Singing Choir - Revision history

Dirknerkle at 18:46, 14 June 2019

2019-06-14T18:46:32Z

Dirknerkle at 18:44, 14 June 2019

2019-06-14T18:44:49Z

Dirknerkle at 15:46, 4 June 2016

2016-06-04T15:46:12Z

Dirknerkle at 15:45, 4 June 2016

2016-06-04T15:45:22Z

Admin at 14:46, 22 May 2015

2015-05-22T14:46:09Z

Admin at 22:38, 16 May 2015

2015-05-16T22:38:27Z

Admin at 22:37, 16 May 2015

2015-05-16T22:37:36Z

Admin at 22:37, 16 May 2015

2015-05-16T22:37:15Z

Admin at 22:35, 16 May 2015

2015-05-16T22:35:51Z

Admin at 22:32, 16 May 2015

2015-05-16T22:32:50Z

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft between anthems in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my daily service bulletin:
-[[File:1-choirconcept.jpg | 200px]]
+[[File:1-choirconcept.jpg | 300px]]
 I found a graphic on the Internet that was close to the vision that I had for the choir, so I made a screen capture of that.
-[[File:2-choirgraphic.jpg | 200px]]
+[[File:2-choirgraphic.jpg | 300px]]
 I needed a way to enlarge the relatively small graphic to the size I wanted, so I used a digital projector to project it up on a wall. I taped several sheets of newspaper together as my "canvas" so I could outline the elements I wanted to make in wire.
-[[File:3-enlarged.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:3-enlarged.JPG | 300px]]
 I used 9-gauge wire from Lowe's that came in 50-foot spools. It's very stiff but bendable and substantial enough to weld, and it's rather inexpensive. I used two spools for all the elements of this frame.
-[[File:4-wire.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:4-wire.JPG | 300px]]
 Ping pong tables come in really handy for big projects like this! I laid out the paper, and because I wanted to make each frame out of a single piece of wire, I needed to know how long each wire should be. I used string and taped it onto the outline of each element and then used each string to measure the length of wire and rope light I needed. The string also provided good practice for determining how I would wire the frames with a single, continuous length of rope light.
-[[File:5-measuring.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:5-measuring.JPG | 300px]]
 After cutting and bending the wire into the shape I needed, I welded each piece together.
-[[File:6-welded.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:6-welded.JPG | 300px]]
 Because I was planning to resurface the driveway anyway, I painted the frames on the driveway with a flat black paint. Painting may not have been necessary, but I think it does hide the metal better than had they not been painted, and it helps the zip ties adhere better, too.
-[[File:7-painting.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:7-painting.JPG | 300px]]
 Once they were all painted, I did a test fit on the ping pong table and started zip-tying clear white rope light to each frame. The clear white rope light I selected could be cut every 24" and later on, I used a bit of black electrical tape to mask out areas I didn't want to show.
-[[File:8-testfit.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:8-testfit.JPG | 300px]]
 Because I used clear white rope light, I used Metalcast spray paint to paint the various figures the colors I wanted. Dupli-Color Metalcast spray paint is usually available in auto parts stores or via Amazon. In some cases this meant using some masking tape to protect sections from overspray, but overall, I was very happy with the result. Each element had several coats of the spray paint to deepen the color. Then I laid them out on the floor of the garage for a test. Notice the wire grid beneath the frames. This served as a base to hold all the sections together. Zip-tying the pieces to each other and the grid made it quite strong. The grid is vinyl-coated wire garden fencing, also available at Lowe's or Home Depot. Note: The Metalcast paint seems to last quite a long time -- after 5 years' use, the colors are still vibrant and have faded only slightly.
-[[File:9-layout.JPG | 200px]]  [[File:10-choirtest.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:9-layout.JPG | 300px]]  [[File:10-choirtest.JPG | 200px]]
 I made an arch out of PVC, mounted the grid in the arch and zip-tied four strings of incandescent mini lights (red-blue-yellow-green) around it. A single 16-channel controller is needed for the 11 choir members and four colors on the arch, leaving one spare channel. To mount the frame, I pound a couple stakes in the ground and set the PVC arch over them to hold the bottom and simply zip tie it to the tree branches in 3 or 4 places.
-[[File:11-setup.JPG | 200px]]
+[[File:11-setup.JPG | 300px]]
 All in all, it gives a nice effect, and each choir member is animated individually. There are three each of sopranos, altos and tenors and two basses, and when the choir is used, I animate the various voices appropriately with the music. Sequencing it takes a lot of time....
-[[File:12-action.jpg | 200px]]
+[[File:12-action.jpg | 300px]]
-After 8 years, I refurbished the colors with Metalcast paint again. Good as new!
+After 8 years of use, I decided to refurbish the colors with Metalcast paint again. Good as new!
 [[File:Choir_refurb.jpg | 300px]]

