Ready… GO

You’ve probably found that playing back looks live on stage from the grandMA is fairly easy… and you’ve no doubt used the OFF hard key or an OFF button on an Executor to stop that playback. There’s a super handy window named “Running Programs” that will allow you to quickly see (and stop) different types of playback. You access this window by simply pressing the OFF key twice.

The Running Programs Window

From within the window you choose to globally stop everything (EVERYTHING OFF) or choose to stop all playback of a certain type (like all Chasers, Sequences, etc). Additionally you can choose to turn off playback tied to hardware (like Executor Faders or Button) or you could choose a very specific item like an individual Sequence or Effect to stop.

All of these are great options, but – if you’re anything like me – you might want some hard key options as well. The syntaxes listed below are all for use in stopping playback, and they don’t even require that you open the “Running Programs” window.

Hold OFF and press GO+ = Switches everything off (the same as if you’d hit the EVERYTHING OFF on screen button in the Running Programs window)
Hold OFF + EFFECT = Turns off all running Effects
Hold OFF + EXECUTOR = Turns off all Executors
Hold OFF + MACRO = Turns off all Macros currently running
The following do not require holding the OFF button:
OFF PAGE ENTER = Turns off all Executor faders/buttons on current page
OFF PAGE 5 ENTER = Turns off all Executor faders/buttons on Page 5
OFF PAGE 2.5 ENTER = Turns off all Executor faders on page 5 (this will not affect Executor Buttons)
The same style syntax can be used to turn off other specific running programs like Timecode, Macros, Effects, Executors and more.

Since I love overriding timing.. lets throw this into the mix: Next time, instead of just hitting OFF and then hitting that button on the executor that you want to turn off, try speeding up or slowing down the time by adding fade and/or delay time to the syntax. Something like OFF EXECUTOR 1 TIME 10 ENTER might lend a more graceful exit…

Forget about playback for a moment – OFF can be used while you’re programming to essentially knock-out or erase values from your Fixture and Channel sheets. Here, we’re using OFF and selecting the units that we want to remove from our Sheets. For example:
OFF FIXTURE (#) ENTER
OFF CHANNEL (#) ENTER
OFF GROUP (#) ENTER
And, yes, you can type syntax like OFF FIXTURE 101 THRU 110 ENTER.
Additionally, you can choose to knockout attribute types – like pan & tilt or color. To do this – first, select the fixture(s) you wish to work with, then press OFF followed by the preset filter you wish to remove (like Pan/Tilt, Color, Dimmer, etc). You can choose the filter from the Preset Control Bar or by touching the title cell of any preset pool (or, press PRESET followed by the corresponding Preset type number). If you need to be even more specific – you can even use OFF to knockout an individual attribute on a wheel.

This list of OFF commands is not a complete list of the offerings available in the console, but, once you understand the syntax behind the commands – it’s fairly easy to achieve whatever you’re looking for.

Quick Tips are exactly what the name should imply. We’re adding these to our blog in an effort to help programmers and operators of all levels. If you’d like to suggest a Quick Tip, drop us a message on this blog, or on our Facebook page, or even via Twitter.

ACT Lighting’s VP of Sales, Brian Dowd, talks to Justin Lang (isquint.net) about the GrandMA 2. Brian discusses where the console is being used and where it’s going.

For more videos like this one, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

ACT Lighting’s Director of Software Support and Development, Joe Cabrera, sits down with Justin Lang from iSquint.net to talk about what’s different with the grandMA 2 console hardware and software. This interview is part of a longer audio podcast which is forthcoming from iSquint.net. Once the full podcast is posted, I’ll be sure to add it to this blog.

Today, you’ll find updated versions of software for the following products:

grandMA Series 1
grandMA Console Software Version 6.3
grandMA1 onPC Version 6.3

grandMA Series 2
grandMA2 Console Software Version 1.5
grandMA2 onPC Version 1.5

Visualizer
grandMA 3D Version 6.0.9.15 (compatible with today’s console software releases)

Video Processing Unit
grandMA VPU Software Version 3.0.3

Please visit our Downloads page to access these updates and the Release Notes.

Thanks!
The ACT Lighting Software Team

Photo credit: Ed Krieger

The Broadway spectacular based on the beloved children’s book, “Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! The Musical” moved into Los Angeles’ historic Pantages Theatre carrying both a grandMA full-size and a grandMA light.

During pre-production, the two consoles were used in session for multiple focusing and programming access. The rig (connected to 4 MA Lighting NSP’s) consisted of over eighty automated fixtures, LED strips, myriad smoke machines, a Dataton Watchout system, and the Grinch’s wirelessly-controlled LED heart.

First produced in 1994, “Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! The Musical” has seen multiple homes, including San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre and Broadway in 2007, along with a North American tour in 2008.

Production Electrician Brendan Quigley

Production Electrician Brendan Quigley offered us some insight on the Pantages installation. “Taking the programming from the 2008 tour and adapting it to the installation at the Pantages meant doing a lot of updating. Changing fixture types has been virtually seamless. I was also extremely impressed with the ease with which we could interface our Dataton Watchout system with the grandMA via Art-Net.” Brendan also uses the grandMA on various installations and tours of “Wicked”, so he is more than at home when it comes to the console. “It’s a piece of cake for me to jump on a console when I need to.”

Programmer Shannon January at the MA

Shannon M.M. January is the grandMA programmer for “Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! The Musical.” He also previously programmed the 2008 tour of the same show. “One of my favorite things about the MA is the ability to put Macros on Executor Buttons. This gives me quick access to the actions that I need for the show.” Shannon has also configured Worlds to help keep this large-scale rig manageable. “I can break up what both I, and the designers, are looking at on the consoles, so that we can more easily focus on whatever we’re working on. The grandMA is powerfully different than other consoles in the huge amounts of customization that you can do. Every programmer’s show file and User Profile can be completely different.” Shannon keeps a MacBook Pro running grandMA onPC (under Parallels) in session with his console.

Directed by Matt August, Lighting Co-Designers for “Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! The Musical” are Pat Collins and D.M. Wood. Production Electrician was Brendan Quigley and grandMA programmer was Shannon M. M. January. Lighting equipment was provided by PRG.

“Dr. Suess’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” runs at the Panatages Theatre through December 27, 2009. For more information or to purchase tickets for the Los Angeles engagement of
Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! The Musical,
please visit www.BroadwayLA.org

Photo credit: Ed Krieger

MA Lighting is exclusively distributed by A.C.T Lighting.

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

Bob Bonniol presents a “highly detailed” tour of the ACT Lighting booth at LDI 2009.