[zaxomi]

I'm planning to do something similar, but using addressable RGB LEDs (like WS2811, also known as neopixel).

They are simple to work with. Each LED has 4 connections: GND, +5V, DATA IN and DATA OUT. Each LED grabs the first 24 bits of the data stream (8 bits for Red, Green and Blue) and sends the rest on DATA OUT for the next LED.