In a brief foray off our core topic of production lighting, On Stage Lighting presents a few Qlab video tutorials for beginners. Looking at the popular show running software, we take you through the interface and working with audio cues before moving on to playing back video and other visual media.

Regular readers of On Stage Lighting will know that I am currently teaching Technical Theatre subjects at a UK university, leading modules in Lighting, Sound and Video in Theatre Production. Although my specialism is obviously stage lighting design and programming, I have been known to break rank occasionally in my professional life and my current gig requires the teaching of many areas of technical production in performance including sound and AV.

In order to streamline delivery of teaching I regularly use screencast video tutorials, particularly when it comes to learning software. The recent release of the On Stage Lighting Vectorworks tutorials for beginners proved to be very popular and valuable for many.

As we believe in teaching current industry practice, our recorded sound and video playback system currently centres around the popular cueing software Qlab from Figure 53. Qlab is a regular feature on many professional performances around the world and is one of those pieces of software that seems quite “simple” in operation, yet manages to be extremely powerful. And, it’s basic and very usable free version is, well, FREE.

Yes, it’s free and you can actually use it to playback your audio cues on a real show!!

Running on the Apple Mac OSX platform, Qlab organises and fires audio and video content, can be used to build up soundscapes and automate the playback of recorded media. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on the use of Qlab, my speciality as an educator is explaining things in simple terms and quite often people that are starting to learn a piece of software don’t need complex and technical tutorials, they just need to know the basics.

With that in mind, On Stage Lighting has some Qlab video screencasts to get you started. ( You don’t have to watch the tutorials at the small embedded size, you can fullscreen them).

Qlab Introduction – The Software and Interface

The first tutorial covers a look some of the things that Qlab can do, it’s interface and how to find your way around it. What you need to know before you start.

Note: There are a few specific references to our facilities at the University, you can ignore those.

Qlab – Audio Tutorial

This longer video takes a tour of the audio tools, organising and playing back cues, setting auto follow ons, adjusting levels and automating fades.

Tools worked with include: Audio Cue, Group Cue, Fade Cue, Auto Follow, Auto Continue, Audio Levels, Audio Output, Settings tab, Loop.

Qlab – Video and Images

The final Qlab Basics tutorial deals with the use of movie files, replaying of video and images and the tools that Qlab has when dealing with visual media using the Video and Animation cues.

So, if you are interested in starting to use Qlab, hopefully I’ve given you a good base of knowledge to work with. I can assure you that On Stage Lighting has not gone over the dark sides of Sound and Video but I know that many of our readers are interested in all areas of performance production. Your diet of stage lighting reading will recommence shortly

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• Stage Lighting Tutorials – Stage Lighting 101 Review
• Video Signals – A Quick and Dirty Guide
• Vectorworks Spotlight 2010 Tutorial For Beginners

A series of video tutorials on using Vectorworks Spotlight to draw a simple theatre plan with lighting equipment and fixtures data. Produced for beginners, by a beginner.

OK, so I’m currently taking first year Theatre Production students through CAD and Vectorworks so that they can complete their second lighting project – a small lighting design, communicated using VW.  I have used many different CAD and design packages, 3D CGI software and specialised tools such as Cast Software’s WYSIWYG.  Pretty much everything but Vectorworks.

My task was to learn Vectorworks in order to be able to teach it to Year 1 students and also help more advanced students with their drawings.  You might know, being able to get stuff to happen by fiddling with menus is a world away from being able to teach it to others.  And having a history in other software, I found many aspects of VW hard to learn – mostly because things didn’t “do what I expected”, relative to other packages.

Learning complex CAD software can be confusing, and it’s often useful to be able to revisit things you tried out in training sessions sometime in the future.  So, I created a set of videos based on the very basics of Vectorworks in 2D that a beginner needs to get through before they can move on.  Here is the series of six, using VW 2010, for the readers of On Stage Lighting to enjoy(?!) if CAD floats yer boat, please excuse the streaming head cold I had when recording them.

Disclaimer: As previously mentioned, I do not have a history of using Vectorworks and these tutorials are created by me, a new user with years of lighting design experience but about 12 hours flying time on Vectorworks.  Bear this in mind.  I probably do not have the answer to any VW questions you might have and if you are looking for a document based tutorial from someone who is experienced with Vectorworks Spotlight, I highly recommend the series by Kent Goetz at Cornell including Drafting The Light Plot. With all that in mind, enjoy….

Note: If you reading this via email or in your RSS feed reader it’s likely that you can’t see the embedded videos – just pop over to the site and they are all here waiting for ya…

Spotlight Tutorial 1 – Interface and Document Setup

This tutorial covers the Vectorworks interface, setting out the workspace and the basics of starting a document including page set up and scale.

Spotlight Tutorial 1 – Drawing and Accuracy

This video covers drawing using dimensions and snaps to produce your CAD drawing with accuracy.

Spotlight Tutorial 3 – Drawing Shapes

Apologies for the jumpy sound on this video, something happened during the Screencast-o-matic encoding process.

This video looks at drawing different shapes, the building blocks of CAD, and some ways to create more complex objects. We also take a brief look at Layers and Classes, ready for next time.

Spotlight Tutorial 4 – Creating A Theatre Drawing

This tutorial starts to use our new found skills in Vectorworks to draw a basic theatre plan and looks at some new ways to create complex shapes using Add Surface and Trim Surface.

Spotlight Tutorial 5 – Adding Lighting Positions and Fixtures

Using the Vectorworks library to add stage lighting instruments to rigging positions. Using symbols and entering fixture data.

Spotlight Tutorial 6 – Working With Data And Printing

This video looks at the basics of data extraction in Vectorworks Spotlight and a simple way to print your drawing. Last in the series.

The Very Basics of Vectorworks Spotlight

These videos cover some of the very basics of Spotlight. Vectorworks is a complex and powerful package and some tools and workflow have been simplified or missed out in order to get a beginner started. If you want to learn how to take more advantage of VW, make sure that you investigate the Spotlight toolset, drawing in 3D and integrating with the lighting design data tool – Lightwright.

If you have any questions, you can put them in the comments section and perhaps a VW god will answer your prayers. If you are experieced Vectorworks user, why not share your best tip for absolute beginners…..? Looking forward to reading your ideas and learning a few things myself. See you next time.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• MagicQ Tutorial – Getting Started
• MagicQ Tutorial Part 3 – Cues, Timing and FX
• Moving Light Control Tutorial MagicQ Part 1

In the second part of our guide to moving lights control with the Cham Sys MagicQ, we take the previously patched fixtures and manipulate them into palettes while understanding what goes on inside the Programmer.

OK, so if you have followed the On Stage Lighting MagicQ tutorials so far you should have a pretty good understanding of how to find your way around the desk, patch dimmers and moving heads, save show files and create cues. We have also looked at using the built in effects engine and dealing with fade times.

Today we are going to continue using the show file we created last time, with the free Capture Robe Awards .exe file, to get to grips with manipulating the heads and their attributes such as Colour and Position. By creating some palettes, we’ll also get our heads round the business end of the professional based lighting console, the programmer.

I will warn you now, if you are into fiddling with effects engines, making big looks and banging them onto a playback to impress yer mates this tutorial ain’t gonna suddenly create top notch lighting for you. We are going to take it ultra slow to give you the knowledge to make that killer lighting on your own and avoid going around in circles.

Last time, we quickly created a Home palette as a fix for the Spots which are rigged “sideways” (default tilts on-and-off stage, not up-down stage). As we then altered the fixture personality using the Head Editor, our Home palette became redundant so let’s get rid of it. If you remember from earlier tutorials, to delete something on the MagicQ you hit REM(ove) [bottom right hardbutton], then select it and confirm. Delete Pos Palette 11 “Home” now.

Making An Intensity Only Playback

As the start of any programming session usually involves some palette creation or editing, we need to be able to see the fixtures as we work on them. You could set the fixture Dimmers to 100% every time you start a new palette but this kinda wastes time and, depending on what you are doing, impacts your programming. So what we want is a way of leaving the Spot1200s on, even when you CLEAR information from the programmer – a Spot On playback it is, then.

Hit CLEAR like a good operator should. This dumps everything from your most important tool, the Programmer, an area of memory used to build stuff to be recorded. If you need a recap on the function of the Programmer, check out our article and/or revisit the earlier tutorials.

BTW, you can see that there is nothing in there by pressing PROG and looking in the Programmer window. While we are here, why not send that window to your External Screen (with your Capture view on it) by pressing EXT in the window controls while it is active. The Prog window should appear on your external screen, adjust using the Size window button, mine is currently filling the bottom half of my external screen with the visualiser above it The Groups, Position, Colour and Beam windows fill the main MagicQ screen. Update this layout to the Palettes view by pressing REC, then CTRL + “Palettes” [top soft].

Select All Spot1200, then the top softbutton DIM @ FULL to see the spots on. Now look in the Programmer window, you’ll see that the four heads have their dimmer attribute highlighted in red, reading 100%. All the other attributes such as Pan, Tilt etc are not highlighted nor have a number in them. This is important to understand. Even though the heads are in Open White, No Gobo and all have a position, there is no data about these attributes and nothing but Dimmer will be recorded right now.

Note: If anything other than Dim data is highlighted, check Setup -> View Settings -> Prog -> Activate Chans/Head = Chans. While we are here, check that Recording to Palettes = All heads in programmer, it’ll save a ton of confusion later.

Record this data as “SPOT ON” on PB10.

CLEAR the Programmer again and raise PB10 to see the Spots fade up and down with the fader. We don’t need to press the playback Go (>) button because the default setting for playbacks should be “Playback Activates Stack” (found in the playback options by double clicking the softbutton or “S” button above the fader.) As the PB is also “Fader Controls HTP”, the Dimmer data adjusts with the fader level.

This SPOT ON state is not only a tool for seeing the heads as we create palettes, it is also a major playback used when busking concert lighting using subs – it can be a master intensity control to run the show with. Having faders that control just intensity, you can pull them down, adjust your heads to a new busked look using palettes, and fade back in again when you are ready.

Leave the fader up and create another PB9 – WASH ON and stick that up too so we can see all the heads.

Back to the palettes. CLEAR the Programmer if any data has snuck in there.

We are going to create a beam look in the crowd. First, select both spots and washes by shift+clicking both “All” groups. Activate the Pos window and wind the tilts outward toward the audience. Look at the Programmer, you only have Tilt information so far, RECORD that look as Crowd Beam on Pos 11 before pressing the top right softbutton View Palette. You can see that you only have Tilt information in that palette, the Pan field is blank – there is no Pan value in the palette. Hit Close Window.

We are moving along slowly right now because it’s important to hammer home some really basic concepts in moving light programming that can really mess your day up. They can make your life a misery as things you thought you programmed seem to appear and disappear by magic.

Let’s test this Tilt Only palette by first changing the Pan and Tilt values by hand, quick and dirty, big change. Now, select Crowd Beam. Erk, something is not looking right, this isn’t the look we had. Looking in the Programmer window, we can see “crowd beam” in the tilt value but the pan is unchanged.

Well, we did only record Tilt information didn’t we?

I’d reckon it is  safe to say that the number of times you want to record a palette with a Tilt but no Pan is pretty limited but that the number of times you will do just that is potentially limitless.

Sort this position out and make sure the Pan is also set in the Programmer by nudging the encoder a little. This has been a standard workaround on other moving light controls, a way to make sure that data is entered even if the value remains unchanged.

Note: The MagicQ also has shortcuts for making sure you have attributes “active” in the programmer, by holding COL and pressing SET for example. There are a number of cool shortcuts that involve press/hold moves (POS + LOCATE sets the position attributes only to default) but for the life of me I can’t work out how to achieve that on the MagicQ PC using the screen only interface.

Re save (edit) this updated palette with REC -> P11 and confirm the update.

Using The Fan Tool

While we have our beams out in the crowd, why not make up some fan positions while we are here. Select All Spot 1200, click and hold the FAN button [right] and select Asym and All before winding the Pan values so the heads form a knot, truss heads pointing toward centre. Make sure that both you have both Pan and Tilt values in the programmer.

