With the grandMA, MA Lighting started a new era of highly developed lighting and visual control console platforms. On the one hand, these consoles can be used for stand-alone lighting control, on the other, they can work via Ethernet (MA-Net) as an integrated MA system network.
With the introduction of the grandMA2, MA Lighting took the next logical step. Offering vastly more powerful software and hardware, this series is again setting standards for the years to come.
The grandMA2 hardware may also be used with full compatibility and functionality of the series1 software.
For using the grandMA2 in compatibility mode, please refer to the latest grandMA series1 manual.
Manufacturer's name | MA Lighting Technology GmbH |
Manufacturer's address | Dachdeckerstr. 16 D-97297 Waldbuettelbrunn Germany |
declares that the products.
Product category | Control unit |
Name of product | grandMA2 full-size , grandMA2 light, grandMA2 ultra-light, grandMA2 wing |
. | . |
:
Safety | EN60065, EN60950-1 |
EMV (EMC) | 2014/30/EG; EN55103-1:2009 (E1), EN55103-2:2009 (E2) |
ROHS (II) | 2011 / 65 / EU |
Dipl. Ing. Michael Adenau
The grandMA2 Help system will eventually be available on the console by pressing .
These pages are also available online at https://help.malighting.com/
With each software-release, the latest version of the online pages is included in the console, however as the online version is constantly updated, expanded and refined, based on user feedback from the grandMA2-forum and experiences from the software-team, the online-version may be slightly different from what you find inside your console.
This section aims to give you a conceptual understanding of the philosophy behind the console, without digging deep into every little detail. With a conceptual understanding, you will have the knowledge needed to understand the technical information and facts found in the reference section.
This section is intended for look-up and reference, to expand the basic knowledge gained by the concept section
This section contains step-by-step instruction for common tasks and procedures.
1. Screen 4 (full-size)
2. Screen 3 (light & full-size)
3. Screen 2
4. View Buttons
5. Power Key
6. Menu Keys
7. Attribute Encoders
8. Grand Master
9. Dimmer Wheel
10. Trackball
11. Command Area
12. Keyboard (inside)
13. X-Buttons
14. Screen 1 Command Screen
15. Main Executor
16. Button Executors
17. Fader Executors
18. Screen Encoders
A fixtures's parameter for adjusting its intensity, would be the Attribute "Dimmer", of the Feature "Dimmer" of the Preset-type "Dimmer"
The top row of the Encoder Toolbar will display one button for each Preset-type existing in your Showfile. Pressing this button puts the attributes of the first feature, on your encoders. If the Preset-type contains multiple features, or more than 4 attributes per feature, these amy be accessed via the leftmost button in the second row.
The most obvious is the level wheel next to the numeric keypad, which is always linked to the dimmer attribute, and the Trackball which is linked to Pan&Tilt, unless it is in Mouse-mode.
Additionally some features like Colormix and Shapers have graphical tools on the multitouch commandscreen.
The grandMA2 is a versatile control system, there are no predefined limitation of what type of fixtures it does control, e.g. "this desk controls 200 dimmers and 48 moving lights". With grandMA2 all fixtures to be controlled are defined in
, by the user.Every fixture needs an identifier (ID) . grandMA2 has two different types/ranges of such, Channel ID & Fixture ID.
By the use of reserved words, keywords, and numerical identifiers, the operator may command the desk to perform any task, e.g. Delete Effect 3 or Goto Cue 5. Every commandline has to be completed with the magic word Please, so the exact buttons to push for these examples would be and .
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Please is the button that sends the commandline to the console. Add to any commandline examples in these pages. |
Most commonly used keywords have a dedicated labeled key, while others may be accessed by a second (or third) press of the key. Some keywords may only be available from onscreen buttons, while all keywords may be typed manually with the keyboard.
You may always see what is currently being typed into the commandline, by looking at the teal-colored Commandline Input field displayed on both the command screen and the right monitor-wing screen:
Like in any language, words may be classified into different groups (i.e. verbs and nouns), and there are rules on how words may be combined, to form understandable expressions.
Object keywords may be compared to nouns in human languages.
Functional keywords may be compared to verbs in human languages.
Helping keywords may be compared to prepositions and conjunctions in human languages
Store Cue 3 may be typed as , as Cue is the default object-type for the function Store
Go+Macro 5 may be typed as , as Go+ is the default function for the object-type Macro
Store Cue 3 may via the keyboard be typed as st cu 3
Macro 10 may via the keyboard be typed as ma 10
typing just will generate Channel 9, as Channel is currently the default keyword/object of the commandline.
You may change this default keyword at any time, by entering the keyword and then press please.
When you edit the command in a macro or if you are adding or editing a command in a cue you'll get a pop-up that overwrites the command line input. When a pop-up like this overwrites the normal commandline, it gets a red background like this:
You will see that what you type or what hardkeys you press go to the red background colored command line and into the pop-up. When you press Please the pop-up will close and the commandline will empty and go back to the original color.
Pressing an executor buttons will take the action from the button directly into the pop-up and return the commandline to normal mode.
Fixture parameters adjusted to different values, together form "looks" on stage, which may be memorized by the console as Cues.
Cues are organized in Sequences, and are played back by Executors. - A simple analogy would be that your Cue is a song/track, the Sequence is an Album/CD, and your Executor is your CD/DVD player.
This means that you cannot have a Cue without a Sequence, and you cannot use your Cue/Sequence without assigning it to an Executor. Sounds complicated, but this process is automated. If you press then any button of an empty Executor, the console will automatically create a new sequence, assign the sequence to your executor, and add first cue, Cue 1.
In addition to contain values for each included parameter, a Cue also includes properties for when and how to recall the cue, like Trigger source/time, Fade and Delay times etc.
A cue may further be divided into Parts , to apply different timing to groups of fixtures or parameters.
The output-value of any attributes may be dynamically generated by applying two values (low and high) and a wave-form/graph, where the bottom of the graph represents the low value, the top of the graph represents the high value, and the transition between these two values is defined by the shape of the graph:
With the means of these three parameters, the output-value will start oscillating at the given rate:
Furthermore by aligning the phase , where to start on the curve, you may achieve a continuous flow:
Effect-values may be manipulated by selecting the corresponding Effect-layer via the Layer select buttons above your encoders:
The most obvious use for an executor is to assign a sequence of cues for playback, however executors may also be used as handles for other objects, e.g. a physical button of a specific macro or a speedfader for a group of chasers.
Executors are arranged in Pages. This enables you to easy get a new set of executors merely by changing page.
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Changing page will not load new content into your physical Executors, like on some other consoles. Changing page just instructs the console to display another set of Executors on your physical hardware. This enables you to have executors from multiple pages active and running at once. |
There are two types of executors, Fader Executors and Button Executors.
Typical button functions could be Go, Pause or Flash, while fader function could be Master (intensity), Speed or Crossfade.
Commonly used combinations of fixtures may be stored as Groups.
To create a group, select the desired fixtures, e.g. Channel 1 Thru 5 - 4 then enter Store Group 3 .
Channel 1, 2 3 and 5, may now be selected by just entering Group 3 .
Multiple Groups may be combined in one commandline, also with the Channel and Fixture keyword. i.e. Group 1 Thru 4 - Channel 3 + Fixture 7
Groups are merely shortcuts for selecting fixtures:
Group 5 At 50 , Store Cue 3 will set the fixtures in Group 5 to 50%, not Group 5 to 50, so any later changes to Group 5 will not be reflected in Cue 3.
Your groups are displayed in the Group Pool Window.
With the Group Pool window, you can select groups merely by pressing the tile in the pool, - and create groups, by pressing in advance.
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Groups remember the order of the selection. Fixture 1 + 2 is not the same as Fixture 2 + 1. The order of a selection is important when applying effects and value-ranges, which will be distributed along the selection. |
If you are labeling a pool-object (i.e a group), and the pool and the object has focus (white square around the object), you can enter a new label just by start typing with the keyboard.
This direct labeling of object with focus, enables you to enter the name directly after selecting or storing via pool-windows.
Direct labeling also work in the Cue-lists when focus is on the cue-name.
Sets group "pars"to 50%. If the name includes white-space or reserved words (keywords), the name must be enclosed in quotes Group "All Macs" At 50 .
The idea of Presets is to store a labeled reference in a cue, rather than the actual value itself.
After positioning Fixture 1 thru 3 at the Piano, rather than storing the actual pan&tilt attributevalues into the cue, these values are stored as Preset "Piano" and the Cue only contains that fixture 1 thru 3 should point at "Piano".
The advantage of this concept is that if the piano (or fixtures) is moved, you only have to update the Preset "Piano" even if you have used the fixtures at this position in multiple cues. Another surplus is that in your fixturesheet you may see that pan and tilt is at Piano, and not just a numeric value or deflection in degrees.
Presets are divided into different types, each by default collecting related attributes. e.g. Pan, Tilt belong to the Preset-type Position, while ColorWheel and CMY belong to the Preset-type Color etc.
The current selection of fixtures, and the values of any manually adjusted attributes resides in the Programmer
Parameters gets automatically activated when you adjust them in the programmer. For convenience the console will also activate related parameters, so if you adjust the attribute Pan, then Tilt will also be included.
With the layer select buttons centrally located above your encoders, you may choose which layers you are working on.
The Value layers consist of 3 layers
The Effect layers consist of 11 layers
These layers define a dynamic value for the parameter. Learn more about what each layer does via the concept and tutorial pages for Effects
Selecting may be done with the commandline by i.e. pressing Fixture 5 Please . Multiple fixtures may be selected in one go by using the helping keywords +, - and Thru, e.g. Channel 2 Thru 10 - 4
To see your current selection onscreen, you need a Channel Sheet and/or Fixture Sheet window. Selected fixtures will have their name and number (ID) displayed with yellow text.
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If the sheets are too small to display all fixtures, enable Fixture Sort in the top right corner, to move the selected fixtures to the top of the list |
The multiple screens on the grandMA are used both to display informational data to the user and also via their touch functionally, to produce input to the console.
The grey areas with light grey dots are the areas where userdefinded windows may be arranged.
The bottom section of this screen contains label and softbuttons for the X-keys. The X-keys can control Button Executors, (List) or Views/Macros (User1 + 2). Additionally these act as hardkeys for options in pop-ups, menus and dialogs.
The bottom section of this screen contains the Encoder Toolbar which gives access to fixture attributes and object properties. In the bottom left corner is the Executor-label for the currently selected (Main) executor. Along the right hand side is 10 View-buttons for easy recall of different user defined Window-arrangements
The bottom section of this screen contains the labels for the Fader and Button Executors. Along the right hand side is 10 View-buttons for easy recall of different user defined Window-combinations.
Rather than taking a complete snapshot from stage for each cue, a tracking console will put just the values into a cue which differ from the previous look. This follows the way a designer would think about his cues as well as it saves console's processing power and memory.
Quite simply, tracking is the idea that once a parameter is set to a level, it stays there until it is told to go somewhere else.
e.g.
The actual content of Cue 2 is just to turn on the frontlight, - Cue 2 does not contain any data for the backdrop. However, when playing back Cue 2, the blue backdrop will stay on, and the result, the state of Cue 2, becomes guitarplayer with a blue background. The blue background is tracking to the next cue.
To get started, you may load a Demoshow with a simple set of Views with window arrangements , however to work efficiently with the console you should create your own views, optimized for your type of show, amount of fixtures, and your personal preferences regarding data-presentation
Windows are created by pressing an empty space on your screen, and choosing type of window, from the Create Window dialog.
Windows may be moved by dragging the headline, and resized by dragging the lower right corner. After filling your screen with multiple windows, it could look something like this:
Every window has a yellow ball in the upper left corner, which may be used to access the Window Option dialog. Within the options dialog, you may select how the data is presented, fontsize, readout, special filters, toolbars etc.
Here is two examples of the same Window, Fixture Sheet , but with different options:
The process of building your fixture schedule consist of importing FixtureTypes from the Library, and adding quantities of these types into your showfile.
The Fixture Schedule may be segmented into multiple Layers, to simplify navigation within setups with large amount of fixtures and or different fixture-types.
Generic fixture-types like ordinary dimmer channels, simple RGB LEDs, scrollers etc may be found via the manufacturer "Generic"
Altering fixture types must be done in the Fixture Schedule, and any changes first takes place when you exit. If in a session, the new schedule will be uploaded to all other stations
Altering ID's must be done in the Fixture Schedule, and any changes first takes place when you exit. If in a session, the new schedule will be uploaded to all other stations.
The grandMA2 supports patching to 256 different universes, and address & universe are given in the format universe.start_address e.g. 1.1 = first address of first universe, 256.512 = last address of last universe.
The DMX-patch does not have to be edited within the Fixture Schedule. The patch may be altered at any-time via the Fixture Sheet or Commandline.
Fixture positions does not have to be edited within the Fixture Schedule. The positions may be altered at any-time via the Stage Window.
Click on any of the sub topics for more info about the Extended Operations.
The Agenda is primary intended for architectural installation, however you can also use it to remind you to take coffee breaks or other reminders.
Ordinary pixelmapping has been limited to overlay a two-dimentional image, with a two-dimentional representation of your fixtures, and map corresponding pixels to fixtures. However, in real life your fixtures are not necessarily located in one flat plane, and your audience does not necessarily have a direct 90 degrees viewing angle of your "plane" with fixtures.
grandMA series2 has taken pixelmapping to the next level:
Every fixture's position in 3D space may be considered a pixel of a virtual 3-dimensional canvas/screen.
Onto this screen (or a selection of it) you can from any angle/position virtually "project" an image, and animate its position rotation and size.
A Chaser is a sequence that run in a loop. It disregards the timing in the sequence and uses the speed setting to run through all the cues. Cue cues are referred to as steps. Each cue is a step in the chaser.
As mentioned above all timing information in the sequence is ignored and all loop information is also not used. Commands are executed and the Command Delay is the one timing from the sequence that's actually used.
You can set a direction in a chase. There are four different directions. "Forward" and "Backward" is self explanatory. A different option is "Bounce". With this it will run through the steps to the end and then run backwards to the first step then change direction again and run forward to the last step and continue bouncing between the first and last step. The last option is "Random". This will run the steps in a random pattern.
But a chase can also run backwards using the GoBack command or . So if you have a chaser that uses the direction "Backward" and you start it using GoBack it will actually run forward. You can change this in the Edit Chase pop-up.
The speed controls the how fast the chaser loops. There are two other important time settings. The two other are called "Fade" and "MFade".
The Fade is used to set how much the chaser should fade between the steps. This is set as a percentage. If the percent is 0, then the chaser will snap between the steps. If its all the way up to 100%, then it will use all the time it can (restricted by the speed) to fade between the steps. The MFade is used when you want to fade in the first step and fade out when you stop the chase. This is set as a time value.
On the Chaser Encoder Toolbar you have four encoders. The first encoder (from the left) is the "Master" for the intensity. The second encoder is the "Speed". The next encoder is the "Fade". The last encoder is the "Off-Time".
Using the Chaser encoder toolbar is the best way to change these settings unless you have expanded your chaser to several faders and can assign the function to faders. You can also select the chaser executor and use the Special Masters to change the settings.
The Colordim parameters are used for LED fixtures. This allows you to create and use LED fixtures with many different colored LEDs.
If the fixture also have a dimmer attribute, then the colordim attributes can use and follow MIB.
If you use the Special Color Dialog with the Colordims it will only affect Red (Colordim 1), Green (Colordim 2) and Blue (Colordim 3).
This is the list of Colordim colors.
This can be achieved with the ChangeDest keyword.
If the destination is not the root, the Commandline input field will display the destination as a prefix of the commandline. To open the Commandline Feedback window, tap the yellow ball in the commandline.
In the situation above, Store 1 creates FixtureType 1, rather than the usual Cue 1.
When the commandline is directed to a specific destination, you can still do normal operations, however shorthand entry no longer work, you need to enter the full syntax Store Cue 1 to create Cue 1
Well, I can tell you the difference between the two, but to make MA or you change your ways, is a bit out of the scope if this manual. The physical DMX512 output on all grandMA2 products is a 5 pin XLR connector. A connector like that will output one universe equal to 512 DMX channels. Okay, thats pretty standard knowledge.
So why are MA talking about parameters?
Well, lets have a look at the DMX history. Some years back the only thing controlled by DMX was dimmers. The standard was designed to make a smooth transition from 0 to 100% Because of the way the protocol works it was decided that 256 steps would do the trick.
A lot of water passed under the bridge and now DMX controls everything (well almost everything). Some things were just not happy with 256 steps (also known as 8-bit). Like Panning from 0 to 460 degrees in 256 steps gives you something close to 1,8 degrees per step. That really wasnt good enough. So someone thought of adding the values of one DMX channel to another. And then we had 16-bit equals 65.536 steps! That's much better for panning. But some products still needed more than that. And we have 24-bit and thats a stacking 16.777.216 steps!
MA is only thinking in parameters. If you think of a fixture with a 16-bit Pan, 16-bit Tilt and an 8-bit Dimmer. This is 5 DMX channels, but MA is only calculating this as three parameters (Pan, Tilt & Dim). The internal calculations of the parameters are higher than 8/16/24-bit (more like 32-bit), and they are then converted down to the amount of DMX channels a parameter uses.
Now how does this affect you and why should you care?
Lets imagine that you have bought a grandMA 2Port Node onPC. This acts like a hardware dongle for 512 parameters. This means that you can with an onPC control 512 parameters. Lets imagine that you only control dimmers. But you have 512 of them. When MA is only counting parameters, it doesnt matter if they are 8-bit, 16-bit or 24-bit dimmers.
If MA was counting in DMX channels, you could control 512 8-bit dimmers or 256 16-bit dimmers or 170 24-bit dimmers.
Is that fair? MA doesnt think so. Thats why they think in parameters and you should be a happy customer :-)
If you want to know more about parameter count and expansion, follow the link below.
Press this Key | Command | To do this |
---|---|---|
<<< | Go fast backward and ignore the cue timing | |
Black | Blackout an executor without timing | |
ToZero | Set the masterlevel of objects to zero | |
>>> | Go fast forward and ignore the cue timing | |
Flash | Flash an executor without timing | |
ToFull | Set the masterlevel of objects to full | |
Align "<" | Fan from first selected to | |
Align ">" | Fan from last selected to | |
Align "><" | Fan from the center of the selection | |
Align "<>" | Fan between first and last selected | |
Align Off | Switch off the fan function | |
Assign | e.g.: Assign Executor or Assign Flash Executor 1 | |
Label | Label the object | |
Appearance | Change the frame color for pool objects and cues | |
Assign Form | Form object | |
AT | Channel 1 at 100 or fixture 1 at fixture 2 | |
Normal | Set the selection to the AT Normal Value | |
(long press) | -- | AT Filter temporay View |
Blind | Switch on/off the live programmer to black | |
(long press) | BlindEdit | Switch on/off the second blind programmer |
ButtonPage - | Go to the previous Button Page | |
(long press) | ButtonPage 1 | Go to the first Button Page |
ButtonPage + | Go to the next Button Page | |
ChannelPage - | Go to the previous Channel Page | |
(long press) | ChannelPage 1 | to the first Channel Page |
ChannelPage + | Go to the next Channel Page | |
Channel | Channel object | |
Dmx | Dmx object | |
DmxUniverse | Dmx Universe object | |
ClearSelection, | Deselect all fixtures or channels in the programmer | |
(long press) | ClearAll | Release everything and clear the programmer |
ClearActive | Deactivate all values in the programmer | |
ClearAll | Release everything and clear the programmer | |
Copy | Copy source object at destination object | |
Clone | Clone source object at destination object | |
Cue | Cue object | |
Part | Part Cue object | |
Delete | e.g.: Delete Sequence or Delete Executor | |
Remove | Load a Remove in the programmer | |
Release | Load a Release in the programmer | |
dot | e.g.: Move Cue 1.1 AT 1.999 | |
Zero | Set the selection at dimmer value zero | |
-- | Page down in the window with the last focus | |
Edit | Load a cue in the programmer, e.g.: Edit Cue x Please | |
+ | -- | Load the next/previous cue in the programmer |
Effect | Effect object | |
(long press) | -- | Running Effects View |
Bitmap | Bitmap object | |
Executor | Executor object, e.g.: Executor 1 AT 100 Fade 5 | |
SpecialMaster | Special Master object, e.g.: Speed Master | |
FaderPage - | Go to the previous Fader Page | |
(long press) | FaderPage 1 | Go to the first Fader Page |
FaderPage + | Go to the next Fader Page | |
Fix | Fix an executor for all pages | |
Fixture | Fixture object | |
Selection | The actual programmer selection, e.g.: Park Selection Please | |
Full | Set selection to dimmer value 100% | |
-- | Loads the highlight values in the programmer | |
GoBack | e.g.: Go to the previous cue in the Sequence | |
Go | A Go to next cue in the Sequence with cue timing | |
Unpark | e.g.: Unpark Selection Please | |
PreviewExecutor | Step through a cuelist in preview mode | |
Goto | e.g.: Goto Executor Please or Goto Cue x (Executor x) Please | |
Load | e.g.: Load Executor Please or Load Cue x (Executor x) Please | |
Group | Group object | |
(long press) | -- | Groupmaster temporary View |
World | World Object, e.g.: World 1 Please selects the Full World | |
Filter | Call a filter or select a filter. | |
+ | e.g.: Help Fixture Please | Opens the Help View for the Fixture Keyword |
Help | Opens the Help View | |
CmdHelp | Displays all shortcuts in the command window | |
Highlight | Set the selection to the highlight values | |
(long press) | -- | The highlight values of the selection is flashing |
IfOutput | Select fixtures with dimmer value higher than 0% | |
IfActive | Select fixtures with active values in the programmer | |
IfProg | Select fixtures with active or deactive values in the programmer | |
If | e.g.: Group x If Group y selects fixtures which exists in both groups | |
Learn | Learn Speed for an Chaser or Effect | |
Rate1 | e.g.: Rate1 Executor 1 set the Rate back to 1:1 of an executor | |
-- | Switch the x-keys to button executors | |
(long press) | -- | A temporary View of View Page 1 thru 10 at the V1 thru V10 hard keys |
+ | Presettype "Dimmer" | Select Presettype 1 also connect through the Attributes 1.1, 1.2, |
+ + | -- | Intensity Littlights |
+ | Presettype "Position" | Select Presettype 2 also connect through the Attributes 2.1, 2.2, |
+ + | -- | Intensity 15 inch displays |
+ | Presettype "Gobo" | Select Presettype 3 also connect through the Attributes 3.1, 3.2, |
+ + | -- | Intensity 9 inch display |
+ | Presettype "Color" | Select Presettype 4 also connect through the Attributes 4.1, 4.2, |
+ + | -- | Intensity button backlight |
+ | Presettype "Beam" | Select Presettype 5 also connect through the Attributes 5.1, 5.2, |
+ | Presettype "Focus" | Select Presettype 6 also connect through the Attributes 6.1, 6.2, |
+ | Presettype "Control" | Select Presettype 7 also connect through the Attributes 7.1, 7.2, |
+ | Presettype "Shapers" | Select Presettype 8 also connect through the Attributes 8.1, 8.2, |
+ | -- | Displays the battery charge level on the X1 thru X10 key for 10 seconds |
. | . | (Only for grandMA2 full-size and light with no line voltage) |
+ | Presettype "Video" | Select Presettype 9 also connect through the Attributes 9.1, 9.2, |
+ + + | Default | Set the selection to default values of the Fixture |
+ + | Default | Set the value of any object or the current selection at the default value |
+ | -- | Monitorwing steppermotor moves down |
+ | SyncEffects | Sync all effects in the programmer |
+ | Layout | Layout object |
+ | List | List objects in the command line window, e.g.: List Fixture thru |
+ | Timer | Along with the keywords Go, Pause, Top, and Off, the Timer keyword, starts, stops, resets, and switchs off a timer. |
+ | Search | Search attributes |
+ | NextRow | Selects the next row in MAtricks |
+ | -- | Force the focus to the command line |
+ | PresetType | Call PresetTypes, bring them to the encoder and select them in the fixture sheet |
+ | PreviousRow | Selects the previous row in MAtricks |
+ + | AllRows | Selects all rows in MAtricks |
+ + + | MAtricksBlocks Off | Blocks Off in MAtricks |
+ | -- | Unlock Monitorwing Steppermotor |
+ + | MAtricksBlocks + | Blocks +1 in MAtricks |
+ + | MAtricksBlocks - | Blocks -1 in MAtricks |
+ | Record | e.g.: Record Timecode 1 Please |
+ | -- | Connect through the Effects Form, Speed, Layers |
+ | -- | Monitorwing steppermotor moves up |
+ | ListUpdate | Shows you all possible objects for the update in the Command View |
+ | Screen | Screen object, e.g.: Delete Screen 2 Please |
+ | Stomp | Stomp is a function to stop running effects |
+ + | Extract | Extract will break any referenced links and apply the hardvalues instead |
Macro | Macro object | |
Timecode | Timecode object | |
Agenda | Agenda object | |
- | Group 5 - fixture 10 | |
At - 10 | Dimmer goes down in steps of 10 percent | |
Move | Move source object at destination object | |
Replace | Replace values | |
Insert | Move objects to a new ID | |
Next | Select the next fixture or fixture of a selection | |
Off | Knockout values or release executors | |
-- | Off Menu | |
On | e.g.: On Selection or On Cue | |
Call | e.g.: Call Cue Thru x Please will call the status of the cue in the programmer | |
Oops | Undo the last action | |
(long press) | -- | Opens the Multi-Oops menu |
Page | Page object | |
ChannelPage | Channel Page object | |
FaderPage | Fader Executor Page object | |
ButtonPage | Button Executor Page object | |
Pause | Pause the actual cue fade | |
Park | e.g.: Park Channel x Please | |
Please | Execute the command | |
-- | Activate all attributes for the selection | |
+ | Fixture 1 + fixture 2 | |
At + 10 | Dimmer goes up in steps of 10 percent | |
Preset | Preset object | |
Attribute | Attribute object, e.g.: Attribute 2.1.2 AT 50 sets the Tilt At 50 | |
Gel (no function) | . | |
Previous | Select the previous fixture or fixture of a selection | |
+ | All | Leaves the Next/Previous MAtricks selection and selects all |
+ + | MAtricksInterleave Off | MAtricks Interleave Off |
Preview | e.g.: Preview Cue x Please | |
PreviewEdit | Switch the preview mode on/off | |
Select | e.g.: Select Executor 1 | |
Selfix | e.g.: Selfix Executor 1 will select all used fixtures of this executor | |
Sequence | Sequence object | |
MAtricks Toggle | Toggles between the all and actual selection from MAtricks Next/Previous | |
+ | MAtricksInterleave + | MAtricks Interleave +1 |
+ | MAtricksInterleave - | MAtricks Interleave -1 |
Store | Store an object | |
(long press) | -- | Opens the Store Options Temporary View |
Temp | Flash an executor with timing and executor master level | |
Toggle | Switch an executor on and off | |
Thru | Fixture 1 thru 10 please or fixture 1 thru 10 at 0 thru 100 | |
Value | Switch to Layer Value | |
Fade | Switch to Layer Fade | |
Delay | Switch to Layer Delay | |
Top | Jump to the first cue of a sequence | |
Kill | Release all executors on all pages excluding this executor | |
-- | Page up in the window with the last focus | |
Update | Update temporary View | |
View | View object | |
ViewButton | View Button object, e.g.: ViewButton 11.1 is the User1 first x-key | |
ViewPage | View Pages 1 thru 10 |
Layouts are interactive 2 dimensional drawings where you may freely arrange channels fixtures, draw shapes and write text, add macros presets or other objects.
Via the Layout Pool, you may create multiple layouts for each part of your stage. Use the Layout View to edit content of layouts and to display layouts.
In addition to the traditional macros of series1, grandMA2 macros may be used as a scripting language, with possibilities to create dialogs for user-input, conditional execution of macrolines, - interacting with the users current commandline, or as parallel execution, not interfering with the commandline.
Macros may be executed directly from the Macro-pool, or be assigned to any Executor, View or X-key User button, for direct hardkey access.
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When CLI is disabled for a macro, the actual press of the Macro will no longer interact with your commandline, but directly execute its content. This means that i.e to edit or delete this object you cannot just press the command and then the button, you will need to type the actual keyword and ID. e.g. Edit Macro 5 to edit macro 5 or Delete ViewButton 11.5 to remove the macro from the User1 X5-button). By disabling the CommandLineInteraction of the actual buttonpress, you can make the content of the macrolines interact, by the use of the @-sign. |
SetVar $answer= ("your flash buttons to be 1 -above- or 2 -below- the faders?")
SetVar $button = [$answer==1] ExecButton2 [answer==2] ExecButton1
Assign Flash at $button 1 Thru 30
MIDI Show Control (MSC) is used to send and receive show control data.
Show control data is used to control other devices or to be controlled by other devices. This can be used to sync several elements in your show.
MSC is a standard used by many manufacturers. This allows you sync your show across light, sound, stage, etc.
It can also be used to remote control the console from any equipment that can send Midi.
The console will automatically send MSC messages when MSC Out is turned on.
When MSC In is turned on, the console will listen to MSC messages and act accordingly.
The console will ignore the message if it isn't recognized as a valid MSC massage.
MIDI is usually transmitted in hex numbers. They are organized in groups of 2 numbers.
You might be using a MSC software that offers you a more comfortable way to work with MSC, but to understand the basic MSC message the following is only concerned with the raw MSC hex data.
This is the format of a MSC message:
F0 7F [Device ID] 02 [Command Format] [Command] [Data] F7
In the following we'll have a look at the different elements in the square brackets.
Lets first have a look at Device ID. This is used to limit the receivers of the MSC message. There are three categories. Individual device number, group number and All devices.
The device ID is a 2 digit hex number. And the three categories are divided like this:
Command format is used to indicate the type of equipment thats intended to receive the MSC message.
The console responds to and transmits three different command formats. They are:
The console supports five different commands.
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There's a small risk of crashing the console if you transmit MSC messages that isn't supported. |
The commands are:
Read more about the different commands below.
This is the same as a GOTO command. After the 01 command youll need to specify a cue number (the "Data" part of the massage). Cue numbers need to be transmitted in ASCII format using hex. This means that if you need to transmit the cue number 4 youll need to use the hex number 34. All number can be transmitted by placing a 3 in front of it. A dot is 2E in hex. So to transmit the cue number 309.45 youll need to transmit 33 30 39 2E 34 35.
You may also specify an executor and executor page number. This is controlled by the MSC options in Setup. Youll need to separate the cue number and the executor by a 00.
An executor and page can be separated by a space (00) or a dot (2E). So if you need to trigger cue 5 on executor 4 on page 3 and the separation is a dot, youll need to transmit the following data: 35 00 34 2E 33. If the separator between the executor and page is a space then the same command would be 35 00 34 00 33.
The grandMA2 always transmit full cue numbers with three decimals. This means that the cue number 2 is transmitted as 2.000 (32 2E 30 30 30) and cue number 2.5 is transmitted as 2.500 ("32 2E 35 30 30") but it doesnt need to receive full cue numbers.
The full MSC message for a GOTO cue 4.5 on executor 12 on page 1 (dot separator) to all devices and all types of equipment is: F0 7F 7F 02 7F 01 34 2E 35 00 31 32 2E 31 F7 .
This is like hitting the pause button. Please read the section above for a better understanding of the hex cue numbering system.
How much you need to transmit is dependent of the MSC options in Setup. If the MSC In Exec option is Default Only they only the default executor will respond and you dont need to send any Data values. So youll only need to send F0 7F [Device ID] 02 [Command Format] 02 F7.
The console will transmit F0 7F [Device ID] 02 [Command Format] 02 30 2E 30 30 30 F7. This is like sending a pause running cue command.
If you have specified in the Setup that you need to specify an executor and a page, then youll also have to specify this for the Stop command. And then youll have to transmit the running cue number. The full MSC message for stopping a running cue on executor 12 on page 1 (dot separator) to all devices and all types of equipment is: F0 7F 7F 02 7F 02 30 00 31 32 2E 31 F7 . This is the shortest possible format for that MSC message. The console would transmit the full message: F0 7F 7F 02 7F 02 30 2E 30 30 30 00 31 32 2E 31 F7 .
This is the only way to continue a paused cue. The only difference between the Stop and Resume commands are the 02 and 03. So continuing the cue we just paused in the example above would be:F0 7F 7F 02 7F 03 30 00 31 32 2E 31 F7 .
Again if the MSC options in Setup is set to Default Only. You can just transmit F0 7F 7F 02 7F 03 F7 to continue the fade.
This is the same as the 01 (Go) command but with a specified time. So, if you havent already, please read (and understand) the 01 (GO) section above. Just to make this a bit simpler we are going to pretend that the Default Only option is turned on in the MSC options in Setup.
To transmit a timed GOTO you need to specify the time first and then the cue number. The time is specified by five 2-digit hex numbers. They represent (in order) Hour Minute Second Frame and Fraction.
The hour, minute and second sections are very strait forward. Youll need to transmit the value in hex number but you can transmit a value above the normal limit i.e. you can transmit 64 seconds (40 in hex). The console will transmit this as 1 minute and 4 seconds.
Right now the console will not accept any time specified in the Frame and Fraction sections. But it transmit values below a second in the Frame section. The console divides the second into 24 frames. So 0.5 seconds is 12 Frames and the received hex number is 0C.
Follow the link below to a table that compares decimal and hex numbers.
The set command is used to move a fader to specific position. The 06 is followed by two 2-digit hex numbers that indicate the fader and then two more 2-digit hex numbers that dictates the position.
The first of the two numbers for the fader is the fader number (on a page). The first fader are hex number 00, the second 01 and so on. Remember that this is a hex number so fader 16 have hex number 0F and 17 is 10.
The second of the two numbers for the faders are the page number. This is 1 to 1 - although also in hex. But page 1 is 01 in hex and page 2 is 02 etc.
So, how to calculate the position in hex numbers? For this we need to do some math. The faders position is defined by a coarse and fine value. The scale for both values is 128 steps. The Fine value is transmitted first followed by the Coarse value. So you need to multiply the desired fader position (in percent) by 1.28. The resulting integer is the Coarse value. The rest of the number (everything on the right side of the separator) should be multiplied with 128 to get the Fine value. The two decimal numbers should be converted to hex. You can use the link below to a table that allows you to convert up to decimal number 128.
Lets try to do an example. Lets say you want to move a fader to 45%. Multiply 45 with 1.28 (45*1.28) this gives you 57.6. So our Coarse value is 57. Now we need to multiply 0.6 with 128 (0.6*128). This gives us 76.8. So our Fine value is 76. Decimal 57 is 39 in hex. Decimal 76 is 4C in hex. Remember that we need to transmit the Fine value first. Our two hex numbers after 06 is 4C 39. If we then need to move fader 3 on page 1, our complete MSC message would be: F0 7F 7F 02 7F 06 02 01 4C 39 (all devices and all command formats).
The console only transmit the position of some faders (executors and all the green colored special masters (for the selected executor)), but it accepts positions for all faders that have something assigned.
As mentioned before, you might be using some software that makes this more user friendly, but you might need to know what's really happening down in the hex numbers.
The following are some more examples of MSC messages.
Sending a GOTO cue 15 on executor 5 on page 1:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 01 31 35 00 35 2E 31 F7
Sending a GOTO cue 425.36 on executor 2 on page 3:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 01 34 32 35 2E 33 36 00 32 2E 33 F7
Stopping a running cue on executor 1 on page 1:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 02 30 00 31 2E 31 F7
Continue the cue on executor 1 on page 1:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 03 30 00 31 2E 31 F7
Sending a GOTO cue 25.5 in 30 seconds on executor 2 on page4:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 04 00 00 1E 00 00 32 35 2E 35 00 32 2E 34 F7
Sending a GOTO cue 4 in 5 seconds on executor 7 on page 1:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 04 00 00 04 00 00 34 00 37 2E 31 F7
Moving fader number 4 on page 1 to 75%:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 06 03 01 00 60 F7
Moving fader number 1 on page 1 to 32%:
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 06 00 01 7A 28 F7
By the use of user-login with userprofile, each operator may tailor the console to his/her needs, with individual Views, default settings and programmer. In a session with multiple stations/consoles, the operator may log into any console and be "home".
The grandMA2 series is designed for networking. Beeing in a network is the normal situation. Even if the console is all alone on the network, it will run happily with all the network functionallity.
Every console has two Ethernet ports at the back:
A session is a group of stations, communicating and sharing data within a network. There may coexist 31 different Sessions within the same Network.
Additional members/stations in the session may be added and removed via the MA Network Configuration, under the same tab.
DMX Streaming over Ethernet is configured under the DMX-protocols menu
The MA NPU can be connected to a series 1 or series 2 network.
The MA NPU helps the consoles with the output calculations, and it provides 8 DMX ports that can be configured as input or output. The output follows the USITT DMX512-A protocol.
One of the main thoughts behind the MA NPU, is a central DMX output/input device, that's shared by all the stations in the MA-Net. It supports the system with real time calculations and parameter expansion (4,096 parameters).
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If a MA NPU is set to be a member of several sessions in a network, it will connect to the session that reaches the MA NPU first. If that session is then closed - then the NPU will connect to the next session it finds on the network, possibly creating a very different DMX output. |
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A MA NPU is always a session member and cannot be master of a session. |
The MA NPU is a 3 unit 19" rack mount device with an 7" internal touchscreen. It has 8 DMX ports (5-pin female XLR) and 3 USB plugs.
When you use the MA NPU in Series 2 mode, it provides parameters to the network. It can be used with a grandMA2 console or with grandMA2 onPC.
In this mode, you can use the touch screen to change some of the setting. DMX port settings needs to be changed from a console or onPC.
You can also use the MA NPU in Series 1 mode. When connected to a console or onPC it also provides parameters.
When in series 1 mode, you can only make change to the MA NPU using a USB keyboard.
This page is a closer look at how many parameters you can control and how you can expand that number. At the bottom of this page there's a link to a page that explains the difference between "Parameter" and "DMX universe". If you have any doubt in this area you should take the time to read it.
There are a fewer parameter numbers to remember in grandMA2.
This section is about the parameter count for single units.
If we begin at the top end and work our way down the ranks:
The MA NPU is the only unit that expands your parameter count when you use a grandMA2 console. Every MA NPU you add to your network, also adds 4096 parameters!
You can add a maximum of 15 MA NPUs regardless of your console. There's a maximum limit of 65.536 parameters in a grandMA2 session.
The MA NPUs help with parameter calculations.
When you use a grandMA2 onPC you need some MA hardware to unlock parameters. The maximum allowed parameters for a grandMA2 onPC system is 4096 parameters!
You can combine any number of onPC hardware with your computer. Every piece of hardware will add it's parameters until you reach the limit of 4096 parameters.
This are the only two rules for parameters with grandMA2 onPC.
Remember you can always add more units to get more DMX connectors.
Here are some examples:
grandMA2 onPC + MA onPC command wing = 2048 parameters.
grandMA2 onPC + MA onPC command wing + MA 2Port Node onPC Pro = 3072 parameters.
grandMA2 onPC + + Fader Wing = 4096 parameters.
grandMA2 onPC + MA 2Port Node onPC + MA 2Port Node onPC = 1024 parameters.
grandMA2 onPC + MA onPC command wing + Fader Wing +MA 8Port node onPC = 4096 parameters (you have reached the limit).
grandMA2 onPC + MA onPC command wing + MA NPU = 4096 (you have reached the limit).
If you are using a MA VPU it supplies it's own parameters and doesn't affect the limit. You can control several MA VPU's using an grandMA2 onPC. If you however are using a mix of VPU and other fixtures you need some MA hardware to give you the parameters for the fixtures.
Even though the MA VPU doesn't count in your parameter limit, you should patch your MA VPU on a higher universe than your other fixtures. There's a risk that it will steal the parameters from the other fixtures, if you have it on a lower universe than the fixtures.
A grandMA2 replay unit is basically a grandMA2 light compacted into a rack unit but without the user interface. There's a small 7" internal touch screen that allows to do everything on the small screen.
The screen works as a combination of screen 1 and 2. It's devided into two areas as the multitouch on a console, but the lower part is mostly displaying the encoder toolbars. See below for example screenshots.
The grandMA2 replay unit can be connected to a series 2 network and can only boot in series 2 mode.
The grandMA2 replay unit is a 3 unit 19" rack mount device with an 7" internal command touchscreen.
The following elements of the grandMA1 show will be converted into a grandMA2 show.
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Be aware all other elements of the grandMA1 show will not be converted into the grandMA2 show. E.g.
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Main Menu
The show source can be specified at the upper part of the screen. will open the Source popup
The destination of the converted show has to be specified at the lower part of the screen. will open the Destination popup.
will start the showfile conversion and open the log view.
will open this helpfile.
Source Popup
: Select this source to convert all shows currently stored at your grandMA1 onPC.
:Select this source to convert all shows currently stored at the plugged in USB device.
: Opens a file browser to select a single show (only *.tar.gz) currently stored at your grandMA1 onPC or at the GMASHOWS folder of your usb stick.
: Opens a file browser popup to select any other folder containing grandMA1 shows as source.
Destination Popup
: The converted files will be stored at the current onPC2 shows folder at your computer.
: The converted files will be stored at the (USBDRIVE)\gma2\shows folder.
: Opens a file browser popup to select any other folder as target to store the converted shows to.
Log View
This view displays all log messages during the show convertion. When the convertion is finished, Done! will be displayed at the upper left corner of this view.
: will copy the logfile to the clipboard.
:will close the Log View to return to the main screen.
will stop the showfile convertion and will return to main screen.
Please also have a look at the grandMA ShowConverter Tutorial.
By entering 3-dimensional data of your fixtures location, their operation may visualized internally via the stage-window (wire-frame), and externally via a networked computer running MA 3D (realistic).
The supported time formats are: 24 fps, 25 fps and 30 fps. If you send 29.97 or 30 dropframe, it'll be interpreted as 30 fps.
Worlds are used to restrict access to Fixtures, Channels and Attributes. The elements not in the applied World are not displayed in sheets and cannot be accessed by the programmer. Values store in a sequence will still be played back.
Filters are used to limit what to store and playback from an executor. Applying a Filter will not hide elements in sheets, but will only store/copy/retreat(at) attributes in that filter.
Masks can be used to hide Fixture/Channels and Attributes in sheets. There's a lot of criteria that can be used to display only the desired Fixtures/Channels and Attributes.
Worlds are used to limit what you can access and what is displayed in sheets.
The first world in the pool is locked. It contains everything and is used when you don't want to exclude anything.
You can select a new world by simply pressing the pool element.
Worlds can be used as Input filters. This will limit what can be stored. Worlds can also work as Playback Filters for a sequence. This will limit what is executed by a sequence. Let's say you have a sequence that have Dimmer, Pan/Tilt and Color - If you apply a world that only allows dimmer values and some fixtures, then the sequence will only output dimmer values for those fixtures. If you also uses the "Dimmer only" world as a Input filter, then you can only store dimmer values for those fixtures in the sequence. This is all done in the Assign Menu.
Playback filters only works by attributes not by layers (Value, Value Times and Effects). E.g. if you have applied a world that only contains the Effect layers, then everything will still playback - but if you have a world that have only fixture 1, then only fixture 1 will be played back.
In previous versions there where a lot of different filters. They are now all combined and can be stored and recalled from the Filter pool. That means that the Store Filter and the At Filter are now combined into one filter.
The filter contains a selection of Attributes. A filter is always active, but the first filter contains all attributes and therefor doesn't filter anything out. The first filter is also locked and cannot be edited.
A Filter can be applied(called) and/or permanent selected. An applied filter have a green bar in the middle. A selected filter have a green color in the name area. You can select a different filter by pressing followed by a different filter button. You can call a different filter temporarily by just pressing one of the filters.
A called filter overwrites the selected filter. If you press and hold the key or the key you'll get the a filter pop-up. Here you can create a temporary filter. This can be store to the first available pool button using the . Here you'll also find a button. This will keep a temporary (called) filter active until the programmer have been cleared.
Filters can be used as Input filters. This will limit what can be stored. Filters can also work as Playback Filters for a sequence. This will limit what is executed by a sequence. Let's say you have a sequence that have Dimmer, Pan/Tilt and Color - If you apply a filter that only allows dimmer values then the sequence will only output dimmer values. If you also uses the "Dimmer only" filter as a Input filter, then you can only store dimmer values in the sequence. This is all done in the Assign Menu.
Playback filters only works by attributes not by layers (Value, Value Times and Effects). E.g. if you have applied a filter that only contains the Effect layers, then everything will still playback.
When it's not the first filter that's active, then the At key will flash.
The filter pool is a global pool that's shared by all users.
Masks are used for hiding fixtures and attributes in sheets. There can be a set of criteria that define the mask.
Some sheets allow you to have up to 10 mask buttons in the title bar of sheets (except DMX sheet). This allows you to apply a mask to only that sheet.
You can set the sheet to follow the selected mask. This will allow you to use the Mask pool to mask all sheets (following selected) at the same time.
A mask pool button can be selected by simply pressing the pool element.
The first 6 masks are locked. The very first mask doesn't mask anything.
Worlds are created in the programmer, and stored in the World Pool. Worlds may be thought of as matrix with rows (fixtures) and columns (attributes), and you may eliminate rows and/or columns
The created world will contain the rows of the current selection, and the columns of any active attribute. If no attributes were active, all columns will be included in the created World.
You will now only have programming access to fixture 1 thru 5, (which is reflected by the Fixture Sheet Window).
If you now with World 3 active, i.e Delete Cue 3 , you would only delete fixture 1 thru 5 from Cue 3. - if Cue 3 contains more fixtures than 1-5, the cue will not be deleted as a whole.
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World 1 contains all parameters of the show, and cannot be altered or deleted. |
They start with the Basic tutorials and then moves into more specific areas (still work in progress).
This will give you a short tour through all the most basic things you need to know for creating a show, turn on channels, make groups, store cues and make your screens display the relevant data.
On a grandMA2 there are many different ways to get from A to B. But to get the best result with this tutorial, its important that you follow the steps fairly precise. You can always experiment on your own afterwards.
I have chosen to use different markings when I want you to do different things.
If I need you to press a hard key (a key that is physically on the console) it looks like this: . If Im just referring to the button I will put it in single quotation marks e.g.: 'Setup'.
If you are supposed to press a button on the screen or an area on the screens I will write it like this >>Macro 1<<.
If you are supposed to write text on the keyboard I will write it like this: Moving light. I will often tell you to end a command with 'Please'. This referrers to any of the two keys on the console (grandMA2 ultra-light).
When referring to a window on a screen you have created, I will mark it like this: CommandLine Feedback.
If you are doing this on an grandMA2 onPC, you need to imagine all the physical buttons, and use the relevant buttons in the program. I will write this as if you were at a grandMA2 full-size.
A grandMA2 full-size can have up to 6 screens (incl. 2 external). I will refer to them as "Screen 1", "Screen 2", etc.
Screen 1 is the 9" Multi Touch Screen. Screen 2 to 4 is the 15.4" touch screens on a grandMA2 full-size (from right to left). 5 and 6 are the external screens.
If you are at a console that only got one 15.4" touch screen, just ignore everything with screen 3 and 4. You will learn to store and recall screen views on the one screen you have. The same thing applies for the external screens. If you dont have any, just use the one screen you do have.
This tutorial is originally made on version 1.3 and checked again for version 3.1.
Happy Programming.
The first this you need to do is the press the key. Then make sure the >>Internal<< tab is selected.
Now press the >>New Show<< button.
This gives you the "New Show" pop-up. Here you can write the name of the show and change some options.
In the name box, write this: Tutorial_Basic_1
Make sure you check all the boxes in the pop-up. This ensures that we create a new empty show with all default options.
Your pop-up should look something like this:
Then you can press the >>Please<< button.You might get asked if you want to save the currently loaded show. You could be nice and press >>Save<<.
Now close the "Backup" menu by pressing the yellow X in the upper right corner (this is how you always closes temporary windows.
You have how created a new empty show.
Go to the next page to learn to patch dimmers.
Do you want a show without lights? No, not really! I've made a simple design with some general stage wash.
This gives us a total of 40 dimmer channels. Press the key and press the >>Patch & Fixture Schedule<< button.
This gives you a pop-up is called "Layer Name". Here you write: Dimmers followed by a 'Please'.
Then a part of your screen should look like this:
This is all the input fields we need to fill in to add our fixtures.
Now please press the button called >>Please select fixturetype<<.
Now we are going to select the fixture type we want to add in the show.
We need a simple dimmer fixture that only uses 1 DMX channel. This fixture type is always automatically imported, so we just need to select it in the right hand side of the screen.
Press where it says >>2 Dimmer 00 (DMX 1)<<.
Now you need to add the rest of the information.
The focus is right now at the quantity. Write: 40 followed by a 'Please'.
Now we need to give your first dimmer a Fixture ID. We don't want a fixture ID so write 0 followed by a 'Please'.
We do need a to give them a Channel ID. Write: 1 followed by a 'Please'. This gives the first dimmer an ID number of 1, the second one an ID of 2, etc.
Now we need to give the first dimmer a patch. Write: 1.1 followed by a 'Please'. This places the first fixture in universe 1 and DMX channel 1.
Now it should look like this:
Press the >>Apply<< button. You have now added 40 dimmer channels.
Close the two setup screens using the yellow X and press >>Yes<< to any warning pop-ups.
On the next page we are going to look at controlling those channels.
Often it can be an advantage to see how the console reacts to your commands. This is done on the Commandline Feedback window.
We are going to create this window at the bottom of screen 2 (the 15,4" touchscreen on the right side).
Press anywhere in the upper left corner on the empty screen. The "Create Basic Window" pop-up opens. Press the >>System<< tab and then the >>Command line<< button.
You have created a Commandline Feedback window.
It gives you a lot of information.
To resize the window, tap and hold the yellow dots at the bottom right corner of the window and move the window smaller or bigger.
To move the window, tap and hold at the blue title bar of the window and move the window around.
Now size and move your window so it takes up three lines at the bottom of the screen.
To view your 40 channels you need a Channel Sheet window.
Press the upper left corner on screen 2. Then select the >>Sheets<< tab in the "Create Basic Window" and then the >>Channel<< button.
You have now created a Channel Sheet. Here you can see your channels and the values they have.
Your screen should now look something like this (made a bit smaller to fit this manual):
You can store your view on any of the view buttons in the side of your screen.
Now we are going to store our view on the top button just right to screen 2.
Press key followed by the key (or the top right empty view button on screen 2 - the one with number 1.1).
This gives you a pop-up. It asks which screens you want to store. Without changing anything press the >>Please<< button.
You have now created a view. Let's give it a name.
Press key twice followed by the . This gives you a pop-up. Here you write: Channel followed by a 'Please'.
You can see in your Commandline Feedback window writes this:
This tells you that you have given your view a new label.
On the next page we are going to learn about controlling the values of the channels.
There are many ways to turn on channels on a grandMA2. Let's begin with one of the simple ones. Press . You have now turned on channel 1 at 100%. Let's look at what else happened. The channel ID "1" has changed to a yellow color and the background behind the value has changed to a red color. Also the value (in this case the intensity) is now in a red color. The yellow color means that the channel is selected and you can change the value. Press . Since the channel is already selected you can just give it a new value and it is now at 50%. Now press once. Channel 1 is no longer selected and you can't just change the intensity again. The red background color indicates that the value will be saved if you press 'Store' (don't do it now). Instead press once more on . The only thing left is the value in the red color. This means that it's still in the temporary memory (called the programmer), but it will not be saved if you store. Press once more. Now channel 1 is turned off and it's not in the programmer anymore. Instead of pressing the 'Clear' button 3 times you can keep it pressed for about 1 second and you have cleared the programmer.
There are other ways to turn a channel at 100%. Here's another example: . This is a shortcut to give the channel a value of 100%. Press twice. This gives channel 1 a value of 0%. You can of course also use "At 0 Please". The value is in the programmer and will be stored (if you save a cue). Press until the programmer is cleared. If you have several channels in the programmer and just what to "release" one, you can use the 'Off' button in combination with the 'Channel' button. Turn on channel 1 at 100%. Now press . The final way (I will introduce to you) is the "Level" wheel. With this you can change the value fast and simple. Turn it away from you and the value of the selected channels goes up. Turn it towards yourself and it goes down.
If you want to turn on several channels at the same time you need the buttons '+' and/or 'Thru'. They are pretty self-explanatory. Guess what you need to press to turn on channel 1 to 10 plus 20 at 20%. This is the fast way: . If you want to exclude channels you can use '-' (minus). So if you want to give channel 1 to 10 plus 20 but minus 5 a value of 0%, this is the fastest way: .
You can also use '+' and '-' to change the value. . This brings channel five up to 50%. . Brings the channel down to 0%.
Now you know how to assign values to channels. Finish this section by clearing your programmer.
On the next page we are going to look at Groups.
Since we are going to make some groups it would be practical to be able to see them.
I find it nice to have it at the same screen (since there's room). So I suggest making the Channel Sheet one line smaller and then press the empty space on the left side.
Again we are presented with the "Create Basic Window" pop-up. This time you need to access the >>Pools<< tab. Here we find the >>Groups<< button. Now you got some empty group buttons right at your fingertips. You could store this as a new view (or store your existing view again).
All the odd numbers in our light plot have a warm color and all the even ones have a cold color. We are going to make some groups with those colors. The first one is all the warm colors from front of house. Press: . Now you have selected channel 5, 7, 9 and 11. Then press followed by the first available group button. Groups cannot contain any value so we don't need to assign any.
Before you do anything else, use your keyboard to write: FOH Warm. Should you have touched anything else (buttons, screens, anything) before typing, you can use a different method to name things (e.g. groups). The function is called "Label" and you access it by pressing the 'Assign' key twice (we already did that, remember?). Do that and then press the first group button again. Now you have the option to change the name, delete it, or type it for the first time. When you are happy press .
Look at your Channel Sheet. Here you can see that the numbers 5, 7, 9 and 11 have the yellow color, meaning that they are still selected. We are done with those four channels, so press the 'Clear' key once.
All right, now I have told you everything you need to know about making groups. In all we need 12 groups. I have gathered all the information you need for making the groups in a table. You have already made group 1, but the rest is a nice little exercise.
Group number: | Channels: | Name: |
---|---|---|
1 | 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 | FOH Warm |
2 | 17 + 19 + 21 + 23 | LX1 Warm |
3 | 25 + 27 + 29 + 31 | LX2 Warm |
4 | 33 + 35 + 37 + 39 | LX4 Warm |
5 | 1 + 3 + 13 + 15 | Box Warm |
6 | All uneven numbers | All Warm |
7 | 6 + 8 + 10 + 12 | FOH Cold |
8 | 18 + 20 + 22 + 24 | LX1 Cold |
9 | 26 + 28 + 30 + 32 | LX2 Cold |
10 | 34 + 36 + 38 + 40 | LX4 Cold |
11 | 2 + 4 + 14 + 16 | Box Cold |
12 | All even numbers | All Cold |
When you are done, your group pool should look something like this:
On the next page we will make the first cue.
A light cue is saved in a sequence. The grandMA2 can handle an almost unlimited number of sequence.
We only need one for this tutorial. All cue numbers are in numeric order i.e. cue number 4 cannot be before cue number 3. But the cue can have any name.
First of all we need a window where we can see our sequence. Click on the top left cell on one of your empty screens. If you only have one screen you need to clear it first (by deleting the windows already there - don't delete the ViewButton) and then press the empty cell.
The window we need is called Sequence Executor, so in the "Create Basic Window" pop-up, select the >>Sheets<< tab and press the button called >>Sequence Executor<<. You could save this as a (new) view.
The first thing you should do is to select the first executor. Press: . You can always locate your selected fader by its green background color where it says "Seq". In a minute when we assign a sequence to that fader, then the number on the key underneath the fader is brighter. The green LED is on when the executor is on.
Lets make our first cue. Press: . Then . That was it! You have now saved channel 20 at 40% in cue 1 in sequence 1 at executor fader 1.
If you don't specify anything else the console assumes you are referring to your selected executor and the sequence assigned to that executor. You can always locate your selected executor by its green background color where it displays the sequence name (now it says "Sequ").
You also got a line in your Sequence Executor window. Most of the columns are self-explanatory - but I will mention some of them. "Number" is of course the cue numbers. "Name" is the name. "Trig" describes what triggers the cue. If we look at our first cue, the trigger is "Go". This means that to execute the cue you need to press a Go key. "Fade", "Out Fade", "Delay" and "Out Delay" shows you the respective times.
Before we make any more cues, lets change the cue name. If you dont specify anything the desk names it "Cue" and then the cue number. Press . Use the keyboard to write Behind Curtain followed by a 'Please'. A different way to change the cue name is to right click on the name with the mouse. No matter what way you choose - your first cue should now have the name "Behind Curtain".
If you can't see the entire name you can expand the column width by placing the mouse cursor on the line that divides "Name" and "Trig". When you are at the right place, your cursor changes so it now also has a little horizontal double ended arrow. Click and hold the left mouse button while you drag the mouse to your right. Then release the mouse button again. Now your Sequence Executor window should look something like this (I made this view on screen 1):
On the next page we are going to create more cues.
Lets make some more cues. Press:. That created cue 2 with a fade time of 15 seconds. Lets continue with cue 3. Now were going to use the groups and the command line.
You need to locate the Command Line on screen 1 or 2. It looks like this:
This is the CommandLine. It can be a fast way to get around the console and the commands. But sometimes the keys are fastest. In the CommandLine type this:
followed by . Then type:
followed by . Now let's have a look at the commandline feedback and how the console has responded (please don't press any buttons).
What does all this mean? "g" is a short cut to "Group". That means the respond to the first line is:
The "t" in the second line as a short for "thru". The console respond to the second line is:
Mowing on, we are gonna store the cue using the hardkeys: . This is the response from the console:
Now why is this? We typed "Time 20 Time 25". The desk interprets this as 20 seconds Fade and 25 seconds OutFade. Pretty clever, huh?
Notice that after the second cue we don't need to specify the cue number. The desk automatically uses the next available whole number.
In cue 4 we need to take 30% of everything that is on. We do this in a fast and easy way: .
That was fast! By using "If Please" you get the command "IfOutput", this selects everything that has output. Then using "At - 30" you subtract 30% from whatever value the channels had before (of course nothing less than 0%).
Now we're going to make a lot of changes: .
What is "Time 15 Time Time 5"? If you have a look at your Command Line Feedback it reads: "Fade 15 Delay 5". This means that you told the desk to delay the execution of the cue with 5 seconds after you've pressed the "Go" button (and then fade at 15 seconds - but you probably guessed that).
With the "Time" command we can assign many different times. A command like: "Time 20 Time 15 Time 10 Time 5" is translated to: "Fade 20 OutFade 15 Delay 10 OutDelay 5".
The last cue we are going to make is a blackout. And we do that with only six button presses:. That was our 6 cues. It was hopefully fast and painless.
The next page we are going to make some changes to the sequence.
We would like to change cue 3 to automatically activate when cue 2 is done. You do this by right-clicking with the mouse (or pressing Edit and then) on the screen where it says "Go" in the "Trig" column in the Sequence Executor sheet in cue 3.
This gives you a drop down box with the following choices: Go, Time, Follow, Sound, BPM, SMPTE, and MTC . Press >>Follow<<.
When cue 2 is done, then the console automatically activates the fade to cue 3.
Let's change the cue names. You know how to do this, so I just made a table:
Cue Number: | Name: |
---|---|
1 | Behind Curtain |
2 | With Curtain Up |
3 | Build |
4 | Darker |
5 | Cold |
6 | B.O. |
If you need to, then expand the "name" column in your Sequence Executor Sheet, so you can see the entire names.
Let's imagine that we've got a lighting designer who has changed his mind. He wants 5% more on the group called "LX 1 Warm" in cue 3. Let's go to cue 3: .
What happened? We called the cue and activated the executor. And we now have a yellow frame on cue 3 in the Sequence Executor Sheet. To go to cue 3 you only need to write "Goto 3 Please". We added "Time 0". This overwrites the fade times stored in the cue and we didn't have to wait for the cue to fade in.
Let's move on:. Now the 'Update' button lights up. This means you can update the activated cue. Press and without worrying about anything press the U3 key (or where it says: "Tracking Update") so the button changes to "Update Cue Only". Press the key (or where it says "Update Cue") to update the cue. To exit the cue and deactivate the sequence you need to press the top button above executor fader 1.
Let's change some of the times in the cue list. This is how your times should end up:
Fade | Out Fade | Delay | Out Delay |
---|---|---|---|
0 | . | . | . |
15 | . | 3 | . |
20 | 25 | . | . |
10 | . | . | . |
15 | 10 | . | 5 |
0 | . | . | . |
Look at the Sequence Executor Sheet. Right click on the cells and type in the new value ether on "the calculator" on the screen, the buttons on your desk or using the keyboard. The final result should look like this:
Try pressing the big 'Go+' button to see how your channels react to the different times.
To save the show, press .
That was it! Now you know the most elementary things. You have learned to create a show, make a simple patch, create views, turn on channels, save and use groups and finally creating a sequence with cues with different times.
This will give you a short tour through all the most basic things you need to know for adding fixtures to the patch, controlling fixtures, creating presets, adding a sequence and using worlds.
This tutorial builds on the first tutorial. I strongly recommend making that one first: Tutorial Basic 1.
On a grandMA2 there are many different ways to get from A to B. But to get the best result with this tutorial, its important that you follow the steps fairly precise. You can always experiment on your own afterwards.
I have chosen to use different markings when I want you to do different things.
If I need you to press a hard key (a key that is physically on the console) it looks like this: . If Im just referring to the button I will put it in single quotation marks e.g.: 'Setup'.
If you are supposed to press a button on the screen or a area on the screens I will write it like this >>Macro 1<<.
If you are supposed to write text on the keyboard I will write it like this: Moving light. I will often tell you to end a command with 'Please'. This referrers to any of the two keys on the console (only one on the grandMA2 ultra-light).
When referring to a window on a screen you have created, I will mark it like this: CommandLine Feedback.
If you are doing this on an grandMA2 onPC , you need to imagine all the physical buttons, and use the relevant buttons in the program. I will write this as if you where at a grandMA2 full-size.
A grandMA2 full-size can have up to 6 screens (incl. 2 external). I will refer to them as "Screen 1", "Screen 2", etc.
Screen 1 is the 9" Multi Touch Screen. Screen 2 to 4 is the 15.4" touch screens on a grandMA2 full-size (from right to left). 5 and 6 are the external screens.
If you are at a console that only got one 15.4" touch screen, just ignore everything with screen 3 and 4. You will learn to store and recall screen views on the one screen you have. The same thing applies for the external screens. If you dont have any, just use the one screen you do have.
This tutorial is originally made for version 1.3 and updated for version 3.1.
Happy Programming.
Before we are doing anything else, we need to store the show with a new name.
But maybe you need to load the show from "Tutorial Basic 1" first.
Press the key and then make sure you have chosen the "Internal" tab. Now press the >>Load Show<< button.
Locate your saved show from tutorial basic 1 in the list of shows. Make sure all the boxes on the right side is checked and then press the >>Ok<< button.
Now we have loaded the show (again).
Still in the Backup Menu, press the >>Save Show As<< button and in the pop-up write this: Tutorial_Basic_2.
Now we have saved our show with a new name and we can close the Backup Menu using the yellow cross in the upper right corner.
Should you get a warning that there's already a show with that name, then you could add your name in front "Tutorial".
We just got 9 Mac 700 Profiles from Martin Professional. And we want to add them to the patch. This is what the new light plot looks like:
All right, let's go. Press the key and then the >>Patch & Fixture Schedule<< button.
We want to add the fixtures in a new layer. So that's the first thing we are gonna add.
Make sure the "Layer" part (the left half) of the screen is selected (the headline has a bright blue background), and then press the 'Add Layer' key (it's the key)
In the pop-up write: Mac700.
Now the console takes us to the Fixture Wizard. The idea is that we have created a new Layer, so we most likely want to add fixtures to it. Press >>Please select fixturetype<<. Now press >>From Library<< (on the right half of screen 1) to import a new fixture type into the show from the console library.
The library is a big list of all the different fixture types know to the console.
The list can be filtered by the manufacturer and by the name of the fixture. There are two input fields at the top part of the window. At the top you'll also find a "Select Drive" drop down. Make sure the "Internal" drive is selected.
The manufacturer is "Martin" and we need the "Mac 700 Profile" in extended mode.
So type "Martin" in the manufacturer filter and simply "700" in the Fixture filter. Now the list is only showing the fixtures with 700 in the name from Martin. The list has a "Mode" column. Here you can see that there are Basic and Extended versions.
Press the one we need.
You window should look like this:
When you have selected the correct fixture type press the >>Import<< button.
The quantity is "9".
For the Fixture and Channel ID we need them both to start at "111". And the patch should begin at the second universe with DMX channel 1 (that makes the first fixtures patch number "2.1") and now press the >>Apply<< button.
But we are not quite done. We need to change some of the Channel and Fixture ID's to match the light plot. When you are done your fixture list should look like this:
And now we can exit both the Edit Setup pop-up (say "Yes" to save the changes) and the Setup menu.
Go to the next page to learn about the Fixture Sheet.
Now that we have fixtures it would be nice to see what they are doing. For this we are going to need the Fixture Sheet window.
I like the on screen 2. That way it's directly above the four encoders. But it's all up to you where you put it on the screens.
When you have room for it, press the empty space where you want your Fixture Sheet. In the Create Basic Windows pop-up you need to select the "Sheets" tab and then press the >>Fixtures<< button.
Now you have a Fixture Sheet. Here your fixtures are (as a default) represented as a list. Your fixture are in rows and the different attributes (like Dimmers, Pan/Tilt, Gobos, etc.) are sorted in columns.
When you press the yellow ball in the upper left corner of the sheet you get the sheet options (it's also here you can delete a window - if you haven't noticed).
You can follow the link below to read details about the Fixture Sheet. This is how my fixture sheet looks:
These are my sheet options:
Tools:
LayerMask:
Display:
Title Buttons:
Mask (Local):
That was a lot of options. If you need to learn the details about the fixture sheet, please follow the link below.
But for now please just move on with the tutorial. On the next page we are going to have a look at how to control fixtures and use the fixture sheet.
The key to control fixtures is this bar:
It's the "Preset Control" bar. With this you can control what preset type you have assigned to the encoders.
The bar displays only the preset types you have access to. You might have noticed that before we added the Mac 700's there was only the "Dimmer" button in the bar.
The bar might disappear when you move focus to something else. Like working in the Sequence Executor Sheet. But you can always bring it back by pressing somewhere in your Fixture Sheet or Channel Sheet.
To control fixtures you need to select them. Let's try with fixture 111. Press .
This selects the fixture, and you can assign a dimmer value using the methods you learned in Tutorial basic 1. Or you can select the "Dimmer" preset type using the bar and turn the first encoder to turn up the lights.
Select "Position" by pressing it. Notice how your encoder changes function according to what preset type you have selected. With the "Position" your encoders look like this:
Turning the encoders changes the values. Turning them with the encoder pressed changes the value faster. if you want to make smaller movement with a turn (increasing the resolution) you can press the "Normal / Fine / Ultra" button next to the value.
Notice how some of the buttons in the Preset Control Bar have a red square and some a gray one. The red one indicates that you have changed values in that preset type. These values will be stored if you press the 'Store' key (don't do it).
Press the >>Gobo<< button. Now instead of turning the first encoder, just press it shortly. This is where the "calculator" proves its power. The "calculator" is the pop-up that allows you to input values to attributes using a graphic interface. This is what it looks like with "Gobo 1" selected:
Next to the usual buttons with numbers etc. there is a lot of buttons that changes according to your selections. When gobo is selected you have easy access to all the different gobos. Select the one called "Water".
When our fixture has more than one gobo wheel you can choose the others by using the "Feature" button:
This button has several options. You can press it shortly to toggle through the different options or you can press it and hold your finger on it while you swipe outside the button. This opens a list of all the possible option for this buttons:
The last thing I will introduce you to is how to control colors.
Press the Preset Type button "Color". The first thing you see is the attribute "C1" - this is color wheel 1. This works as all the other attributes.
Now try to select "MixColor" using the "Feature" button. This assigns Red, Green and Blue on the first three encoders. The actual fixtures are using a CMY colors sytem, but the grandMA2 translate this into RGB. This is done to streamline the control across several fixtures that might use different color mixing systems - so you only have to think about one color system. You can control the color attributes manually by turning the encoders.
But it also gives you the possibility to press the "Special Dialog" button - press it now. It should bring you this window on screen 1 (the 9" multi touch screen):
Here you can choose a color by pressing anywhere in the colored area. You can also see how this affects your HSB, CMY and RGB values.
The Q fader is only active when fixtures with other additive color channels are selected. If the Q fader is set to 0% / Pure, the color is mainly mixed from the additionial color channesl, e.g. Amber. If the Q fader is set to 50 % / Max, the colors is mixed with maximum intensity together with RGB. If the Q fader is set to 100% / Primary, the color is mixed only from RGB channels.
Try to press the key (or where it says "Fader"). This gives you this window:
It's three different ways to assign a color to your fixture. Here you can control the gradiant color wheels using HSB (Hue, Saturation & Brightness), CMY (Cyan, Magenta & yellow) and/or RGB (Red, Green & Blue). They are all connected, so other faders will move when you are moving one.
Try to press the key (Swatch Book). The window changes to this:
This can be used to choose a color much like the ones in the books of the leading gel manufacturers.
Notice how your Fixture Sheet changes and always shows you what your fixture is outputting.
Press or tap at >>Raw Faders<<. The raw faders opens:
The raw faders displays all color channels of the selected fixture. Again it shows you RGB even though the actual fixtures uses CMY - don't worry.
Take some time to experiment with the fixture controls. When you're done clear your programmer and move on to the next page.
A preset is a way to store a set of values. There are around 10 different types of presets. They are named "All", "Dimmer", "Position", "Gobo", "Color", "Beam", "Focus", "Control", "Shapers" & "Video". Basically the preset type can only store their own kind of info i.e. the "Position" preset type can only store info about Position values.
The exception to this is the "All" presets. They can store info about all the types of values. The Preset Pool windows are a lot like the Group Pool window except if you have nothing selected the first time you press a preset button, the desk selects the fixtures/channels that can use that preset. If you press a second time the desk assigns the values (stored in the preset) to the fixtures/channels.
The last special button you might see is called "Dynamic". This is not a preset type, but it's a pool window that automatically changes type depending on what you have selected in the Preset Type Bar - very nice.
In this tutorial we are gonna use "All", "Position", "Gobo" and "Color" presets. How you arrange them is all up to you. You know how to create and store views.
But one thing that is good to know is that you can decide what color the frame around the different preset pools should have.
You enter the Pool Options by pressing the yellow ball above the preset pool headline:
Here you'll find a button called "Frame Color". Press it and press any if the colors on the left side of the options pop-up. This changes the color on you pool frames. When you are happy with the color please close the option pop-up by pressing the >>X<< in the upper right corner of the pop-up.
When you are done, your view could look something like this:
On the next page we are gonna look at creating presets.
In just a few seconds we are going to store a preset. But to make sure we save them correctly we need to examine the "Store options". Press and hold the key. After approx. 1 second the Store Options pop-up appears. The only thing we are interested in is the "Preset Options" they look like this:
Press the buttons until it looks like the buttons above. When you are happy press >>Save as Default<< in the title bar.
Finish by pressing the key twice (we are not storing anything right now).
All right, try placing all your moving lights in different positions.
When you are happy, make sure you can see the preset pool called "Position". Press and the first (Position) preset button.
Now instead of values our fixture sheet shows "P 2.1". This refers to Preset Pool 2, Pool Button 1. If you have given the preset a name, then this name will appear instead.
Move your lights to different position. Now press . This creates a second position preset. The "2 ." is a reference to the position presets (you may recall the window you created was called "2 Position").
Move your light and make one more position preset. Clear your programmer.
Select the first Mac 700 (Fixture 111). Change the color to a blue one using the Specialized Color Dialog. Press and hold the key. In the "Store Options" press the button "Preset Type Default" until it is changed to "Global". Now store it to the first color preset.
So what's the difference to the 2 different store options? All the Position presets we made with the "Preset Type Default" option - and the default for Position is something called "Selective". Notice the red "S" in the preset pool buttons. This means that the presets only applies to the fixtures that actually had values when you stored the preset. The "Global" - Yellow "G" - means that this preset applies to all fixtures of the same fixture types even though you have only created it with some of them.
The last option "Universal" (we haven't used yet) may be used to make presets that applies also to other fixture types than the one(s) used for creation. this functionality applies only to the generic attributes dimmer, pan, tilt and colormix.
Make 2 more color presets. Make 3 different gobo presets. Clear your programmer.
Press: . Now you have made an "All" preset that contains all the default values of the fixtures (The "Please Please Please" activates all parameters of the fixtures).
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Pressing multiple times without entering any commands, will activate/deactivate all parameters of the current selection. |
You should have presets that look something like this (I have rearranged the view so all the created presets are visible):
This is what we need for making our new second sequence. Go to the next page to do that.
Clear your programmer. Press the first Position preset twice. Now press and one of the buttons labeled "3" around executor fader 3.
Now we got our second sequence. Let's build some more into it. Select executor fader 3 by pressing followed by one of the executor buttons around the executor fader. Press the first Gobo and Color presets followed by . Then we got the Save pop-up:
Here you choose how you want to store things. Press >>Merge<<.
That was our first cue. Clear the programmer. Press the second Position twice followed by the second Gobo and Color presets and then . This time choose >>Create second Cue<< in the Store pop-up.
Make a third cue with the third Position, Gobo and Color presets.
The last cue I need you to make is a cue containing the "All" preset and all the cue times need to be 0 seconds! Clear your programmer.
Select your first sequence. Now press the green name field above the executor fader (where it says "Behind Curtain"):
On screen 1 you see some of the functions for that executor fader - please press the button or where it says >>Function<<. This window can be a bit confusing the first you see it, but right now we are only interested in is the size of the executor. Change that to 2 by pressing the key (or where it says "Width 2").
Now we need to change the button assignment. The buttons and fader can have a lot of different functions (explaining those goes beyond the scope of this tutorial). Press where it says "XF" and in the small pop-up select >>Rate<<.
Press where it says >>GoBack<< and choose the option called >>Rate 1<<. Change the rest of the buttons so they end up looking like this:
Close the Assign Menu by using the yellow X. What is a Rate fader? Well, the rate fader is used for changing the overall cue time of the fade. You can speed it up or slow it down to a complete stop. The times are not changes in the sequence permanently, just adapted to the faders position.
The button called "Rate1" resets the fader to the mid position, where all the times are back at their saved times.Try to move the fader while looking at the Sequence Executor Sheet. Reset the Rate when done.
The '<<<' and '>>>' steps one cue back and forward accordingly without time.
Have you noticed that we didn't save any dimmer values to the fixtures in the second sequence? We are going to put those in our first sequence. And we are going to do some sequence linking.
In your Sequence Executor window make sure you can see the "CMD" (command) column.
Right-click in the "CMD" cell for cue 1 and in the pop-up write: Goto cue 1 exec 1.3 followed by a 'Please'. In the "CMD" cell for cue 3 right-click and write: Goto cue 2 exec 1.3also followed by a 'Please'. In cue 4 the command is for cue 3 on executor 1.3. And in cue 6 we need a command to cue 4. When youre done it should look like this:
Now press the big key. Notice that booth sequences go to cue number 1. That's the command doing its trick.
Press the executor button. Turn on your moving light at full. Press . Press the key (or where it says "Original Content Only") followed by the X10 key (or where it says: "Save as Default").
Now there are two possible sequences to update. Make sure you update the one called "Sequ 1 'Behind Curtain'". You can do this by pressing the correct line.
Go to cue 6. Notice that the moving light gets the dimmer value "P0.1". This is actually the value 0%. But to make sure that no matter what, they go to 0, let's store this value in the first sequence also. Press: . Now you can see that you also have the option to update the preset. Don't do that; just update the cue in sequence 1.
Clear your programmer and try moving back and forward in your sequence to see how the link works.
On the next page we are going to have a look at "Worlds".
One last little treat for you is the Worlds. You can use the worlds to limit your own (and others) access to channels or fixtures. Find an empty space on your screens and create a new window called Worlds(it's in the "pools" section).
Press: followed by the second world button. Name it "Dimmers".
Clear your programmer. Now press: followed by world button number three. Name this "Moving Lights". When you are done it should look something like this (remember you can change the frame color):
Now you actually got three worlds! The two you created and then there is a default world called "Full". This one can't be changed. It will always give you the full world - access to all fixtures and channels.
Select >>Dimmers<<. Now try to press: . It doesn't work and they have disappeared from the fixture sheet.
If you select >>Moving Lights<< you can't control the dimmers.
You can still run sequences and the cues will run all their content (Dimmers and Moving Light) as if you were in the "Full" world. The only effect the worlds have is what you can select, manipulate and store in your programmer.
You should save your show. You can do this in the command line:
That was it! You have learned to make changes to the patch, controlling fixtures, creating and use presets, linking sequence and creating and use worlds.
Macros are basically lines of text, which are executed as command-line for processing. The power of macros is based on the power of the command-line.
To learn macros, you need to learn the grandMA2's commandline-syntax.
The first step to learn grandMA2 commandline-syntax is to always have a Commandline Response Window visible on one of your screens:
Most of your action on the console will result in an entry in this window, and will be listed as Done , Realtime or Macro:
You do not have to worry about these 3 different classifications for now. This indicates the source of the processed command, Realtime means that the command originated from your pushing executorbuttons and has been processed with a high priority, while Macro means that the command is originating from a direct hardkey, macro or cue-link etc. and not via the normal user-input commandline, - which is indicated with Done.
The encoders change to pan & tilt, and we see that the console has processed the following command:
So lets create a macro that does exactly this.
We now have a Macro called "Position", that will call the Pan&Tilt Encoders, and we may assign it to an Executor, view or User-keys for easy hardkey access:
You have now created your first basic macro. The following pages will learn you more about how to create complex macros.
A macro-button has several ways to interact with your command-line.
Lets say we have a Macro 5, with the command-line text "Highlight". Pressing this Macro, the following are processed by the console:
- the result is that Highlight is enabled/disabled, as expected.
But opposed to the normal Highlight Hardkey, you cannot operate this button without destroying what you currently are entering in the command-line. This is because the press of the Macro-button is interacting with your command-line - the macro is called via your normal command-line-input.
Open the Macro Editor, and disable the CLI option (X6) for Macro 5, close editor. Then try to press the macro-button again:
The push of your macro-button is now processed directly. You can operate it and turn Highlight on and off at any time, even if you are in the middle of entering some other commands.
So let us try to Edit the macro again by pressing Edit and the macro-button.
It is not possible anymore! Even if we have Edit in the commandline, pressing the macro just turns Highlight On and Off.
When we disabled CLI, we told the console that this macro-button should not interact with our commandline, so it does not react to our Edit Command either.
Don't' worry, the disabled CLI only applies to buttons in the pool, and when the Macro is assigned to an Executor or View-button. By using the commandline we can still tell the console that we want to edit this macro, via the Macro keyword, and the ID of the Macro.
Enter Edit Macro 5 in the command-line, followed by Please, to open the Editor when CLI is disabled.
Lets say we have a Macro 3, with the commandline text "Fixture 15". Pressing this Macro, the following are processed by the console:
- the result is that Fixture 15 gets selected, as expected.
What if we want to do something else with Fixture 15, than selecting it? can the Macro we made be used for this as well?
e.g. The syntax Edit Fixture 15 usually gives the dialog for changing patch and default-values for Fixture 15, so as our macro basically does "Fixture 15", how can we use the macro to get the dialog to patch Fixture 15?
Pressing , then the Macro button, we are editing Macro 5, not editing Fixture 15.
To be able to interact with the content of the macro, we need first to disable the macro-button's own CommmandLine Interaction (CLI), as in previous example, then we need to make sure that the macro-text "Fixture 15" is appended to whatever is in the Command-line. Appending a macro-line to the users existing commandline is done by starting the macroline with the @-sign:
You may also use the @-sign at the end of the macro-line, to indicates that the macro shall wait for the user to append some more text, before the line is processed.
By adding the @-sign both in the beginning and at the end, a singleline macro is effectively just putting text into the commandline.
Variables may be used to store phrases of text, for later reuse by commandline and macros, similar to what Presets are for Attributes.
Variables are defined via the SetVar keyword and the dollar-sign:
SetVar $nameofvariable="content of variable"
Whenever the variable is later referenced in the commandline, the variable is replaced by its content.
If only one chaser needs to be triggered, this simple syntax usually does the job.
By using variables, triggering of multiple chaser may be easily managed:
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Your console will only process valid commands. If none of the Executors exist, the console will not bother to process the command, and you will not see this last line |
With the keyword ListVar and ListUserVar, the Commandline Response Window will list current variables and their content.
Sometimes you may want to create a macro that collects data from the user while running.
As we learned in the CLI part of this tutorial, you may use the @-sign to combine macro-lines with user-interaction. The @ approach is convenient when the user knows how the macro works and don't want to be bothered by popups, but if one were to create a more wizard-like macro, using popup-dialogs enables guided interaction.
Popups are created by the use of parentheses - round brackets :
The text inside the parentheses are used as text prompted to the user, while the response entered by the user will replace the parentheses and the prompting text.
SetVar $universe=("Which Universe?")
SetVar $address=("Which Address?")
Assign Dmx $universe .$address At Selection
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In the third line, please notice the space after $universe, and no space between dot and $address |
Running this macro the console first promts for universe:
then for Address:
Processed, our macro looks like this:
DMX channel 401 of Universe 1 is added to the patch of the currently selected fixture.
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When you are using popups to assign text to variables, you should use quotes inside the parentheses: ("What is your name?") but when using popups for commands and numbers, do not use quotes inside the parentheses: Goto Cue (where should I go) |
In some situation you may want to only process a command, if the user has answered something specific in a popup, or if a variable is set to a specific value.
The grandMA2 supports simple conditional expressions, which must resolve to "True" for the following commandline to be executed.
SetVar $answer=("really delete all groups? yes/no")
[$answer=="yes"] Delete Group Thru
Conditional expressions are recognized by Square Brackets, and accept the following logical operators:
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The two arguments a and b are not compared as numbers, but as text-strings, character by character, e.g. "61" is considered to be greater than "599", as 6 is larger than 5. |
As you may have noticed within the Macro-editor, in addition to the command-text field, there is also a time-field for each macro line.
By default the macro will proceed immediately and start processing the next line, however this "Follow" may be changed to either a Wait-time in seconds, or a trigger to pause and wait for next Go, before the macro proceeds with next line.
Wrong timing is the major pitfall when creating complex macros. The console is multi-tasking so when a command immediately follows another, the second command will start processing, even if the previous has not yet finished processing.
If a macro-line depends on an earlier line, to be processed correctly, you may need to add a wait-time, to prevent the next command to follow immediately and be processed too early.
Let's create a Macro that Parks Channel 10 at 50%:
Channel 10 At 50
Park Channel 10
With the default "Follow" trigger, this macro does not work. Setting channel 10 to 50% takes some time, and our macro Parks the channel before the first line has been fully processed.
Giving the first line 50 millisecond to be processed, before proceeding to the next line, solves the problem in this case:
When creating complex macros it is wise to start with a timing of i.e. 100 milliseconds per line, unless you are sure that the lines that do not rely on previous lines to be fully processed.
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Necessary processing-time is not fixed. You may experience that a timing that worked when in Standalone is not enough in a session with multiple stations and NPU's |
Macros are useful if you easy want to change specific setting of your showfile, without the need to navigate thru multiple windows every time.
Lets try to make a Macro that toggles ETC Net2 on/off.
This setting is usually found under Setup > Network > Dmx Protocols > ETC Net2.
First we need to find this object in the Showfile object tree:
Index number 4 "DMX_Protocols", which have (6) childs/subobjects looks promising, lets examine it by enter this destination with the CD keyword, and do List a second time:
Index number 2, "ETC Net2" seems to do what we need. It as a green (editable) property "Active" with no value, lets try to change this value to "on" via normal Assign syntax:
and List again to check if it worked:
Now that we know where the object is in the showfile, (from Root, then index 4 then index 2), and we know how to change it (/Active=on ) we may exit to Root destination, and create our macro
And enter what we have learned
Notice the Go trigger in the time Column, to have the next line wait for the next macropress, to make this a toggling two state button.
Finally you could add some sugar and change the Macro label to indicate the status of this macro (has it just switch on or off the ETCNet)
If you have created a nice macro you would probably want to use it in other showfiles.
The current solution for this is to Export the Macro, then Import the Macro after loading the other showfile.
will create an xml-file labeled "Nice_macro" containing your macro, in the Macro-directory of your console.
to Import macros you need to change your commandline destination to macros:
then import the file with the following syntax
Macro(s) in the file "Nice_macro" will be imported and added after the last of your existing macros.
To list the files in your Macro-library, the current keyword is ListMacroLibrary
Export and Import applies to the currently Selected Drive. To i.e. Export to USB-stick, enter SelectDrive to find the drive-ID of your Stick, then select the drive with the syntax SelectDrive [ID].
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Remember to change destination to root with CD / when you are finished |
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Import/Export currently do not support preservation of Macro ID. macros are imported after your last used Macro ID, in other words if you last current macro is Macro 245, the imported macros will become Macro 246 and upwards |
FixtureTypes are definitions used by the console to generate Fixtures in Patch & Fixture Schedule. Even though the grandMA2 comes with an extensive FixtureType Library, you might want to create your own or edit an existing type.
In this tutorial, we are going to make a FixtureType for the Clay Paky Golden Scan 4.
The first thing to do is to get hold of the manual with DMX-specifications of this fixture from the manufacturer.
Then we enter
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If your showfile is empty, you will be prompted with two popups, - cancel these by pressing the "X" in the upper right corner. |
Continue by pressing the softkeys , then , to create a new one.
The next to do is to populate the empty fields, and describe our fixture (longName, ShortName etc)
We leave Model to automatic. Tap , to open the FixtureType Editor.
Our next task is to examine the spec of the GoldenScans functions:
Tap (or right-click the "New"). Tap and hold in cell of the Attrib column. In the popup-dialog select .
Your editor should now look like this:
Repeat Add & edit of Attributecolumn with the following attributes:
Do not add the two last Functions listed by Clay Paky, Pan Fine and Tilt fine.
Our next task is to Edit the Coarse and Fine column, and enter the DMX-channel for each function according to the first column in the Clay Paky List. When finished, your editor should look like this:
The next step is to add default-values for each function. By default, the range of each function is 0 - 100%, so we enter the defaults as a percentage value.
Examining the manual, I find that I should change the default from zero for the following functions
At the same go, we also adjust the Highlight-values. Highlight values is personal preferences, basically I want the fixture to be Open White, but don't affect i.e gobo so I choose my Highlight values to be:
We have now created a very basic GoldenScan4, with the minimum data needed, to control this fixture, so we should now close the editor, connect the fixture to the console, patch and test that the each function work.
If you do not have the fixture available, you may patch and look at the DMX Sheet window to check that your encoders controls the correct DMX-channels.
The Auto-calibration system is a system for the software to position moving light fixtures based on four markers on the floor. This can work but you need to be very precise.
You need to open the Stage window go into the options (tap the yellow ball in the upper left corner). Then you need to select the Calibration tab and finally tap the soft button.
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It is possible that each individual fixture can be calibrated within a separate physical rectangle. An asterisk '(*)' means that the parameters of the rectangles are not equal across current selection. |
Please have a look at the Calibration Pop-up for a more detailed description.
We will go through steps that introduce you to the most common effect functions.
But before doing a lot of programming, we need to have a look at the theory behind the effects.
