There seems to be a tradition in the hobby of doing “behind the scenes” videos, where we show all the stuff that only looks good in the dark. And we ramble on a bit as we walk through our displays, mentioning this or that, maybe a lot of rustling in the audio. I expect these will be viewed by 3 people, one of which will be myself when I try to remember what I did in advance of setup next year.

Sadly, my first season I didn’t do a “behind the scenes” video. Worse, my August 2022 video was given a voiceover, which is a total breach of tradition:

For Halloween 2022, I did a more faithful “behind the scenes” walkthrough video, though I did have to do a retake for the part where the camera was aimed at the floor. But a step in the right direction:

Here’s a video of getting the Rosa Grande up on the roof:

And a bit of the 2023 switchover from Halloween to Xmas:

I should really do a Halloween 2026 walkthrough video. Things have changed, but they haven’t changed.

Where Does Stuff Get Stored?

Behind the scenes: Before the lights come out – August 2023:

Behind the scenes: Before the lights come out – August 2024:

GS8208 Pixels

They have a mind of their own:

Also, do you think this one’s bad? It feels a little mushy…

Do Pixels Burn?

After the 2022 debacle, I had plenty of material on hand to test this.

What If xLights Effects Were Really 3D?

Here’s a one-off 3D shockwave effect – an expanding sphere. From multiple angles simultaneously…