PAR56 connected to DIMMER basic control

[jmichelber]

hi guys,
I am new in lighting and I need to organize lights for classical concerts outdoor on a stage with up to 15 musiciens. No sophisticated moving lights and colours, just PAR56's connected to 4 channels Dimmers.

musiciens will have individual lights for partition reading (ultimate backup to get them play)
5 PARs will be white (300W each)
5 others will have colored gelats to make some decoration

the idea is to start using freestyler to be able to evolve to more sophisticated fixtures in the future

as I understand, only the Dimmer's channels will be controled by DMX (on/off, intensity +/-) so I should'nt see the PARs on the freestyler desktop, just the Dimmers (after creating a fixture for them if not existing) Is that right ?

Will it be possible to control each channel of the dimmer, individually ? I guess so (let say 2 dimmers for a total of 8 channels)
do you have an exemple of an existing dimmer fixture in freestyler ?

I know this might be very very basic for most of you, but could you give me advices to start with this simple "show"

jean-michel

[remco_k]

Most of the time when controlling PAR's you see PAR's on FreeStylers desktop, but in real life, you're controlling (a) dimmer(s) with X channels.
In FreeStyler you always "see" the fixture itself, instead of the controlling mechanism.

Its simple indeed:

Setup->Add/Remove fixtures
Go to "PAR64" and choose 1 PAR64 L or R for 1 fixture. (The difference between L and R is just the image, nothing more)
You can also choose 4 or 6 PAR 64 for easier use. Depends on your situation and how you mounted them.
Make sure to enter the proper DMX start address.

For example, when you use 10 PAR's that are mounted by 2 next to eachother. (and so 5 of these sets) you can add:
5x 2 PAR64 L

In FreeStyler this should look like this:

When selected 1 set of 2, you can control both dimmer channels manual indepentently at the right side of your screen - ofcourse more advanced sequences are possible.
The text "Color1 and Color2" is somewhat strangely choosen by the author of these fixture files, but you can read them as "Dimmer1 and Dimmer2".
And since you have 5 of these 2 dimmer channel fixtures, you have 10 independent dimmer channels to control.

It does'nt matter if its called PAR64, its just an image in this case. The internal DMX controlling of the dimmerpack is the same: a dimmer channel (0...255) per PAR64 spot.

Ofcourse you can also select 10 PARCAN's in the PARCAN category, for example.
It does n't really matter what type of light you choose, as long as its a generic dim fixture, you can use that.

[jmichelber]

Well, you turned on a few lights in my brain, thanks
I'd like to confirm my new understandings,

the dimmer is only 4 different DMX addresses 1 to 4 and the next one in the chain will have 5 to 8 and the only command available is a fader on each channel which can goes from 0 to max electricity; So no need to define a dimmer fixture in freestyler. In your exemple, when I move color1 or color 2 I am sending a DMX command to the dimmer ch 1/2 which execute.
For exemple if I want to switch off 5 PAR's at a time, I will need to write a sequence to reduce the corresponding color1, 2 ..channels up to zero ? then I could have several sequences and put then in the cue list to act on them when needed ? am I on the track ?

I am looking for this specific Dimmer model and I have a few more questions:

SHOWTEC MULTIDIM LOCAL CONTROL DMX
SHOWTEC MultiDim Local Control DMX 512 4CH. Dimmerpack, The MultiDim is a 4 channel Dimmerpack with 16 built-in programs and 4 fader, This device is music-controlled, the chasing speed can be adjusted. Music-controlled, Safety Plug Outlets, DMX-512 4CH. Dimmer pack 16 built-in programs. Chasing speed / Stand-alone function, connector: 3p XLR male & female, Channel Output: 5A / CH., Total 16A., Dimensions: 210 x 72 x 260 mm (LxWxH), Weight: 2,84 kg

They are talking about 16 built-in programs and 4 manual faders, If I understand, it's either DMX command or autonome programs and faders ? but not both at the same time? I guess that DMX in desable the internal functions ? If not I don't see how the box could share internal programms and external DMX commands.
By the ways, if it is the case, these manual faders could be a good backup solution in case of a PC-USB-DMX failure. Is-it right ?

If I am well on track, it means that more sophisticated fixtures, with color changing or movements are using several channels, on for each specific command, Is that right ?

after that , if you confirm me, I think I'll be ready to start

[jmichelber]

many thanks! very helpfull