Driveway 'matrix' materials query

[Nojoy]

Hi all,

I have a sloped driveway that narrows at the bottom and ive always thought it was a dead light area. My wife's one condition to my show is that the garage remains usable throughout, and putting netting or a matrix frame over the driveway has always been in the too difficult bucket (until now!).

Im thinking of creating a single layer blanket for this area, as both a matrix and sub-model star/snowflake/other shapes. I used 5cm spaced seeds on "50x50mm aperture" pvc mesh from Bunnings this year for my garage and roof matrixes, but am pivoting away due to the size inconsistency.

Seeking feedback on experience from:

1. 5cm aperture netting (sports or cat netting) - does this tangle easily? Are seeds easy to keep facing the audience with zip ties?
2. 5mm white corflute sheets - my 4 wire seeds squeeze in nicely but havent tested them turned on - do they create too much halo effect in the white diffused corflute?
3. Virtual Matrix - since my driveway is brown pebblecrete im thinking the shape and colour is going to play havoc with the image - but seeking any experience feedback on projecting onto this type of material.

Thanks (photos below of area for reference)

 

[thewanderingpine]

personally — id be tempted to look at a projector (or a moving head) and just not have the hassle of taking something on/off the driveway.

I know my seeds are directional, and I know that some of them aren’t aligned properly. But at night — I would really struggle to tell you which was facing the wrong way.

 

[Notenoughlights]

I've made a frame that goes over the driveway, great for getting cables over the driveway, hanging lights on etc. Could be used to make some sort of light tunnel, and still be able to drive vehicles underneath if it was built tall enough

 

[Indigogyre]

You would be amazed to see how many people use the driveway for lights and still have it functional. Most involve frames that lift up out of the way or moveable props that can easily be moved on and off the driveway.

 

[badger4543]

Wasn’t there a bloke who rigged up a pulley system that pulled his garage matrix up under his garage door when the door lifted? Could be worth an investigation.

Also I’m thinking now maybe a projector to my garage door to utilise the garage door. a matrix seems like so much work compared to a projector and the images are way more crisp but then I’m thinking are the images to good and look out of place..

 

[Skymaster]

Paging @Kent for Garage Matrix ideas

 

[thewanderingpine]

Now that I look at the photos again -- if you're looking at the Garage door -- then yes a matrix might make sense. Kent has a neat one. I know @BluePat has one attached to his garage door that rolls up. A lot of us have gates using Bunnings Temp Fencing panels that will swing open.

My comment was more about the driveway itself -- for that I'd look at projecting light onto it. (eg: A moving head, or a projector)

 

[Nojoy]

Appreciate the input so far, but to keep this post on track - I already have a viable garage door solution. This is about people's experience and solutions lighting their driveways, based on the three options I posed, cheers

 

[B4IGO]

I also have a sloped driveway, similar to yours. i have some props standing up on solar tilt frames that I can just move aside, but have sometimes wondered how I could put an easily moveable matrix on there.

Back on topic though, along the lines of your coreflute idea there is also the transparent sunlite transparent panels:

Sunlite 8 1.2 x 0.61m Clear Twinwall Polycarbonate Sheet - 1200mm

Find Sunlite 8 1.2 x 0.61m Clear Twinwall Polycarbonate Sheet - 1200mm at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

www.bunnings.com.au

Someone did a matrix from these… you might be able to find the thread. I think it may look better than white Coro…. their videos looked great.

 

[B4IGO]

To answer question 1… seeds are not easy to keep facing one direction , but really don’t think it matters too much. From a distance I could not tell the difference on my megatree between seeds pointing inwards or outwards.

 

[Skymaster]

I also have a sloped driveway, similar to yours. i have some props standing up on solar tilt frames that I can just move aside, but have sometimes wondered how I could put an easily moveable matrix on there.

Back on topic though, along the lines of your coreflute idea there is also the transparent sunlite transparent panels:


Someone did a matrix from these… you might be able to find the thread. I think it may look better than white Coro…. their videos looked great.

Seed Pixel Matrix using Bunnings Sheet

Hi everyone, wanted to share my experience trying to make a cheap matrix with 5v seeds. I decided to use this board from bunnings and pair that up with my Falcon F16V3 controller that would run the 5v seeds through 4 ports (for the whole board) resulting in a 90 row and 49 columns matrix. I used...

auschristmaslighting.com

This one was white coro. I was looking at using the Sunlite panels on my Solar matrix as they are clear.
@Nojoy mentioned he tried the sunlite panels; and there is a video in there of someone else who has done it.

 

[Johnnyboy]

I created a garage matrix out of seeds (560x22) using garden trellis from Bunnings. I used just over 3000 cable ties and they kept the seeds facing the front quite nicely.

Would work fine on your driveway, plus it rolls up nice and small.

I will eventually update my journey thread when I get some time. Here are a couple of pics setup, all rolled up and a video of it running. You could do some awesome stuff with all that driveway realestate


View: https://youtu.be/8S_P-26Xylk?si=r2Z6fRJWTlWZ73Wu

 

[Nojoy]

Seed Pixel Matrix using Bunnings Sheet

Hi everyone, wanted to share my experience trying to make a cheap matrix with 5v seeds. I decided to use this board from bunnings and pair that up with my Falcon F16V3 controller that would run the 5v seeds through 4 ports (for the whole board) resulting in a 90 row and 49 columns matrix. I used...

auschristmaslighting.com

This one was white coro. I was looking at using the Sunlite panels on my Solar matrix as they are clear.
@Nojoy mentioned he tried the sunlite panels; and there is a video in there of someone else who has done it.

Thanks @Skymaster, this is what I was looking for re: the White coro option.

@Jon_101 now that you have packed away your matrix, do you have any experience/lessons to share in how you would improve for next year?
Also, how did you go about keeping panels aligned/leaving enough pixel cable to fold the panels in on themselves for storage?

 

[Nojoy]

I created a garage matrix out of seeds (560x22) using garden trellis from Bunnings. I used just over 3000 cable ties and they kept the seeds facing the front quite nicely.

Would work fine on your driveway, plus it rolls up nice and small.

I will eventually update my journey thread when I get some time. Here are a couple of pics setup, all rolled up and a video of it running. You could do some awesome stuff with all that driveway realestate


View: https://youtu.be/8S_P-26Xylk?si=r2Z6fRJWTlWZ73Wu

The 25mm mesh aperture seems to have held up well. I went with 50mm on my matrix this year as my seeds are 2inch spaced, and also went horizontally rather than vertical with my runs. If I do go with some form of mesh down the driveway I think smaller aperture and vertical might be the way to go. Thanks for sharing!