Leaving the crowd beam from the previous palette creates nested data that can either be incredibly powerful or really ruin your day when you make a single palette update that changes the whole show. Do the same with your Washes, setting them maybe to fan outward, the FAN button needs to be lit to be activated.

Select all the heads, type 5 and select Magenta. You have now learned how to recall a palette over a time, in this case 5 seconds. If you have ready any of our articles on busking concert lighting, you might get how useful this is.

Save this brand new position palette at Crowd Fan. When that’s done, play about with the other Fan function settings and see if you can work out what they do.

Attribute Masking and Nested Palettes

So far, with our two Position palettes and our Dimmer playbacks, we’ve seen the effect of recording specific data in different places.

You will notice that all the Position palette slots have a P in the top right hand corner, the Colour slots have a C and guess what, the Beams have a B. This is because the MagicQ, by default, sets an appropriate “mask” for the palette type and only records this information, ignoring others. We know that we set our Crowd Fan to magenta but Pos12 still only shows a P. Turning all the heads back to Open White then recalling Pos12 does nothing to the heads in terms of colour.

This shows that, when recording palettes, attribute masking controls what goes into the palette regardless of what you see on stage. By default, only the relevant attributes (and then only those in the programmer at the time) get recorded. But we can change that so to illustrate that, let’s go a little of piste.

Let’s say that we want our Fan position palette to include magenta. So we don’t mess up our original, we’ll make a copy of that palette COPY -> P12 -> P15. Make all the head magenta using palette C10 then Shift+REC opens a window with all possible attributes listed, select those that you wish you record, in this case : Pan, Tilt, Col1, Cyan, Mag, Yellow,

Hit Close Options [top softbutton] then overwrite P15, you will see a C appear as well as the P in the top right corner. Now we have Colour and Position information in what was a Position only Palette.

Rename that to Mag Fan with SET -> P15. OK, so a position palette with colour forced into it is not going to be your most useful go-to but while we are off the beaten track, let’s use it to demonstrate the concept of nested palettes.

Selecting P15 and hitting View Palette shows us that the Colour data is the Magenta palette, not simply DMX values. Let’s decide that the Magenta palettes needs a little tweak, a bit more blue for example.

Hit INC [bottom right] then pick the C10 Magenta palette. This loads all the data used in that palette into the programmer, ready for editing. Crank up the Cyan value using the top left encoder and reduce the Magenta a bit, to create a much bluer magenta in the visualiser, one that is markedly different to the original.

Now set the heads into Open White etc. before picking Pos15 again. You will see that, not only did we edit the magenta palette but that the change has been reflected in any palettes created with it, in this case our Mag Fan “position”. You can start to see how it might be possible to build memories, using layers of palettes within palettes, that can be easily edited console wide at base level, in this case the magenta palette.

If you are using your desk in a non-theatre stack environment (using “tracking” to achieve show wide complex edits in a single shot), this concept could prove useful.

But…

The real reason for illustrating the concept of nested palettes is to help you avoid accidentally creating them within your show. Suppose you set your CMY fixtures to Red using the pre-programmed colour palettes for speed, then tweak the magenta encoder to make the result more amber. You currently have an Mag value in numeric form, but the C and Y values in the programmer still relate to the palette Red. If you save that as a new palette now, any changes to Red will also be reflected in the new palette.

To avoid doing this, you should be looking to set your colour palettes from scratch using the encoders or the colour mix facility on the MagicQ but selecting Col Mix from the top left softbutton and choosing a library item from Lee or Rosco or even using the rainbow field to pick your colour.

Don’t forget that this doesn’t just apply to colour palettes. Using any palette as the basis for another can spell trouble. Remember that the data displayed in the Programmer window is more important than what you can see on stage when it comes to understanding how you are storing attribute information.

If you head is completely pickled by all this and you just want out, we’ll finish by getting rid of that pesky colour data in our lovely position palette using Record Remove.

Record Remove – Get Me Outta Here

Record Remove is a quick tool for targetting specific data within a palette or memory and deleting it. In this case, we want rid of the colour in our Pos15 palette so let’s start by loading that into the programmer: INClude -> Pos15. Now the palette is there, simply Shift+REC to get the Record Options window back, choose Rec Colour from the top (which auto selects all colour attributes) and also Rec Remove option, top right. Close Options with the softbutton and click Pos15, confirm. Check your work with View Palette. Only Pan and Tilt information remains, we just told the Colour data to take a running jump in a few button pushes.

Enough, already.

OK, so I did warn you that it might get tough around here today. Unlike earlier tutorials, we have not simply followed a set of steps to create a nice look and save it. By now you should be familiar enough with the basics of the MagicQ to be able to do that, with a bit of practice to remind yourself of the workflow.

How about a recap?

• Attribute data active in the programmer is available to record with, despite the look on stage.
• It’s important that you are aware of which attributes are active and if palettes are going to be accidentally nested.
• The Col, Beam, Pos palettes select their own data type from the programmer when recording, but you can override this.
• You can select which attributes are recorded back out of the programmer using Shift + REC.
• Use Record Remove to easily dump specific data from a recorded memory or palette.

To lighten things up a bit, it’s your turn to go nuts and play with stuff rather than getting bogged down in the grubby detail of programmers and attributes.

If you’ve been following along, you have more than enough knowledge to set up some looks, create some position palettes on stage and even try to get the effects engine up and running with the moving lights. Here’s a few ideas to try out.

• Try to get all your Spots on the singer using different selection tools such as Nxt Head highlight or manipulating pairs using Fan.
• Try out the Odd/Even selection button and experiment with the different Fan settings.
• Have a go at creating some palettes that spin the current gobo at Slow, Fast or Stop – only spin, not reload a new gobo.
• Create In or Out selection groups or experiment with using the Fan function on attributes such as colour.
• Create a look, then see if you can pull data from a memory and turn it into a specific attribute palette.

Or you could just get the big looks out and try to impress yer mates.

Next time we’ll look at recording different kinds of memories and how they relate to multi parameter fixtures such as moving lights. See you then.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• Moving Light Control Tutorial MagicQ Part 1
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In the first of our moving light control tutorials using the Cham Sys MagicQ, we find out how to patch and wrangle intelligent fixtures and follow our progress on a virtual stage using the Capture visualiser.

The On Stage Lighting MagicQ tutorials are designed for readers to get to know the console and learn a a few general programming tricks along the way. All the material is planned for use on the free MagicQ PC software so you can try it at home, but everything learned is equally applicable to any of the real consoles from Cham Sys and many other professional desks too.

This tutorial assumes that you have the knowledge gained from the previous MagicQ 1,2 and 3 including navigating the desk and the basic skills to patch, program and manage show data. If you’ve forgotten (it has been a while) you might want to go back and revisit but just to be clear we are going to be working on a totally different rig with a brand new show file than the previous tutorials.

In these moving light sessions we will also be using a free Capture .exe file that Cham Sys have made available for learning purposes. The file consists of a virtual lighting set up that is executable on your PC without the need to have Capture installed or licenced. Using the MagicQ’s visualiser link, we can easily run both the MagicQ PC software and the visualiser on the same PC although it is handy to have more screen area to accommodate both apps. To create these tutorials, I am using a pretty old XP laptop with an external monitor – MagicQ on laptop screen, Capture moved to the extended desktop on the external.

So, assuming you already have the MagicQ PCsoftware installed (this tutorial was prepare on 1.4.6.0) , you will also need to download and unzip the Capture .exe file called Robe Demo, also available from the Cham Sys downloads site. I am using the Robe Demo Artnet version but I think that using the visualiser on the same PC, it doesn’t really matter. Cham Sys also have a MQ show file that goes with this rig with the patch and basic programming done but this doesn’t matter to us today. We are going to start a clean show, patch up a very small part of the rig and concentrate on the basics without too much desk clutter.

Start A New Show

Start the MQ and a New Show using SETUP -> New Show [top softbutton] (Remember, don’t worry that the desk asks you if you want to erase the current show, it’s a kinda scary prompt box that means you are making a clean start. If you have saved the previous show file, it doesn’t actually erase that show file).  Select Normal (live).

While you are in the SETUP window you might usually take the time to adjust the desks setting to your liking, for me that often means setting the windows colour scheme to High Brightness ( I like yellow, so ner) but there isn’t much you need to worry about in apart from the visualiser connection.

SETUP -> View DMX I/O [top] takes us to the I/O spreadsheet. We aren’t actually going to use an real outputs (like Artnet or another device) but we need to set up a connection for our Capture .exe file so looking right along the sheet, we need to find the column marked Visualiser, Shift + select universes 1 – 3 and hit Enter until Capture (same PC) appears. Alternatively you can double click on an individual field and choose from the prompt that appears. When you are happy, close the SETUP window with CLSE [top right]

Patching Some Moving Lights

Open the PTCH window [top right, next to SETUP], this is a brand new show so you should get a blank window, we haven’t patched anything yet. First we are going to patch four Robe Spot1200 ATs to Universe 2, starting at DMX address 097. If you remember the basics of the procedure to patch dimmer channels from previous tutorials, this is simlar but we first need to define which moving light personality we are going to use. Check out more about fixture personalities if you are unclear what they do.

With the PATCH window active, Choose Head [top softbutton] opens a the file that contains personalities for different manufacturers. Scroll or cursor down to Robe and click once to open the Robe list, then find Spot1200 and select Mode 4 (24) at the prompt. If you hadn’t guessed, 24 is the number of channels used for Mode 4, a manufacturer setting that defines how the fixture behaves.

Having selected your head personality, the next step is to patch 4 to Universe 2 starting at DMX 097. If you remember the syntax at the command prompt is 4 @ 2-97 Enter (quantity @ Uni 2 starting at DMX 097) -> Patch It. That patches our first moving lights and they appear in the PATCH window. Before we move on, let’s just just tidy something up.

The four heads we have patched currently have been allocated Head Numbers 1 – 4. These numbers are the unique identifiers, independent of DMX addressses, that the console uses and that we can select individual heads at the the keypad. The Capture .exe file Robe Demo, doesn’t display these heads as 1-4 but rather 55-58. In the interests of clarity, let’s change ours. In the PATCH window, shift select all four Hd No and type in 55 Enter, that renumbers the heads. This is a good reminder of how easy it is to make changes in the spreadsheet view, a godsend when you are working with hundreds of fixtures.

OK, so before we leave the PATCH window we are going to patch up a couple of Robe Wash 575s too. Starting at Choose Head [top], find Robe and then Wash575, selecting Mode 4. Now patch 2 heads on Uni 2 starting at DMX 21 ( 2@2-21 Enter -> Patch It). As above, change their Head Numbers to 91 and 92 to maintain show continuity with the Capture file.

Note: As you are a keen eyed sort, you might have noticed that there seems to be four wash lights on the deck downstage, not two. There is a reason we are only going to patch two for now, stick with me and you’ll find out why in a later session.

Connect to the Visualiser

Before we go any further, we want to be able to see what we are doing by connecting up the visualiser. On your PC, navigate to the unzipped .exe Capture file and start it. You should see a stage and rig in wireframe. We want to be able to see better than that so click on the spanner icon in the bottom right and choose views 4 and W. If you want to move the view around, try clicking and dragging on the zoom and directions icon until you are happy. Then move the Capture screen somewhere where you can see both it at the MagicQ interface at the same time.

Now for the moment of truth. We’ve set up our visualiser link in the PATCH window, we’ve patched up some heads. I wonder if we can make them work?

Switch to the default Palettes view by holding down CRTL on your keyboard and selecting Palettes from the top left softbutton. Group 1 should be an auto generated group called All Spot1200. If there is nothing in your GROUP window, go back to PATCH -> Auto Groups [top] -> Head Groups [prompt]. This creates the main head groups for you.

Back in the Palettes view, select All Spot1200 -> Locate [top centre] and watch the vis. Four overhead spots should fire up in open white, pointing straight down. If not, check your settings in the SETUP -> DMX I/O window, “Capture (same PC)” and try hitting the Restart Visual softbutton, usually a combination of correct setting and rebooting the show and the vis does the trick.

