Programming a colour chase.

[Davidmk]

I have been trying to record a particular colour chase on LEDs and failed. Obviously I'm missing something - can anyone help?

What I want is to set each fixture in turn to white (as in R, G, B & W at 100%) but return to whatever colour it was before (as set by another, current, cue) when the next step runs. This should give the effect of a white light running through all the fixtures.

I've tried recording the steps as cue only with smart tag off and being very careful to manually tag all the colour values. I've cleared the programmer after each step.

The chase I get sets each fixture to white in turn but leaves it white as all the other steps execute until they are all white. I admit I am a few versions behind but I suspect its down to me doing it wrong rather than there being something that has been fixed in a newer version.

Anyone ever made a chase like this work? One which sets the fixture back to a specific colour would not be what I'm after but any other suggestion would be most welcome.

[kgallen]

Hi David. You need to release colour channels where you want the underlying cue colours to take effect. I’m not sure you can do this on a per channel basis though, only on a playback. If your chase is not too long maybe each step could be a playback and use a macro to link together each playback.

That’s a bit of a guess though. I’ll be interested in any suggestions from Edward.

regards, Kevin

[Davidmk]

Thanks Kevin. I did wonder about using release. I don't think you can release a particular step/cue though, so step 2 can't release step 1, etc. If you release the whole playback then of course it stops running. Using a number of playbacks is an interesting way round that though. It might even be possible to use one playback with multiple cues as I recall macros run at the end of the step (so each step of the chase could release the playback before triggering the next cue in the playback) but that's probably getting too ambitious to start with.

Let's see what Edward thinks.

PS. I've done a modified sparkle in the past where it didn't alter the existing colour but, sadly, I haven't got it in my current showfile.  It's not what I want here though, you can't use tap tempo on effects.

[Edward Z88]

Hi David & Kevin,

13 hours ago, kgallen said:

You need to release colour channels where you want the underlying cue colours to take effect. I’m not sure you can do this on a per channel basis though, only on a playback. If your chase is not too long maybe each step could be a playback and use a macro to link together each playback.

As usual, Kevin has hit the nail on the head. When you trigger a cue in a playback, Colour, Beam, Shape and Position information, will mix LTP with your current fixture values, meaning it takes control. When you go into another cue of the same playback, even if it may not have information for a fixture recorded in the previous cue, that particular fixture will not revert to any other playbacks that may be present - this current playback is still the latest playback that was triggered, hence LTP. Unless of course another playback elsewhere is then manually triggered.

11 hours ago, Davidmk said:

It might even be possible to use one playback with multiple cues as I recall macros run at the end of the step (so each step of the chase could release the playback before triggering the next cue in the playback) but that's probably getting too ambitious to start with.

For optimal control over this situation, triggering and releasing single-cue playbacks from a chase playback of trigger/release cues is a good approach.

If you have any questions let me know.

Edward

[kgallen]

30 minutes ago, Edward- Z88 said:

For optimal control over this situation, triggering and releasing single-cue playbacks from a chase playback of trigger/release cues is a good approach.

Aha! That sounds better, I knew there was something that didn’t feel quite right with my approach as @Davidmkhighlighted.

David if you give this a go, please post the results! Having a ‘bleed through’ of some arbitrary underlying state is something I can tend to need too. Again usually colour but could also apply to eg gobos.

Edward - is channel level release something anyone else has requested? Not sure how feasible this would be.

Regards, Kevin

[Edward Z88]

Hi Kevin,

2 minutes ago, kgallen said:

Edward - is channel level release something anyone else has requested? Not sure how feasible this would be.

It is certainly something we'd like to look into. Currently this is done at playback level, whereas we could look at this at cue level - careful thought would be needed in terms of Move On Dark etc.

If you have any questions let me know.

Edward

[Davidmk]

Thanks both.

Release seems to be the missing factor in all this. I'll have a play Thursday when I'm in the theatre next and report back. In addition to lots of playbacks, I'll have a go with multiple cues in one playback (unless you can tell me for sure it won't work - it would be easier to manage).

[Edward Z88]

Hi David,

1 hour ago, Davidmk said:

In addition to lots of playbacks, I'll have a go with multiple cues in one playback (unless you can tell me for sure it won't work - it would be easier to manage).

To achieve this, you will need to have each "step" of the chase as a single cue on its own playback (for example on a playback page you don't use). You can then have a single playback, configured as a chase, with each cue set to trigger and release each of your "step" playbacks in turn.

1 hour ago, Davidmk said:

I'll have a play Thursday when I'm in the theatre next and report back.

Let us know how you get on.

Edward

[Davidmk]

So, yesterday's gig was busier than expected and I didn't get a lot of time to spend on this but I did try it.

First up, I used macros to trigger the playbacks - as in I recorded a macro for each playback and then called those from my chase steps. I have a feeling that wasn't what Edward meant but lack of time stopped me from using the playback trigger instead.

With macros, the results were mixed. It does work if the Tap Tempo is slow but I think latency is a problem because, if you speed it up, it seems to miss steps out. Snag is that, when it is running fast, it is difficult to be sure about that and I can't see the actual fixtures from the desk (I have to go down a floor and out into the auditorium) so I can't increase the speed gradually and look for a breakdown point.

Back in theatre next Friday, I'll give it another go then. Watch this space.

[Edward Z88]

Hi David,

1 hour ago, Davidmk said:

First up, I used macros to trigger the playbacks - as in I recorded a macro for each playback and then called those from my chase steps. I have a feeling that wasn't what Edward meant but lack of time stopped me from using the playback trigger instead.

For more information on triggering/releasing playbacks, please see the link below...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/cues-playbacks/cue-settings/cue-macros

1 hour ago, Davidmk said:

Back in theatre next Friday, I'll give it another go then. Watch this space.

Let us know how you get on.

Edward

[Davidmk]

5 hours ago, Edward- Z88 said:

For more information on triggering/releasing playbacks, please see the link below...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/cues-playbacks/cue-settings/cue-macros

I should have started there shouldn't I? Especially after directing others to "RTFM" 🙂

My next gig's get in is later than usual so I could arrive early and give myself a couple of hours playtime before having to start work in earnest. Let's see what I can find out.

[Davidmk]

Still haven't got this working, not sure why. I think I need to check the addresses on the fixtures and my assignment of them to channels. It's complicated because some are paired with the same address while others have unique addresses but paired on the same channel. (It's to do with keeping the rig down to one universe but it's not how I'd do it.)

I think I'm in for the long term so anyone hoping to do this themselves best not hold their breath 😕