Tesla tree

1

1pet2_9

Active member
This prop/decoration I did for this year turned out well, considering how easy it was, so I thought it might be worthy to contribute to the community. I call attention to the tree:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BT-5ecL5Uoc

It's really simple: pick a tree or bush. Then pick an AC controller (such as a Renard) with at least 8 free channels (but you could do more). Run white LED light strands right up the trunk, then fan them out throughout all the branches. For me, I chose to mix warm whites and cools. Then in Xlights, model it as an 8-channel Channel Block, single color, and throw on a Twinkle effect (there's probably an equivalent in Vixen). I picked a 20% activity factor and a 5-frame step. That's it. A Tesla tree.

For fast musical sequences (that you dance to--such as Thriller, like I have in this video), I found that if you increase the step size to, say, 10, it has more of a disco feel; as opposed to lightning or a tesla coil, like you get with a step of 5.

That's it. You don't need music, nothing. Just an animation with one effect.
 
Nice. Love some AC action - especially for halloween.

Your little ground moving heads are really nice too. Which ones did you put in?
 
I found some cheap $75 60W moving beams on Ali, but I'm still figuring those out. They are not waterproof. My wife figured out we can put those clear garden domes you use to protect your plants from frost over them, and those are $30. Problem is, the heads need 12" height, and the domes are only 10 3/4" tall. We need to come up with bases which raise the heads from the ground but also have a recess in the shape of the heads' base to a depth of two inches. So basically a rectangle pedestal with a 2" deep rectangle cut out from the middle of it. And that we can drill holes in, so water drains out before it rises to the level of the head's base.

Moving heads work out really well for Thriller. It's like you have real-life dancers. For actual Halloween, we'll have fog (weather-permitting) and no domes, so hoping we get those beams through fog. Most people go for the genuinely scary displays for Halloween, but not us. Not when our trick-or-treaters average 8 years old.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top