If you have the spots, try Locating the washes too:  All Wash575 -> Locate.

Checking The Moving Lights

Another frequently used check is to see if your heads are uniquely addressed and appear where you expect them. In our case we could do All Spot -> Locate then hit the NXT HEAD button centre right of the screen. That should bring up only Spot 55 on it’s own and kill the rest. Hitting NXT HEAD again moves us on to Spot 56 and we can quickly chase around the rig, checking that there are no duplicate DMX addresses and that the fixtures are ordered in the way we expect – in an ideal world from left to right when viewed from the desk.

Across a bit from the NXT HEAD button are some selection option buttons with HIGHTLIGHT and SINGLE currently lit. Hitting ALL gives us back control over the group. During programming, this can be used to switch between adjusting and individual fixtures focus or position, before grabbing them all again to make a group wide change. You might remember that the trick with moving lights is to herd them like sheep before picking off individual fixtures to adjust, then herding them to the next point, a new colour, for example.

So, the heads are responding uniquely and appear where we think they should.

An important check for a moving light programmer early on is that the Pan and Tilts behave uniformly, fixtures have not been rigged incorrectly or have Inverts set at the heads themselves. So let’s do that with our Spots.

Clearing the programmer with CLR should dowse all the heads.

All Spot 1200 -> Locate -> POS window active (click the window chrome or POS button) then adjust the Tile encoder to lift the heads up a little, before checking the Pan to see if they all move in the same direction. They do but there is something bugging me, the spots are rigged “sideways” and tilt up to Stage Left, instead of Up Stage as I’d like. We are gonna fix that right now, it’ll annoy me for the rest of the programming and slow me up hugely. There a few ways to fix it and we’ll look at two of ‘em.

Using A Palette

The simplest way, with any lighting console, is to create a Home palette that points the fixtures straight down with the correct Pan, let’s do that quickly. Hit Clear.

Select the Spots, Locate and then, using the encoder, bump the Pan value to about 168. Save that position as Home in Pos Palette 11 by hitting RECORD (REC), typing in “Home” and clicking P11 in the Position window. Now check your work. Locate the fixtures again, tilt up to see them going sideways, then hit Home palette and tilt up again – they should move upstage. Yay, order is restored once more, we just need to remember to use our Home palette as well as Locate.

But there is another way we could sort this out, by using the onboard fixture personality editor.

Changing The Locate Values Of A Fixture Personality

The Locate function is used to wipe the slate clean with a fixture, clear colours and gobos, set effects to defaults and point the fixture 50/50, ready for more programming. On the MagicQ it also serves another useful purpose relating to the programmer, but we’ll talk about that more later. Right now, we have spots that are rigged sideways on to the stage and we’d like it very much if the Locate function corrected that. We can do that at personality file level.

Opening the PATCH window, we need to choose the head personality file (.hed) we are going to edit using the Choose Head method we used while patching. Having selected Robe Spot1200 etc. click on Edit Head and check in View General – > Names that we are working on the correct one (Spot1200). Opening the View Chans window in Edit Head, we can see a lot of fixture personality information, the one we care about is the Locate column and the Pan field in particular.

If you remember from our Home palette, we want Pan to be 168 or so, not 128, so change that field (leave the Pan Low value as it is) by selecting the field, typing 82 Enter. You have now altered the locate values in that personality file and you can check your work by Locating the Spots then winding the tilt, hopefully now straight up or down stage.

There are all kinds of ways you can alter, Save and Save As the personality file data but we won’t go further into this right now. At the moment, we have just made a temporary change in this show file to help us out with this rig.

Changing Pan and Tilt Inverts

In our article covering the use of Inverts, we sketched out different situations that a moving light programmer might make use inverts to sort out problems and speed up workflow. In order to understand the Fan function better using this rig, we won’t set any inverts today but changes to this parameter are made in the PATH window spreadsheet again. P Inv, T Inv and Swap (Swap Pan/Tilt, used to align fixtures hung on their side with the rest of the rig) can all be set on or off using the fields.

Right now, all our heads, Spots and Washes all move toward or away from the stage in unison, handy for creating those outward beam structures quickly.

Save Your Show File

OK, so now we have some heads patched and the virtual rig responding as we’d like, if you haven’t remember to already, save your show file using SETUP -> View Settings -> Save Show and type in a name.

It might seem that we haven’t covered much ground today, simply patching and organising the desk to fit with the rig we have. But, we have learned how to select personality files, patch up heads and change their Head Numbers, create a position palette, adjust a fixture personality file and set inverts at the desk. We’ve tested the fixtures are correctly patched and that the Pan and Tilts are behaving themselves. This is all a vital part of early programming, often being worked on while the crew are still slinging trusses and the reason that a programmer needs to be at the desk early on.

Check Other Attributes

As part of pre programming checks and to get a chance to play with the rig a little, why not go through all the other attributes: colour, gobo and effects etc and check that the desk and the rig agree. In a real situation, this is very important to do this to check that all the fixtures are set to the correct mode (if the Pan/Tilt check hasn’t already flagged a problem up) and you are using the right personality.

Select heads, hit palettes and fiddle about with encoders. Don’t forget that the function of the encoders changes with the active window, as do all the softbuttons, so if you don’t see what you expect, check which window you have active.

In the previous tutorials, you learned enough to be able to have a go at recording and naming memories, so why not have a go at that too. REC -> type name -> Playback S button. Right now, it’s advisable for you to Locate your heads before recording looks for reasons that we’ll uncover at the start of the next article when we continue our anti quick start tutorials through the MagicQ and program some tools and looks while discovering features of the desk.

See you then.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• MagicQ Tutorial Part 3 – Cues, Timing and FX
• Moving Light Control – Groups – Lighting Desk Basics 3
• Moving Light Control – Palettes – Lighting Desk Basics 4

In the final part of our Cham Sys MagicQ PC Getting Started tutorials, we work to the final stage of preparing our show for the fictional 3 piece band using a simple rig of PARS. If you haven’t already done so, work through MagicQ Tutorials Part 1 and 2 before tackling this one.
In this tutorial we will create another page of playbacks, a short opening sequence using a theatre cue stack and use the FX generator to quickly make some snazzy effects with the Beam Fans. We will also look at some of the theatre stack timing options.

New:All three of the MagicQ conventional lighting control tutorials are available for download as an ebook (pdf), so you can print out and follow along.

Editing Cues

We already know how easy it is to record information into a cue (enter data into the programmer, hit REC and choose a playback), we haven’t yet learned how to edit that information after it has been stored.
Like most programmer based consoles, editing happens back in the Programmer and changes are usually output “live” to the stage while overriding any other playbacks that are running at the time. This means that you can edit parts of cues while leaving the other playbacks outputting and the end result will not mix your data up.
An example: During the sound check you are playing back out a two colour wash using two faders– Red and Blue. You want to adjust the levels in the Blue Wash only, editing that information in the programmer before saving it back to the Blue Wash fader.

A non programmer based desk that records output requires that you record individual cue information without other playbacks running (in this case, Red Wash) – a pain when you need to program or edit during rehearsals and don’t want to alter the entire look on stage.
But, the MagicQ is a programmer console and we can make individual changes and add them to specific cues.

Getting edit information into the Programmer

Different consoles have their own way of loading information into the programmer and the MagicQ PC has a few choices.
At it’s simplest, we just want to load the Blue Wash Cue into the programmer to be edited so we use INCLUDE (a term borrowed from Avolites) then Choose the S button the playback fader. This loads the entire cue in to the Programmer (the CLR button light shows that there is information there) and we can make changes to the levels using any method – Keypad, Groups and Encoder, Programmer spreadsheet or the Programmer Intensity Window.

When happy with the new levels (that are output to stage and override the current state of the fixtures we changed) pressing UPDATE. Depending on the SETUP – > Prog Settings, the programmer then either clears itself or leaves the data there for you to carry on working – adjusting levels and recording another cue, for example.

The reason you would like to leave values in the Programmer until you are ready to CLEAR them is you can use those values to record new cues, update old ones or even remove parts of other cues altogether. If the Programmer doesn’t clear itself, don’t forget that the levels will continue to override your stage look until you hit CLR. That’ll be why those blues are still up, even after you have moved on to another task.
All this talk of cue edits brings us neatly on to blind mode.

Blind Mode

If you have used any kind of memory lighting desk, you may have come across Blind Mode before. The concept is to enable you to record or edit cue information without it appearing live on stage. While the usefulness of not being able to see what you are doing can be a bit limited, using Blind Mode has been a traditional method of inputting “known” data (like dimmer levels recorded on an old fashioned channel sheet) while the show is running.
Imagine the electrician of a touring show, having not had enough time to put both acts into the house lighting console, carefully entering and recording the cue levels for Act II in blind mode during Act I. This is not a joke, it has happened on more than one occasion. Fortunately, we now we have improved desk reliability and better portability of show data.
Anyway, to enter Blind Mode on the MagicQ you just need to toggle the BLIND button and you will see that the results of programmer output are not reflected live on stage (as seen in the OUTPUT window). The recording and editing process remains the same.
It is important to understand the effects on stage of both the Programmer (overrides conflicting playback data) and Blind Mode (hides the Programmer data from live output) when you find things aren’t behaving as expected. To stop programmer data altering the output either CLEAR the programmer and dump everything in it or hit BLIND to hide it.
When it comes to using a programmer based console in a complex environment like rehearsing while you are programming, it pays to know exactly what is in the programmer. The PROG data window is your friend here but most operators also build a rough list of “things I have done since I last hit CLEAR” in their heads.

Default Cuelists

Before we add some playbacks to Page 2, let’s consider that we might want some faders to appear on every single playback page. How about the Blinders – they always come in handy. We could create a linked copy on multiple pages and on different faders but there is an easy way to make sure that a Memory, Stack or Chase appears in the same spot across every page. Called a Default Cuelist, we need to set it in the Playbacks windows which is opened using the PB [right]. Open the PB window.

The Playback Window gives you a graphical view of the playbacks on the desk, can be used to organised playback layout and, most importantly, gives you access to playbacks that might not be physically available on your version of the MagicQ . As the show files are universal, there is a possibility that a show was created with an extra fader wing and memories place on playbacks that you don’t have buttons for. Wing / Extra playbacks are marked with a W-# and can be activated from the PB window.

But we just want to make our Blinders playback a default, so select it’s “S” button and look at the bottom left encoder – it has a Default On/Off toggle. Set it to On and you will notice that the Blinders playback now has DEF above it’s label. Now, which ever playback page you change to using NXT or PRV [Bottom Left], the Blinders remain available.
All shows are different but there is often a cue that you need constant access to.

Using Pages

Organising Playback pages very much depends on personal taste though some tips can be found at Using Submasters for Busking. Here are some different ways that programmers might organise pages for this kind of gig.

Song per page –This is a classic techniques that is good if you are touring a specific act with your own set programming on a per song basis. While the set list order changes, the actual cues per song don’t. The MagicQ even has a little feature lets you load a text file set list which it then uses to re order your song pages ready for the show that night.
Fast/Slow pages – When busking an unknown show, it’s useful to be able to flick to a page of stuff that you know fits the tempo.
Warm/Cold pages – Again, an unknown show – you decide if the next track is an upbeat sunny one or a moody, bluey one.
Main page and FX – I use this one quite a lot, it consists of a Home page to keep most things you regularly need like colour washes and “backing” stuff. A page above, and sometimes below, are variations on the playback which include FX like Pan/Tilt Movement or Intensity effects.
How you organise PBs is entirely up to you. The goal is to make sure that you are able to spend the maximum amount of time looking at the stage and keep up with the show. In this tutorial series, we are looking at different features of the MagicQ PC so the actual page layouts are not meant to be examples of the best method.

Creating a theatre stack

Next, we are going to create an opening sequence of cues that run as a theatre stack. This will be used for the opening sequence of the show – to bring the band on stage. It all sounds a bit Spinal Tap for a 3 piece, but this is a tutorial.

