How I Landed On The Current Form
How to arrange all the lights that construct continuous steps? When the character reaches one end, how to redirect the figure and make the character's chasing endless? How to make enough space to put frames enough for making an animation of running back and force, instead of a single direction?
If the shadow needs to run in two directions, it will need two sets of frames. And they should avoid each other because it breaks the narration if the audience sees two shadow characters facing different sides show up at the same time.
LIGHT ON CURVE FACE
The instinctive idea was to form an arc with the LEDs around the figure because this arrangement keeps the distance from every light to the figure stays the same. However, because the figure will not rotate, the LEDs further from the center will face the flat side of the figures and can only project a thin line, instead of the shadow of the whole figure. Projecting shadows on a closed-loop face can make a single-direction running endless, but the stable frame pieces in the middle make the same problem.
DOUBLE LINES LIGHT
I don't want to project shadows of extra figures. Can I just use one set (2 frames) of figures and shed lights on them from different sides and project shadows on different surfaces? It won't work, too. If the figure doesn't rotate and the viewer doesn't change perspective, the shadow will not flip no matter where the light comes from. Plus, two layers of screen can make the shadow invisible.
STRUCTURE BUILDING
To avoid the shadow of the light bar
I lift or lower the lights and make them point up or down like stage spotlights in theatres.
To avoid projecting unwanted shadows
Light tubes are extended to shrink spot size.
To fix a light in the tube
Tube dia. were made to stop LEDs by their platforms.
To fix cylinders
cylinder poles are shaped to fix other parts at certain angles, except for specific cylinders that are left rotate-able for adjusting angles.
FABRICATION
Wrong Material. TPU does not hold the shapes.
Wrong Material. (NON-TOUGH) PLA is too hard for cutting or inserting LEDs
Broken. Hole does not fit pole. LED in-tube stopper are too shallow to fix the LEDs in.
Wrong Material&Printer. Leaning-extruder printer might not be capable to print precise shapes.