CAn you toggle two shows somehow on the HC8

[JonnyMac]

The first step is to create your shows using Vixen and the program attached above. It's called a "streamer" because it takes the data streamed out of Vixen (through the serial port) and massages it into your outputs (4 servos and 4 dimmer/valve ouputs).

I need to know the details of YOUR player because it will be different from my standard code. In your case, you want to play one of two shows based on the position of a switch, when triggered by a PIR (God, I hate those things....) -- right?

There is no sense giving you player code until you have a show to run with it.  But yes, it will be a separate program that you have to load into the HC-8+. That program knows how to read show data from the uSD card adapter and play it. It also knows how to "talk" to the AP-16+ to tell it what audio file to play.

[needcrew]

OK, That makes sense and yes you are right.   Why the hate for the PIR sensor, it is the easiest thing I can think of to have an autonomous prop where I don't have to watch over it.  So the Vixen outputs will be streamed and I am assuming will be saved to the SD card on the HC-8, and then the player program will read one of the other depending on the triggers.  So for me to get going I will need the HC-8, the usb prop card, later the AP-16 and I would put the sounds on a card for that one correct?  Sorry for all the questions just want to make sure I have a handle on what I need to do.  Really looking forward to re-doing this old prop that is my Greeter.

[JackMan]

You're gonna need the HC-8+, a Prop Plug (for downloading programs to the HC-8+), and the MicroSD card adapter. PIR's can be notoriously twitchy and unreliable. A mat switch would be a much better option.

[JonnyMac]

You'll also need a uSD adapter for your PC so that you can export the show data from Vixen to the card.

[needcrew]

Thanks for the info, does anyone have info on a good mat switch then, because I hve never been able to find a inexpensive one for my props, as they are out side

[needcrew]

Is there any size limit on the microSD card for the hc-8 reader? Was looking at some 8 gb class 6 cards or maybe 16gb.  Is 16gb overkill?

[JonnyMac]

I have used a 16 but they're all different; the smaller will be fine. Class 6 is a good idea, though, as it guarantees throughput.

[livinlowe]

For the mat switch, just do a google search. There are a couple of homebrew solutions. But, yeah, PIR's are twitchy, and make it seems that your controller is behaving "funny"

[needcrew]

Just noticed that you have a Game-ON adapter for the Wii nunchuck.  Could this be an option for defining the head movements instead of vixen?  Just curious since we have a Wii.

[JonnyMac]

No. The resolution of those things is TERRIBLE. I was mortified when I wrote the code and found out how bad they are. They're fine for games, terrible for actual control.

I am asking you to trust me that unless you're a professional puppeteer (I have lots of friends here in Hollywood that are -- they're in SAG with me), you should program each movement separately, and do it just once. Everybody thinks that using a live joystick is best. It's not.

Have a look at the shows on this page:
-- www.socalhalloween.com

My friend, Peter, programs his shows one element at a time. He's a movie pro (look him up on IMDb).

[needcrew]

Thanks, I was just curious if there was an easier way, but like most things the best way is usually not  the easiest way.  I am working on getting my order together so I can start working on this soon. 

Thanks again for all the assistance.

Mike

[JonnyMac]

It *seems* like it should be easier but I don't believe it is. Instead of doing a medium-difficulty thing once, you end up doing a simple thing a 1000 times trying to get it right. I don't know about you, but I prefer to do things just once.

And... it is really important to do your jaw-syncing first and there is NO WAY you can do that with any kind of reliability with a joystick. Sure, you could knock something in, but you you have to edit it, anyway -- why not just put it in properly first? This is what my friend, Peter, does. As a professional in movie special effects he is very particular. And every time he sets up a Halloween show people are blown away by it. That starts with a clever script and ends with clean animation.