Ready… GO

This week’s Quick Tip Tuesday comes from Aron Altmark (aka Aron the Intern).

When dealing with more complex fixtures with the grandMA2, there are two key elements of fixture types you should know about—Modules and Instances. These two elements make it possible to divide complex fixtures into sub-fixtures, allowing for very precise control and expanding the possibilities of many LED or multi-engine fixtures.

A Module can be thought of as the definition of a distinct part of a fixture, while Instances are individual occurrences of a module. In an RGB LED batten fixture, there is only one module—a single dimmable LED cluster containing red, green, and blue LEDs. However, there may be many cells in an LED batten—these are instances of the LED cluster module. Another fixture that would use modules and instances is the Wybron LitePod (formerly the FagPod by ArtFag). In one configuration, this fixture has two modules—an ACL blinder and a 3K strobe, with a large-format color scroller (doesn’t require additional module).

To access Modules and Instances, open your Fixture Type editor within Setup>Patch & Fixture Schedule>Fixture Types. Select a fixture with multiple cells or parts (such as a PixelRange Pixelline 1044) in the list and tap “Edit”, which opens the Channel list. Open the Module Manager—this contains grandMA 3D specifications for the fixture. Then, go back to the Channel list and open the Instance Manager. This is where you specify how many instances of each module type and their position in relation to each other. For our Pixelline 1044, there are 18 instances of the module “LED Cluster”, each with a patch offset. Each instance also has an X offset to account for the cells being in a batten configuration. For LED panels, there may also be a Y or Z offset.

The cool thing about Modules and Instances is that you can reference each instance of your complex fixtures individually. Once patched, if you look in your fixture sheet, you will notice that it displays each instance as a sub-fixture, adding a decimal to the fixture ID. For example, if I patched my Pixelline 1044 at fixture ID 1, then I would see displayed ID 1.1, 1.2…1.17, and 1.18. If you type in just the fixture ID without decimal, you’ll still select the entire fixture. However, if you add the decimal when selecting fixtures, you can select individual cells. Also, using next and previous will step through each instance.

This can be really handy for making chases within individual fixtures and really intricate effects over complex fixtures. Enjoy making your new flashy pretty!

Note: Keep in mind, you are providing most of this information purely for grandMA 3D. Your show will run just fine in real life, just as long as you provide the correct number of instances and the appropriate patch offset for each. But why not have it be flashy in real life AND 3D flashy? So much more fun.

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.