Ready… GO

Parking means to set any attribute(s) to a particular value that cant be overridden in the Output- regardless of any cues that are played, edits made or even the grandmaster being brought down. These are the basics of parking. Its easier than parallel parking, I promise.

You can park all attributes of a fixture or group of fixtures by pressing the PAUSE key, followed by a Group selection or by FIXTURE (or CHANNEL).
Example: strongPAUSE GROUP 15 or PAUSE FIXTURE 117 ENTER

If youd like to park an individual attribute of any fixture(s), first select the fixture(s) that you wish to work with and set the value of the attribute according to your needs. Then press PAUSE followed by a Preset type in the PRESET CONTROL Bar of the Fixture Sheet. (EXAMPLE: PAUSE COLOR to park all color attributes) Or, press PAUSE followed by tapping the encoder wheel of the attribute you wish to park.

When youre ready to un-park, the formula is the same, except that you will replace the PAUSE key in your syntax with the GO+ key.
Example: GO+ GROUP 15 or GO+ FIXTURE 117 ENTER

The same rule applies if youd like to un-park individual attributes. Select the fixture(s), press GO+ followed by a selection in the PRESET CONTROL bar, or tap the desired encoder wheel.

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

Ever have one of those cues where your lights move to their new position, but they seem to halt rather abruptly when they get there? No matter how much you play with timing, the cue still doesnt feel right for the song, and you might prefer a movement thats a bit more smooth. You can achieve this by using a Movement Path. These paths dont change your programming or your timing, but they can be used to smooth out or enhance your cue.

To apply a path, open the SEQUENCE EXECUTOR sheet and locate the column called MOVE PATH and right-click the cell in that column next to the cue you wish to change. A new menu will open showing you a variety of pre-made paths (along with the option to create your own). Path names indicate the path used at the beginning and the end of the cue. For example: if the path name is “NH Normal-Over”, that means, the movement will start normally, but will end by going just past the stopping position, then return to that stopping position.

In our example, we wanted to slow down the end of the movement path, so we could choose “NL Normal-Low.” This option will slow the movement down at the end of the path, giving our lights a more graceful, glide-like movement towards our stopping position. Prefer to have the start be a bit more graceful as well? Try applying “LL Low-Low” as your path.

The nice thing about paths are that they are easy to apply or change. If youre not sure how one will look, apply it and then play back the cue. If that wasnt the one you wanted, try another. Also, dont confuse the Movement Path column with the Dim Path column, which applies to changes in dimmer values.

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.

Last week I was asked via Twitter, how to set a maximum cap on the dimmer parameter of a fixture. This is a great question, because it isn’t immediately obvious when looking at the SETUP windows of the console. The answer is to apply a Dimmer Curve.

You can apply a curve as a Profile from within the Full or Live Access windows. Once in the menu, click “Patch Sheets.” Here, you’ll notice a column called “Profile” next to each attribute of the fixtures patched into your showfile. Locate the DIM parameter for the fixture you wish to set a maximum intensity for and select the PROFILE cell next to it.

In the new window, click “Add Profile” and give it a name. Then you’ll see a graph that allows you set IN and OUT points for this channel. Grab the point on the screen and drag it to the desired maximum level. Let’s say that you want to cap this fixture’s intensity at 50%. Since this window is in DMX decimal values, you’ll want to set the IN and OUT points at a value of 128 (Alternatively, if you’d like to view this in Percentage, click the box in the bottom left corner that reads DEC and toggle it to PERC). You can then close the graph window by hitting the “X” in the top right corner. Back in the SELECT PROFILE window, your new profile should be listed and selected on the left. Click “Choose Profile”.

Be sure to exit FULL or LIVE ACCESS and save your changes. This new profile will result in the fixture’s output being capped at 50%.

ALSO: if you’d like to apply this curve to multiple fixtures of the same kind at once, you can choose to set this profile in the FIXTURE TYPES menu of FULL or LIVE ACCESS.

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.

Here are a few tips to speed up your entries in the numeric keypad when controlling dimmer levels of your instruments.
After selecting your unit(s), try using these key presses:

AT AT = at 100% (*by default)
. . = at 0% (dots = decimal or point key)
+ + = adds 10% to current intensity
- - = subtracts 10% from current intensity
AT + 15 = adds 15% to current intensity (replace the value of 15 with the value of your choice)
AT – 30 = subtracts 30% from current intensity (replace the value of 30 with the value of your choice)

A note about using the ++ (plus plus) or - - (minus minus): After you first use these shortcuts, the plus symbol (or minus symbol when using - -) will be retained on the Command Line. This means that if you should then need to add another 10 points, you need only press the “plus” key one additional time. Similarly, if you use - - (minus minus), you can then simply type the minus key one additional time to continue subtracting 10 points.

*Using the AT AT shortcut also doesn’t have to set your selected units to 100% – this is simply the default. You can change the AT AT shortcut to result in any other desired intensity. To do this, enter the SETUP window and click on “Defaults” in the top right corner. In the new window, click on “AtDefault Level”, and enter the value you wish to use in the calculator.

