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Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 28th, 2010, 7:34 pm
by LJ_krede.dk
I don't know if this having any interest but here we go.
I have looked at the .bez files for the shapes in FS, and have figured out how they work.
they contains 24 DMX values for 4 positions, and 8 direction vectors (pan and tilt values)
you can open and edit the files by opening them in notepad or any other text editor (I prefer notepad++).
The existing bez files is located in "...../Frestyler/Chasers" folder. remember to put yours files in that folder, otherwise FS cant find them
(The bez files only contain the DMX values, everything after the \\ for each line is my comments)
Code: Select all
64 \\ Pan : Position 0 [yellow]
190 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 0 [Blue]
150 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 1 [Blue]
104 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Position 1 [Red]
64 \\ Tilt
104 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 1 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
150 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 2 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Position 2 [Red]
64 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 2 [Blue]
104 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 3 [Blue]
150 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Position 3 [Red]
190 \\ Tilt
150 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 3 [Blue]
190 \\ Tilt
104 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 0 [Blue]
190 \\ Tilt
the Yellow rectangle in the shape window is the initial point for the shape
The blue rectangles works like a direction vector for the red rectangle, which is positions. there is two direction vectors for each red (and yellow) rectangels: one before and one after a position.
28-01-2010 20-21-02.png
the syntax in the file is
Code: Select all
[space][DMX value - pan[space] \\ line 1
[space][DMX value - tilt][space] \\ line 2
.
.
[space][DMX value - pan[space] \\ line 23
[space][DMX value - tilt][space] \\ line 24
[space]
I have tried making a bez file without the spaces and it worked in FS, but just in case I would recommend you use the mentioned syntax
I have used it to make straight vertical and horizontal movements for my scanners. sometimes it is easier to edit the bez files instead of doing it in the shape windows.
[EDIT] When you are editing the bez files in notepad make sure the values are
not above 255 which is the highest DMX value. FS can still run the file but the movinghead/scanner will stop moving in the pan/tilt direction when the DMX value reach 255.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 28th, 2010, 8:19 pm
by dmxlighting
That is very cool and very useful!
Can you save the shapes created this way and then recall them from FS ?
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 28th, 2010, 9:49 pm
by LJ_krede.dk
dmxlighting wrote:Can you save the shapes created this way and then recall them from FS ?
I haven't tried to make a bez file from scratch. I just edited a existing one and saved it with a different name, which worked fine. I think it is possible. I have updated my first post regarding the used syntax and location for the files
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 29th, 2010, 1:15 pm
by Shannon D
What would be really cool is if you could ADD or SUBTRACT dots (blue or red). Is this possible??
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 29th, 2010, 1:28 pm
by LJ_krede.dk
Shannon D wrote:What would be really cool is if you could ADD or SUBTRACT dots (blue or red). Is this possible??
no, that is not possible. Freestyler only reads the first 24 lines/DMX value in the file. If you leave some values out in the file you will get some weird results you cant use for anything.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 29th, 2010, 5:48 pm
by dmxlighting
Shannon D wrote:What would be really cool is if you could ADD or SUBTRACT dots (blue or red). Is this possible??
Why would you need to do that Shannon ?
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 30th, 2010, 2:12 am
by Shannon D
Why would you need to do that Shannon ?
I can remember once programming to a certain venue that I wish that feature was possible. During that gig, I thought it would of been quicker to just right click in the beizer shape and select "add dot". That way if the light wasn't hitting exact what you wanted, you could just add a dot and then grab it and somewhat "bend" the path exactly the way you wanted. By bending the path, meaning the light following the lil black dots in between the red and blue dots. You would not have to create so many steps in a sequence. Not sure if this makes sense or not.
Ultimately what I did was create a sequence with multiple steps with the different spots of the room that I wanted the gobos to hit. It ended up being a 20 step sequence, I think, to get the full effect I was looking for.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 30th, 2010, 9:18 am
by LJ_krede.dk
Shannon D wrote:What would be really cool is if you could ADD or SUBTRACT dots (blue or red). Is this possible??
I got an idea for subtracting: if you want to remove position 3 you can place it on top on position 2. some of the direction/path vectors have to use the same values.
