no sound in the neighborhood," said Williams, an electrical engineer with Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions.

A sign tells passers-by where to tune to listen, and Williams often stays outside for hours at a time chatting with visitors and directing traffic.

"We've had no problems," said Dave Hare, who lives across the street.

But the first year, it took some explaining.

"We called it the psycho house," said Hare's wife, Michelle. "It was just weird random flashes. Then, he told us about the radio station and it was great."

[gear02]

haha...I just saw a Miller Lite commercial with that video as the sole element in it. They've must have resort it because it's crystal clear and you can see the fine details.

[Nija]

http://www.ochsendorf.com/rob/JingleBells.htm

Not to be outdone, the above link has 4 houses, all linked.

[Bires]

It's kinda like intellegent light boards and engines we use in concert production. (about as expensive too) :woohoo: