GE Hattitude Quartet

A

algerdes

Supporting Member
I'm trying to wrap my head around the use of a multi-functional prop such as the GE Hattitude Quartet.
The number of sub-models is unbelievable. This leads to many options. Unfortunately, either through age or being up for far too long, I am having trouble just making simple things happen. For example - there is a spinner in there somewhere. There are also singing faces in there.

If you have one of these, how did you get it to work? (I know, old timer should be able to do this in an instant... but it isn't happening. :( )

Thanks for any suggestions, and better yet - examples that you can share.

alg
 
I don't have exactly that one, but I have analogous ones like the GE minions and the Boscoyo Chroma Ghost daycor. Are you looking more for artistic uses or how you would take advantage of it in Xlights? I found Boscoyo's xmodels for these complicated props much better than GE's, but I downloaded some better models from Google drive (but those were still not perfect).

I found that you first want to make sure all your submodels are right, but after you do, make liberal use of the Add button on your Face and State definitions in the Layout. When you right-click on the Nodes column, an option pops up to "Import from Submodel". Then in your sequence when you choose a Singing Face effect, a drop-down box in your Effects settings let's you choose which face, i.e. C9 vs. reindeer vs. sheep. Each face has its own entire set of outlines, e's and AI's and U's, etc. If you want the spinner, you can apply a fan effect on the fan Submodel. And if you select Force Colors on your States tab, you can define all your default colors for all your submodels without having to do that for each effect.

There's a lot there. It takes time.
 
Last edited:
It's a clever prop. Several dedicated pixel strings on one board. Couldn't the same thing be accomplished with a 48" matrix?
 
A matrix would definitely be able to do a lot. (That is why there are 5 actual matrix panels in the display area already. (We won't talk about the other 13 through-out the rest of the park.) In some ways the matrix panels are easier to use, but they don't look as nice as the others.

The Hattitude Quartet (x2), and the Showstopper Snowflake (x2), joined our props list yesterday. The Quartet is a 4 foot circle filled with all kinds of capability. Finding all the sub-models and then what functions work best with them is turning into quite an adventure. The promise we are seeing is wonderful. We are studying videos of it in use. Hopefully some knowledge will come through the screen into our (my) consciousness.

Thanks to some wonderful folks, we have a short, but action packed, example of what the Snowflakes can do. Perhaps the knowledge gained from it will transfer into use of the Quartets.
 
Technically, anything could be implemented as a matrix. There's a reason why we don't just put a bunch of TV's in our front yard, although I couldn't necessarily put into words why not.

I think snowflake and spinner effects translate nicely back-and-forth, but singing faces is a different thing. It's best to get the hang of a lone singing face first, then graduate up to something like the hattitude. I would import each of the singing submodels as faces (you have submodels, faces, states, and layers. Importing a submodes basically cut-and-pastes that submodel as a face). That way when you drag-and-drop down a singing face effect in the main sequence, you just select which face you want, i.e. reindeer, c9, tree.... The singing face effect goes on the HATTITUDE model. Top-level Not the corresponding submodel. That is true even if you want to do a spinning effect at the same time as the singing, in which case you layer the top-level model. I do nothing with the submodels in the sequence tab itself. Everything is faces, states, and layers.

What I'm dealing with on my Halloween prop is that I have 6 singing faces at the same time. I've got 7 layers, lots of face outlines. Hattitude's actually easy compared to that.
 
Thanks for the advice. Good information.

I was suspicious of using the singing faces on the Quartet as they might not fit well with the 28 others we have. I do like the ability to change from one type of face to another, though. Being able to go from a snowman, to a reindeer, to ..., without the prop moving is one of the reasons we ordered these. I want to surprise the kids (of all ages).

When you say you have 6 faces at the same time, are you meaning on the same prop? (I can't see this happening, but this is DIYC and everything is possible.)

The attached image is the "Bulb Tree" we are creating this year. It is made up of 24 Boscoyo ChromaBulbs on one frame. 17.5' tall, 8.5' wide. Makes for some fun times having lyrics bouncing from bulb to bulb. :wacko:

Bulb Tree.jpg
 
Last edited:
dirknerkle said:
It's a clever prop. Several dedicated pixel strings on one board. Couldn't the same thing be accomplished with a 48" matrix?
Click to expand...

Given that the lights on a matrix are on a grid, the lights on the outer ring would be unevenly spaced (the ones at the top and sides would be 1 grid unit apart, the ones at 45deg would be 1.4 grid units apart). The matrix is more flexible, but has it's aesthetic drawbacks.
 
P. Short said:
Given that the lights on a matrix are on a grid, the lights on the outer ring would be unevenly spaced (the ones at the top and sides would be 1 grid unit apart, the ones at 45deg would be 1.4 grid units apart). The matrix is more flexible, but has it's aesthetic drawbacks.
Click to expand...

Yes. I was thinking more like a hi-def matrix, made out of P-10 or similar panels which can display cartoonish figures like the singing tree, bulb or other face.
 
algerdes said:
Thanks for the advice. Good information.

I was suspicious of using the singing faces on the Quartet as they might not fit well with the 28 others we have. I do like the ability to change from one type of face to another, though. Being able to go from a snowman, to a reindeer, to ..., without the prop moving is one of the reasons we ordered these. I want to surprise the kids (of all ages).

When you say you have 6 faces at the same time, are you meaning on the same prop? (I can't see this happening, but this is DIYC and everything is possible.)

The attached image is the "Bulb Tree" we are creating this year. It is made up of 24 Boscoyo ChromaBulbs on one frame. 17.5' tall, 8.5' wide. Makes for some fun times having lyrics bouncing from bulb to bulb. :wacko:

View attachment 45865
Click to expand...

I wish I had that kind of budget, to do a whole choir. The Hattitude is not for me thematically, but what I like about it is that you could do like a Brady Bunch or a 80's style MTV video where the singers constantly move around, rotate, etc..

Yes, I have 6 singing faces on one prop. Here:
https://boscoyostudio.com/product/daycoro-hires-chromaghost-tree/
It has 3 pumpkins, 2 ghosts, 1 owl.

Sequencing 24 singing faces, oh man.... You'll save gobs of time by grouping it (have to...), but one problem is that the eyes all blink together when they're in "Auto" mode. They need to blink individually. The only way I know to do that is to have 24 individual Singing-Face effects.
 
Believe it or not, we (especially my wife) are getting good at sequencing the whole choir as individual singing props.
My problem is/was the mixing and matching of the mega-props. Sub models out the ears!

I'm just hoping that I go to bed one of these nights and wake up channeling some super-sequencer, such as Tom B. :cry:
I can read music, and have been a member of quite a few choirs - but I don't remember having to know/recognize so many different parts. Worse yet - I was a bass/baritone. :rolleyes: (Not the most challenging vocal parts.)
 
algerdes said:
I'm trying to wrap my head around the use of a multi-functional prop such as the GE Hattitude Quartet.
The number of sub-models is unbelievable. This leads to many options. Unfortunately, either through age or being up for far too long, I am having trouble just making simple things happen. For example - there is a spinner in there somewhere. There are also singing faces in there.

If you have one of these, how did you get it to work? (I know, old timer should be able to do this in an instant... but it isn't happening. :( )

Thanks for any suggestions, and better yet - examples that you can share.

alg
Click to expand...

I know it's already light season, but did you get your Hattitude Quartet issues worked out? It's really not that hard once you understand how it works. That's my design, so if you have any questions or problems, please contact me and I can walk you through it. I just saw this post, don't get in here usually.
 
Yep. We have figured out about 50% of it, and they (we have two) are pretty much center of our display. (Along with two Showstopper Snowflakes). The surprise the kids get when we pull up Rudolph where there was a spinner before. They they see a train, complete with waving smoke from the stack. Great design.

Now to learn about the other half.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top