2012 Spring Mini
Lee Leibecki has volunteered to host the 2012 Spring Mini. It will be held Saturday, April 28, 2012 in Jacksonville, FL. Please save the date and we will be posting more info as it becomes available. Hope to see everyone there.
2011 FLPC Fall Mini Summary by Michael Beason
What do you get when bring extreme decorators together from all over
Florida? You get the 2011 Florida Mini!
30 crazy light engineers invaded Eastern Central Florida at
Paul Dobo's house. He and his wife Kristin were perfect host and put up
with our craziness for over six hours. The house looked great and was
set-up just right for the day. The food was delicious and plenty of it.
They thought of every detail except how to explain to the neighbors what
just happened to their peaceful neighborhood.
Michael B started the program by asking several questions to find out
who used what equipment, type of lights, kinds of transmitters, display
elements, etc… This allowed
individuals to see who they could talk to for advice and connect with
others. He recapped the Florida Mini history from 2006 until now. Then
it was time to head outside…
Chuck H. showed the crowd how to make a North Pole in about 15 minutes.
It was simple and easy, (kind of like Chuck) and the pole looked
fantastic. I could tell Chuck had put a lot of time and thought into
his design. He gave several useful
tips for anyone attempting a North Pole. He could be on HGTV with his
own Christmas decorating show.
Next, Ron L showed how he makes his extreme display look perfect with
the straightest lines on the planet. Many of his display elements are
preset-up so he can install them in only a few minutes. While Ron showed
a video of his famous display he installed 4 different colored LED
strings of lights on a
COLONADE strip with clips, before the video was over. Ron surprised many
on how fast and easy the installation was.
He showed his innovative Coro Stars as well. The stars are used like we
use Mini Trees.
Mike D. demonstrated LOR’s S3 visualizer.
The eager group of decorators witnessed how to incorporate LOR’s
new software into their planning and designing stages.
A decorator can use the visualizer to demo how their show will
look with their lights, display elements, and sequencing. He gave us
several useful tips on how to make the program run quicker.
After an incredible lunch of BBQ chicken and pork, Darren H. showed us
several LOR sequencing tips to make our programming easier and faster.
He showed how each step of sequencing looked in the animation window
and/or on video. Audience members asked questions and we all chimed in
to answer. We were able to learn from each other.
Paul D. led us outside where he demoed his leaping arches.
There we saw how he made small sections and attached each section
to make a full arch. Paul
discussed the materials he used and why. He ran a sequence for the crowd
so we could see the fruits of his planning and hard work.
Paul G. took a PVC pipe and colored it with a dyed PVC coating.
He demonstrated how to color the
pipe black, yellow, and red. Paul then explained DIY and their website (http://diylightanimation.com/.)
He gave us examples of group buys that we will save a bundle if
you are willing to build it yourself.
Shawn T. showed his RBG lights he is going to use in North Pole Globes.
He stated that you need one power supply for all the lights and an
inexpensive controller for each set of three lights.
Lee L. and Darren H. agreed to host the next exciting Florida Mini, 2012
style in Jacksonville. The tentative date is in April. So, this should
be plenty of time to give Jacksonville ample warning of impending
nuttiness.
We started our wonderful day at 10am and unplugged
the last electrical cord around 4pm.
It was a fun day of learning, meeting new friends, and
celebrating our crazy-over-the- top-hobby. We all want to give a big
thank you to all who made this day special.
There is no charge to belong to FLPC. Come join us, make some new friends, and have fun spreading the joy of Christmas. If you would like to become a member please contact us and ask for a membership form.
Since most of our members belong to the Planet Christmas forums it was decided to not dilute their forums by having one here also. There is no charge to belong to Planet Christmas. It's a perfect place to learn more about Christmas displays.
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If you have any questions or concerns please contact us or visit the Florida Forum at Planet Christmas.