Code: Select all
64 \\ Pan : Position 0 [yellow]
190 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 0 [Blue]
150 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 1 [Blue]
104 \\ Tilt
64 \\ Pan : Position 1 [Red]
64 \\ Tilt
104 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 1 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
150 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 2 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Position 2 [Red]
64 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 2 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 3 [Blue]
164 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Position 3 [Red]
164 \\ Tilt
190 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 3 [Blue]
64 \\ Tilt
104 \\ Pan : Direction vector for position 0 [Blue]
190 \\ Tilt
it is not working that good: the shape will stand still for some time when it reach position 2. if you delete the last values in the bez file, FS will make an error when trying running the shape.
here is what i did for my vertical movements.
Code: Select all
128
187
128
146
128
101
128
61
128
101
128
146
128
187
128
146
128
101
128
61
128
101
128
147
30-01-2010 10-29-51.png
you can still move, rotate, flip and resize the shape without any problems, so I can use this for horizontal movements as well
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 30th, 2010, 3:12 pm
by Shannon D
Maybe there is more going on in FS than we know. I think the ADD feature would be more useful. You still would need the SUBTRACT feature if you end up adding too many. I'll try playing around with this as well. After this weekend,,,,,very busy weekend for me.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 30th, 2010, 5:48 pm
by dmxlighting
Shannon D wrote:Maybe there is more going on in FS than we know.
Quote of the week (maybe!)
I had a training course last week on a commercial lighting software package which I wont name but you can maybe guess and the trainer had some very interesting thoughts and comments on FS and its future and origins.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: January 30th, 2010, 7:51 pm
by dmxlighting
Well I dont want to be the roumor munger on here so I will say that this is far form concreate factual info.
The guy I met (the trainer from this particular company) said
'Nobody would go to the effort or writing software like this for free, There is far more to it than that. The software we have is not going to be improved on any more but we are going to see one or two new products comng to the market very soon and these products are and have been in testing for quite some time.'
Now I was there and his body language indicated more thatn the words alone.
Make of this what you will. Im still not really sure what I think but im sure that others will dispell any myths in what I have written here.
Is there is more than meets the eye with FS ? (ooh that sounds sinister
)
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: February 2nd, 2010, 9:47 pm
by GaryBonaducci
dmxlighting wrote:Shannon D wrote:Maybe there is more going on in FS than we know.
Quote of the week (maybe!)
iPad app?
LOL...
Anyway, thanks for posting this. One of my sequences is corrupt, and I speculate it's being caused by a bad shape file. I haven't had a chance to debug this yet, but this info does give me something to start my troubleshooting with.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: February 2nd, 2010, 10:03 pm
by LJ_krede.dk
GaryBonaducci wrote:Anyway, thanks for posting this. One of my sequences is corrupt, and I speculate it's being caused by a bad shape file. I haven't had a chance to debug this yet, but this info does give me something to start my troubleshooting with.
could you upload the file or send it to me? just to get some practice in debugging shape files.
Re: Edit the bez file for beizer shapes
Posted: February 3rd, 2010, 3:40 am
by GaryBonaducci
I found two suspect BEZ files:
"swirl.bez" (from FreeStyler's built-in shapes):
Code: Select all
65
188
101.7333
145.8
65
102
65
62
116.4
115.6
151
62
191
62
147.3333
112.2667
191
148
191
188
145.2667
145.5333
105
188
"TightVertLoop.bez" (a shape I created):
Code: Select all
116
213
110
151
117
94
115
41
115
-8
143
-8
141
45
144
93
144
150
139
213
139
262
115
261
As you can see, the first has non-integer numbers, and the second has integers both above and below the 0-255 range. I don't use the second bezier shape, and so I think it's a sequence that uses the first that's giving me trouble. Interestingly, the non-integer numbers in "swirl.bez" are the default values that came with FreeStyler's setup.
After rounding off the numbers to integers and correcting them to fall between 0-255, I tried running my lights tonight. The problem sequence seems to have gone away. (Unfortunately, I don't know exactly which one it was in my cuelist.) I'm 90% sure the problem is within a sequence that uses the "swirl.bez" shape AND also rotates the shape. It appears that FreeStyler's cue playback subroutine may have some sort of problem when calculating rotation for these non-integer coordinates.
I submitted this as a trouble ticket.