Open up our Custom Prog view, change to playback Page 2 (using NEXT PAGE [bottom left]) and clear the programmer.
Our opening sequence will start in blackout, some music will build, we will do some groovy lighting stuff and the band will appear to rapturous applause. For the sake of the tutorial, this part of the show will be run from a single cue stack, triggered by a Go button and the odd follow on ( a cue that executes immediately after the previous cue has finished). This will not be an example of the art of lighting, it will let us get to know more features of the MagicQ.
The first cue of the sequence will actually the preset look for the audience to walk into. Dk Blues onstage @ 40%, Blinders glowing @ 10% and Beam Fans looking nice at 70%. Set that up in the programmer and hit Record, type in “ShowOpen” or something then store to a free playback on Page 2. No need to clear the programmer, we are moving on.

Next, set all the fixtures in the programmer to 0%. How you do it is up to you. You can use command line, groups or whatever. As we are in Normal mode, “tracking” doesn’t worry us and there is no need to create a blocking cue (if you don’t know what tracking is, don’t worry about it for the moment). Just “get them lights what is on and turn ‘em off”, saving it on top of the 1st cue. CLEAR the programmer, it’s good practice and the next cue is going to use some different fixtures.

Before we go on, let’s take a look at what we’ve done – open the window for this cue stack by double clicking the label or “S” button of the playback. Just like when we recorded the Beam Fan chase in Part 2, we have created two cues that run as a chase by default. We need to change that with the Cue Timing softbutton. Now, the stack advances when we hit the Go (>) button of that playback.
Note: When we fire up the Preset before “doors”, we raise the fader of the ShowOpen playback. This not only sets the master intensity to 100%, it also starts the Preset Cue without pressing Go. This is because the default behaviour of the MagicQ is “Fader Activates Stack”. We don’t need to worry too much about this at the moment except to know that it happens.

Back to the stack. To keep track of the cues in the stack, we are going to name them. In the Cue Stack window, the spreadsheet has a field called “Cue Text”. To create that text, simply click on the field, type in the label and hit enter. I’ve called mine Preset and B/O so far.

Fade Times

Depending on the setup of your MagicQ PC, the cues recorded so far have default fades times associated with them. We want out blackout to happen over 3 seconds so click on the Fade field and hit 3 Enter. Set the Preset to fade in over 2 secs, so as not to cause a sudden cold/hot shock to the lamps before the show. We don’t want them blowing before we’ve started.

Open up the OUTPUT window to view the grid and try out the cues. The Preset comes in over 2, the B/O in 3 and the whole stack wraps back to the start with the final Go button press.

Right, next cue – go back to our Custom Prog view using CTRL + top softbutton. The next cue is going to bring up the Beam Fans, but we are going to do it is a cool way, each one starting to fade in sequence. We are going to use a bit of command line syntax for this:

Select the ALL Beam Fans Group, then enter this at the command line and watch the Output grid after you hit Enter: @# / 4 > 0/1 Enter. The hash (#) is FULL on the PC keyboard and the rest of the syntax has set a complex time across all of the fixtures in order with delay times from 1 – 4 seconds, each with a 1 second fade in.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t quite get this at first, but did you see what happened when you executed the command with Enter? The fixtures came on in sequence over time. Not only that, but the times have been added to the programmer, ready to be saved in the next cue straight away. So let’s do it – save it with REC – “Fans Up” – S button of the ShowOpen playback.
To look at what we’ve done, open the Cue Stack window again and select the new cue before hitting View Cue (top) which shows the levels of the look. To see the timing information, use View Times:

You can see a delay time of 0 > 4 seconds and a fade time of 1 second. We could change the delay range from zero the three by clicking in the field and typing 0 > 3 Enter.
It’s worth understanding that this range of delay times was applied to the whole group All Beam Fans in selection order (the order that the group was selected when recorded), which for an auto group is numeric and on our rig, left to right. A different selection order of fixtures would produce a different fade in.
Note: I recently did some troubleshooting in a venue that had allocated seemingly random fixture numbers to it’s moving heads. The above example shows the importance of creating order of your dimmer numbers, fixture addresses FROM THE START. Because our PAR rig channels were allocated in a sensible order, the auto group feature created a sensible fixture group and the cue was easy to create. If you are interested, one of the first things I did at the venue with random fixture allocations was to create some basic groups using a custom selection order tailored to their rig plan. It was either that or go round re addressing a whole bunch of moving heads rigged >8 metres over ice.
We can see the individual times of each PAR by viewing Adv Timing in the View Times window. Each fixture has it’s own set of timings for each parameter. In the case of the PARs, only intensity / Dim timing is shown.

Save the show while we’re at it. Setup – > Save Show – Enter overwrites the current file.
Next we are going to create a dimmer chase using the built in effects engine. Best practice would be to create and save the effect in the FX store, like a palette, to be used in the cue. This would mean that the effect could be used in multiple cues stored /edited in one place for easy changes in the future.. So that’s what we’ll do – this effect will be a sideways run, with snap fade ins and steps that overlap each other.

CLEAR the programmer and select All Beam Fans and set them to 50% – this sets the centre point of the effect so the fixtures will go from 0% to 100% in each cycle. Choose Add FX (top) and select a Saw wave with the icon ^.

To get snap fade ins, we need to set the FX cross fade to 0 using the encoder on the right. The other most important encoder is the top left Spread adjustment. It’s currently set to Even 100%, toggle it to 0% to see what it does. The Spread controls where in the cycle the fixtures run their FX, all together or evenly spread across the entire group and anywhere in between. Have play with it and see what it does. The speed of the entire effect is controlled using the Speed encoder, bottom right. Size (the 0 – 255 amount that the effect deviates from the centre point) can be adjusted using the Size encoder. Put the Size at 255 to see a full dimmer saw between 0 and 100%, the centre point being 50%, with a smaller effect when set to 128.

When you are finished with the effect, store it in the FX store ready to be used in the next cue or any other cues when the mood takes you. Open the FX window, press REC – > type in “Beam Wave” – > and click an empty square in the FX window.
Clear the programmer, select All Beam Fans again, apply the effect from the FX window and save to the next cue in our stack. Test the stack by running through the cues.
To be clear, the last cue we recorded was an effect generated by the console. We could have selected the fixtures, assigned the Dimmer Saw and and recorded it straight into the cue.
Instead, we chose to record the effect to a kind of FX palette. This can then be used in many cues with different fixtures using a single reference point for adjustments and editing. The effect itself is recorded and that effect is then recored to the cue. This gives us two choices when it comes to edits – directly in cue or via the FX store and there is a distinction.
An edit to the effect in the FX store will change the effect in that cue and any others it has been used in.
An edit to the cue will change only that cue and break the link with the stored FX. The cue now has it’s own effect data.
Use INCLUDE – > FX window slot or INCLUDE – > Cuelist / Cue then UPDATE respectively.

Cue Stack Timing Options

Now we have a simple four cue theatre stack, it is worth a quick look at a few of the timing and related options you will want to know about at this stage. Open the window of our ShowOpen stack by doubling clicking the S button over the fader.

With the View Stack softbutton activated we can see the list of cues in the stack, plus other information relating to playback of each cue. They include:
Wait – The wait time between the Go command being given (the Go button, for example) and the cue executing. Follow indicates no wait time – an immediate Go with the command.
Halt – This sets the behaviour of the cue, relative to the previous one and can change the cue into a follow on (one that executes straight after the previous cue has finished running). The simple options are Halt – Yes (wait for the next Go command) or Halt – No (execute as soon as the previous cue has completed).

Delay – We have already come across delay set across our fixtures which is a good example of delay in action. Delaying individual fixtures or attributes (with complex fixtures) can produce a variety of cue executions in one place. The distinction with Wait is that Wait is waiting for the whole cue to execute whereas Delay can be more detailed.
Fade – The Fade in time of the cue which can be set globally or to individual fixtures or attributes, similar to Delay.

Next Cue – The default setting of Next fires the next cue number in the sequence, numerically speaking. Setting Next Cue to another cue number allows you to create jumps in the stack.

We are not really concerned with the remaining options in this spreadsheet today so let’s finish our look at cue stack timing by reminding ourselves how to see more complex timing information.

Choosing a cue by highlighting it in the Cue Stack window using the left hand field, pressing the top softbutton View Cue brings up data about that particular cue. View Levels shows us the channel level information while toggling View Times shows us a detailed breakdown of the timing data. In Simple View, this gives us global time setting for each attribute (in our case we only have Intensity). Advanced View shows us timing information on a per fixture basis. If we had complex fixtures like moving heads, this would also enable us to see individual attributes like Pan and Tilt.
Not only can we view the timing data, we can also change it from here too – Simple for global changes and Advanced for detailed ones. So you can see how we have started to get into quite a powerful but complex area of lighting control. We’ll leave timing there for today.

Finally, the end of the beginning.

This series of MagicQ PC tutorials was designed to give simple but practical examples to help you find your way through the minefield of learning a complex lighting console. We started with a very simple rig, had some clear goals and patched and programmed our way to better understanding.

There is much to learning professional lighting consoles and On Stage Lighting will be looking at further aspects of the MagicQ PC at some time in the future, including moving lights and running complex shows. For now, you have a much better understanding of the basics of the Cham Sys MagicQPC (and, by default, many others) that you can take to the next level. If you have been keeping up, here’s what we know so far – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised:

• How to start a show on MagicQ PC and set a DMX Output device.
• How to patch up generic fixtures with good labels and colour information.
• How to navigate around the MagicQ and basic routines such as Copy, Move and editing data.
• How to set up custom views and create your own workspace.
• How to set up a Grid and use it as a virtual fixture plan.
• How to use Auto Groups and create your own selection tools.
• How to handle channel data and set up looks using different methods.
• How to use the programmer to manipulate fixture data.
• How to create playbacks on MagicQ PC and use Copy and Move keep a tidy house.
• How to use the tools for editing cues and chases.
• How to create a theatre stack on the MagicQ and alter timing information.
• How to use the shape generator to create complex lighting effects quickly.
• How to apply complex timing across fixtures and attributes.

While working through those big tasks, you have started to really get to grips with the fine details of navigation and workflow on MagicQ PC and I hope you feel more confident on the console. See you next time.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• MagicQ Part 2 – Controlling Fixtures and Recording Memories
• MagicQ Tutorial – Getting Started
• Cham Sys MagicQ PC Introduction

A quick look at the past, present and future of user interfaces (UI) in lighting console design with the question “Are we actually doing it right?”

So, there we were in the middle of a series of tutorials on the Cham Sys MagicQ when something unexpected happened. Something totally out of the blue. A rumour went around that some students in Bath had used the MagicQ PC and PC Wing as part of a recent show – and didn’t like it! They didn’t get on with it and eventually gave up and swapped it for another controller. The other controller was (wait for it) a Pulsar Masterpiece! (Igor, I thought I told you to round up all the DisasterPieces and crush them?) How could this happen?

At first, this seemed like a case of youthful exhuberance vs. RTFM but I was assured that the User Manual was consulted on this occasion. A further conversation on Twitter brought up the whole question of what makes a good User Interface (UI) for a lighting control. I realised that current console interfaces that work so well for me were evolutions of desks that I already knew, with concepts that are rooted in lighting control history. What if you didn’t have a lighting console history?

What if you had never used a Strand Galaxy or a Celco Gold? Or even a Hog II? What if you only ever used a computer with a Windows style GUI? Would any of these flippin’ desks make sense to you?

What do you want from a lighting control?

• Speed – You want to be able to do as much as possible in the short time available.
• Flexibility – You want the console to give you the flexibility to control your specific show, and there are many kinds of show with different control needs.
• Control – Well, duh.
• To Spend As Much Time As Humanly Possible Looking At The Stage And Not Fumbling With Buttons And Other Input Hardware – Er, like I said.

There are two types of lighting controller: Those you know. And those you don’t.

The first type ticks all the boxes because you can use it’s many functions quickly, mostly without looking at the thing. The second kind is what makes you question the UI and can turn you off that console early on.

Modern consoles have evolved from older consoles and older operators have evolved with them. In stage lighting control we have some versions of our own standards, but they are incomplete and not always obvious to the newcomer. And first impressions count.