Effects run in a loop between two values. This uses a 'Form' to change between the values over a period of time.
A form could be a sine curve:
In the effect editors we have two options to look at values. One is 'low' / 'high' the other is 'Center' / 'Size'. In the following tutorials we are going to look at both methods.
When using 'Low' / 'High' mode, then bottom part of the form is 'Low' and the top part is 'High'. When using the other method, the 'Center' value will define a value to move over and under. It's the horizontal center line in the picture above. The 'Size' value will make the form bigger or smaller.
In cues and in the programmer, the speed of the effect is often controlled by the 'Speed' value. This can be modified with a 'Rate' or 'Speed' master.
If you need to spread out a group of fixtures to begin different places in the effect loop you need to use 'Phase'. Phase is often described as a number between 0 and 360. Think of the loop as a circle, and the numbers as a number of degrees on that circle.
And this is basically what you need for an effect.
Some forms can also use parameters like 'Width', 'Attack' and 'Decay'.
'Width' controls how much the form should occupy the cycle. A 'Width' of 100% makes the form take up all the time in the cycle. If the 'Width' is only 50% then the form only occupies the first half of the cycle.
'Attack' And 'Decay' is used to 'fade' values in forms that doesn't normally fade (Random, PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) and Chase).
In the following tutorials we will look at:
You will get the best result if you follow the steps precisely. You can always save your show, play around, and then return to your saved show.
Go to the next page for setting up a new show with some fixtures.
For the different effect tutorials we need a new empty show, that doesn't have any leftovers (no default setting and user settings) from previous shows.
I will not go into details of how to do this (it's outside the scope if this tutorial).
Create a completely empty new show.
Name it "Tutorial Effects" followed by your name.
Create 10 "Mac 700 Profile Extended" from Martin Lighting.
Place then in one line, 5 meters above the floor facing down. They need to have approx. 1 meter between them. Ca. in the middle of the room. They need to be hanged so fixture 1 is at the stage right and they all follow in number, ending with fixture 10 at the stage left.
Create views that gives you a fixture sheet (with the Layer Control Bar turned on), color presets and an Effect pool.
And it might be nice with a view with the "Stage" window.
That's it. Now you are ready to go to the next tutorial page.
You should have a new show for this tutorial. On the previous page we went through the setup we need for these tutorials.
When working with effects in the programmer there are some elements that are vital for controlling what's going on.
In the fixture sheet you need to turn on the 'Layer Control bar'. In this bar you'll find some buttons. Press the magenta 'Effect Layers' button so the bar looks like this:
These buttons allows you to control what part of the effect you are controlling with your encoders.
We are also going to use the 'Encoder Effect Toolbar'. It's the one above the encoders (bottom of screen two). This is what it looks like when you are in the Effects Layers:
This is used to control what parameters we are working on and assign values to the parameters.
On the Encoder bar you'll see the 'Special Dialog' button. Pressing it opens (and closes) the Effect Editor on screen 1. It could look like this:
Here we can work with effects in a more dynamic way. We are going to use this editor when creating our effect.
We are going to build an effect that moves the fixtures in a circle. This looks like a figure of 8 when the heads pointing strait down. But when moved off center it becomes a circle.
It's going to be a nice slow movement.
Select all your fixtures by any means you like. I prefer using the keys ( ). It's important for this tutorial that you select them in the correct order, starting with 1 and finishing with 10.
Make sure you select the 'Position' button in the Encoder Toolbar. And open the Special Effect Dialog.
On the right side of the editor you'll see a 'Pan' and a 'Tilt' button. They have an on or off status. When they are on they have yellow text and a dark yellow background color.
We are going to add some value for both Pan and Tilt. So go ahead and select both of them.
Now press right under where it says 'Speed'.
This opens the calculator. Here we can type the desired speed. You also have the possibilities to select some predefined values. We are going to make an effect with a 4 seconds cycle. That means we need to select the '15 BPM' option.
We also need to spread the fixtures across the effect cycle (Phase). This means that the fixtures will do the same movement, but will be spread out over the entire loop cycle.
Press right under where it says 'Phase'. This again opens the calculator. Here you need to select the '0 THRU -360' option. This takes the amount of fixtures and spread them evenly across the cycle. Because of the way the mathematics work If you want a movement from left to right (looking at the stage) you need to choose the negative (minus) 360 option, not the '0 THRU 360' (positive 360).
At the lower part of the editor you'll see different buttons.
There are two buttons we need to look at.
The one in the lower right corner should say 'Val. Readout Center/Size'. If it doesn't then press it until it does.
The other button is also in the lower row (number four from the right). It can say 'Relative' or 'Absolute'. We need it to say 'Relative'
'Relative' refers to how the values are applied. This key toggles between 2 modes, 'Absolute' and 'Relative'. When it's 'Absolute', the values we use are absolute values. The effect will use those values only. If you change to 'Relative', it will use those values as a reference according to its current location. E.g. if a 'Dim' attribute has a 'Low' value of '10' and a 'High' of '50' and mode is 'Absolute'. Then the effect will cycle between 10% and 50% no matter what dimmer value the fixtures was assigned. If mode is 'Relative', then the cycle between 10% and 50% will use the actual value in the Value layer as a base, and Low and High will be put on top of it. E.g. setting the value of the dimmer to 25%, the cycle of 10% to 50% will result in an output of 35% to 75%.
Now we need to make some changes to the Pan parameter only. So press the 'Tilt' button, to deselect it. Make sure that you only have selected the Pan parameter.
Now press where it says 'Form'. In the pop-up you need to select the one called 'Circle'. In the next small pop-up, select the second line called '18.2 Circle'.
Then we need to change the size value. Press where it says 'Size'. Change the value to '60'.
Now we need to make some changes to the tilt parameter only. Make sure you have selected the 'Tilt' button only.
Press the 'Form' again. Here you also need to select the 'Circle' form. But in the small select pop-up you need to select the top line ('18.1 Circle').
We need to change the size to '40'.
Now the fixtures are moving. But for us to see that in the Stage window, you need to turn them on. Do this by pressing the key twice. Remember that when the fixtures are pointed strait down, then move in a figure of 8 (it's how the mechanics work).
This dimmer value won't be stored when we store the effect. This is because it isn't an effect value.
Now you can see all the light move.
This is basically all we need for our effect.
Let's store what we got. Write this in the command line:
Followed by a .
Now let's check that it worked.
Clear you programmer. Press the effect pool button twice and the turn the fixture on.
Now everything should be moving as before.
Try to tilt your fixtures forward to something like a tilt value of "25" and you will see that it changes from a figure of 8 to a circle.
The effect we have just created is a "Selected" effect. This means that it will only work on the fixtures we had selected when we created the effect.
On the next page we are going to create a template effect using the Effect Editor pop-up.
The effect we are going to make is a dimmer chase that snaps to 100% and then fades back to 0%.
If you haven't done the previous effects tutorial I'll strongly urge you to do so.
Make sure your programmer is empty, by pressing the button for more than 3 seconds.
Now press the key followed by the second effect pool button.
This gives you the Effect Editor pop-up. This is currently empty:
To make an effect you need to add an effect line with the 'Dim' attribute.
Press the 'Add' button and in the 'Select Effect Attribute' you need to select 'Dim' and then 'Confirm'.
This gives us the effect line we need:
We can edit the value here, but the nice way to edit this is by pressing the 'Edit Effect Line'. This is what it looks like:
This looks very much like what we used in the first effects tutorial.
Now we need to make some changes to the effect.
You need to change the form. Press where it says form. In the pop-up we need to select the 'PWM' Form.
The standard default speed is a bit fast. Let's change it to 30 BPM.
Since we want the effect to go from 0% to 100%, that needs to be our two absolute values. This is done using the buttons in the lower part of the editor. Here you'll find a button called ether 'Line Relative' or 'Line Absolute'. This button need to say 'Line Absolute'. The other button will say 'Val.Readout Center/Size', 'Val.Readout Auto' or 'Val.Readout Low/High'. This need to be 'Val.Readout Low/High'.
Now we can make sure the 'Low' value is '0' and the 'High' value is '100'.
Instead of all the fixtures to do the same, we want to spread the values evenly across the fixtures. To do this we need the 'Phase From' to be '0' and the 'Phase To' to have a value of '360'.
The standard 'Width' is 100% but, we would like it to be more dark than bright. So moving the 'Width' fader down to '15%' gives us the desired look.
Now all we need is to make it fade out. This is done by turning the 'Decay' up to '100'.
That's it! we have now created a template effect using the Effects Editor.
And since we started by editing an (empty) effect all our changes are automatically stored (or actually updated) in the effect. So you can close all the editors (always a good idea when you are done).
But we should label it. Press the button twice followed by effect pool button number 2. Label it "Dim Effect".
Now we can test it. Select all the fixtures and press the pool button. The effect should now be running.
What we have created is a template effect. Notice on the pictures above that the QTY (quantaty) column says "0". This means that there are no fixtures assigned. So all fixtures that have a 'Dim' parameter can use this template effect. When you choose some fixtures and then assign this effect, you copy the information in the effect pool to the selected fixtures. This information is now in your programmer and can be saved. If you store this in a cue and later change the template effect, these changes will not be used in the cue. This is only transferred to the cues (like presets) when the effect is "Selected" and not "Template".
Next we are going to take a look at using presets in effects.
If you haven't done the previous effects tutorials I'll strongly urge you to do so.
Before we begin making this tutorial, you need to make two different color presets using the CMY attributes. It's very important that you make Color presets or All presets that uses only the CMY parameters (you can use other parameters- but that's not the point with this tutorial).
I made an Orange color presets and named it 'Orange', I know - it's the logic choice:-). And a blue preset - guess what I called that one (yes - 'Blue' is the correct answer).
We have gone through many of the elements we need for making this effect. The new thing is that instead of using 'Low' / 'High' or 'Center' / 'Size' values, we are going to use references to color presets.
This means that to change colors, you don't need to change the effect - you can simply change the presets. Ergo: business as usual with presets.
Make sure your programmer is empty.
Select all your fixture and then make sure the 'Effect Layer' is selected. Then you need to select the 'Low' layer.
Then you can press the first (Orange) preset.
Now select the 'High' layer and then the other (Blue) preset.
Now all the fixture are at the same place in the effect cycle. We would like the fixture to be distributed out on the cycle.
Select the 'Phase' layer and the 'Color' Preset type and the 'ColorMix' feature. Next to this there's a 'Link' button - press this until it says 'Link Feature'.
Now press the first encoder under the 'CM1' attribute. In the calculator pop-up select '0.0 thru -360.0'. With 'Link Feature' this phase should also be applied to 'CM2' and 'CM3'.
Now press followed by the third effect pool button. And label the new effect 'Color Effect'.
And that's it! Test it by clearing your programmer. Then press the effect twice and turn on the lights:
The image above displays my result. There is a magenta color in the transition between the orange and blue. But that's what happens when you fade between the two colors.
If you now change the color in the presets, the effect will use the new color.
In the next effect tutorial, we are going to have a closer look at running effects in a sequence.
If you haven't done the previous effects tutorials I'll strongly urge you to do so.
In this tutorial we are going to use the color effect we just created in the previous tutorial with the blue and orange colors.
There's not so much to program in this tutorial, but a lot to learn.
Let's try to make some cues.
Select all your lights and turn then on in a red color (please don't use any of the two color presets we used in effect number 3).
Store this as cue 1 on an executor.
Clear your programmer and run cue 1.
Now we want to use our orange/blue color effect. So press it twice to select the fixtures and apply the effect.
Now two things can happen.
If you actually see the orange/blue colors, then you haven't followed the steps precisely ;-) It's ok, keep reading and we'll go through what happens.
If you followed the steps and are on a 2.6 (or later) version, you are now looking at something that looks like a dimmer sine effect.
With this effect running store a new cue (2) with a fade time of 3 sec. Clear your programmer. You should now be back in cue 1.
The reason that your effect didn't look like the orange/blue effect we originally created is the Mode. We made a 'Relative' effect. This puts the effect values on top if the existing values from the previous cue. So adding an orange/blue color on top of a red color will give you a red/black look. We need to change the effect. Press followed by the 3rd effect - this opens the Effect Editor.
We need to change the mode for each line from 'Relative' (Rel) to 'Absolute' (Abs). Select all lines by pressing the top line holding and dragging down to the bottom line and then release the screen. You can do this in any column. Now you can press where it says 'Line Relative' in the bottom line until it says 'Line Absolute'. Now each line in the 'Mode' column should say "Abs".
Close the Effect Editor and press Go. Now you should experience a nice fade from the red color to the color effect fading in the effect in 3 seconds.
That's nice - but let's try to make a cue 3 where we return to same look as cue 1.
To stop an effect in a cue, we need to "stomp" the effect.
Press and at the same time. This gives you the "Stomp" keyword in the commandline. Next press the and at the same time. Now you fixtures should be white!
Let's just go through what have happened. and gives the "Stomp" keyword, this is used when you want to stop effects.
Then we presses and at the same time. This selects the preset type "Color". So what we have done is taken the effect out of the color preset type.
'Ok, but why is the fixtures white and not red?' - you ask. Well this is because it's an 'Absolute' effect. When you take the stomp value in your programmer from an absolute effect, then it displays the default values (white).
Now store cue 3 with a fade time of 3 seconds. Clear your programmer. You should now look at cue 2 with the effect running.
Press Go.
Now you should see a nice fade from the effect back to the tracked red color from cue.
This is an example of how fixtures can get values from different layers (value layers and effect layers). Let's have a look in the tracking sheet:
The picture above display three different layers, but it's the same sequence and it's the values stored for fixture number 1.
The tracking sheet on the left is the 'Values' layer. Here you can see that the fixture gets a dimmer value and a color (red) in cue 1. These values are tracked through cue 2 and 3.
The tracking sheet on the right is the 'EffectID' layer. Here we can see that the fixtures colors are referencing an effect (number 3 called "Color Effect"). The important part here is that we don't get the values from the effect in our cue, but we are calling the effect (preset) called "Color Effect". If you remember, we stored cue number 2 even though it was an relative effect - we then changed the effect to absolute, but didn't change cue number 2 - we didn't need to.
The middle tracking sheet displays the 'Form' layer. You can see that the color attributes uses the 'sin' form in cue 2. There are two things to notice here.
In cue 3 we have stored a relative (there's an "R" in front of the Form number and name) stomp form. This returns the color to the tracked (red) color from the value layer. So we are actually stomping the Form effect layer.
It's also worth noticing how the colored bars in the tracking sheet helps you to see where the colors gets their values.
Let's try to make a new sequence where we use the relative position effect we made in the previous tutorial (Move Effect).
We need three position presets for this tutorial. Create one with all the fixtures in their home position; one where they all point on stage left and one where they all point stage right.
Create a new sequence with cue 1 that turns on all the fixtures and uses the Stage Left position. Clear your programmer and run cue 1.
Now press the "Move Effect" twice (once to select the fixture, and once more to apply the effect). Store this as cue 2 with a fade time of 3 seconds. Clear your programmer and run the cue.
What you should experience is the effect fading in the size of the circle. all circling around the Stage Left position. So this is a movement (Center/Size values) around the positions from the Value layer (Stage Left).
Now press the Stage Right position twice. Store this as cue 3 with a fade time of 3 seconds. Clear your programmer and run the cue.
What should happen is the fixtures continuing the circle effect but moving the fixture so the circle effect is now circling the Stage Right position.
Now press and followed by the Home preset. Store this as cue 4 with a fade time of 3. Clear your programmer and run the cue.
What hopefully happens is your fixtures fading out the circle effect (because we used stomp) and moving to the Home position (because we stomped in the Home preset).
Let's have a look at the tracking sheets:
The same sheet display the same layers as the previous picture above.
Let's talk about what happens in the cues.
Cue 1: In the Value layer we can see that the fixtures get a position from a preset and they are turned to full (called "open").
Cue 2: The dimmer and position preset are tracked. In the EffectID layer we can see that the positions get the effect called "Move Effect". I the Form layer we can see that its a relative (because of the "R" in front of the number and name).
Cue 3: In this cue we can see that the position in the Value layer is changed to a different preset. The effect is tracked, so the circle movement continues.
Cue 4: In this cue you can see that the fixture gets a new position (Home) in Value layer. In the Effect Form layer we can see that the effect is stopped using the Stomp in the Form layer.
Again I suggest keeping an eye on the colored bars in the tracking sheet. They actually tell the whole story :-)
Controlling the speed can quickly become very complicated. It's important to know that many factors can have an impact on your effects speed.
If you don't have any intention of changing your effect using a speed master or rate master, you should just use the speed column in the Effect Editor to change the speed.
But if you would like to use the effect with a master you need to know a few things.
The default speed for effects is 60 BPM = 1 Hz. All new speed masters also use this as a default.
If you need to use a speed master I suggest you change the speed in the effect to 60 BPM. That way your effect will run the speed displayed at the master.
The speed master is a multiplier with a base value of 60 BPM. The best way to know whatīs going on is to do the following.
Make a Speed master 1 on executor 6.
Edit the Move Effect. Change the speed on both Pan and Tilt to 60 BPM and in the Speed Group column select Speed 1.
Now run cue number 2 in the last sequence we made.
Have a look in the Fixture sheet in the Effect Speed layer. The effect should say 60 BPM.
When you move the speed fader up and down the effect speed will follow this speed.
Reset the speed master to 60 BPM by typing the following in the commandline.
Edit the effect so it says 30 bpm in the speed column.
Notice that the Speed Group Master still says 60 bpm, but in the fixture sheet we can see that the resulting speed output is 30 bpm.
If you now move the Speed Group Master up to 120 bpm (fader 6 at 53.3) the resulting speed is 60 bpm.
If you move the Speed Group Master up and down with the Effect Editor open, you can see that this changes the value in the speed column.
If your effect uses a Speed Group Master then the Executor Speed Master for the sequence don't have any effect on the speed. If you haven't assigned any Speed Group Master then the Executor Speed Master, with the exception that it doesn't change the set speed in the Effect Editor.
Bottom line is this: There's a ton of ways to modify the speed used by effects. They are all tailored to different ways to use the console. There's no right or wrong way. Keep it simple and remember that the Fixture Sheet Effect Speed Layer displays the resulting speed. The Effect Speed Group Layer can help identifying any Speed Group Masters.
In the next effect tutorial, we are going to edit an effect using the command line.
Now we are going to change the speed of the color effect using the command line.
If you haven't done the previous effects tutorials, I'll strongly urge you to do so - since we are going to edit one of the effects.
You need to have a Command Line window so you can see what you are going.
The two main keywords for this tutorial is 'List' and 'CD'.
'List' is used to display show data. 'CD' is "Change Directory" - it's used to navigate the layers or folders of the console.
Please follow the links at the bottom for more details about these commands.
Every input line displayed in the following tutorial is followed by a to execute the command.
We need to navigate to the effects. We do that using the 'CD' keyword
This will take us directly to the effect part of the console.
Now we should use the 'List' to see what options we have:
Now we get a list of your three effects. The number in the parentheses are the number of lines each effect uses:
Our goal is to change the speed of the color effect. So we need to go into the third effect:
A new 'list' revials a lot more:
What you now see is all the lines in the effect (in each row) and all the elements in the lines (the columns). Those with a green headline (like 'Speed') can be changed using commands like assign 1 /dir=. Those with a yellow color are references to other elements. They can be changed using commands like assign form "Cos" at 1. The red color indicates elements that cannot be changed.
Now let's change the 'Speed' in the first line:
You can do another 'list' to check that it changed the rate. Now do the two other lines:
That's it. Now all three line have a speed of 30 BPM.
Return to the "root" of the console by typing "cd /" in the command line.
In the next tutorial we are going to have a look at using macros to edit our effects.
It's important that you have followed all the previous steps in the previous effect tutorials. If you haven't done that, then I strongly urge you to do so.
We are going to use some command elements that's outside the scope of this tutorial. If you want to learn more about making macros, please complete the Macro tutorial.
We almost have all the windows we need. The one thing you should add is the macro pool.
Press and then the first Macro pool button.
Press Add (the key). We are going to create a variable called "newSpeed". This variable will hold the new speed time. The first thing our macro should do is to ask us what speed we want, and store it in the variable.
In the 'Text' cell of the macro write this:
SetVar $newSpeed = (What speed do you want?)
Add a new line to you macro. We are now going to navigate to the effect. We leant how to do this in the previous tutorial page. In the macro line type this:
cd Effect 3
That takes us directly to the color effect (effect number 3). Now we can use the variable to assign the new speed to the lines.
Add a new line in the macro and write this:
ass 1 t 3 /speed=$newSpeed
Now all we need is to return to the root. Add line to the macro, and type this:
cd /
Press the 'Label' button and label it "New Speed for Colors".
The macro is done. It should look like this:
Close the editor - again this is a good idea when you are done editing.
And we are done. Make your color effect run and then test your new macro.
There's only one page left. Here we are going to take a look at different ways the effects can be run and controlled.
In this last effect tutorial we will look at some of the ways to use effects. Not really a tutorial, but more a short explanation.
First we need to take a look at how the Effects Pool window work.
The pool have three different modes, that can all be changed using the pool options (press the yellow bale above where it says "Effect"):
Let's have a look at other ways to run effects.
You can run effects directly in your programmer. This can be useful in one-offs or any situation where you can improvise and there's room to play.
You can build the effect directly or you can use the effect pool (in 'Normal Call' or 'Fast Call') to take the effects into your programmer.
When we previously made an effect in the programmer, we stored it in an effect pool button - but we could have stored it directly in a cue (or updated an active cue).
Values will then fade using the fade times in the cue. You can also change any effect values from cue to cue.
Selected effects you have stored in the effect pool, work as effect "presets". You can call these effects and store them in cues. If you then change the effect your changes will be used in the cue.
You can assign an effect to an executor. Simply by pressing and then an executor button.
There are three special options for effects on executors: 'Off On Overwritten', 'Speed (factor)', 'Speed (master)' and (for sequences) 'Link Effect To Rate'.
You may change these options by opening the Assign-menu for the Executor, press , then the Exec-button, and select Options on the right hand side.
