Controlling Fixtures
Multicell Fixtures
Some fixtures, don't just have a single light output. Some fixtures may have two or multiple light sources, that can be controlled individually. These are referred to as "multicell" fixtures. On ZerOS consoles, there are many tools available, to allow you to control multicell fixtures just as easily as a "normal" fixture with a single light output.
Watch the introductory video to find out more...
Pictured is an SL Bar 660. This fixture has multiple LEDs arranged linearly, that can be controlled individually.
This is a VL800 EventWash. This is a moving wash fixture, that has 7 LEDs that can be individually controlled. This is therefore also a multicell fixture.
When you raise a multicell fixture's fader, or select the whole fixture, you will be controlling all of the fixture's cells together, as if they are linked. "Cells" may also be referred to as zones, segments, pixels or groups.
Individual cells, can also be selected and controlled.
Once a cell has been selected, you will be presented with all of the parameters that control that cell, plus all the parameters that can affect that cell on the encoder wheels.
Going back to the example of the VL800 EventWash pictured at the top of this page, if you just select cell 1, which is the centre cell, this cell just has colour control, and intensity control. However, as the fixture's Pan and Tilt controls affect that cell, they will also be available to control on the encoder wheels.
Master Parameters vs Cell Parameters
On some fixtures, there will be parameters that affect the whole fixture, and then an identical version of the parameter for each cell. Parameters that affect the whole fixture are known as master parameters. To avoid confusion with having duplicate parameters for both master and cells, master parameters will be displayed in brackets on the encoders.
In this example, we can see the Red, Green, Blue and White master parameters that affect the whole fixture, shown in brackets. These will not be applied to the ZerOS Colour Mixing Tools.
In most cases, you can simply use the standard Red Green Blue and White parameters, which will control the colour of the cells.
Similarly, many multicell fixtures will have a master intensity, and then an intensity for each cell. In ZerOS, by default master intensities are frozen at full, and cannot be controlled. When you are controlling a whole fixture's intensity, you are therefore actually controlling all of the intensities of the cells together.
This avoids issues with scaling, as it means you won't get into the situation where the master intensity is accidentally scaling a cell intensity, which can cause issues when fading.
Master intensities can however be enabled in the Fixture Settings.
Watch this video for information on controlling multicell fixtures on FLX.
Watch this video for information on controlling multicell fixtures on FLX S.