Position tweaking question for all y'all

[wardomon]

This is what I'm currently doing...

Let's say that I have an aiming position called "Cross Stage X1" that I use in several different scenes. It's in the submasters under "Trackspot Positions". When I hang the lights I find that the stage is a different size than the one I was on last week. "Cross Stage X1" isn't pointed in the right place. I'll call it up in the sequence editor, tweak the aim each of the lights and save it. Now when I call it from the submaster, it's right.

Here's the problem. I have 4 each of 3 types of moving fixtures. For each type I have about 20 static positions. That's 240. I've also duplicated the static positions, except I have the "fade" set on for pan and tilt. That's 20 more time 4 times 3. I also have a couple dozen "specials". That's right around 500 "lights" to touch before the rig is set for the show.

On a good day I can do it in under 4 hours. I'd like to cut that in half. Any ideas?

[LJ_krede.dk]

if it was sequences we were talking about i would recommend using the palette feature... don't know if that would help you in your case

[wardomon]

It is sequences. They're one step long and typically contain the positions of one type of fixture. I use a position sequence to create a beam pattern. By mixing different positions from each fixture type I can vary the look. On top of that I layer the colors and gobos to create a scene that I store as a cuelist. That's loaded onto a button for playback.

Palettes work great for fixture attributes like color, gobos and shutters. In a sense, I have position palettes. The bad part is that the positions always change. I'm tweaking the position of almost every beam in the show. If the height, or angle of the hang is different than the previous set up, where the spot falls could be several feet from where I'd like it. It wouldn't be an issue if I was a DJ where the rig is consistently duplicated. This is a live band on different sized stages. Mic placement changes. Drum risers are of varying heights. People move around, a lot. There's also the house rigs to contend with as they're usually not well placed or maintained.

I'm in Linux right now so I can't check for sure but I've seen something in Freestyler's set up that limits the size of the DMX "window", or something along those lines. I also remember writing that off as a solution because it said that it didn't control the size or placement of chases/sequences. I'll have to look at it again.

[LJ_krede.dk]

i'm almost sure the resize feature you are talking about affects running sequences, otherwise it will not be a very functional feature

i recommned you narrow down how many positions you have, maybe use same position for different lights and in different looks.. if you do so, the palettes will be a timesaver for you.... the art of light shows for bands is to keep it as simple as possible and still get it to look like complicated and awesome show... '

I am a volunteer light technician on a local music venue. The popular bands playing there have there own light technician on the tour and they use 2 hours tweek the already programmed light show. They keep it as simple as possible so they dont have to tweek every position of there lights.

[wardomon]

I got a BCF2000 earlier this week. Having a physical board should speed things up a lot. I've set it up so I can "get" to the fixtures better than I could with the keyboard.

The real programming bottleneck is the sequence creator. Each position has to found, loaded, trimmed and saved. Twice for me, because of the "soft transit" cues that I use. I'm trying to work out a way to edit and save sequences from the cue list or submasters. I don't know if it's even possible. Maybe it should be a feature request. An option in the submasters to open a cue in the editor. It would save searching through the file/load window.

[LJ_krede.dk]

i can't remeber if palettes stores the fade/snap data... if not you could save half the time using palettes... and palettes are quicker to open and edit than sequence... i only think you have 60 palettes thoug...

I dont have any other ideas that could help you but cut down the amount of different positions

[wardomon]

I think i have it figured out...

Load a location.
Open a cuelist button.
Right click the running position cue and select "edit sequence".
Select and trim fixture positions. Then "quick save".
Change "snap" to "fade". Manually save sequence to proper location.
Close editor.
Repeat for any other position sequences in cuelist.
Repeat for all cuelists in tab.
Repeat for next tab.
Repeat for all locations.

That should cover all used sequences. Now I'm going to build a set (location) just for trimming that utilizes only position sequences so that I don't have to go through my whole show.

[wardomon]

I had a chance to try my plan live. It didn't work like I though it would. I forgot that when cuelists are open the sequence editor is in "offline" mode. Modifications show up in Magic 3D but don't affect the running sequence until the cue is called. Magic 3D's representation of the real world leaves a lot to be desired.

What really helped a lot was my new BCF2000. It's easier to turn on lights for editing with a button rather than a mouse or keyboard. And it's much, much easier to aim lights with real "sliders" than with a mouse. What had been a frustrating, confusing almost 4 hour ordeal became a relaxed 1 1/2 hour creative exercise.