'Off On Overwritten' turns the effect off if it's completely overwritten by new values.
'Speed (factor)' is used to multiply or divide the overall speed of the entire effect.
'Speed (master)' is 'individual' as a standard. This means that the speed stored in the effect is the ones used (plus the speed factor). You can use this button to assign the effect executor to an speed group master (there are 15 possible speed group masters). Try pressing here and select 'Speed 1'. Then assign a speed group master to an executor. Then run your effect and turn the speed master up and down.
'Link Effect To Rate' adds another element to your speed. You can add the rate master. This is like an extra speed factor, that you can use to change the speed of the effect. The more of these elements you use the more complicated it gets to set an actual speed - so keep it simple.
When you press followed by a pool button, you'll run the effect directly in the pool (only selected effects). You can also achieve this when your pool is in 'Pool Backback' mode. Then you just need to press the pool buttons.
To change the options in the 'Pool Playback'. Press the followed by the pool button (only when in 'Pool Playback'). This gives you the assign menu and you can change the options described above.
Effects running on executors or in the pool have a higher priority than effects in from the sequences.
You can view all the running effect by pressing and holding the key (or create a 'Running Effects' window). This allows you to get an overview of all the running effects. And turn them off.
The effect engine in the grandMA2 has introduced some big changes. The possibility to use presets directly in the effect is a major advantage. Coming from the grandMA series 1, you will notice that the modulators has disappeared. But the new changes to the effect generator allows you to make the same effects in a more streamlined method. But hopefully you'll have some idea of how they work after finishing these tutorials.
MIB is a function which in a tracking sequence will look ahead and preposition attributes of fixtures that are fading in from zero, to automatically prevent "ugly" transitions where you would normally see the fixture move the attributes into position, while the fixture is fading in.
MIB is enabled on a cue-per-cue basis (actually per cue-part), by giving the MIB-property of the cue-part a value which tells the console when it should do the prepositioning.
If Cue 91 is given a MIB-value of "-5", the console will as soon as possible from Cue 86 and forward try to preposition fixtures for Cue 91. (91 minus 5 equals 86 -> Cue 86)
The actual prepositioning of each attribute will not necessarily take place in the cue indicated by the MIB-value. "as soon as possible" means that for each attribute, the prepositioning will be put "on hold" if any of the scenarios below is present.
In the Sequence Executor Sheet you will find the MIB-column, where you may edit the MIB-value via normal right-click/encoder-click and enter the value.
An asterisk "*" indicates that a Cue is capable of MIB, but no MIB-value is given, while a MIB-value in red indicates that a MIB-value is given, but the cue is not capable to MIB.
- "MIB-capability" here defined as a cue with one or more fixtures with dimmer-value above zero, and previous state of dimmer-value not above zero (=fixture is fading up) - and one or more other additional attributes (= something to preposition)
MIB is a property of Cue Parts, and its value may be assigned with standard syntax:
A useful MIB-macro could go something like this:
Assign Cue /mib=off
SetVar $mibvalue=("Please enter MIB")
AssignCue /mib=$mibvalue
Pressing the Macro and Please, will disable MIB for the current cue, while presing the Macro, then a number followed by Please, will set the MIB-value for current cue.
MIB Delay is the time to wait from a fixture have faded out until it starts to MIB, while MIB fade is the actual time used to prepositioning.
Increasing MIB Delay may be useful for fixtures with slow dimmer or afterglow. Increasing MIB Fade may be useful for noisy fixtures, or if the movement of the fixturebody is visually disturbing for the audience
In addition to the general MIB-timing found under Setup>Show>Playbacktiming, it is also possible via the fixturetype Editor to set individual MIB delay per Fixturetype, and individual MIB fade per attribute per Fixturetype.
When MIB Fade is active (fixtures are moving to preposition), the Executor key backlighting will blink slowly
Attributes which have MIB'ed will be displayed in the ExecutorID and SequenceID layer of the Fixture Sheet with a slightly paler shade of the usual backgroundcolor (green for selected Executor, yellow for others), to indicate that the source of the value is from a future cue.
When using MIB, the desk is not only tracking values from earlier cues, it is also tracking forward and outputting values from future, non-executed cues. This is sort-of "Back to the Future", with dilemmas you find in time-travel-theory.
e.g
As we don't want to see the scroll to blue in cue 10, we mark this cue as MIB early.
now let's say we're in cue 5 and want to make some changes...
Next time we play back the sequence, cue 5 does not look the same?
- last time we played back the sequence, fixture one was blue because it had prepositioned to cue 10, however as it is now used in cue 5 it cannot preposition until after cue 6, - and will stay red.
These issues may be minimized by not prepositioning too early, and by activating MIB Never in the Executor Assign-menu if you are to make major changes to your cues.
In a tracking sequence, the content of a cue represent the changes happening in that cue. Any unchanged values will track from earlier cues, and the state - the actual look - of the cue is a combination of what has happened earlier and what is happening in the cue. This tracking philosophy works similar to how the staging, set-design and any props may be handled.
Cue 1: Place sofa on stage left.
Cue 2: Actor1 enters from rear.
Cue 3: Actor2 enters from left and gets seated.
Cue 4: Actor1 exits stage right.
Even though Cue 3 only tells us that Actor2 will be in the sofa, when we are in Cue 3, we also have the sofa and Actor1 on stage. Unless we take out the sofa, it will stay on stage....
In some scenarios, you may want this tracking behaviour to stop. When starting the second act, you don't want any additional props added to first act to stay on the stage, just because you didn't tell the stage-crew to carry these out when you originally created the look of the first cue of second act. - You want this tracking behaviour to Break.
The Break mode of a cue will make sure that any later addition or changes in earlier cues is reverted back to its original state in the break-cue, similar to how a Cue-Only store would work for the next cue.
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A Break is indicated in both Sequence Executor and Sequence Tracking sheet with a white line above the cue. |
By default when calling a cue with a normal "Go", only the content of the cue is called, not the tracking state. If you are only using one executor/playback this behaviour is irrelevant, however if you have other executors that have overwritten your state, you might in some scenarios want that calling the cue also calls the tracking state. This may be achieved with then cue-mode Assert. Assert will call the state of your sequence, by using the original timing, and not affect any ongoing fades, (e.g. a 30 minutes sunset still on it's way out).
In other scenarios, you might want to re-establish state, and assert the sequence, but terminate any ongoing fades. The cue-mode X-Assert will crossfade to the current state - with the timing of the current cue. This may be used i.e. if you want to make sure that your zero second Blackout Cue is cutting to black, even if you have to run the cue earlier than usual and the sunset has not yet finished.
The mode property of a cue may be accessed with normal syntax for changing object-properties:
Assign [cue] /mode=[mode]
Example:
AssignCue 3/mode=x-break
It is a fast way to change values, e.g. to exchange presets within a sequence, or to interchange values and presets. The result is displayed in a log and temporarily stored as SEARCHRESULT. The possible combinations for the Search and Replace function are endless. The function can be selected via predefined macros, via hardkey + or, with the following syntax, via CommandLine:
SEARCH search_for_objects [[AT] search_values] IF search_in_objects or REPLACE search_for_objects [WITH replace_with_objects [IF search_in_objects]]
Searching Values: If the attribute is not specified, it will be searched for the dimmer attribute.
Note: | Searching for presets or effects is an OBJECT -Search - not a value search! |
Save: protocol will be saved to hard drive or USB storage device
Load: not implemented
Ok or yellow X: protocol disappear
Searching for objects: it can be searched for nearly any kind of object
Searching in objects:
With this result:
REPLACE (values or objects): Same as Search function but with a new section introduced by the With keyword.
For fast typing with the hardkeys: 2x
Requirement: Use the keyboard for the following example. If you use the command keys, the At key will interrupt the replace command.
Confirm with OK: replacement is performed
OK CREATE PROTOCOL: replacement is performed and it creates a protocol
CANCEL: replacement ist canceled
The result if replacement is performed:
Replace objects
Confirm with OK, OK Create Protocol or Cancel
Searchresult
The search result is stored temporarily after each command SEARCH and can be used as an object in the next search, e.g.
SEARCH Fixture Thru Attribute "R" AT 0 IF SEQUENCE Thru starts a search in all sequences
SEARCH Fixture Thru Attribute "G" AT 20 IF SEARCHRESULT only searches through the results of top search - so you can refine a search, similar to a filter.
With the command SELFIX SEARCHRESULT all fixtures of the searchresult will be selected.
With the command SEARCHRESULT the searchresult-world opens. This (temporary) world only contains fixtures from the searchresult. To close this world, select world 1 (Full) or the last opened world in which you have worked.
With the command List Attribute all the attributes of patched fixtures in this show are shown in one list - so you have the overview and the spelling of all attributes. Since the content of this list depends on the fixture types, it may change if other fixture types are included in the show file.
...and some more examples:
Search | Result |
---|---|
Search Fixture x thru y | A list with all presets, groups, selective effects and cues containing these fixtures |
Search Fixture x if Sequence thru | A list with all sequences / cues containing these fixtures |
Search Fixture x Attribute "Pan" | A list with all preset pools / presets, sequences / cues and selective effects which contain the attribute of these fixtures |
Search Fixture x.*. "Tilt" | A list with all preset pools / presets, sequences / cues and selective effects which contain the attribute of these sub-fixtures |
Search Preset x.y | A list with all fixtures, sequences / cues containing these presets |
Search Preset 1.*if Executor x thru y | A list with all fixtures, sequences / cues containing presets of presettype 1 assigned on the corresponding executors. |
Search Attribute "Pan" if Preset *.* | A list with all fixtures, preset pools / presets containing these attributes |
Search Value x thru y | A list with all fixtures, preset pool / presets, sequences / cues containing these values |
Search Fade x thru y | A list with all fixtures, sequences / cues containing individual fade times within the range of x to y |
Replace | Result |
---|---|
Replace Attribute "Pan" At -270 Thru 270 with -260 Thru 280 | Adds + 10° to all Pan values in all cues and presets |
Replace Attribute "Dim" At 0 Thru 100 with 0 Thru 90 if sequence x | Subtracts 10% from all Dim values in all cues of the corresponding sequences |
Replace Attribute "Iris" Fade x with Fade y if sequence z | Replaces all individual fade times of these attributes within the sequence z |
Replace Fixture x with Fixture y if sequence z | Replaces fixture x by fixture y within the sequence z. Fixture x disappears from sequence z |
Replace Fixture x with | ATTENTION: Replaces fixture x by nothing if no parameters are given. Fixture x will be deleted from all groups, selective presets, selective effects... |
Replace Fixture x | ATTENTION: Replaces fixture x by nothing if no parameters are given. Fixture x will be deleted from all groups, selective presets, selective effects... |
Replace Fixture x at Value y with Value z if Sequence thru 10 | Replaces value y by value z for fixture x in all cues of sequences 1 to 10 |
Replace Preset x.x with Preset y.y | Replaces preset x.x by preset y.y for all fixtures in all sequences / cues |
Replace Preset x.x with Preset y.y if searchresult | Replaces preset x.x by preset y.y within the search result of the last search |
Hard-key access to keywords:
predefined Macros for search and replace.
Before you do this tutorial, you should have some basic knowledge about the console. If you don't feel you have this; you should do the Basic tutorials first.
In this tutorial, we are going to make a Layout view that uses a background picture of a theater. The goal is to make it look like this:
You will need a picture for the background. Here is a link. Right click on this and open it on a new tab. Right click the image on the page and save it on a USB stick - somewhere you can find it again.
This tutorial are made for version 2.9 and you'll only get the wanted result if you use version 2.9 or newer.
We need a new empty show. I suggest you check all the boxes in the New Show pop-up. In addition, you might call the show something like Layout Tutorial.
Letīs begin by patching 30 x generic dimmers, 4 x pulsar ChromaBattern 200 (3 channel mode) and 12 x Martin Viper Profile.
Now lets make some views. For this tutorial, we need a big Layout View and a small Layout Pool. You can arrange this as you like.
In a different view, we need an Image pool.
This is what my empty layout view looks like:
I suggest we begin with arranging the generic dimmers in your view.
Select the 30 dimmers. Then press followed by the first square in the Layout Pool. Then press the pool square again to select that layout.
This should display the 30 dimmers lined up in the Layout view with a grid underneath. Something like this:
The first step to adding the background picture is to import the one we put on the stick.
Open your view with the Image pool. Press Edit and then (or right click with your mouse) on the first empty Image Pool button.
This should open the Image Viewer pop-up. Here you can press the button on the right side (or press the U2 key). This will give you the Open File pop-up (I know there's a lot of pop-ups). On the right side of this you can select your USB stick in the Select Drive drop-down (yes, there's both pop-ups and drop-downs). Select your USB Stick - find, and select the image you downloaded. When you click it or press then you are back in the Image Viewer. Here I suggest you press the button and name the Image Theater (if that isn't already the name). Finish by pressing the close button in the upper right corner.
Now we need to assign the new image in our layout.
What we are going to do is to draw a square and assign the Image to this square.
So let's begin by making by pressing the button in the title bar of the layout view.
This should change the Encoder Toolbar to something like this:
Press the square in the toolbar and draw a square on the screen. The size isn't important right now.
Make sure you change from the square to Select in the toolbar. Now select the new square (the one you just draw) and right click it (or press it to select it and then press the screen encoder).
This opens an Editor like this:
In the lower left corner there's a box called Image/Icon where it says None. Press this. Now you'll see the Select an image pop-up. There's two taps at the top of this pop-up. Select the one called Image. This is all the Images in the Image pool. Select the one we imported.
Before we continue you should notice that there's a button called . With this button we could have skipped the part about the Image pool (but then you wouldn't know it). When you are done thinking about all the unnecessary steps I'm going to take you through, we can continue by pressing the button in the Select an image pop-up.
Ok, back at the Edit Layout Element pop-up. We have now assigned the Image to the square. But we need to rotate it. Set the Image/Icon Rotation to 270 degrees. We should also turn off the Group Select. This will put the image as a background image that doesn't select all the elements inside the square and puts the image top of the elements, making it impossible to select the fixtures. We are done in the editor and can confirm our choices by pressing the button inside it.
But we are not really done with the new background image. Please make sure it's selected. And use the Encoder Toolbar to change the Move X to 0.00, the Move Y to 15.00, Size X to 64.50, Size Y to 137.80 and we should also change the border color to 0 0 0 (black).
This will change the image to a scale and size that makes sense.
Now my layout looks like this:
f
Now we are going to have a look at one of the fixtures.
Select fixture number 1 and make sure you have activated Setup in the Layout View.
We are going to use the encoder bar again to get all the basics in order. For this example, I'm going to use these settings:
However, there are some things we need to change using the element editor. With the fixture selected press the screen encoder (or right click it with your mouse).
Here we need to change the settings so it looks like this:
This is all the knowledge you need to move your fixtures and make them look the way you like.
Please arrange the rest to something like this:
To make it more useful I'm going to add a gel in the fixtures. The easiest way to do this for many fixtures is in the console Setup. Navigate to the Patch only (Live) in the setup.
In the layer where you have the dimmers you'll need to scroll the right until you see the Color column.
I have selected all my odd numbered fixtures from 1 to 19 (using the ctrl + mouse click), then I right clicked and in the Color Editor I selected the Swatch Book in the title bar. Then I selected the Lee manufacturer and then the color number 161.
Then I selected all the even numbered fixtures and gave them color Lee 162.
You can exit the setup when you have done this.
Now try to turn on your lights. You'll see the intensity and color fill the inside of the images. This is because they are transparent inside the symbol.
When you need to add fixtures to your layout, then you need to store them into a layout pool button.
Clear your programmer and select the four LED bars.
Now press and press the existing Layout Pool Button. You'll now be asked if you want to Overwrite, Merge or Remove the new fixtures. You should merge.
I would prefer to keep these fixtures simple, just change the size and move them into position.
This is my result:
Now we should add the Vipers. You should know how to merge new fixtures to your layout. If not then have a look at how we added the LEDs.
Now, we could use the existing images of moving lights that's in the image pool. However, I prefer to see more information, and use other methods for showing me that they are moving lights.
I make the border of the symbol a different color to indicate the fixture type. When the moving light is a profile I would like to see what gobo is in there and then it's better to have the Visualization as a Spot instead of Filled and not to use an image.
This is my setup in the Element Editor:
And this is my result:
Now we are going to have a look at adding some pool elements to our layout. More specific; we are going to add some groups.
First thing you need to do is to make some groups. Please make some that makes sense to you.
It's an advantage if you can fit the group pool on a different screen than your Layouts, but still have both visible.
When you want to add fixtures, you need to store them into your layout. However, when you want to add a pool element like groups or presets you need to assign them into your layout.
Let's do this. Press the key and then press one of the groups in the group pool. Then press in your layout where you want to add the group.
Repeat this for all your groups. You might want to adjust the size of the group elements. As a default the pool elements are added with the same look as when it's in the pool. So we get the same look and feel as when it's in the pool.
This is my result (or just a section of the layout):
As a last little thing I want to change is the removal of the visible grid.
Please press the yellow button in the upper left corner of the Layout view. This gives us the Layout options.
Here you can select the Layout data tab and change the Grid X to 0. This effectively removes the visible grid, for a nicer look.
This is the result:
The MA Lighting Bitmap fixture replaces the previous bitmap effects.
The bitmap fixture is a virtual fixture and available in the fixture library. The bitmap fixture allows to use images and videos from the image pool and map these images or videos to the patched fixtures. The visualization of the bitmap fixtures is realized in the layout view.
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Hint: There are predefined BMP (= Bitmap) effects provided in the effect editor. |
The bitmap fixture has its own dimmer and color attributes, like a MA VPU layer fixture.
The playback priority of the bitmap fixture is always the lowest priority in one priority range. Attribute values will overwrite bitmap fixture attribute values, if the same fixtures are used.
If you want to use a video for the bitmap fixture, hereīs what it take.
- Minimum of 30 frames per second
- Resolution is the double of the output. E.g. If you have an output of a pixel raster of 200 x 200, the video should have a minimum resolution of 400 x 400. Recommended are triple till fourfold of the output.
- Only video data without audio data
- Constant bit rate (= CBR)
- Supported non-proprietary codecs: VP8 (WebM-container), VP9 (WebM-container)
- Supported proprietary codecs: MPEG-2 (Elementary Stream), MPEG-4 (avi- or mov-container)
- Supported image file formats: Bitmap (.bmp), JPG and JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg), CompuServe GIF (.gif), Portable Network Graphics (.png), Tagged Image File Format (.tif, tiff)
To convert a video format into another video format, use a common media player or video format converter.
We recommend to test the videos during the show preparation before using them in a show situation.
To import the bitmap fixture:
1. Press Setup and tap at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the last row in the layer and press the screen encoder. The Fixture Wizard opens.
3. Tap in the structure tree at From Library. The Import Fixture Type window opens.
4. Type in the Fixture field Bitmap. The MA Lighting Bitmap fixture appears in the list.
5. Tap Import. You are back in the Fixture Wizard.
6. Tap Apply. You are back in the Edit Setup.
7. Close the Edit Setup by a tap at the yellow x and tap Yes in the Warning.
Requirements:
1. Tap in the title bar of the layout view Setup. The layout encoder bar opens.
2. Tap in the layout encoder bar at the rectangle.
3. Tap in the layout view and draw a rectangle around the fixtures or channels, using the bitmap fixture.
Figure 1: Layout view with rectangle
4. The Edit Layout Element pop-up opens.
Figure 2: Edit Layout Element pop-up - visualization
5. Choose if the fixtures or channels should visualize the content of the bitmap fixture:
- not mirrored, tap Bitmap
Figure 3: Layout view bitmap not mirrored
- horizontal mirrored on the x-axis, tap Bitmap_X
Figure 4: Layout view bitmap x
- vertical mirrored and the y-axis, tap Bitmap_Y
Figure 5: Layout view bitmap y
- horizontal and vertical mirrored on the x- and y-axis, tap Bitmap_XY
Figure 6: Layout view bitmap xy
6. Press or tap Please.
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Hint: To move the rectangle, use the move x or move y encoder or tap and hold the rectangle in the layout view and move it around. To adjust the size of the rectangle for e.g. a 16:9 ratio, tap in the layout encoder bar at Position 1 of 3 to get Size 2 of 3. Use the encoder to adjust size x and size y. |
The bitmap visualization is assigned to the fixtures or channels in the layout.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
Dimmer | Controls the dimmer intensity. |
Mix Color (RGB) | Controls red, green, and blue. |
HSB (Hue, Saturation, Brightness) | Controls hue shift, saturation, and brightness. HSB is a color correction of the selected RGB values. |
Control Assert | Important: To restart stored bitmap fixtures in cues, it is necessary to store a control assert attribute in the cue. Every playback command increases the Assert value by one. |
VObj (= Video Object) Images | Select the image from the image pool, used for the bitmap fixture. Important: By default are 100 images displayed, even if less images are in the image pool. |
VObj Output | Select the layout from the layout pool, used for the bitmap fixture. Important: By default are 100 layouts displayed, even if less layouts are in the layout pool. |
VPos (= Video Position) | Moves the position of the image on a relative x, y, z axis in the layout view. If you have two images about each other, the one with the lower z axis value is in front. |
VRot (= Video Rotation) | Rotates the images around the z axis. The combination between CX (= Center X) and CY (= Center Y) moves the rotation midpoint of the z axis relative in the layout view. 0 is the center of the z axis. |
VImg (= Video Image) | Select the video image: (See screenshots below the table for better visualization). Tile -: Image will be added behind. Every second image is mirrored. No Tile: No image will be added. Tile +: Image will be added behind. |
VPlayer (= Video Player) Playmode | Select the video playmode: Play loops endless. Once plays once and stops with the last frame. Once Off plays once and fades out with the last frame. Pause. |
VPlayer Speed | Controls the speed of playing back videos. |
VScale (= Video Scale) | Scales the image on the x and y axis. 1:1, 1:-1 mirrored |
VPreset (= Video Preset) Mode | Select the video preset mode: Dimmer (default for only dimmer fixtures), RGB + Dim, RGB (default for fixtures using RGB), Preset Types allows to have the bitmap fixture running between two presets of a preset type VP1 and VP2 |
VPreset VP1 | Set the preset pool index of the low value (black), e.g. 1 (= red color). |
VPreset VP2 | Set the preset pool index of the high value (white), e.g. 2 (= green color). |
After you have modified all the attributes, you can store the look in a cue.
