Frequently Asked Questions
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Who is behind NewtonLights? |
NewtonLights was started in 2002 by Craig Newton, a college student at the time and a graduate of Amity High School. Prior to 2002, the lights were a static display and had grown to the point that the main fuse in the house was tripping. After the 2001 show, where all of the lights that were put up could not be powered, it was decided to computerize the lights and make a show. Since that time, the show has grown exponentially and requires the help of many people to setup and take down. Craig still designs, builds, and synchronizes the lights, but is helped by several people to get the show setup. The following people are forced to contribute to the setup each year: Jeff Newton, Debby Newton, Nikki Newton, Brian Gray, Gina Gray, Hunter Gray, and Chloe Gray.
| How many lights are in your display? |
The 2012 show has just over 100,000 lights.
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How many amps of power does the show use? |
If all of the lights came on at the exact same time, they would consume around 350 amps. Careful planning has to be done to balance the power loads to ensure that no circuit gets overloaded.
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Where do you purchase all of the animated characters in your show? |
All of the animated characters are designed and built by Craig with the assistance from family members.
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How long does it take to design, build, sequence, and setup the show each year? |
The building of the new characters takes a ton of time. Each one that is built seems to get more complex and takes more time. All of the steel wire is shaped, welded, and painted before getting lights clipped onto the frames.One of the last song that was sequenced, "Run Rudolph Run", took an estimated 50 hours of sitting in front of the computer to get the timings correct and get everything to turn on and off when needed. The majority of that time was spent sequencing the animated characters.
The setup always begins the first weekend after Halloween and continues until the first or second weekend in December. We also take about a week off of work in order to get the display setup. The 2011 show took an estimated 275+ man hours just to setup.
An hour or two is also spent each night along with several hours every Saturday and Sunday repairing sets that will not light and maintaining the display.
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How much does the show add to the power bill each year? the |
It is somewhere around an extra $80 for the month. In comparison to the cost of everything else, the power bill is very minimal.
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Who puts out all of money that goes into the show each year? |
Craig's parents pay the electric bill for the show. Craig spends several thousand dollars each year to maintain and expand the display. It also requires many days be taken off of work each year for the setup. The 2012 show is the 11th year, so if one does the math it can be seen that a lot of money has gone into making the show what it is today.
Copyright © 2012 by Craig Newton. All rights reserved.