Rock Concert in the Garage

This weekend I have finally gotten all of the dmx fixtures addressed and hooked up. Now, I will start programming some sequences.

Here are some pictures from the garage tonight showing the lights all on. No particular scene here, just all of the lights on with various gobos/colors/etc. selected. The RGB laser projector is the only fixture missing at this point, should be here this coming week.

2008 Song List

I am working this week on finalizing the song list for this year's show. I am bringing back some favorites from last season and adding some new songs. Here's what it's looking like as of right now:

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas is You
Brian Setzer Orchestra - Sleigh Ride
Bond - Explosive (Bellagio Fountain Display)
Christina Aguilera - Christmas Time
Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Jam or Siberian Sleigh Ride (dmx lighting show)
Crispy T - DJ Santa (dmx lighting show)
Crazy Frog - Last Christmas
Vince Gauraldi - Linus and Lucy
Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24
John Mellencamp - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Trans Siberian Orchestra - Appalachian Snowfall (Laser Show)
Ozzy Osbourne & Jessica Simpson - Winter Wonderland

New Truss Setup

I mounted the truss to the ceiling in the garage and hung all of the lights so I can do some programming. I promised myself I would start much earlier on programming this year, so I am doing just that. Since the side sections of truss and corners are over ten feet tall, and I don't have that kind of ceiling room in the garage, I hung it on a beam in the garage for now. One lighting fixture is not yet mounted to the truss, it's a 1.5W RGB laser that will be right in the center.






For anyone keeping score at home, that's four Elation Focus Spot 250 moving heads, four Martin Roboscan 812 scanners and two 200mw green ILDA laser projectors on the truss. I also have some other dmx fixtures I'm using, but they are for wash lighting on the house and won't be mounted on the truss.

Also have to figure out a weatherproofing strategy...hmmm..

Truss me, this stuff is cool

I have been needing to find a way to get the moving heads and lasers elevated this season. I have been considering all sorts of bizarre mounting schemes on the roof, etc. However, I ran across a local fellow who had some aluminum stage trussing for sale, so I picked up four sections. This stuff is incredibly strong and lightweight as well. I need to get two corner pieces and two base plates to complete the system. In addition to providing a secure place to mount the intelligent lighting, this truss will add that 'professional rock concert' feel to the show. I am really excited.


Each section is 10 feet, so this will be 10 feet high and roughly 20 feet across.



Check out the wall thickness. This is some serious tubing.

These lasers are cool

I was playing with them out in the garage tonight to try to get a handle on the dmx traits...

Wrapping for the Bellagio Fountain nearly complete

Well, 60 odd hours of wrapping and 336 sets of lights later, the 24 leaping light posts for the Mini-Bellagio display are finished. Just three more of the leaping light arches around the perimeter and I can move on to programming and other projects.

The Laser's Edge

Here's another addition for the 'rock concert' portion of the 2008 show. There will be two of these laser units. These will be controlled by dmx and will do liquid sky patterns and some other effects.

They came in today and I couldn't resist playing with them a bit.


Here are some shots with the lights on in the garage and just a little bit of fog. These show just how bright these babies are!








Now, a shot with the lights off.



And finally, one shooting outdoors. You can make out the hood of the truck. The laser is on top of a ladder shooting out the garage door at about six feet high. The white spot you see is a street light down the block.