Examples for VImg Attributes
Figure 1: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute no tile
Figure 2: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split x tile+
Figure 3: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split x tile-
Figure 4: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split x tile- split y tile -
Figure 5: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split y tile+
Figure 6: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split y tile-
Figure 7: Layout view with bitmap VImg attribute split x tile+ split y tile+
Requirement: Imported bitmap fixture.
1. To select the bitmap fixture, tap at the bitmap fixture in the fixture sheet. The bitmap fixture has a yellow font.
2. To select the attribute you like to edit, tap at the attribute in the fixture sheet, e.g. Images.
3. To open the smart view, tap at an empty space in the user defined area, tap at Other, and then Smart. The Smart window opens.
4. Turn the encoder to e.g. 101, press and tap at the last empty object tile in the smart view.
The bitmap fixture is edited and has 101 images to select. For more information about the smart view, see Smart View.
Initial situation: A stage with a lot of fixtures. The task is to create a pan tilt effect for these fixtures.
Figure 1: Stage view
Requirement: Imported bitmap fixture. Created layout including the fixtures for using the bitmap fixture.
1. Select all the fixtures in the fixture sheet for the pan tilt effect, press , and then and press the executor.
2. Draw a rectangle around the fixtures in the layout. The Edit Layout Element pop-up opens. Tap under Visualization Bitmap.
3. Import an image in the image pool displays just a white bar.
Figure 2: Image white bar
4. Create two position presets in the position preset pool, the first with the lowest pan 0 and tilt 30, the second position preset with pan 0 and tilt -5.
5. Program the bitmap fixture in the programmer with the following values:
6. Tap in the encoder bar effect layer, tap VPos (= Video Position) in the fixture sheet, turn the encoder for the x value and select Ramp Plus 10.
7. To store a sequence with the bitmap fixture, press and then an other executor button than before.
8. Start both playbacks.Start both playbacks.
You have a pan tilt effect by using the bitmap fixture.
Figure 3: Stage view with running bitmap fixture
When working with bitmap effects in the programmer and in playbacks attention should be paid to the following priorities:
Level of priorities are:
For more information on priorities in general see executor options.
Example:
If a dimmer value is saved in a cue for Fixture 1, the bitmap effect can only be used for Fixture 1 in the following cue when the dimmer value is released.
For more information on how to release see What is tracking
This is a visual explanation of the example by means of illustration for Fixture 1:
Tracking cue list | Dimmer | Explanation |
---|---|---|
cue 1 | ------ | Bitmap effect operates Fixture 1 (dimmer) |
cue 2 | 100 | Value overwrites Fixture 1 (dimmer) |
cue 3 | (R) | Value is released, thus the bitmap effect from cue 1 or a new bitmap effect is visible |
1. Press and tap at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap at the layer in the which the fixture is.
3. Tap at the fixture and scroll to the column Bitmap Disable.
4. Press the screen encoder until Yes is displayed in the cell.
5. To leave the Edit Setup, tap the yellow x in the upper right corner. A warning asks if you want to save the changes.
6. Tap Yes.
The bitmap visualization is disabled for the fixture.
MAtricks is a collection of tools working on your current Selection. The most basic tricks are Next and Previous, which will step through your current selection one by one, in the order they were selected.
You may temporary enable/disable the matrick with the key:
or reselect your original selection with the All keyword, accessible via hardkeys by pressing simultaneously and
&
With a basic selection, all fixtures are in one row, based on the selection-order
With the function MatricksInterleave, the selection is wrapped onto a new row for every n'th fixture, creating a virtual array
& (reselect All columns)
With the use of the modifier key you may step through the array row by row rather than column by column
&
&
And reselect all rows with:
&& (reselect All rows)
These tricks may also be combined:
(third column) && (second row)
The Interleave value (array-width) may be modified with the key in conjunction with and to increase, decrease or reset interleave:
& (MatricksInterleave +, increase array-width)
&& (MatricksInterleave Off)
Stepping through a Selection with Next will normally give you single fixtures ( or columns of fixtures, if interleave is active):
With the function MatricksBlocks, x adjecent fixtures/columns are treated as one block:
You may adjust the block-size with & in conjunction with or
&& (MatricksBlocks -, decrease block-size)
The block-width may be reset to one/none by pressing both & together with &
&&& (MatricksBlocks Off, reset block-size)
With an Interleaved array the Blcok-size may be adjusted both in the x and y axis:
Stepping through a Selection with Next will normally give you single fixtures:
With the function MatricksWings, the selection is split in x parts, and each part is mirroring the previous part:
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With MatricksGroups the distribution of aligned values may be limited to x fixtures, for then to be repeated:
If you are aligning without grouping on an an array created with MatricksInterleave
the values are distributed from upper-left to bottom right.
With an interleave array active, the grouping may be given with dot-separated digits to give different values for the x and y axis
Requirements:
A directly connected Remote Device Management (= RDM) device to one of the following grandMA2 series devices:
RDM is a protocol that allows bi-directional communication between the grandMA2 and attached RDM compliant devices (= RDM compliant fixtures) over a standard DMX line. ANSI E1.20 - 2010 by PLASA specifies the RDM standard as an extension of the DMX 512 protocol.
Manual settings like adjusting the DMX starting address are no longer needed. This is especially useful when the device is installed in a remote area.
RDM is integrated in DMX without influencing the connections. The RDM data is transmitted via the standard XLR-poles - new DMX cables are not necessary. RDM ready and conventional DMX devices can be operated in one DMX line. The RDM protocol sends own packages in the DMX512 data feed and does not influence conventional devices.
RDM to grandMA2 can also be done by MA-Net2. This allows configuration, status monitoring, and management of these devices.
RDM can provide the following uses, depending on the RDM device.
RDM discovers the RDM device every six seconds. If a RDM device is offline, a timeout will be reported after three ineffective RDM discoveries (= 18 seconds).
1. Press and tap under Console Global Settings.
Figure 1: Setup global settings
2. Tap at Enable RDM until the On is yellow.
RDM is global turned on for all universes. The console starts to discover RDM devices.
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Hint:
To turn on RDM global, you can also go to Setup->Patch & Fixture Schedule ->RDM Devices and tap RDM Disabled until RDM Enabled is displayed. |
If RDM is turned off for a universe, indicated by a red RDM icon
in the universe pool, the following example explains how to turn on RDM per universe.
Requirement: RDM is global turned on. For more information, see turn on RDM global.
There are two ways to turn on RDM per universe.
Way A:
1. Tap on an empty space in the screen, tap Pools, and then item Universes.
The universe pool opens.
Figure 4: Universe pool
2. Press and tap the universe you want to turn on RDM.
The Edit universe pop-up opens.
Figure 5: Edit universe
3. Tap and hold in the RDM cell until On is displayed.
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Hint:
To edit more universes at once use the sheet style of the universe pool. Open the universe pool, tap at the yellow ball
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Important:
If the On is displayed in red, RDM is global turned off. For more information see turn on RDM global. |
RDM is turned on for the selected universe. A green RDM icon
is displayed in the universe title.
Way B:
1. Press and tap under Show Patch only (Live).
The Live Setup opens.
Figure 6: Live setup
2. Tap DMX List.
The DMX list opens.
Figure 7: DMX list
3. Under List of Unvierses is a column RMD. Tap and hold in the cell until On is displayed for the universe you want to turn on RDM.
RDM is turned on for the selected universe. A green RDM icon
is displayed for this universe in the universe pool.
After RDM (= Remote Device Management Protocol) is turned on the grandMA2 starts to discover RDM devices. The discovered RDM devices are displayed in the RDM devices window. On the left hand side there are the fixture types, on the right hand side the fixtures.
When working with parameters only you can skip the match RDM devices topic and continue with work with RDM parameters.
To work with sensors or notifications the RDM devices have to match to the patch. That means you have to select which fixture of the patch belongs to which RDM fixture. Footprint and DMX address have to be the same.
There are two ways to match RDM devices:
The match to fixture manually is the preferred way when you are not sure if the MA Fixture and RDM Fixture have the same DMX address and the same DMX footprint. If you already double-checked the DMX address and the DMX footprint use the auto-match by patch function.
Figure 1: Discovered RDM devices
Requirement: RDM is turned on.
1. To open the RDM devices window press and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices. The RDM devices window opens.
3. To select the fixture type you like to match tap at the corresponding fixture type under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. If you want to identify this fixture in the lighting-rig tap at Identify. The identify mode of the selected fixture starts. For more information about the identify mode see the fixture manual.
6. If you have the to be matched fixture selected in the table tap at Match to Fixture. The Match to MA Fixture pop-up opens. This pop-up displays all fixtures in you patch.
For a better overview you can:
Figure 2: Match to MA fixture pop-up
7. Tap in the table at the fixture you like to match and tap Match.
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Important:
RDM universe and DMX universe has to be the same. If they are not the same double-check the network configuration under Setup->Network->MA Network Configuration and / or the DMX wiring. |
The patch of the selected fixtures matches to the RDM device. A successful match is indicated by green check marks in the field below the fixture table.
Figure 3: Matched RDM devices
The fixtures are matched.
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Important:
Make sure that the MA Fixture and RDM Fixture have the same DMX address and the same DMX footprint. If they are not the same match the fixture manually. |
The auto-match by patch is a fast way to match fixtures.
1. To open the RDM devices window press and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices.
3. To select the fixture type you like to match tap under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes at the fixture type. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. If you want to identify this fixture in the lighting-rig tap at Identify. The identity mode of the selected fixture starts. For more information about the identify mode see the fixtures manual.
6. Tap Auto-Match by Patch.
The software checks if there is a matched MA fixture with the same DMX address and DMX footprint available. If a matched fixture is found the auto-match is successful. A successful match is indicated by green check marks in the field below the fixture table.
Figure 4: Matched RDM devices
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Hint:
You can also use the keyword RdmAutomatch to auto-match RDM devices by using the command line. |
Requirements:
1. Open the RDM devices window. Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices. The RDM devices window opens.
3. To select the fixture type you like to auto-patch, tap at the corresponding fixture type under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. Tap Auto-Patch.
The patched DMX address will be sent via RDM to the RDM fixture. The selected fixture is auto-patched. The green check marks in the field below the fixture table indicates a successful match and patch.
Auto-patched RDM fixture
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Hint: You can also auto-patch fixtures by using the RdmAutopatch keyword. |
There are two ways to set RDM parameter.
Requirement: RDM is turned on and at least one RDM fixture is discovered.
Way A:
1. Open the RDM sheet. Tap on an empty space in the user defined area, tap at Sheets and then at RDM.
2. The RDM sheet opens.
RDM sheet
3. Scroll with the scroll bar to the column DMX PERSONALITY and tap at the cell you like to change the fixture mode. Press the screen encoder.
4. The Select RDM Mode pop-up opens.
Select RDM Mode pop-up
5. Tap at the mode the fixture should use.
A new mode is set and transmitted via RDM to the RDM fixture.
Way B:
1. Open the RDM devices window. Press Setup, and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices. The RDM devices window opens. In this window, you can set the parameter of the DMX personality and the DMX start address of the RDM fixture.
RDM devices window
3. To select the fixture type you like set parameters to, tap at under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes at the fixture type. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM Info. The RDM Parameters window opens. In the title bar, you can choose between Show only Set, Show only Get, Show All, and FixtureType Messages.
RDM Parameters window
6. Tap and hold the value cell in the row DMX_PERSONALITY. The Select RDM Mode pop-up opens.
Select RDM Mode pop-up
7. Tap the the mode the fixture should use.
8. Double-check if Yes is set in the cell of the column Poll. Yes means, that the information is collected from the fixture. If Poll is set to No, you can change the parameter but the changes are not visible in the console. If No is set, tap and hold in the cell until Yes is set
1. Open the RDM devices window. Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices.
2. To select the fixture type you like to add parameters to, tap at under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes at the fixture type. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
3. To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
4. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM Info. The RDM Parameters window opens.
5. Tap Add. The Calculator opens.
Calculator - Add RDM parameter
6. Enter the hex value or tap at one of the standard RDM parameters.
The RDM parameter is added and visible in the RDM parameters window.
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Important: The delete RDM parameters function is not oopsable. |
You can delete previous added RDM parameters.
1. Open the RDM devices window. Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices.
2. To select the fixture type you like to delete parameters from, tap at under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes at the fixture type. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
3. To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
4. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM Info. The RDM Parameters window opens.
5. Tap at the to be deleted parameter.
6. Tap Delete.
The parameter is deleted.
After the RDM fixture is matched you can:
The following example explains how to monitor RDM sensors.
Requirements:
1. Open the RDM sheet. Tap on an empty space in the user-defined area, tap at Sheets and then at RDM.
2. The RDM sheet opens.
Figure 1: RDM sheet - Sensors
3. To get the sensors displayed tap at the right title bar button at Sensor or Parameters and Sensors.
In default the transmitted sensor data are displayed in the far right of the RDM sheet.
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Hint:
You can also monitor the RDM sensors by using the RDMInfo keyword. |
The following example explains how to reset an RDM sensor. This is also the way to monitor RDM sensors via the Edit Setup.
1. Open The RDM devices window. Press and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices. The RDM devices window opens.
Figure 2: RDM devices window
3. To select the fixture type you like to reset the sensor for tap at the corresponding fixture type under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. Tap at RDM Info. The RDM Parameters window opens.
6. Tap on the right screen side at Sensors. This window displays the transmitted data to the sensors of the RDM device to monitor them.
Figure 3: RDM sensors window
7. To clear the low and high values of a sensor tap at the sensor in the table and tap Reset Sensor.
You have reset a sensor.
Depending on the settings in the windows, the RDM notifications icons are displayed in the:
The RDM notifications themselves are displayed in the:
1. Open the Fixture Type Editor. - Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. - Tap on the right screen side at Fixture Types. - Tap at the fixture type in the table you like to add a notification to and tap Edit. The Fixture Type Editor opens.
Fixture Type Editor
2. Tap on the right screen side RDM Notifications.
3. The Configure RDM Notifications window opens. Absent is an RDM warning by default and can not be deleted. You can change the RDM Notification Type. The Absent warning appears if the RDM device is not reachable anymore.
Configure RDM Notifications window
4. Tap Add or tap in the cell of the column Type and press the screen encoder. The Select RDM Notification Type pop-up opens.
Select RDM Notification Type pop-up
5. Tap at Parameter or Sensor, depending for what type you want to add an RDM notification. To edit the next cell, tap at the Parameter/Sensor ID cell and press the screen encoder. The Select RDM Notification ID pop-up opens.
Select RDM Notification ID pop-up
6. Tap at the Parameter or Sensor you like to add an RDM notification for. To edit the next cell, tap at the Threshold Operator cell and press the screen encoder. The Select RDM Notification Threshold Operator pop-up opens.
Select RDM Notification Threshold Operator
7. Select when the RDM notification should appear: - None: No RDM Notificaiton. - Is: If exactly the threshold value is reached. - Is Not: If any value but not the threshold value is reached. - Greater Than: If a value greater than the threshold value is reached. - Less Than: If a value less than the threshold value is reached. To edit the next cell, tap at the Threshold Value cell and press the screen encoder. The Calculator opens.
8. Enter the threshold value in the calculator. The title bar displays the allowed value range. To edit the next cell, tap at the Notification Type cell and press the screen encoder. The Select RDM Notification Type pop-up opens.
Select RDM Notification Type pop-up
9. Tap at RDM Alert (red) or RDM Warning (yellow).
The RDM notification is added.
The following example will explain how to delete an RDM notification.
1. Open the Configure RDM Notifications window. - Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. - Tap on the right screen side at Fixture Types. - Tap at the fixture type in the table you like to add a notification to and tap Edit. - Tap on the right screen side RDM Notifications. The Configure RDM Notifications window opens.
Configure RDM Notifications window
2. Tap in the table at the to be deleted notification.
3. Tap Delete.
The RDM notification is deleted.
1. Open the RDM devices window. Press , and tap under Show at Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM devices. The RDM devices window opens.
3. To select the fixture type you like to unmatch, tap at under Discovered RDM FixtureTypes at the fixture type. The fixtures to the selected fixture type are displayed on the right side of the RDM devices window.
4. To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.To select the fixture, tap at the fixture in the table on the right screen side.
5. Tap Unmatch.
The selected fixture is unmatched from the patch.
Unmatched RDM device
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Hint: You can also unmatch RDM devices by using the keyword RdmUnmatch. |
Way A:
1. Tap on an empty space in the screen, tap Pools, and then item Universes. The universe pool opens.
2. Press and tap at the universe you want to turn off RDM. The Edit universe pop-up opens.
3. Tap in the RDM cell until the cell is empty.
RDM is turned off for the selected universe. The green RDM icon
is not visible anymore in the universe pool - pool style.
Way B:
1. Press and tap under Show Patch only (Live). The Live Setup opens.
2. Tap DMX List. The DMX list opens.
3. Under List of Universes is a column RDM. Tap in the RDM cell until the cell is empty for that universe you want to turn off RDM.
RDM is turned off for the selected universe. The green RDM icon
is not visible anymore in the universe pool - pool style.
Way A:
1. Press and tap under Console Global Settings.
Setup global settings
2. Tap at Enable RDM until the Off is yellow.
RDM is global turned off. The red RDM icon
is displayed in the universe pool - pool style, if RDM is on for that universe.
Way B:
1. Press and tap under Show Patch & Fixture Schedule. The Edit Setup opens.
Setup patch & fixture schedule (edit setup)
2. Tap in the lower right corner at RDM Devices. The RDM Devices window opens.
Setup - patch & fixture schedule - RDM devices
3. Tap at RDM Enabled until RDM Disabled is displayed.
RDM is global turned off. The red RDM icon
is displayed in the universe pool - pool style, if RDM is on for that universe.
Why is this an interesting tutorial?
Well, there are two scenarios that are relevant for DMX input.
At the moment you can't load a grandMA 1 show (or a show from any other manufacturer) into a grandMA2 console, but if you have two identical patches you can run cues at the "source" console and record them on the grandMA2. You can transfer several DMX universes at the same time.
The other scenario is when you need an input to merge with an existing signal from your grandMA2. This can for several reasons be a more or less permanent situation.
You should know how to do basic setup and programming. If you don't, you should complete the Basic Tutorials before this one (follow the link below).
To complete this tutorial you need a console or an onPC with some grandMA hardware. You'll also need a DMX source.
This page takes you through the steps for setting up a useful show.
The next pages look at DMX recording and merging DMX into a console and a MA 2Port Node.
Go through the "DMX Input tutorial" for setting up for this tutorial.
OK, now it's time to plug in the DMX source, and make sure the grandMA2 is correctly set up for the signal.
When you send any DMX values to the console, you can see the values go to your programmer, and you can store as you would normally do.
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Be aware that when a value has been changed by an external DMX source and this source disappears the value in the programmer goes to the default value! |
When you have stored what you need you should turn of the remote DMX to avoid any unwanted output or values in your programmer. There are predefined macros that turn "On" or "Off" the remote DMX, or you can go to the Setup and turn it of.
You might have a system where you want to merge an incoming DMX signal into your grandMA. This can be a more permanent or a temporary situation.
Please make the DMX Input tutorial to prepare for this one.
OK, now it's time to plug in the DMX source, and make sure the grandMA2 is correctly set up for the signal.
When you send any DMX values to the console, it will merge with the DMX generated by the console. The merge will always be a HTP merge - there's currently no way to change this.
You can only see the incoming signal in a DMX Sheet window.
In this MA NPU tutorial we are going to pretend that we just got a MA NPU with the delivery, and need to have it connected with a grandMA2 console (or grandMA2 onPC) for the first time.
One thing we will skip in this tutorial is how to update the software. But when we reach a point where you might want to update the MA NPU, I'll give you a link to a task showing you how.
You might need a USB keyboard to complete this tutorial.
The pictures used in this tutorial are pictures used throughout the manual, and they may not look exactly like the ones you see.
All right, lets begin.
You need to make a cable with a blue female PowerCon connector in the one end and a plug in the other end at is legal and useful in your region. On the back panel of the MA NPU you can see what power requirements the MA NPU have.
You also need an Ethernet Cat.5e cable (minimum) to connect the MA NPU to your switch. Its recommended to always use a (1 Gbps) switch when connecting grandMA hardware.
Plug in the Ethernet cable and the PowerCon. If you need the MA NPU to output DMX, you can also connect those to the DMX ports on the back panel.
Turn on the power switch on the back panel.
If you need to update the MA NPU software, now could be a good time to do this. Read this task about software updating. When you have finished the update, you can continue with this tutorial.
On the front panel you should press the power button to boot the MA NPU. At some point in the boot process you can see a window displaying what mode the MA NPU was using last. It could look like this:
If you need to change the mode, you need to attach a USB keyboard and use the arrow keys to stop the automatic boot, and select the mode you need (series 1 or 2 mode). If you miss the window, you need to reboot the MA NPU and try again.
We need the MA NPU in series 2 mode. Make sure it boots in that mode by selecting to top row in the boot window.
When the boot is done, you will see a main screen like this:
You'll probably need to change the IP address on the MA NPU. Press on the screen where it says Setup. This will give you a new window:
Here you can edit the IP address, the name and calibrate the touch screen. Our current quest is to change the IP address. Press where it says Edit IP. All right - you are now presented with a new window asking you to input the IP address:
To my switch I got a grandMA2 console with the IP address of 192.168.123.001 - So a good IP for the MA NPU could be 192.168.123.150 - Type this in the window and confirm it with Please. Now you get a pop-up asking you if you want to reboot:
We could reboot, but I think we should change the name of the MA NPU first. Press No.
We are now back at the MA NPU Setup window. Press where it says Edit Host Name. This presents us with a small enter Name pop-up.