While you’re in the “Defaults” window, another option you might choose to turn on is “Single Digit Value Entry” in lieu of “Dual Digit Value Entry.” With the Single option on, you need only select a fixture/channel and then type AT 5 ENTER in order to take it to 50%. Essentially, this means that the console will assume a zero after any intensity number you key in, as long as it is a single number. AT 4 ENTER would result in taking the level to 40%. Note that if you wanted to take a fixture to 4%, you’d need to type in AT 04 ENTER. This can be a huge time saver since most programmers don’t find themselves needing to key in values below 10% very often.

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.

When working with Dimmer information over multiple fixtures on an encoder or level wheel, there are 4 Modes that you have to work with. Each mode is designed to have a different effect when you have selected a group of fixtures with differing individual intensity levels.

To change between these modes, enter the Setup Window by pressing SETUP and locate the wheel option button at the bottom right of the “Adjustments” section. Here, you can switch between “Wheel Additive”, “Wheel Incremental”, “Wheel Proportional +” and “Wheel Proportional -”.

The four modes are used to determine what will happen when you select a group of lights with differing intensity levels, and then roll the Dimmer wheel to Full or Zero, and then back. It seems like what would happen would be pretty intuitive, but depending on the type of show you’re programming, or the console preferences you are used to – there’s probably a mode that will suit you better than the others.

Wheel Additive
With this selected, all of your fixtures will roll to 0 or Full as expected, but once you reach 0 or Full on all lights in the selection – they will no longer keep their different levels. In other words, if you select 2 lights: one at 10% and one at 20% – and roll the wheel until they each reach zero, the light at 20% will obviously take longer to get to zero. However, once the lights both reach Zero (or Full), they will lose their differing proportions (that 10 % difference) and will both take on the same intensity value as you roll back up.

Wheel Incremental
Like Wheel Additive, your differing intensity fixtures will roll to Zero or Full in their own time. The difference here is that the interval difference between the values will be remembered after you hit Zero or Full. Using the same example as above, after both fixtures reach Zero, if you roll the Dimmer wheel back up, the difference of 10% between the two fixtures will be remembered.

Wheel Proportional +
The Proportional options are all about how your differing intensity levels crossfade to Full or Zero. Proportional + is designed so that as you turn the Dimmer wheel towards zero, all fixtures in your selection will lower their intensity proportionally so that they all reach the Zero level at the same time. If you were working with 2 fixtures: one at 10% and one at 90%, the fixture at 90% would dim much faster than the one at 10% while you turn the wheel so that they will essentially go dark together.

Wheel Proportional -
Proportional – works like Proportional +, except that this mode is used when you are rolling the dimmer wheel towards Full instead of Zero. All lights in your selection will gain intensity proportionately so that they can reach 100% simultaneously.

This is one of those tips that’s better seen than explained. If this seems confusing, the best thing to do is to try each mode with a group of fixtures on your console or on grandMA onPC. Even if you don’t have a rig (or grandMA 3D) in front of you – reading the values in the Fixture Sheet should help make this all very clear.

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.

This time we’re talking about priority levels when you have multiple playbacks and how to determine which will win. There are two general rules that most consoles will follow: HTP (Highest Takes Precedence) and LTP (Latest Takes Precedence). We’re also having drunken gummi bears… which are always full of win.

This week’s tip is truly quick: did you know that you can patch or re-patch your existing fixtures without entering Full or Live Access? A simple command line syntax is all you need.

For example, to patch Fixture 101 at Universe 3, Channel 42, your command line should look like this:
ASSIGN FIXTURE 101 AT DMX 3.42

Another example: to patch Channel 1 at Universe 4, Channel 100….
ASSIGN CHANNEL 1 AT DMX 4.100

*Keep in mind that there is no hard key for “DMX,” but tapping the CHANNEL key twice will add DMX to your command line. Additionally, if your fixture is already patched elsewhere, this syntax will first un-patch the unit before re-patching it at your desired address.

A Note for grandMA2 users:
The above Series 1 syntax will also work for Series 2. However, you have an additional syntax that you can use in the same manner that will allow you to multi-patch your units.

Typing ASSIGN DMX 3.2 AT FIXTURE 101 would patch unit 101 at Universe 3, channel 2. However, if the unit was also already patched elsewhere, this would add a second address to the same unit without un-patching the original: thus, multi-patch.
(Remember, this is grandMA2 Series 2 OS only)

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.

Today, you’ll find updated versions of software for the following products, along with Release Notes detailing the updates:

grandMA Series 1
grandMA Console Software Version 6.5
grandMA1 onPC Version 6.5

grandMA Series 2
grandMA2 Console Software Version 1.7
grandMA2 onPC Version 1.7

Visualizer
grandMA 3D Version [1.7][6.5] (compatible with today’s console software releases)

Video Processing Unit
grandMA VPU Software Version 3.711

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

Thanks!
The ACT Lighting Software Team

This week’s Quick Tip comes from an article previously published by Joe Cabrera, ACT Lighting’s Director of Software Support & Development.

When you would like to combine programming elements of 2 or more showfiles on your grandMA consoles, you’ll need to use a process called “Merging.”