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 [[File:6-welded.JPG | 200px]]
-Because I was planning to resurface the driveway anyway, I painted the frames on the driveway with a flat black paint. Painting may not have been necessary, but I think it does hide the metal better than had they not been painted.
+Because I was planning to resurface the driveway anyway, I painted the frames on the driveway with a flat black paint. Painting may not have been necessary, but I think it does hide the metal better than had they not been painted, and it helps the zip ties adhere better, too.
 [[File:7-painting.JPG | 200px]]
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 [[File:8-testfit.JPG | 200px]]
-Because I used clear white rope light, I used Metalcast spray paint to paint the various figures the colors I wanted. In some cases this meant using some masking tape to protect sections from overspray, but overall, I was very happy with the result. Each element had several coats of the spray paint to deepen the color. Then I laid them out on the floor of the garage for a test. Notice the wire grid beneath the frames. This served as a base to hold all the sections together. Zip-tying the pieces to each other and the grid made it quite strong. The grid is vinyl-coated wire garden fencing, also available at Lowe's or Home Depot. Note: The Metalcast paint seems to last quite a long time -- after 5 years' use, the colors are still vibrant and have faded only slightly.
+Because I used clear white rope light, I used Metalcast spray paint to paint the various figures the colors I wanted. Dupli-Color Metalcast spray paint is usually available in auto parts stores or via Amazon. In some cases this meant using some masking tape to protect sections from overspray, but overall, I was very happy with the result. Each element had several coats of the spray paint to deepen the color. Then I laid them out on the floor of the garage for a test. Notice the wire grid beneath the frames. This served as a base to hold all the sections together. Zip-tying the pieces to each other and the grid made it quite strong. The grid is vinyl-coated wire garden fencing, also available at Lowe's or Home Depot. Note: The Metalcast paint seems to last quite a long time -- after 5 years' use, the colors are still vibrant and have faded only slightly.
 [[File:9-layout.JPG | 200px]]  [[File:10-choirtest.JPG | 200px]]
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 [[File:12-action.jpg | 200px]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This turned out to be a pretty sizeable project, and it takes two people to move it around because it's so unwieldy and heavy, but it's been a popular part of my display for quite a few years. I don't use it every year, but because it uses rope light, it's super-low maintenance and fills up a lot of visual space. - Dirknerkle
-I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft between anthems in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my program
+I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft between anthems in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my daily service bulletin:
 [[File:1-choirconcept.jpg | 200px]]

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 [[File:8-testfit.JPG | 200px]]
-Because I used clear white rope light, I used Metalcast spray paint to paint the various figures the colors I wanted. In some cases this meant using some masking tape to protect sections from overspray, but overall, I was very happy with the result. Each element had several coats of the spray paint to deepen the color. Then I laid them out on the floor of the garage for a test. Notice the wire grid beneath the frames. This served as a base to hold all the sections together. Zip-tying the pieces to each other and the grid made it quite strong. The grid is vinyl-coated wire garden fencing, also available at Lowe's or Home Depot.
+Because I used clear white rope light, I used Metalcast spray paint to paint the various figures the colors I wanted. In some cases this meant using some masking tape to protect sections from overspray, but overall, I was very happy with the result. Each element had several coats of the spray paint to deepen the color. Then I laid them out on the floor of the garage for a test. Notice the wire grid beneath the frames. This served as a base to hold all the sections together. Zip-tying the pieces to each other and the grid made it quite strong. The grid is vinyl-coated wire garden fencing, also available at Lowe's or Home Depot. Note: The Metalcast paint seems to last quite a long time -- after 5 years' use, the colors are still vibrant and have faded only slightly.
 [[File:9-layout.JPG | 200px]]  [[File:10-choirtest.JPG | 200px]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This turned out to be a pretty sizeable project, and it takes two people to move it around because it's so unwieldy and heavy, but it's been a popular part of my display for quite a few years. I don't use it every year, but because it uses rope light, it's super-low maintenance and fills up a lot of visual space. - Dirknerkle
-I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my program
+I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft between anthems in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my program
 [[File:1-choirconcept.jpg | 200px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:32, 16 May 2015
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	This turned out to be a pretty sizeable project, and it takes two people to move it around because it's so unwieldy and heavy, but it's been a popular part of ~~this~~ display for quite a few years. I don't use it every year, but because it uses rope light, it's super-low maintenance and fills up a lot of visual space.	+	This turned out to be a pretty sizeable project, and it takes two people to move it around because it's so unwieldy and heavy, but it's been a popular part of my display for quite a few years. I don't use it every year, but because it uses rope light, it's super-low maintenance and fills up a lot of visual space. - Dirknerkle

	I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my program		I came up with a concept while sitting in the choir loft in church one Sunday morning, and I drew a little sketch in the margin of my program