Now if this isnt the first time some has touched this, you might see the big pop-up already. If you dont, we are going to pretend that we dont have a keyboard attached (this might even be true). To expand the pop-up, you need to press the + in the upper left corner (if theres a - , then it can't get any bigger!). Now the pop-up should look like this:
Type a new name using the onscreen keyboard and confirm it by pressing Please. And voilā we have a new pop-up! This is also asking if we want to reboot now. Lets do that. Press Yes.
While it reboot, we can turn on the console (if you havent already).
When the console is ready, you should load the show you need. Then go into the
Here we need to add the MA NPU in your system. Press the X1 key. This will open a pop-up that could look like this:
Select the NPU - if you cannot see it, then something is wrong with your network.
Now there should be a line in the NPU list.
For the NPU to connect to the session, it needs to be added as a session member. Press the empty cell in the Session member column and then press the screen encoder. This should give you a yes in the cell.
Now we need to start a session. Close the MA Network Configuration using the X in the upper left corner. Now go to MA Network Control. Here you should press the X1 key to create a new session.
The show should upload to the MA NPU and it should now be a part of the session. You'll hopefully see a change on the MA NPU. The pulsing heart should change from this:
To this:
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It's very important to know that, if a NPU is set to be a member of several sessions in a network, It will connect to the session that reaches the NPU first!! If that session is then closed - Then the NPU will connect to the next session it finds on the network, possibly creating a very different DMX output! |
You might need to change the DMX ports on the MA NPU. Close the MA Network Control using the X in the upper right corner. Then go back into MA Network Configuration and press the MA NPU tab.
Now lets change the output from the port marked H to input DMX to universe 1. In the configuration you should press in the cell below XLR H and then press the screen encoder. This opens a pop-up like this:
Here you need to change the mode to In and the universe to 2. Confirm you selection by pressing Please. Now if you havent changed any of the merge settings in the
, then the DMX input on port H will merge into the second universe. You can test this by patching some channels on universe 1 and the same on universe 2. Then connect a double male DMX cable between port A and H. On a DMX sheet you can now see that all the values on universe one are mimicked on universe 2.There are much more to say about the MA NPU. And things are different if you use it in series 1 mode. This tutorial only covered the most common way to use the MA NPU. If you need to know more you should go to the MA NPU Manual Guide. This can point you in the right direction for more knowledge.
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The software update of a MA NDP can be done with the MA NDP updater tool. To get the current version, contact MA Tech Support via Tel +49 5251 688865-30 (normal business hours, GMT+1) or via tech.support(at)malighting.com.
Presumption: The MA NDP updater runs on any Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7 machine. You need to have a valid network connection to the MA NDPs within the same subnet and the subnet mask has to be set correctly, just as you would have to do e.g. for a grandMA series 1 onPC. There is no version available for Mac OS X or Linux stand December 2010.
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To be able to control and connect to MA NDPs you have to have a valid session started in the console and the MA NDPs have to be part of that session. The following lines will help you to achieve that.
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Note that for the next section of this guide to work you will need to have view hidden folders enabled on WindowsŪ. You can gain access to this setting in Folder Options in the Control Panel.
My Computer>Local Disk C:\Program Data\MA Lighting Technologies\grandma\grandma1\ide0\Shows_06.6
My Computer>Local Disk C:\Program Files\MA Lighting Technologies\grandma\ide0\Shows 0.6.6
For conceptual understanding of the console and property-description of each element of the console, please read the Concept and Reference sections.
If you get a rental console this should be supplied with it.
The goose-neck lights can help illuminate the console in a dark environment.
It's recommended only to use wired keyboards and mouses. The console supports a keyboard with a US key layout.
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For ArtNet, the console will look for an Ethernet adapter with 2.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x address. - in other words, if you change the IP of the second Ethernetport to something other than 2.x.x.x / 10.x.x.x you will not be able to transmit or receive Artnet.
OnPC will look for the same IP-adresses. If not found, OnPC will try to create a 2.x.x.x address on the Network-adaptor chosen for MA-net |
If you use MIDI timecode, then the supported time formats are: 24 fps, 25 fps and 30 fps. If you send 29.97 or 30 dropframe, it'll be interpreted as 30 fps.
The supported time formats are: 24 fps, 25 fps and 30 fps. If you send 29.97 or 30 dropframe, it'll be interpreted as 30 fps.
You need to make a switch that sends between +5 and +15 volts to pin 1 for the console to react to analog input number 1.
The console has a 25 pin D-sub, enabling 16 remote inputs: pin 1-16 = input 1-16, pin 21-22 = +5V, pin 25 = common ground
The Command Wing has a 15 pin D-sub, enabling 12 remote inputs: pin 1-6, 9-14 = input, pin 7 = +5V, pin 8 = common ground
Note: |
CAUTION: The DC REMOTE CONTROL connector of MA onPC command wing has different contact assignment.
Pin 1-6: channels 1,3,5,7,9,11 Pin 7: +5V Pin8: ground Pin 9-14: channels 2,4,6,8,10,12 Pin 15: not used Connect channel with +5V (Pin 7) or connect channel with extern current 5 - 10V and ground (Pin8). Note: channels have switch function only! |
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Anything that has changes since the last save will be lost! |
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When lowering the wing, make sure nothing gets caught between the wing and the console, as this area has a potential risk of hand or finger injury. |
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Instead of using the motors, you may press and hold & to release the torque and then adjust the angle by hand. |
You will normally do this adjustment via the
The following elements has its own shortcut via the numeric keypad: menu, however some of these elements may be adjusted directly via special hardkey combinations, even while the console is Booting:
There are currently these three NPU hardware tasks.
to perform this task you need a WindowsŪ PC (XP, Vista or WindowsŪ 7) and an empty USB stick larger than 2Gb (Windows FAT 32 formatted).
Additionally you need in advance to backup any data you wish to keep, as this procedure totally overwrites the hard-drive of the console
It's almost never a bad idea to save your show. And with grandMA2, it's so fast that you are not spending time waiting for the console to save.
In a new show there are only the grayed out Administrator and Guest users. These are defaults and can't be deleted or altered.
In a new show there aren't any layers or fixtures and the console guide us through the steps the first time.
on the onPC it just looks like this:
There are currently three different importing methods described here: Command line, GUI and FTP connection.
Read the following pages for each method.
There are one window that makes sense when importing using the Command line. It's the Command Line Window. With this you can see how the console reacts to your input.
Read the following pages for details about each section.
and
and
and
and
All imports are done from the Setup menu.
Read the following pages for details about each section.
There are different files that can be imported to the console using a FTP connection.
For this you need a FTP program. There are many good free FTP program available (like Filezilla).
Please install such a program on a computer connected to your console.
Log in using the IP adress of the console and the username "Data" and the password "Data".
Double click the folder called "actual" and then the "gma2" folder.
Read the following pages for each type of import.
There are currently three different exporting methods described here: Command line, GUI and FTP connection.
Read the following pages for each method.
There are one window that makes sense when exporting using the Command line. It's the Command Line. With this you can see how the console reacts to your input.
There's a general rule about exporting. When you export several files and give the exported group of files a name, it creates a single file with that filename. If you don't specify a name, the console will export the files separately with the same filename as the name of the object you are exporting.
Read the following pages for details about each section.
If you need to change the drive back to the internal drive, you should type:
If you need to change the drive back to the internal drive, you should type:
If you need to change the drive back to the internal drive, you should type:
If you need to change the drive back to the internal drive, you should type:
All exports are done from the Setup menu.
Read the following pages for details about each section.
There are different files that can be exported (downloaded) from the console using a FTP connection.
For this you need a FTP program. There are many good free FTP program available (like Filezilla). Please install such a program on a computer connected to your console.
Log in using the IP adress of the console and the username "data" and the password "data".
Double click the folder called "actual" and then the "gma2" folder.
Browsing the folders in the console, you can see what you can download.
There are several files to get here:
As you can see, there are many things to get out of the console.
Should you type something wrong you can delete the last pressed key (backspace) with the key. Should you have typed something completely wrong, you can press the key to clear the command line. One thing that could also help you in doing this task is the Command Line window.
Read the step results to get more info and tips on the steps.
The background of the value ("Open") have changed from blue to dark red. The value text have also changed from gray to red. Theres also a little red marker between the ID number and the value. This means that the value is in the programmer.
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If you are going to assign a value to a selection right after making the selection, you can skip the "Please" in the last example. |
For this task you need to patch some fixtures. I suggest a fixture that have a gobo wheel, color wheel and CMY color mixing and some focus and zoom options. For this task I use the Mac 700 Profile from Martin.
It might also be a good idea to have a visible Fixture Sheet and a Command Line Window. You should also have a look at the previous page. It gives you a basic understanding of controlling dimmer attributes.
We are going to look at different ways to control the moving light attributes.
There are several ways to control attributes, we are primarily going to use the encoder toolbar and the encoders.
The task is a look at the most common attributes (Pan/Tilt, Gobo, Color, Focus and Zoom). The next tasks takes a detailed look at some of the more special attributes.
Read the step results to get more info and tips on the steps.
Note: | If you don't have a button called "Gobo" you need to patch a fixture that have gobos. |
Note: | If you don't have this feature available, you need to patch a fixture that uses CMY color mixing. |
Select a manufacturer and scroll through the colors or use the filter to narrow your selection.
You can always switch between any of the ways to select colors.For this task you need to patch some fixtures with shapers. For this task I use the VL3500 Spot from Vari*Lite.
It might also be a good idea to have a visible Fixture Sheet and a Commandline Feedback Window. You should also have a look at the previous pages. They give you a basic understanding of controlling general attributes.
For details you should have a look at the window description of the Special Dialog. It gives you a complete description of the dialogs.
The task is a look at controlling the shapers attributes in fixtures.
The grandMA2 series introduces a new and intuitive way to control shapers.
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If you only have one green circle, then your fixture can't rotate the entire shaper module. |
and the "Encoder Toolbar":
A Normal Preset will apply its values in programmer, while a Highlight Preset will be applied to the Highlight property of your fixture schedule.
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The current implementation does not support setting of Highlightvalue "None" via these presets. In other words, if you set a Highlightvalue to i.e. Pan by activating a Highlightpreset containing Pan-values, you will need to manualy type Edit Fixture x, and change highlight back to "None" in the popup dialog, for each fixture. |
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In the predefined Macros you will find macros to change special mode of presets to normal/default/highlight(e.G. "Special Preset Highlight") |
A Normal Preset will apply its values in programmer, while a Default Preset will be applied to the Default property of your fixture schedule.
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In the predefined Macros you will find macros to change special mode of presets to normal/default/highlight |
This is currently organized in series 1 and 2 mode. There's also one topic about updating the software. It outside the series 1 and 2 modes since it applies to both modes.
This section is about using th MA NPU with a grandMA series 1 system.
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It's important that you have a USB keyboard connected when you are changing the mode! |
You need a MA NPU with power on and booted in series 1 mode. And you need to have a USB keyboard connected.
When the MA NPU is booted in series 1 mode it works a bit differently. This task takes you through the steps needed to change the IP address when in series 1 mode.
When it's done rebooting, you'll have a new IP address.
To something like this:
This section contains the following tasks.
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It's important that you have a USB keyboard connected when you are changing the mode! |
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It's very important to know that, if a MA NPU is set to be a member of several sessions in a network, it will connect to the session that reaches the MA NPU first. If that session is then closed - Then the MA NPU will connect to the next session it finds on the network, possibly creating a very different DMX output! |
You can also see on the MA NPU that it's now a part of the session. The screen changes from something like this:
to something like this:
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It's very important to know that, if a MA NPU is set to be a member of several sessions in a network, It will connect to the session that reaches the MA NPU first. If that session is then closed - Then the MA NPU will connect to the next session, possibly creating a very different output. |
The letter is the same as the port markings on the back of the MA NPU. The number is the assigned DMX universe. The line indicates the port status. Green is "Output", Yellow is "Input" and Grey is "Off".
To perform this task you need to have a bootable USB stick with the new software version (installed using StickMAker). It uses the same software as the console. You also need an USB keyboard connected to the MA NPU.
For conceptual understanding of the console and step-by-step instructions, please read the Concepts and Tasks sections.
The general rules for the commandline are:
[Function]
[Function] [helping keyword]
[Function] [Object]
[Function] [Object-list]
[Function] [Object-type]
[Function] [Object-type] [ID]
[Function] [ID]
[Object]
[Object-type] [ID]
[Object-type] "name"
[ID]
Some object-types are non-exclusive, and may exist in multiple instances, e.g. Cue 1 could refer to Cue 1 of Sequence 1, or Cue 1 of Sequence 2. To refer to Cue 1 of Sequence 2, both Cue 1 Sequence 2 , and Sequence 2 Cue 1 is valid
Unless you are creating new Objects (with the Store-function) you may reference objects by using their name, rather than their number, as ID. If the name contains keywords or space, it needs to be enclosed in quotes.
All Objects have a default function which is used if no function is given. This means that even if the general syntax is [Function][Object], just using [Object] is totally valid.
[Object-type1] [ID1]
[Object-type1] [ID1] [Object-type1] [ID2]
[Object-type1] [ID1]+[ID2]
[Object-type1] [ID1] Thru [ID2] - [ID3]
[Object-type1] [ID1] Thru
[Object-type1] Thru [ID1]
[Object-type1] Thru
[Object-type1] "Name"
[Object-type1] "Nam*"
[Object]
[Object-type1] [ID1]
[Object-type1] [ID1] + [Object-type2] [ID2]
[Object-type1] [ID1] Thru [Object-type2] [ID2]
[Object-type1] [ID1] Thru [Object-type2] [ID2] - [Object-type3][ID3]
[Object-type1] [ID1] Thru
[Object-type1] Thru [ID1]
[Object-type1] Thru
[Object-type1] "Name"
[Object-type1] "Nam*"
With a selection-list (as opposed to an object-list) each object-type is resolved into its corresponding fixture-objects, which is then used to build the list.
Executor [list]
Page [list]
FaderPage [list]
ButtonPage [list]
An executor-list has same syntax as object-lists, but are resolved into Executor-objects when building the list
Attribute [list]
Feature [list]
PresetType [list]
An attribute-list has the same syntax as an object-list, but are resolved into Attribute-objects when building the list.
[IP-address]
[IP-address] Thru [IP-address]
[Host-ID]
[Host-ID] Thru [Host-ID]
IP-address is a 32-bit number, written in a dot-decimal notation.(four numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255, separated by dots, e.g. 192.168.0.101).
Host-ID is the unique part of the IP-address within a Network, - usually the last decimal (e.g the IP-address 192.168.0.101 has the Host-ID 101 and Network-ID 192.168.0)
If start or end of the Thru command is missing, first/last occurrence will be used.
Most pages contains description of the keywords with examples of use.
Functional Keywords are used in the commandline to perform a task or function. Examples of functional keywords could be Goto, Delete, LeaveSession. Functional keywords are often followed by an object, that the function/task should be applied to: Goto Cue 3, Delete Preset "Blue". Some functions are global and does not need an object as argument, e.g. Blackout.
Functional keywords may be compared to verbs in human languages.
Object Keywords are used in the commandline to reference objects in your showfile. Examples of object keywords could be Channel, Fixture, Effect, Preset. These keywords represent object-types, and are typically used together with a number/ID or a name/label, to point to specific objects: Channel 3, Fixture 10, Effect 4, Preset "Red".
Object keywords may be compared to nouns in human languages.
Helping Keywords are used in the commandline to give relations to functions and objects. Examples of helping keywords could be At, Thru : Copy Cue 3 At Cue 5, Delete Effect 4 Thru 6.
Helping keywords may be compared to prepositions and conjunctions in human languages
The asterisk character insert a wildcard into a string, when referring to names.
The @-sign is a placeholder for further command line input. Enter the @-sign only at the end of the macro line. A @-sign at the beginning of the macro line does not work.
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Use quotes around the variablename when using variables and their content needs to be enclosed in quotes, e.g. names with spaces. |
Parantheses, round brackets creates a popup dialog in a macro, to collect user input. The user will be prompted with the text inside the round brackets, and a text-input field. Unless the user cancels the popup, the macro-line will be executed with the user-input replacing the brackets and text inside.
The square brackets in macros sets a conditional expression which must resolve to "True", for the following commands to be executed. The expression takes user defined variables and logical operators.
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The two arguments a and b are not compared as numbers, but as text-strings, character by character, e.g. "61" is considered to be greater than "599", as 6 is larger than 5. |
The dot character delimit entered numbers with decimal fractions and hierarchical object IDs. The dot is also used together with the function CD to change destination one level up.
The semicolon separate multiple commands in one line.
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There has to be a space between the semicolon and the following command. |
[Functional keyword] /?
Assign [object-list] /property=value
[commandline-syntax] /option1 /option2 /option3=value
The slash separate entered object-properties or function options. The slash together with the function CD change destinations to root level.
"text with spaces"
"ReservedWord"
If used as a starting keyword, + will create a Selection-list, which will be added to the current selection.
If used as a starting keyword, - will create a Selection-list, which is removed from the current selection.
>>> [Executor-list]
>>> [Timecode-list]
<<< [Executor-list]
<<< [Timecode-list]
AddUserVar $variablename = numericvalue
AddUserVar $variablename = "text"
AddVar $variablename = numericvalue
AddVar $variablename = "text"
Align [mode]
Align Off
When activating an Align-mode, the encoders will no longer adjust the whole selection equally, but adjust proportionally according to selection-order, either most at the last, most at the first, most at the last&first(inverted), or most at the center of the selection.
AlignFaderModules
Which executors the wings controls is not freely adjustable by the user. Wings are fader-extensions and are intended to follow the faders inbuilt in the console.
On the grandMA2 light and grandMA2 ultra-light, which have 15 inbuilt faders, a connected wing will control executor 16-30.
On a grandMA2 full-size, which have inbuilt 30 faders, a connected wing will control executor 31-45.
On a grandMA2 replay unit, which doesn't have any inbuilt fader, a connected wing will control executor 1-15.
Which executors the wing controls is stored inside the wing. If you take a wing normally used with a grandMA2 full-size and connect to a grandMA2 light, or vice versa if you connect a wing normally used by a grandMA2 light, to a grandMA2 full-size, you will experience either an overlap or gap in the executor numbering. To fix this you can run the AlignFaderModules command to readdress the wings to fit the current console type. When running this command, all connected wings will be readdressed to remove any gaps and/or overlaps.
All
[function] AllButtonExecutors
[function] AllChaseExecutors
[function] AllFaderExecutors
AllRows
[function] AllSequExecutors
To go to the Appearance keyword, press 3 times , or type Appearance in the command line.
To reset assigned colors, repeat the appeareance command and select in the edit color pop-up Reset and tap Please.
Appearance
1. Press (=Appearance) and tap at presert 1 in the preset pool .
The Edit Color pop-up opens.
2. Select a red color and tap Please.
Preset object 1 has a red frame around.
Letīs assume, you will give group object 1 thru 5 a blue frame in the group pool.
1. Press (=Appearance) .
The Edit Color pop-up opens.
2. Select a blue color and tap Please.
Group objects 1 thru 5 have a blue frame around.
1. Press (=Appearance) .
The Edit Color pop-up opens.
2. Choose the color and tap Please.Cue 1 of the selected executor has a new background color.
For settings regarding cue color columns, refer to Sequence Sheet Options - Display pop-up.
Press (=Appearance) .
Cue 1 has the same color as group 2.
Type in the command line:
Press .
- or -
Press .
All preset 1 has a red frame around.
Assign [Object-list 1] (At) [Object-list 2]
Assign [Function] (At) [Object-list]
Assign [Helping-keyword] [Value-list] [Object-list]
Assign [Object-list] /[property1]=[value] /[property2]=[value]
Assign [Object]
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Assign is the only function that may be directly proceeded by another function |
At [Value-list]
At [Value-type] [Value-list]
At [Object-list]
[Object-list] At [Value-list]
[Object-list] At [Value-type] [Value-list]
[Object-list] At [Object-list]
[Function] [Object-list] At [Object-list] (as helping keyword)
As a starting keyword, At is a function that applies values in the programmer, to the current selection.
If value-type Fade or Delay is used, the value-list will be applied as individual fade/delay-times
Following an object-list, At is a function that applies values to the object-list. If the object-list does not support the At function, the object-list is resolved into a Selection-list which gets selected and At applies values in programmer
Following an object-list that follows a function, At is a helping keyword for the starting function
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When At applies a range/list, the values/objects are usually spread across the receiving objects. e.g. Fixture 1 Thru 3 At 0 Thru 100 will set 1 At 0, 2 At 50, and 3 At 100. There is however one exception from this rule: If the applied range is a list of cues from a tracking sequence, all fixtures will be set to all cues. This enables you with the At function to apply the tracking status of a cue (At Cue Thru x) |
Attribute "Name"
Attribute [number]
The default function for attributes is Call. Calling attributes will bring them to the encoder, and select them in the fixturesheet (blue column-header).
Attributes are organized by Features, which again is organized by PresetType, which means that you can also call attributes with the Feature and PresetType keyword, using dot-separated numbers.
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The attribute number may change when new fixtures and attributes are added to the showfilw, so it is recommended to use the unique attributename in e.g macros |
Backup
Bitmap [ID]
Bitmap [Bitmap-pool].[ID]
Black [Executor-list]
Black On [Executor-list]
Black Off [Executor-list]
Blackout
Blackout On
Blackout Off
Blackout is a toggle function. This means that entering Blackout without any helping keyword will toggle Blackout-mode on/off.
Blind
Blind On
Blind Off
Blind is a toggle function. This means that entering Blind without any helping keyword will toggle Blind-mode on/off.
BlindEdit
BlindEdit On
BlindEdit Off
BlindEdit is a toggle function. This means that entering BlindEdit without any helping keyword will toggle between the Live and the Blind programmer .
Block [Object-list] If [Selection-list] If [Attribute-list]
If syntax does not contain any Selection-list filter, all fixtures will be used
If syntax does not contain any Attribute-list filter, all attributes will be used
ButtonPage [ID]
ButtonPage [Pagepool].[ID]
The default function for this object is Call. Calling a ButtonPage will change your physical executors to that page.
If you apply a function not supported by the ButtonPage object, the function will be passed on to the Executor child objects of the ButtonPage.
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The ButtonPage keyword currently only supports its default-function Call |
Call [Object-list]