As you may have noticed there’s quite a bit to creating sequences. You may have heard of Tom BetGeorge who is very well known for his amazing lightshows.
In this post, we’re going to look over his 2020 display and highlight some of my favorite features of his sequence.
It can be a lot of fun watching sequences and what others are able to create. Tom BetGeorge is definitely a very talented sequencer and you can see his work on Magical Light Shows
Dynamics of the Song
The music selection for this display is the song Take on Me which is an 80’s song. Right away, at the beginning of the sequence, you can immediately see alternation between the snowflakes, the tree, and the arches. Each one represents a different instrument.
You may notice that Tom BetGeorge doesn’t have the biggest display out there but what he does do is amazing sequences of his lights. Using every element of his display and really brings the music to life.
In the beginning of the song, he’s not using everything in his display which helps add more impact later on in his show.
Singing Lights
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the signing faces. They are a lot to get set up but I have to admit the signing tree with this display was a really good feature.
Another piece I noticed is that as the music alternated so does the direction of the lights. It goes from vertical to horizontal, another great way of highlighting the dynamics of the song. It’s very on beat through the display.
Moving Heads
One of tools that Tom BetGeorge uses in his displays is 8 moving heads, how impressive is that to mount moving heads on your roof!
He uses a programming hack for his moving lights because his lights don’t have a smooth color transition. He most likely programmed the moving heads before they even go on and set the color. So, in the sequence we watch two turn on, sweep, turn off, and go to the next set.
Lights for First Chorus
With the song reaching the first chorus and you can see that everything in the display is coming on. He also brings in the “blue/purple rainbow” of colors that go with the music very well.
A tip with using rainbow colors is you noticed Tom doesn’t use all of the rainbow colors. Instead he chooses a color palette that goes very well with the song and the different colors go well together.
Simplifying the Lights and Music
As the song winds down, so do the lights and the colors. The display goes back to the white lights and only using certain parts of the display for the sequence.
With less instruments playing, not as many lights are being used.
Creating Layers
As you reach the high points of the song it’s when Tom brings in his colors and even layers into the lighting sequence.
The arches do a boomerang, back and forth, and the candy canes do the same. The snowflakes do a pop-out effect and the mega tree is a constant movement.
As different instruments play throughout the song, he shows it on the candy canes and arches. On the panels for the garage door, you’ll notice the effects and layers he creates to go along with the sequence.
Slow Fade Out
As the song comes to a finish and closes out, so do the lights. It was such a great design.
Tom does have a site where he sells his sequences, which are completely worth it at Magical Light Shows.