What to start with…

First, you will need to have both shows on either the hard drive, a connected FTP server, or attached USB device. In the case of USB, the show must have been saved using the “Internal & USB” option, not Import/Export.

There is a certain amount of preparation that you’ll want to do before initializing the partial show read. Basically, the console is going to pay very close attention to Fixture/Channel numbers when reconciling the patch, as well as the numbers of all of the other objects (sequences, presets, et al.) that you will be importing. For this reason, it’s important to make sure that the objects you wish to add from the old show do not overlap any existing objects in your current show. Otherwise you will end up replacing data or merging values where you really don’t want them. The process is easy, simply take note of the objects you wish to import and, if the current show already has the same types of items with the same numbers, move them to an empty space. As an example: if you have already have a Sequence 1, and the sequence you want to import is also Sequence 1 (in the other show), you’ll need to move it to a different spot in the Sequence Pool to avoid merging the two sequences of cues together.

Once your shows are prepped, save a copy of your show with a different name. This way, if anything goes wrong, you’ll always have a known, good copy to go back to. Also, now is a good time to shut down, or at least leave, any network session you might be in.

The Merging Process

In the Backup menu, click Initialize. You will be presented with the same list of shows that you would normally be able to simply load from your chosen source. Pick the show that you have prepared for import.

The next window allows you to reconcile the patch between the two shows. All of the devices that show up in the list on the left represent the patch of the show you were sitting in before you hit Initialize. The list on the right is the patch of the show you chose to initialize. You will notice the rows are aligned based on fixture/channel numbers. For each row of devices, you will be able to select either the currently patched fixture or the one from the show you’ve initialized. Everything that is highlighted when you leave this window will become the patch of your newly merged show. By default, all of the devices on the left are highlighted (and none on the right), meaning that you will keep the patch you had loaded without switching any fixtures or adding anything extra to the patch. Most of the time, this is all you need to do. If you want to import all or some of the patch from the show you’ve initialized, simply click the devices you want in the right-hand column so that they become highlighted.

Once you are happy with the patch, click OK, Next in the bottom-right corner.

After a quick progression of dialog boxes flash by in a flurry of beeps, this will take you back to the Backup menu. You will notice that the Merge button is now available. Press it.

You will see the PSR (partial show read) menu. This is laid out in a cascading folder tree. Every item that has additional sub-items will have a box with a ‘+’ preceding the name. Using the screen encoder, you can highlight an item and tap. This will open that item to show its sub-items. For instance, tap on Partial Show Read at the top, then Presets, then Pan/Tilt. You will now see each of the individual Pan/Tilt presets in the show you initialized. Tapping the encoder while over an item that does not have a ‘+’ next to its name (or simply clicking the name of any item with the mouse or your finger) will highlight that item in green. Clicking on an item that has sub-items will select all of the sub-items. For example, clicking on the name for Sequence 1 will highlight all of the cues in the sequence.

Once you have highlighted all of the items you with to import, click Merge on the right side of the screen. The items that have been imported will be grayed out. You are free to import additional items if you so choose. When you are done, close the window.

This is another good time to save a copy of your show with a new name.

TIP: While Partial Show Read can bring Sequences, it does not automatically assign them to your executors. So, you will have to assign your sequences where you’d like them to appear.

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.

This week’s Quick Tip is comes from a question that gets asked in training classes quite often: What’s the difference between Remove and Release?

ACTLIGHTING.COM

First, let’s talk about where you’ll see it on the console. When you’re recording over a Cue that already exists, the options to Remove or Release can be seen in a Pop-Up window along with the expected Merge and Overwrite options (see screenshot above). Additionally, you can also find these options in the STORE OPTIONS window. Removing and Releasing are not the same as deleting an entire Cue. These options are specific to attributes and should be used when you want to remove certain values (but not all values) from an existing Cue.

So, what’s the difference? Let’s say that you have 3 cues controlling multiple fixtures in a single Sequence. Then, imagine that you want edit the Dimmer value of a particular fixture in the Sequence. In Cue 1, your fixture’s intensity goes to 100%. In Cue 2, your fixture’s intensity drops to 50%, and in Cue 3, the level drops again to 25%. Now, say we want to get rid of the value of 50% in Cue 2. So, you select the fixture – put a hard value (any value) on the Dimmer attribute and STORE over Cue 2. If you choose REMOVE, then the value of 50% in Cue 2 is erased, but allows the value of 100% to track through during Cue 2. In Cue 3, the fixture would, of course, crossfade to 25%.

If you chose RELEASE when re-recording Cue 2, then the value of 50% would still be erased – but, the value of 100% from Cue 1 would not track through. In fact, when you play Cue 2, the Dimmer attribute of your fixture will actually be released: in other words, this Cue will actually relinquish control of the Dimmer. Again, when you play Cue 3, the value will crossfade to 25%.

Here’s a chart showing you the values of the fixture in each cue in each of the situations detailed above:

Keep in mind that using RELEASE doesn’t necessarily tell the attribute to return to it’s default value. In fact, all it does is Release that particular Cue’s control over the attribute. If another Sequence is active and could potentially take control of that attribute, then it will.

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.