Long term vs short term usability

The new generation of techies have grown up in a world full of standards. Across software apps, the File menu has always been Top Left and it’s contents are pretty predictable. Standards are great because they allow the new, the lazy and (let’s face it) the stupid, a better chance of being able make at least some progress. Most PC apps give three or four ways of doing something in an effort that you will find at least one of Keyboard Shortcut / Right Click Menu / Top Menu / Toolbar.

The trouble with these standards is that they have led the world to believe that anything technical can be used, if you just “have a go”. Someone recently asked me to turn the ring tone on their phone off but I had never seen this phone before , how hard could it be? After a couple of unsuccessful attempts (I hung up on their mother and probably deleted at least one of their Contacts) the ringer was sorted. I could use the phone but only to the low standard.

When you become familiar with a UI, your muscle memory tunes into it and things happen automatically. Speed and accuracy are increased, freeing your mind up to concentrate on the end result while forgetting about process. Looking for functions vs. looking at the stage.

Who is the UI working for, the casual prodder or power user – or both?

A Cham Sys problem?

Cham Sys seem to have a great idea – Make a good console with loads of familiar features, add some more and create a platform with possibilities for the future. Make a PC software version that is compatible with cheap DMX output devices and hope to build a fanbase, proficient in your console and specifying the top models in your range.

But…

The first time I saw the MagicQ it was real and was accompanied by the man who designed it. And I had a history of using the Hog II, which the MQ shares many concepts. I liked the Cham Sys as a lighting desk and the fact that it came as a free PC app was a bonus.

Perhaps you and I had a different experience of the MagicQ UI. Perhaps you downloaded MagicQ PC, read the help, tried to make sense of an already alien world. No one can pretend that a lighting desk plonked on a computer screen is the ideal UI for anyone. Hell, I defy anyone to download Grand MA onPC and work out that it’s a half decent lighting console. However, the MA has the kudos of being “the” desk on those shows you read about in L&SI, it doesn’t have to introduce itself to you via a PC screen.

The trouble is, many people encounter tghe MagicQ via the PC version and perhaps with little console history. Is this the best first impression? Is there the tiniest possiblity that what seemed like a great idea to spread your message might actually backfire when you can’t put your best UI face on to the newest users?

Where are we GUIng now?

(ok, enough UI puns for today)

While trying to empathise with the guys struggling with an alien interface, I started to question the future of lighting interfaces and their ease of use for all kinds of users – casual and dedicated.
A lot of my initial thinking on this subject was centered around the physical aspects and I asked a question over at the Blue Room that provoked some interesting opinions. Are we using the right hardware and software? Do current lighting controls only work for me because they were designed by my contemporaries? Would it be better if all UI were further standardised?

So what do you think? What kind of UI do you think would take us into the future of lighting control and cater for all users?

Image by Zach Klein on Flickr

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

In Part 2 of our Cham Sys MagicQ tutorial series, we’ll take our work from Part 1 – Getting Started and continue to build a show.

New:All three of the MagicQ conventional lighting control tutorials are available for download as an ebook (pdf), so you can print out and follow along.

This session covers the handling of fixture data, programming looks and chases and understanding effects. We will also look at laying out the MagicQ to playback our show – in this case, a three piece band set to be operated “on the fly”.
Note about programming: The MagicQ is a programmer based console, where data is entered into the programmer and then dumped into a scene or chase step. A programmer style desk records in a different way to an Output recording control.

Handling Channels

The key to setting up scenes on any control is handling fixture data. As we only have conventional dimmers in our rig, we only need to worry about Intensity levels. There are number of options for controlling channels on the MagicQ, here’s a few:

Command Line Entry

A traditional style of entering fixture data, command line programming involves typing instructions into a keypad and hitting ENTER to action them. You can type in a channel number, followed by an @ symbol, and then an intensity level – > 10 @ 50 ENTER sets fixture 10 at 50% and enters this into the programmer. On a laptop without a separate number pad, command line entry is a bit fiddly.

Intensity Window Entry

As we are only controlling conventional dimmers today, using the Intensity Window is quite an attractive option – it’s a bit like having traditional fader banks. Open the INTENSITY [INT] Window and you will see a graphical representation of faders with Name and Colour information. You can grab the slider and adjust the level which enters the information into the programmer. Filtering the window by Name or Colour helps reduce the number of sliders on view at any one time.

Group Entry

Using the Auto groups set in Part 1 of our tutorials, we can easily select fixture groups and adjust their level as a group using the bottom right encoder or use it’s softkey to toggle between 100% – 50% – 0. It’s possible to use the GROUP area to toggle multiple group selections, to do this might requires it to be set. SETUP > Prog > Select Mulitple Groups.
Adjusting individual fixtures in a group is often achieved by using the NEXT HEAD or PREV HEAD buttons to bump through the fixtures and adjust the levels with the encoder.

Entry using the Virtual Plan

Selecting fixtures via the virtual plan we created in the OUTPUTS window, either individually or dragging a multiple selection, we can set the levels using the bottom right encoder. This is handy if you know where the fixture is and just want to tweak it – no need to know which number it is.

Setting up a look

Having seen some methods of entering data, we are going to create some simple memories for the band using each one.

Command Line

Let’s start by creating a look which is the Beam Fans at 100% using the command line.
Make sure that you are working in the Custom Prog workspace we created and clear the programmer with CLEAR [CLR].
Type 13 > 24 @ # (# is Full on the PC) and watch it appear in the command line before pressing ENTER. You will see the back PARS turn blue on the plan and the data appear in the programmer. To save it to Playback 1, hit RECORD , type in Beam Fans and select the S button above the first fader. CLEAR the programmer and try out the fader.
You might find that there is a fade in time when you raise the fader. In that case, you can double click on the S button to open the CUE Stack window where you will see the Beam Fans cue information. Set the fade to 0.00s in the field but selecting it and typing 0 ENTER. Now, you have the fade time controlled by fader only.
While we are in the CUE stack window, we can set the default fade time by choosing View Defaults (top) – > Step Times and setting them all to 0s. CLOSE the CUE stack window.
We simply entered a range of fixtures and a level but the command line can handle complex syntax such as:
1 > 24 – 1 > 13 + 13 @ # which is an over engineered version of our previous command. There are some more details on the command line on the useful shortcuts sheet by Cham Sys. Personally I am not that keen on command line entry, especially not while using the PC software.

Intensity Window

Let’s set up a custom view to help us work in the intensity window. Close all Windows with SHIFT + CLOSE and re open the OUTPUT window in the bottom half of the screen. Open the INTENSITY (INT) window and size it to fill the top half of the screen. Now we can use the Intensity sliders and see the result so save that view – RECORD > Type in INTS then CRTL + select an unused view button.

Grab a slider and see it working on the OUTPUT window. What you can’t see is that values are also being placed into the programmer, the top of the INT window says Intensity (programmer). Any fixture currently in the programmer turns red, even if you wind the fader to zero, the fixture remains in the programmer at 0%. With conventional fixtures, this doesn’t matter to much, with complex fixtures like moving lights – it does. Remove fixtures from the programmer by selecting their slider, then Remove Cursor (top right).
Changing the INT window to View Presets (top left) displays faders like the real faders on a conventional lighting desk. These are not related to the programmer and are good for controlling specials while busking a show, setting fixed levels for houselights or controlling fixtures you don’t want programmed, if the crew is focussing for example.

Go back to the Programmer intensities with View Prog. With the INTENSITY window set to MAX, we could see all 36 dimmer channels but with only half the screen to play with we need to be able to zone in on the faders we want. This is where the labelling and colour information comes in.
The left hand encoders are used to set different filters to the displayed faders – Head type (we only have Dimmer on this show), Gel, and Head Name. The bottom left softbutton toggles back to view All. Using these filter, we will set up submaster for out 2 band spotlight positions.
CLEAR the programmer and scroll through the Gel filter until you find L202, our spot colour. Push up the SR spot slider to 100%. Save that spot to PB8 using RECORD, typing in SR Spot and choosing the S button. CLEAR the programmer once more and repeat with the two DSC spots and save onto PB9. CLEAR again and finally save the SL spot onto PB10.

Toggle the window filter back to All with the bottom left encoder. Next we are going to record a Blinders memory, so scroll through the Head Name filter until you hit Blinders. This brings up our 4 Blinder faders. Choose Select All from the top row of softbuttons and use the bottom right encoder (Selected Heads) to bring them to 100%. Hit RECORD then the S button on PB2.
You will notice that we didn’t name the look before choosing the destination and that it now has a number like CS ##. We can name it now by pressing SET which pops up the QWERTY keyboard before typing in the name and hitting enter. Naming things after they have already been recorded, including custom views, is done using this SET method.

Groups selection

Next up, we are going to create a colour wash using the Group method and adjust individual levels using NEXT / PREV. CLEAR the programmer and return to our Custom Prog window using CRTL + view softbutton.
In the GROUP windows, select All Red and bring to Full using using the encoder. Now, we want the backlight to be stronger than the front light. Hitting NEXT HEAD selects just the FOH Pars and turns the others off (Highlight mode) but we want to adjust them while seeing everything so turn off HIGHLIGHT using the hard button. Knock 20% off the FOH Par channel then hit NEXT again and take 10% off the Mid Par channel – Hmmm, the whole thing could do with lifting a touch, hitting ALL reselects the entire group and we can wheel on another 5% before RECORDing it to a playback as RED WASH. So, the whole group incremented relative to their starting value and are now at 85% and 95%.

Record another look, this time a Cold Wash using both Dark and Light Blues by toggling each group on and controlling them in tandem. If you can’t multi select them, make sure that Enable Multiple groups is set in the SETUP / Prog menu as mentioned earlier.

The last thing in this section is to create an Odd/Even Chase on the Beam Fans using the selection tools. CLEAR the programmer.
Select All Beam Fans from the GROUP window and click and hold ODD/EVEN (right), selecting ODD from the menu. Take the selection to 100% and RECORD “Beam Chase” to a spare Playback. CLEAR the programmer and repeat using an EVEN selection, RECORDing the programmer to the same fader. Hit CLEAR again.

By saving two looks to one fader, we have started a Cue Stack – a list of cues that run in sequence. When the MagicQ creates a cue stack, it defaults to being a chase that advances automatically rather than a theatre style cue list . Fire the chase of by raising the playback and you will see the chase running in the OUTPUT window. As you are probably keen to mess about with the chase timing, double click on the S button of the playback and fit the Cue Stack window to the top half of the screen. Play about with the Chase Xfade and Chase Speed until you are happy.

The last method of entering information into the programmer we mentioned was using the virtual plan. This is pretty straightforward, you select fixtures in the OUTPUT window and set the levels using the encoder. Have a play around with that too, if you like.

Organising Playbacks

In case you hadn’t already guessed, there is a standard syntax when Moving, Removing and Copying data on the MagicQ. This can be used when patching, setting out palettes, making cues and organising playbacks. The workflow of Move and Copy has 3 stages:

• 1 – Select the action – Move or Copy
• 2 – Select the data
• 3 – Choose the destination

We can use Move to layout our playbacks exactly how we want them. Try moving a currently recorded playback : MOVE [MVE]- > “S” button of existing playback – >”S” of a free destination. Stacks can be moved between playback pages and this method can be also be useful to reorder playbacks on a full page, temporarily parking a stack on another page to free up some space on the current page before shunting playbacks around.

Copying

Copying stacks can be used to create other instances of a stack or to create the basis of new programming. The difference is between a Linked Copy or an Unlinked Copy.
Linked Copy – The default Copy function, the Linked Copy takes the data from one playback and copies it to another. Altering any instance of a playback changes all copies. This is used for making the same cue/stack appear elsewhere on the playback and only one instance needs editing. Action : COPY – > “S” That – > “S” There.
Unlinked Copy - An Unlinked Copy takes copies from the original playback and creates a new one. Edits to the original are not reflected in the copy, nor vice versa. Unlinked copies are useful for creating a whole new cue or stack, using existing data.

Action : Shift + COPY – > “S” That – > “S” There.

Cues, Cues Stacks and Playbacks

Now we have nearly filled up a page worth of playbacks, we better take a while to understand cue storage on the MagicQ.

