Hi guys,
I am completely anew in this environment and I am struggling to say the least. In the idea of full disclosure for what my project is going to be, i'll start with that! Theres a band called daft punk, and both members of the band wear a "helmet". Well, here is the helmet im going to attempt to recreate in a somewhat reasonable fashion. http://www.nubloom.org/blog/wp-conte...nk-helmets.jpg
VIDEO

And im talking about the helmet with the full LED matrix on the front.
I've figured out most of the hard bits, and I'm gathering supplies. Ive had the visor manufactured, the helmet modeled in 3D and im having the individual parts vacu-formed.

But now im getting into the nitty gritty of the LEDs. And im completely lost for that. I was thinking of using is a pre-existing LED dot matrix i found on ebay, but I have no idea how to control it. http://cgi.ebay.com/6432-Dot-Matrix-...QQcmdZViewItem
Does anyone think I should use a different dot matrix, that I can get to bend to the curvature of the visor? Or just any other reccomendations in general?

I would like to have the LED dot matrix be able to switch into a new "face", like the happy face, the heart, or the peace sign as seen in the first photo. So, this system would have to be mobile (powered by a mobile battery pack) and controllable. I just have no experience in how to program this dot matrix business.

And then the "blocks" on the side of the helmet, I am planning to just put theatre gels in segments on the visor, and have LED blocks below those that just toggle on and off in a sequence. I think that would be much easier to program, as its just turning the blocks on and off, rather than programming individual LEDs and what not?

So, after writing a book, can anyone even begin to help? Thanks.