Advanced UDKs
Highlight & Rem Dim
Highlight
"Highlight" provides a quick method of finding/identifying/locating a fixture or cell of a fixture. As well as highlighting single fixtures or cells, multiple fixtures or cells can be highlighted at once.
To use Highlight, press and hold Setup and tap an empty UDK, and choose Highlight from the drop down menu. The "shifted" option allows a second function to be stored on the UDK, accessed by holding Shift and pressing the UDK.
You can then select the required fixture(s) or cell(s) and tap the Highlight UDK, for example if UDK 2 is configured as Highlight:
1 And 3 UDK2
1, And 3, Highlight,
This will set the intensity of the currently selected fixtures and cells to the "High value". The High Value can be customised in Setup -> Settings , and choosing High Value under the Operational options. The default high value is 100%.
Any colour parameters of the fixture, will go to their library defaults, which should give you white light. Beam and Shape parameters will be left unchanged, apart from any Shutter parameters that will be opened.
Pan and Tilt, will also be left unchanged. While a fixture is highlighted, only the Pan and Tilt parameters can be edited using the encoders. This allows the position to be adjusted without affecting any of the other parameters. This can be particularly useful when creating or updating position palettes.
Watch the short video explaining Highlight below...
Rather than using a UDK to access Highlight, the shortcut for Highlight is hold Shift and tap Home. The Home key will flash when Highlight is active.
Next & Previous
Whilst Highlight is active, Next and Previous can be used to navigate between fixtures or cells, tweaking their Pan and Tilt in turn. The Next function can be accessed by holding Shift and tapping the right arrow key, and Previous can be accessed by holding Shift and tapping the left arrow key.
Next and Previous are written in the command line, bringing the added benefit of allowing you to backspace through the commands:
1, Next, Next, Previous,
When a group is used to select fixtures, Next and Previous will select individual fixtures within the group, selecting in the order the fixtures were selected when the group was first recorded. Rather than the whole group being displayed as selected in the Output window with the usual orange box, a dark orange box is displayed around the group, with the currently selected fixture displayed in the usual orange box.
This is particularly useful for focusing the positions of a group of movers, as it allows you to select the group, select Next to select the first fixture in the group, and then choose Highlight. You can then work through the fixtures one by one by tapping Next, and when you get to the last fixture you will cycle back to the first in the group, in case you then need to fine tune the focus.
Once finished adjusting fixtures, press the Highlight UDK again (or Shift + Home again) to un-highlight the selected fixture(s). The other fixture parameters will return to their previous output level.
Rem Dim
Rem Dim is short for Remainder Dim, and is a method of dimming the remaining fixtures or cells that are not currently selected. This is therefore particularly useful to use whilst focusing fixtures, as a method of just turning the required fixtures on onstage, and turning others off. It can therefore also be considered as a method of soloing a fixture or cell.
To use Rem Dim, press and hold Setup and tap an empty UDK, and choose Rem Dim from the drop down menu. The "shifted" option allows a second function to be stored on the UDK, accessed by holding Shift and pressing the UDK.
You can then use this function by selecting the fixture(s) or cell(s) required, and then tap the Rem Dim UDK. For example if UDK 1 is set as Rem Dim:
2 0 UDK1
20, Rem Dim,
If the selected fixture or cell's intensity level is above 0% and Rem Dim is activated, it remains at that level. If the selected fixture or cell's intensity level is at 0% and Rem Dim is activated, the selected fixture or cell is taken to the "High Value".
If the remaining unselected fixtures and cells are above the Rem Dim low value, they will be taken down to the low value. If the remaining unselected fixtures and cells are below the Rem Dim low value, they will not be changed.
The High Value and Low Value can be customised in Setup -> Settings , by choosing High Value or Low Value under the Operational options. The default high value is 100%, and default Low Value is 0%.
Output Window
Any values adjusted by Highlight or Rem Dim, whether that be fixtures taken to the High Value or Low Value, will be displayed as yellow intensity percentages in the Output Window.
Watch the short video explaining Rem Dim below...
Did you know, there is a free ZerOS Remote app for Apple Watches, that allow you to remotely Highlight and Rem Dim fixtures straight from your wrist, perfect for focusing.
Take a look...