Cues

When we created a look and stored it to a fader we actually did two things – saved a cue and assigned it to a fader. Each cue created is stored in the Cue Store, a bit like a back cupboard where things can get lost. Deleting a cue from a Playback using REMOVE + S button actually only removes it from the fader, the cue lives on in the Cue Store and can only be completely deleted from there. This is good news if you accidentally delete a look from a fader and it turns out that you wanted it.
Delete the cue RED WASH from it’s playback with REMOVE [REM] + S and confirming at the popup. Next, open the CUE STORE (right) window. You will see all the cues recorded in this show file, find the RED WASH cue and copy it back to it’s playback with COPY > RED WASH > Playback S button. There, no harm done. You can check the contents of a cue live on stage by using Test Cue (top) in the CUE STORE window.

Stacks

When we created the Beam Fan chase, we made the first Cue Stack – a series of connected cues. Cue Stacks also have their own cupboard, found by pressing STACK STORE and this can be used to pick a stack and assign it to a fader in the same way. You can test the stack in the cupboard too.
NB. If a cue is part of a cue stack, it cannot be deleted via the store while it’s stack still exists. But let’s not get too hung up on that now.

Recap

In this part, we have learned to:

• Select and control fixtures
• Enter data into the programmer using different methods
• Record, Name and Move scenes
• Create a Cue Stack to be used as a chase.
• Create Copies and Linked Copies
• To find and organise Cues and Cue Stacks in the store

Next time, we will be looking at creating another page of playbacks with other types of memory including a theatre style cue stack, FX engine driven dynamic effects and setting up the desk to run our show.
Here’s the sneak preview.
Creating another page of playbacks just requires a page change using the NXT button (bottom left) and recording new scenes to the empty slots.
A theatre style cue stack is stored like a chase, with multiple records on one playback. The timing is changed by double clicking the S button to open the Stack window and choosing Cue Timing (top) instead of Chase Timing. While in the Cue Stack window, take a look at the data fields for each cue such as Delay, Fade etc.
The FX engine is applied by choosing a Group like All Beam Fans, Add FX (top) and choosing a fade like Ramp ^. Adjusting the encoders marked FX gives you direct control over different elements of the effect such as timing, spread and size. See if you can work out what they all do, using the output window to view the results.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• Cham Sys MagicQ PC Introduction
• MagicQ Tutorial – Getting Started
• ChamSys MagicQ PC – Free Lighting Control Software

MagicQ tutorial Part 1 takes it from the top. An anti-quick start guide, we take it slow so as not to miss the scenery.


New:All three of the MagicQ conventional lighting control tutorials are available for download as an ebook (pdf), so you can print out and follow along.

If you can already use the MagicQ a bit, you should still read this tutorial as it is specially designed to show you the useful stuff that you might not find on your own and covers good workflow for all programming. If you have never really used a a Cham Sys console, this tutorial is going to work for you too.

You might like to take a look at Introduction to the MagicQ which takes a tour around the desk . This tutorial is intended to be easy to follow with only a version of the MQ PC/Mac software from Cham Sys (we are running 1.4.00 today) and a single screen PC/Laptop with keyboard and mouse. I tend to run MagicQ PC with the Norm. screen mode, as the button layout is closest to the actual console which is more familiar. If you intend to mainly work with a tablet laptop or touchscreen, you may want to run in Touch mode from the start – this doesn’t matter but some notes about the positioning of the buttons may not be accurate.

Notation: Hard buttons on the console are written in CAPS such as CLEAR, softbuttons (around the screen) have a capital letter such as New Show (top). Buttons sometimes have a rough location after them such as (top right) so you can find them. Hard buttons may also have the abbreviated version as it appears on the MagicQ button in CAPS afterward: RECORD [REC]. This information in this tutorial is as accurate as possible, but please bear in mind that (confession time) I have not spent a lot of time reading the user manual. One of the plus points of the MagicQ is that it uses many concepts available on other consoles so reading the manual is not a necessity for programmers with some experience.

What are we going to do?

So, we are going to light a 3 piece band with 36 ways of dimming, 36 Pars, some Source 4 specials and 4 blinders – a nice simple rig. We are going to visualise our progress onboard the MagicQ using a virtual plan and discover some pretty useful features along the way. Here’s the plan (PDF for printing):

“Surely the MagicQ is a moving light console. Why aren’t we using any moving lights?”

Moving lights add a level of complexity to programming that we don’t need right now. Many of the functions of the MagicQ can be demonstrated with generic fixtures and only having to deal with one attribute (Intensity) gives us a clear head to get to grips with the desk. Conventional lighting also is simpler to visualise without a “virtual” rig using Capture or WYSWYG and having to worry about connecting up and patch a visualiser. We’ll run some shows that way in a future tutorial.

Start a New Show

Having downloaded and installed the MagicQ PC/Linux/Mac software from Cham Sys, run the program. I think the first time you do this, the help file loads but forget that for a minute and hit CLOSE [CLSE] (top right) and open SETUP. First, choose New Show (top softbuttons) and select Normal mode – don’t worry about the other modes at the moment. Agree to the popup about erasing existing show from the memory (for reference, this only removes the current show from the app – if you have saved a show, it doesn’t delete it from the store).

A note about Contextual Softbuttons: The buttons around the screen of the MagicQ are contextual, meaning that they change to show the tools you need at a given time. Confusion can strike when you can’t see the softbutton you expect. This is because the contexts are often derived from the “active” window. The active window is the one highlighted by a darkened colour strip along the top, where the window label is. Making a window active can be achieved by either clicking the top bar, clicking within the window or pressing the associated hard button such as GROUP. I have tried to remember to make sure that this tutorial tracks the active window but if you can’t see the right set of tools, check see if you have the correct screen live.

Check Output Devices

Before we can connect up real life kit to the desk, we need to define what the outputs actually do and as this is a low budget gig, we can imagine that we are going to use the Enttec Open DMX USB as an output. Not having a real DMX USB does not effect this tutorial but you need to remember to set outputs up on the MagicQ in the real world.

In SETUP, choose DMX I/O (top) and you will see a spreadsheet showing a DMX universe list. Double click on the Out Type field of DMX universe 1, and choose Open USB from the list. Make sure that the output is set to Enabled and we have DMX universe 1 firing down the dongle.
Window Colour Scheme:The images here show yellow and blue windows, rather than the MagicQ default grey ones. I prefer them and they make better screen shots. If you want to use the same colour scheme: while still in SETUP, you can hit View Settings and choose the Windows tab. Double clicking in the Colour Scheme field (Grey – default) and changing it to High Brightness does the trick. Close the SETUP window with CLOSE.

Patching the MagicQ

Before we can control anything, we need to patch up our dimmers on the MagicQ, so open the PATCH window and hit Choose Dimmer (top). In the command line (bottom right of touchscreen) it says Choose Dimmer >. Now we type in the number of dimmers @ which DMX address they start at. We are only using one DMX universe which is currently 1 so just type 37 @ 1 Enter and select Patch It from the popup.

To patch to a different universe such as DMX 3, you can type @ 3-1 but we only need one today. We can now see all our dimmers and their DMX addresses in a spreadsheet which can be navigated using the scroll bars or arrow keys. We can also Shift+select fields for multiple data edits like a normal spreadsheet application.

You might have noticed that we patched an extra dimmer by mistake – No 37. We can delete that now by hitting REMOVE [REM] and clicking in the row of dimmer 37, confirming the delete in the pop up. So that’s gone away. If we needed to make any changes, to addresses for example, that could be done easily via that spreadsheet in this window.

Now we have a patch, let’s save the show before we go any further. SETUP ->Save Show (top) and type in a name. The default location is the SHOW folder of the MagicQ installation and this is also where the auto backup files are stored.

Test the fixtures, Label and Colour up

Having patched our 36 dimmers on Universe 1 to the Open DMX,we ought to test the rig. Highlighting a field in the Dimmer 1 row, choose Head Test on (left) which takes the dimmer to 100% and makes the row turn red. Moving the arrow down the patch list tests each fixture. If you haven’t got a real rig in front you open the OUTPUT [OUT] window(top right) and see the current dimmer on at 100%. Not only does this flash out the rig, it also helps us to label up the fixtures and assign gel colours to them on the MagicQ. This is worth doing for reasons you will see in a minute.

Labelling

We know that our first 6 Dimmers are our FOH PARS, so let’s select all the Name fields of fixtures 1-6 using a Shift select. Watch the command line > as we type in “FOH Pars” and hit Enter. The Name fields all change to FOH Pars. Dimmers 7-12 are our “Mid Pars” so we can set that too along with Dimmers 13 – 24 which are “Beam Fans” In real life, we might need to check where our Source Four profiles and Blinders are so with Head Test still on, arrow down through the Name fields and label each one as they appear on stage. SL Spot, 2x DSC Spot, SR Spot with Blinders on dimmers 33 – 36.

The other dimmers are genuinely spare so it is good practice change their names from “Dimmer” to “Spare” in case you need to find spare channels later. Leaving the label set to Dimmer means that it might get lost among other dimmers that you just haven’t got around to naming. With a larger dimmer count, being able to find a label like “Spare” or “Spare Truss 1″ quickly.

A note about naming: There is little to be gained from giving each dimmer a unique label and it takes too much time. Deciding on labels depends on your rig but it’s a good start to use the fixtures “job” group like Blinders or position such as FOH PARs.

Assigning a colour to each dimmer

Like labels, setting the gel colour of each of our channels helps us visualise the rig on the MagicQ for the tutorials but also really pays off when programming later on . Again, assigning colours can be done easily by scrolling down in Head Test mode and looking at the stage before typing in the gel number. At the Gel field of Dimmer 1 type in 119 and hit Enter. You will see that the field changes to L119 Dark Blue with a blue icon. If you need to enter a Rosco #gel just type R followed by the number. Neat, huh? Work down through the patch list setting each colour as per the plan. You can Shift-Select the Beam Fans before typing in 201 to set them in one go.

You can sort through the patch list by choosing Sort (top right) and choosing a filter such as By Gel or By Name. This is great for finding specific information about the patch of a particular fixture or finding all our Spare channels in a multiple complex multi universe rig. Also, try viewing the patch By Channel or By DMX and see the other options available for editing in those sheets like fader curve.

Exporting the patch

Now we have patch information with fixture labels and colours we can export the patch to a .csv file. If you are curious, open up the CSV in a spreadsheet application to see what it looks like. Being able to create a patch using a spreadsheet program and import it into the MagicQ is pretty handy, especially if you already use spreadsheets as part of your paperwork. In the PATCH window, select View Chans (top left) and then Export Heads (top right) and type in a name for the file. By default the file ends up in the MagicQ folder “Shows” (set within the SETUP window).

Creating auto groups

We spent time entering label and gel information, something that you might not have time to do everyday. The great thing about having this information is that the MagicQ can use these labels to create useful fixture selection groups automatically.

Still in the PATCH / View Heads window, select Auto Groups (top) and Dimmer Groups. This has created a series of selection groups based on our naming and gels which save us having to create from scratch. Let’s have a look at what has happened.

Open the GROUPS [GRP] window and you will see a lot of new groups. Some of these (like the colour washes such as Dim L119) are more useful than others so we are going to get rid of some. Most groups with only 1 fixture in are not that useful apart from the SL and SR Spots so let’s quickly delete groups like Mid Pars L172 and FOH Pars L180 etc. Shift and Arrow keys highlight multiple groups before you hit REMOVE [REM] and confirm.

Now we might want to tidy the GROUPS window up a bit. Later on we are going to be using the groups window in it’s small form (a quarter of the touchscreen) so let’s work toward that: With the window active choose the MIN (top right) window button, if it doesn’t size to a quarter of the screen on the top left, you can keep pressing SIZE until it behaves. Now order your groups within the window so they are easily seen and make sense to you – I have moved the least used groups like All Dimmer and Spare down the page and tidied up in a logical format.

