Tree of Life
The Tree of Life rebuilt in fully pixelated RGB pixel balls. Every ball is its own pixel, so the trunk and canopy can chase, sparkle and drip, not just change color. The show is recorded into Advatek PixLite controllers and fired with a GO from QLab. Try the cue stack below, or pick an effect and drag to orbit. Switch between our two pixel ball strands, and the inner trunk ring, under the render.
Run it from QLab
Each cue below is a scene recorded on the controllers. Press GO (or the space bar) to fire the next one, the way QLab would during the show.
Two strands, same ball
| 68 px steel wire | 50 px plain | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 13.6 m (44.6 ft) | 10 m (32.8 ft) |
| Pixels | 68, one every 200 mm | 50, one every 200 mm |
| Support | Two steel wires, 1 m extra each end | Cable only |
| Full white | 102 W, 4.25 A | 75 W, 3.1 A |
| On this tree | 3 lines per strand | 2 lines per strand |
Both: 50 mm frosted ball, 6 × SMD5050 LEDs, 24 VDC, 1.5 W per ball at full white, IP67, 3-pin data. One strand per controller output; each output is fused at 7 A, and linking strands end to end runs into voltage drop.
How it's built
- Fixture
- 50 mm frosted RGB pixel balls, 24 VDC, IP67
- Pitch
- One ball every 200 mm (7.9 in)
- String
- 13.6 m, 68 pixels
- Height
- About 9 ft 2 in
- Canopy
- About 12 ft 4 in across
- Trunk
- About 4 ft across, 30 columns
- Canopy
- 30 radial spokes, 12° apart
Each trunk column flows straight up into its own canopy spoke, so every branch line is one continuous run of pixels from the floor to the canopy edge.
- Up trunk column 1 and out spoke 1
- Back in spoke 2 and down column 2
- Up column 3 and out spoke 3
One string covers three branch lines. Pixel 1 of every string is at the trunk base, where the controllers live. The optional inner ring adds 15 more columns inside the trunk.
Control and network
sACN (E1.31) by default, Art-Net also supported. One universe per string, RGB, 3 channels per pixel, every string starts at address 1. The IP plan below is a proposal and can be changed to match your network.
- Controller
- Advatek PixLite A4-S Mk3, 4 outputs
- Protocol
- sACN (E1.31), multicast or unicast. Art-Net on request.
- Pixel type
- RGB, 8-bit, 3 ch per pixel
- Per string
- 68 px = 204 ch, one universe
- Universes
- 1 to 10
- Subnet
- 10.10.0.0 / 255.255.255.0
- Console / server
- 10.10.0.10 (suggested)
- Gateway
- None needed
Record and playback
Pixel control comes from Advatek PixLite A4-S Mk3 controllers. Each one has Advatek SHOWTime built in: it records the live sACN or Art-Net stream from your console or media server onto a microSD card inside the controller, then plays it back on its own. No console or media server has to stay on site, and there is no extra license.
- Controller
- Advatek PixLite A4-S Mk3
- Quantity
- 3 (one per 4 strings)
- Record / play
- Advatek SHOWTime, built into Mk3 firmware
- Storage
- Industrial microSD card in each controller
- Record source
- Live sACN or Art-Net from any console, media server or pixel mapper
- Triggers
- Up to 25 per controller: UDP string, sACN / Art-Net / DMX channel value, power-up, chained
- QLab
- Network cue sends a UDP string. Light cue on an sACN channel works too.
- Program the looks on your console or media server, patched to the universes below.
- Record each look as a SHOWTime scene. Every controller records its own universes to its card.
- Map one trigger per scene, for example UDP port 8000, string TOL_GO_01.
- In QLab, build a Group cue per look holding one Network cue per controller IP, so all controllers start together.
- Show day: QLab GO fires the scene. The console can go home.
Backup trigger: a QLab Light cue setting sACN universe 100, channel 1 to the scene number. Controllers can also start a default look on power-up.
Universe patch
The last few pixels on each string are service pixels coiled out of sight. Leave them at zero; the patch below lists them.
Pixel map
Every pixel with its universe, DMX address and 3D position in inches (origin at the trunk center on the floor, Z up). Import it into your media server or mapping software.