To move a group select MOVE (bottom right) then choose the groups to be moved before choosing the destination. You can also shift + arrow select multiple groups (the blocks turn Cyan) before choosing MOVE and placing them where you want. This is what I came up with:

Finally, if group names like Dim L119 don’t inspire you, you can rename them to something like All Blue by hitting SET (bottom right) and choosing the group from the GROUPS window. Type in the name and hit Enter. Next up, creating a workspace by making a custom view. Let’s start by closing all the windows on the MagicQ with SHIFT + CLOSE(top right).

Create a Workspace

The MagicQ has some default views that are a good starting point when you are in a hurry. You can see these by holding CRTL and selecting a programmed view from the top softbuttons such as Pallettes or Output. The empty slots on the right are where we are going to create a custom view to use with this tutorial. We basically set up a view we like, then store it. We want:

• Groups – for fixture selection
• Programmer – to see what’s going on in the programmer.
• Output – a view that let’s us see what’s happening on stage. In reality, you might decide that having a full rig in front of you is enough

Close all windows with SHIFT + CLOSE. Open the minimised GROUPS window and make sure it is in the top left quarter. You can drag it about but I just keep hitting SIZE until it’s in the right place. Next open the PROGRAMMER [PROG] window and size it until it’s sitting in the top right quarter.

Finally, open the OUTPUT Window and size it until it fills the bottom half of the touchscreen area. Make sure that softbuttons View Plan, View Colour and View Grid are selected. Save this view to a softbutton by pressing RECORD [REC] (bottom right), typing in a name like Custom Prog, holding CTRL and selecting an empty slot at the top of the screen area. If it’s worked you should be able to recall CTRL + Palettes (to see the groups and palettes windows) then toggle back to your custom view in the same way. My view looks like this:

Set up a Grid

Next, we are going to help ourselves to see what’s going on by creating a basic visualisation tool using a MagicQ grid. Grids are useful tools for things like pixel mapping but can also be used to create a virtual plan that we can select and view our fixtures on.

With the Outputs window active (top bar is dark blue) select Set Grid Size (top) and type in 25/15. This sets a grid of 25 squares wide by 15 high in the OUTPUT window to place our fixtures onto. What we are going to do now is to place individual fixtures into our grid so that they represent a rough layout of the stage. It doesn’t need to be completely accurate, just clear.

In the OUTPUT window, select View Head Nos for now. Select the Group All FOH Pars and on the grid, click a position for our Channel 1 somewhere downstage and to the left of centre to represent where this bar of six lives. Hit the Insert Heads H softbutton (top right when the OUTPUT Window is active). This puts channels 1-6 in a nice line just like our bar of six but we have two bars mirror split so we want to represent them as well.

Going back to the GROUPS window, we still have the FOH Pars (Channels 1-6) selected. The top right encoder has the option Selection – Normal, indicating that the group selection is the order in which the group was created, in this case numerical 1- 6 . Clicking in the area next to the encoder, we can select Reversed which give us 6-1. Choosing a starting point for out mirrored bar of PARs on the OUTPUT grid, Insert Heads H adds the reversed selection to the grid and creates out second FOH bar.

With a group selected, toggling the Selection Order button also brings up the Into Centre and Centre Out options that are a shortcut to creating selections when programming. The changes in the selection order are reflected in the top bar of the Groups window which displays the fixture number of the current selection.

Create the other PARS on the grid using the GROUP selection, Normal/Reverse selection and Insert Heads H. Inserting the Source 4s and blinders as a group, they take up consecutive positions on the grid. To make them represent the rig more closely, space them out by moving them into different slots on the grid with MOVE [MVE], click on fixture, click on destination slot.

Full grid Once you have got all your fixtures laid into the grid, choosing View Colours (top) shows a layout of gels like the image above. De-select View Grid (top) to remove all the unused squares and try out your new plan by selecting All Blue from the Group window and toggling the Selected Heads next to the bottom right encoder to 100%. You will notice that the relevant squares on the grid turn blue and wheeling down the encoder, the height of the level “graph” diminishes to represent the lowering of the intensity. Great, now we can see what would be happening on stage.

You will also see in the PROGRAMMER window that data has entered the programmer, ready to be saved to a memory. Hitting CLEAR removes the data from the programmer and the output from the stage. As we are at a good point, let’s save the show again but opening the SETUP window and choosing Save Show. You can either create a new show file by giving it a unique name or simply overwrite the existing show by just pressing Enter at the prompt.

Recap

So far, we have learned:

• To navigate our way around the MagicQ and change settings via the SETUP window.
• To start a clean show and configure an output.
• To enter data via the Command Line and the spreadsheet views.
• To add conventional dimmers and make changes to the patch in the PATCH window.
• To label up fixtures with rig position and colour information and use it to automatically create selection groups.
• To create a custom workspace and name it for instant recall using CTRL + a view softbutton.
• To REMOVE and MOVE data around the MagicQ.
• To create a custom grid and insert fixtures into it, to be used as a visual aid.
• To select fixtures using GROUP and change the selection order using the inbuilt tools.

Next up, we will move onto controlling our dimmers and using the many tools on the MagicQ to create looks, chases and effects to be used in our show. As you are probably busting to record something onto a fader, here’s the quick start version as a sneak preview. Select your group All Blue and bring it to 100% using the encoder. Check that programmer has 4 channels of L119 @ 100% (BTW, the number of fixtures in this group is shown by the (4) on the GROUP slot) then press RECORD [REC]. Immediately after RECORD, type in the name of your look while watching it appear in the Command Line – BLUE WASH then hit the S button above a fader. CLEAR the programmer and you have recorded a memory. Check it out by raising and lowering the fader. See you next time.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

You May Also Like:

• Cham Sys MagicQ PC Introduction
• ChamSys MagicQ PC – Free Lighting Control Software

This article gives you a peek at the tips and tools you need to become a better Pearl operator once you have got the hang of recording a memory.

It has been said in the UK that if you can’t use an Avolites Pearl, you’re not a real lampie. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but the well loved Avo desk seems to inhabit more FOH control positions than any other. The Pearl is known for it’s versatility and good “hands on” interface with faders, buttons plus the world famous Rolacue – all ready to be played like a Steinway. The launch of the Pearl Tiger at PLASA2007 brought the “Avolites way” within reach of smaller shows and budgets.

The user manuals for the Pearl / Pearl Tiger are well written and those who attend the official Avolites training give it the thumbs up. While many people can use a Pearl, a lot of the best features of the desk can seem hidden in the quirky Avo system. Particularly if, like me, you are not the kind of person who likes to learn by reading User Manuals but prefers the “push buttons until it breaks” school of personal advancement.

The following tips/hacks/ideas will help you to find the most powerful features and speed up your programming “agility” – and ability, for that matter.

The Avolites Pearl 2000/ 2004 / 2008 / 2010 / 2012 Olympic Limited Edition (ok, not that one) share their operating software with the Pearl Tiger, so everything listed here works with the Tiger too. A lot of the concepts are also common to the larger desks including the Pearl Expert and Diamond4 (though the interface of the D4 is a bit different).

These tips skip over the whole “select fixtures”, “change attributes” and “how to record a memory”. Make sure that you can patch up some heads, bosh a look onto a submaster, hit CLEAR and play it back. The basics are already covered well enough by the User Manual – we’ll assume you know them. I would hesitate to call this a full Advanced Pearl Programming Tutorial but more of a heads up on what the desk has to offer to to advance your skills as a Pearl operator.

If you don’t have a Pearl in front of you, download the free Pearl 2004 simulator from the Avolites website.

Recording By Fixture or By Channel

In Concert Lighting Programming in 30 minutes, we talked about the benefits of recording “building blocks” By Channel (attributes such as P/T, colour etc) rather than saving whole fixture information into a cue. You might know that you can toggle the record mode on the the Pearl By Fixture or By Channel in the User Settings screen (hold down the AVO key and select “User Settings” softkey by the screen).

What you might not have noticed is that you can also toggle this while recording a memory. Having set up your look, hit the MEMORY button but before selecting a playback notice that the top softbutton B says Record Mode = . This button toggles the recording mode while you are working which is useful if you are recording different types of memory or using By Channel to edit existing ones.

If you usually prefer By Fixture and select By Channel for only 1 save, switch back before you continue to avoid nasty surprises later on. This can be done quickly after saving the cue by hitting MEMORY again, toggling the record mode and the EXITing out before actually recording anything. Record mode retains the state in which it was last set.

Being able to selectively record attributes can help with editing, not just recording and playback. Say you are “live” in show and need to make a change to the position of a moving head ( for the sake of argument, you haven’t recorded this position as a palette). Hit CLEAR (always hit CLEAR on the Pearl to start!). Changing the P/T and merging (MEMORY – SUBMASTER- Merge Memory) the data in By Fixture mode overwrites the position data for that head (albeit with the same values).

Knowing that you have another memory that needs the same positional alteration, but with different colour values, you can “overwrite” just the P/T data in the 2nd cue by recording By Channel. This adds only the Pan and Tilt information in the Programmer, leaving the rest of the cue untouched. You can keep adding these programmer values to any subs that you need to before hitting CLEAR (quick, there’s a cue coming up) and restoring full show control.

Creating a chase on the Pearl, you can mix up each step with By Fixture or By Channel data. Set up your first step – CHASE – Select Playback Swop – Set Fixture/Channel (soft A) – Hit Swop to record step. Repeat each step, toggling By Channel/Fixture as you like.

The can be useful when creating a one-shot chase for some fancy changes. If the first step should just change position of the previous look but the next step needs to set a whole new look, the first step can just be By Channel P/T information. Step 2, the “whole fixtures” step, makes damn sure that you get what you asked for (sometimes referred to as a Block cue). This kind of consideration is important outside of a theatre stack style, where every cue comes in a known sequence.

Groups

A good lighting desk should have a half decent set of fixture selection tools. The Pearl supports fixture Groups and a couple of other tools such as Odd and Even selection. New Avolites users often use the fixture buttons (blue Preset Swop) to call up fixtures. Using Groups speeds up the process and gives your fingers time to do other things while hovering in the same area of the console, particularly when using multiple pages of fixtures. If you have 60 faders of dimmers on Page 0, you don’t want to be having to go back and forth across 4 pages of presets just to select other fixtures by reaching across the faders.

The latest versions of the Pearl / Tiger software have fancy ways of naming and recalling groups using the VDU and softbuttons. I still just record groups using an easy numbering system and call them up from the keypad. 1 – Recall Group (softbutton A) = All Spots is two button presses. 11 – Recall Group = Randomised All Spots is three. All within a few inches of each other, not too far from “where all the action is” on the console. Economy of hand movement is something to learn from the real “Command Line” theatre programmers.

Next / Previous Fixture and Highlight

Having selected our Spots with 2 keystrokes, we might want to navigate around that group adjusting parameters. Having done a load of “group wide” changes (colour, gobo, rough position etc.) we want to tweak them all individually using the Next and Previous fixture selection buttons. On the Pearl, these are to the right of red Go button – nice and near the encoder wheels.

To make the Next/Previous buttons work, Fixture Control needs to be set. Hold down AVO, select User Settings and toggle B (it either says Fixture Control or Chase Control enabled). Exiting back out, we can select a group and bosh through each fixture in turn, adjusting them as we go. The selection order is the one you used when you recorded the group. The ALL button reselects all the fixtures once again.

HIGHLIGHT toggles the function which dowses (blacks out) all the other fixtures in the group apart from the currently selected one. This is really useful when you are trying to find and adjust one fixture in a large group and is a trick of all moving light programmers not just Pearl users. Select the group, HIGHLIGHT, NEXT, keep pressing and watch the stage until your “number comes up”. Having found it, either adjust or toggle HIGHLIGHT again to see all the other fixtures too while you get the focus looking better. Happy? Hit ALL again and carry on with the group.

Align Fixtures

The Align function on the Pearl sets attributes on selected fixtures to the same values as a “master” fixture. We’ve got a Spot in steel blue, the rest are in pink. To “align” the values select the blue (master) washlight, followed by the other fixtures. Hit ML MENU, set the attribute buttons (on the far right) to Colour and press Align Colour. Changing the attribute buttons throws up the other options, Align P/T, Align Gobo etc. The Align Fixtures option aligns all parameters.

So, the Align function helps us to get our ducks in a row. Using colour mixing fixtures, you get the option to align each colour flag (e.g CM or Y) separately.

Just remember that the group will align to the first fixture you select. Using group selections to align parameters only works if the first fixture in the group is to be the “master”.

Removing Fixtures from the Programmer

To get rid of whole fixtures from the programmer prior to recording, you can select them, hit ML MENU twice – “Remove Selected Fix. From Programmer”. This is useful if you realise that you actually only want to record some of your programmer, putting the other fixtures onto a different playback later.

You could also use this to Record Remove (get rid of unwanted fixtures in a memory). INCLUDE –DIMMER attrib. – Submaster Swop (this dumps the entire contents of the cue into the programmer). MEMORY – Submaster Swop (Overwrite Memory) – this overwrites the cue minus the removed fixtures. There is an even better way of doing this though – see Off later on.

Include – Pulling values into the programmer

Extracting values you have already recorded and dumping into the programmer is a quick way to build looks based on programming work you have already done. A time saver.

Avolites desks including the Pearl / Pearl Tiger call this Include. You “include” parts of a memory in your programming. Confusion that can arise in the idea that you are “including” a chunk of information that is updated back at the original memory, like a file “include” in web development. It’s not like that. You simply cut and paste the values/palettes into the programmer.

The Pearl gives you the option to Include individual attributes using the selection buttons on the right. INCLUDE – Pan/Tilt attrib. – Submaster Swop 1 : This pulls only the positional information from Submaster 1 and puts it into the Programmer. To use all attributes: INCLUDE – Dimmer attrib. – Sub Swop.

This is another example of how the Pearl gives you some a powerful programming tools in a simple format. Include can be used in lots of way to copy programming, adjust it and save it away somewhere else. The Include function on the Pearl has one more trick up it’s sleeve.

So far, we have cut/paste attributes and fixtures from an entire memory – All Colour, All Position etc. With a Group or individual fixtures selected : INCLUDE – Gobo attrib. – Sub Swop 1 throws up an extra option. On the Pearl blue screen, “Recall only for selected fixtures?”.

Hitting ENTER (Yes) takes our Gobo data from only the selected fixtures.

Choosing EXIT (No) extracts all the Gobo values from the Submaster – Good if you wanted to include the whole cue, but forgot that you had some fixtures selected.

So, you can choose which fixtures and which attributes you extract.

Off – Getting rid of programming

Professional lighting consoles have a function for easily removing data from a cue. Often called Record Remove, it allows the operator to select fixtures, attributes and then use a Record command to delete them. It might be just an attribute (eg. Prism) or might be whole fixtures that you no longer want in the memory.

The Pearl does have a Record Remove function called Off and again it has quite a few uses.

Using Off to Record Remove on the Pearl

To delete whole fixtures from a cue, hit CLEAR, select the fixtures or group – OFF – “Switch Off Selected Fixtures” (A). That sets up Remove for those fixtures. Apply that to the cue with MEMORY – Submaster Swop – “Memory Merge”. While you have that Off command in the Programmer, you can also use it to do the same to other cues, by “saving” it to them too.

To selectively remove attributes such as just Colour or Tilt, you can choose the parameters using the attribute buttons again. CLEAR – Select Fixtures – OFF – Pan/Tilt attrib. – “Switch Off Tilt” – MEMORY – Sub Swop – “Memory Merge”. This removes the Tilt information of those fixtures from a cue altogether.

Don’t forget that by “remove” we don’t mean setting to 0 or default but leaving no trace of Tilt information in that memory. When that cue starts, the tilt of those fixtures will remain unchanged.

Using the Off function we can split up parameters to save them onto different faders, creating even more versatile “building blocks”. Taking a shape memory with Pan / Tilt values and creating two faders – one Pan only shape, one Tilt only shape that can be “mixed together live in different quantities.

To recap, we’ve selected the fixtures, chosen the parameters and “anti-saved” them to the cue with a “Go Away” instruction.

Pearl Op’s are doin’ it for themselves!

We’ve looked at some features of the Avolites Pearl / Tiger that aid creativity and save programming time. Fixture selection, groups and navigation are essential to be able handle large lighting rigs efficiently. Aligning parameters and using existing programming to build new cues avoid wasting creative time with work already done. The Off function can tidy up cues or be used as a tool to create extremely versatile playback situations.

The key to using these features on the Pearl is to experiment and see them work before understanding how they can help your particular style as an operator. As one of the many LX ops who still uses a Pearl at least once a week, I know that we all use these functions regularly in different ways. Working along with other Pearl Operators, every day’s a school day.

Manufacturers like Avolites just give us the tools. The rest is up to us.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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In the first of our long awaited series of tutorials, On Stage Lighting has a beginner’s guide to the MagicQ on PC. A sightseeing tour rather than a how-to, this article looks at the interface and concepts of the Cham Sys lighting desk.

New: A pdf version of this guide is available for you to download and print – MagicQ Introduction PDF

A note about the MagicQ:

On Stage Lighting often recommends the use of the Cham Sys MagicQ to people looking for a cheap PC DMX lighting controller and apprentice programmers interested in moving light control training. Although I do have a passing connection with Cham Sys, my enthusiasm comes from the fact that I think that the MagicQ is a good lighting desk. The PC software is also freely available, cheap to cheap to use with a DMX USB device and is a good desk to learn. Disclaimer over.

Although the user interface (UI) on PC can seem a bit at odds with genuine PC based lighting control, it’s a real lighting console that shares many concepts and workflows with other consoles. The Grand MA and Whole Hog III desks are, at the time of writing, popular moving light consoles. Learning the MagicQ is time well spent when want to learn these other desks.

Get The MagicQ PC Software

The PC version software is available from the Cham Sys website for PC , Mac and Linux.
You have to enter an email to get a download link but Cham Sys don’t send you endless newsletters or sell your email address to spammers.

To look around the different areas of the MagicQ PC sofware it’s a good idea to load up one of the demo shows available with the download. This gives you instant “stuff to look at” without having to patch up, record looks etc. If you don’t already have a demo show running, you can hit the SETUP button followed by the Load Show softkey at the top of the screen. Confirm the overwrite and select demo.shw Once the show has loaded, you can close the Setup window using the CLOSE hardbutton or get a different view by holding your PC Ctrl key and selecting a view button, such as Palettes, in the top right hand corner of the main screen.

Desk Playback

Let’s start with the playback side of the MagicQ, a pretty important part of any lighting console. Most large consoles provide a range of playback options to suit different shows and the MagicQ is no exception.

• The 10 Playback faders can hold cue stacks, chases, effects or be used as scene “submasters”. Each playback has a Go and Pause button and can be connected to the Main Go button, to enable theatre stack style playback. Raising the fader can also make the cue “GO”.
• The “S” button is used for storing and selecting on that playback and the 10 playbacks are expanded by using a familiar page system that holds playbacks over on changing pages.
• Playback outputting is organised in a number of ways : Tracking, Non-Tracking and Normal are some of the global options. Normal mode is a good starting point.

So, the faders can trigger moving lights, fade intensities or can be set to control speeds of chases and effects. The range of playback options available mean that you can choose how you record and play your show whether it’s a theatre play, a club or a concert. When first learning moving light control on MagicQ PC, it is good start with a simple system such as recording each look onto a playback fader or running a single cue stack.

Programming

The MagicQ uses a programmer based recording system. Values are entered into the programmer, over-riding current output values, and are dumped into their destination playback. The contents of the Programmer are wiped using the CLR button (hiding down on the right in the standard PC view) and a new look is built. For more information see our article on using programmer based controllers.

The Main Screen

The MagicQ desk uses a colour touchscreen with additional hardware buttons, patched to contextual softbutton control. The MagicQ PC screen replicates the touchscreen minus the hard buttons round the screen area. The large yellow squares around the edge provide softbuttons that change as you enter different screens. The screen layouts are customisable and provide the flexible interface for the console.

• The top softbuttons relate to the current window.
  The bottom softbuttons show the names of scenes stored on the playback faders plus other Playback information.
• The softbuttons on either side of the “screen” label the encoders (wheels) used for moving light control. They also provide toggles for encoder functions – for example the Dimmer wheel: it’s softbutton toggles 0%, 50% and Full. These softbuttons are divided by a tiny dash that splits the toggle into a Up/Down selector for multiple option lists.
• On the MagicQ PC, the encoders are marked by small semicircular icons around the main screen. These can be used to click the encoder values up and down but are the weakest point of the PC only interface. I’m surprised that Cham Sys haven’t implemented mouse scroll wheel control for the virtual encoders (well, I can’t get it to work on my current version of the MagicQ PC.)
• At the bottom of the main screen, there is a small line of desk information including the command line, a method of entering data common to some other lighting consoles. This displays programming and other data as you enter it, as well as giving you useful prompts on what to do next.

Hardware Buttons

The hardware buttons on the MagicQ are grouped according to function. Here’s a quick tour around the button groups, starting at the top right.

• Norm, Touch, Red, Maxi – These buttons don’t exist on the real world console as they control the layout of the PC version. Normal looks most similar to the MagicQ100 with other layouts optimised for other uses including a tablet PC.
• Six buttons are provided to adjust the screen windows. Changing the size and position of different windows within the Main Screen, it is possible for the use to customise their programming environment. These can be saved for recall later – pressing CTRL on the PC turns the top screen softbuttons into selectors for the preset screen layouts such as Palettes, Output etc.
• The next group of 12 buttons bring up windows where you can view and change information such as Patch, Desk Setup etc.
• Up next we have 12 more window open buttons, these relate more closely to programming and can be used in command line syntax. For instance, hitting the Group button opens the group selection window while Group followed by 1 selects Group 1 ready for use.
• Prev Head, Next Head and the other buttons in this group relate to the selection of fixtures ready for control. Highlight and Locate plus other Odd/Even choices can be made here.
• The final group are mainly recording and management buttons, with a few other functions thrown in. The two most important are REC for dumping information from the programmer to a destination and CLR, which empties the programmer. The Clear button displays a small red LED square when there is information in the programmer.

Selection Grids

The MagicQ often displays selection grids on it’s main screen. These squares are softbuttons that hold the button label and can be used for selection. The grids display Fixtures, Groups, Palettes and other selectable stuff. Using MagicQ PC without a touchscreen, the mouse is used to click on the square.

Spreadsheets

Using spreadsheet style layouts to display information, the MagicQ also allows you to change data via the spreadsheet. Selecting mulitple fields and entering new values can help with patching, cue editing etc. and provides another powerful way of getting around.

Text Input

Changing values and labelling is an important part of console housekeeping. On the PC, these can be entered using the PC keyboard but a “virtual” QWERTY or numeric keypad will pop up for text entry. It’s worth knowing that some labelling jobs can be done quickly “on the fly” while storing Groups, Palettes and Memories. It’s also possible to adjust labels but pressing the SET hardbutton and selecting the window item to be changed.

While we are talking about the PC keyboard, there are different options to use keyboard shortcuts when using the MagicQ PC. There’s a tutorial coming up dedicated to these shortcuts.

The Intensity Window

The MagicQ has many similar windows that allow selection and adjustment. The exception, in looks at least, is the Intensity Window. Accessed using the INT hardbutton, the Intensity Window provides dimmer control of all patched fixtures and dimmers using virtual faders. On the PC you can use the mouse to select dimmer/fixture channels or fade them up and down using the sliders. With the Demo show loaded, you will notice that the intensity faders are also named and coloured up according to their gels – neat, huh?

Back on the Bus please,

So, we’ve had a nose around the main interface of the MagicQ. While you have got the demo show loaded up, it’s worth looking around the different screens and options and press a few buttons (let’s face it – this is how most of us learn new software, anyway) . Given a bit of a kick start from our tour, it should be fairly easy to find your way around . The next stage is learning how to use all these windows and softbuttons to create and run your show. Luckily, On Stage Lighting will be producing a whole series of tutorials on using the MagicQ with both the basics and more complex features. Don’t forget to make sure your receive our updates via RSS feed or email.

Take a look at the rest of our MagicQ and other tutorials here.

See you next time.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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