Life after Expression 3...to the Congo we go!

Hi there -

If you would like to work in Capture/Release mode, look at your console keypad and look up and to the right from the 9 key - there are two keys CAPTURE and RELEASE. Double-tap CAPTURE and level setting will feel pretty much exactly like your Expression. RELEASE is right below CAPTURE and works the way you think it should. :-)

One big difference between Expression and Congo, though, is that the last thing you record is played back - in other words, you are always IN the last cue (Preset, in Congo speak) you recorded. In Expression, you sit in the last cue you played back, leading to a lot of RECORD GO RELEASE action. I also switched from heavy Expression usage to Congo and except for certain situations I don't use Capture anymore, mainly because it ends up just adding key presses to my programming, which takes up time. In time you might find you don't need to release channels all the time. :-)

Congo (and your Congo jr) have tutorial movies on them to get you started. With Congo jr, you'll need external speakers or a headset to hear the audio portion, but you can find the movies in the Browser>Media>Movies, These should help you get started. And if you have specific questions, please feel free to ask them here, we are always happy to help!

(Oh, and when you get settled, I think you'll really like your Master Playback Wing - you can really put anything you want onto a master fader. To get you started, though, you can create submasters easily by selecting the channels you want to record, then press RECORD and the master key (the key closer to the LCD) and then confirming that you want to record a Preset to that master using MODIFY.)

Thanks -

Sarah

Thank you Sarah!

Yes, Ulf Videos have been great, and I wish all consoles came with built in video tutorials, I just wish there were more of them, especially for the Master wing,

it constitutes 50% of my console workspace, yet there are few to no instuctionals for it.

I will implement your tips this morning, I will spend the rest of the day practicing, for I already have a show lined up this evening ( gulp)

Oh well, trial by fire as they say.

Do you have any suggestions for the best way to set up the Master wing? I understand it can serve dual functions as a playback and quick programming shortcut, tho how to do this, I dont know it yet.

Thanks again!

Hi -

The wing is not as complicated as you think :-)

You can place most types of content onto the masters in this way  - # [content type] & Master Key

So, to put Preset 1 onto Master 20, you would type 1 PRESET & Master Key 20 (the master key being on the top in this case - closest to the LCD)

To put Groups 10 onto Master 21, you would type 10 GROUP & Master Key 21 (the master key being the ONLY key in this case as the top row does not have dedicated flash keys)

The same works for Sequences, Channels, Palettes...

Start playing with putting things like groups onto the masters, I find this makes on the fly playback easier.

Do you have moving lights, scrollers or LEDs in your rig?

Thanks-

Sarah

I was struggling until I realized that you meant that I have to HOLD the record key while selecting on my master. Haha

I did patch a few moving lights, two Robe spots, I see them in my device list, tho I also have their new LED lighting fixtures but I can't find their templates, now I gotta do that one manually I suppose. I am having trouble making them from scratch. :-(

Thanks so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate this! :-D

Obie

Obie,

Making templates really isn't that bad, unless you have the added pressure of an imminent production deadline. Grab the manual for the fixtures and decide which mode you want to use. If you have time, I would suggest starting with whatever mode uses the fewest parameters, in order to get some template-building experience under your belt. Starting small, it will be easier to find any mistakes you might make and your likely successful build will give you confindence to move on to more complicated templates.

Another tip is to take a look at existing templates, like the Robe spots you already patched. Open their template in the editor & use the entries as a guide when building for another fixture. Since you will be building for LEDs, look at an existing LED template to see how is was put together. 

The most confusing issue I experienced when building my own templates, is the large number of similar parameter function names in the template editor, Further, there's often not one that clearly matches the desired parameter in your fixture, so experimentation is sometimes necessary. Just hang in there and you'll catch on! Thankfully, ETC tech support is really helpful if you get stuck.

Best of luck,

Keith

There are two different Libraries for the fixture templates, Standard and Extended. Have you checked both?

If they aren't there, which new Robe fixtures they are and which Mode(s) will you be running them in?

I've been spending this afternoon building 20-odd templates for various new LED fixtures, including quite a few Robe ones so I may well have just built the ones you need!

You.

Guys.

Rock!

I have the console patched, independents up and got my spots working, but I dunno how to program them in Presets yet.

I manually added all perimiters for my Robe LEDs manually to the Masters,I could not figure out the template in time ( show opens in 30 mins, yikes!)

The instruments I am dealing with are the Robe Robin LED 600, I love the instruments, but they are pretty new and many consoles dont have templates for them yet.

Thanks so much you guys, wish me luck!

The Robe Robin 600 LEDWash is in the Extended Library for Congo v6.1.0, unless you need the SmartWhite version.

I'd recommend Mode 2 as the other modes are a bit fiddly to operate due to all the LED 'zones'.

Failing that, attached is a Congo v6.1.0 showfile containing templates for both the 'coloured' and 'SmartWhite" versions of Robin 600 LEDWash in Mode 2.

You can use Browser > Files > Import to import these templates into your existing show.

(Note that this will not load in an older version of Congo.)

Well two weeks have passed, and here is how it has gone.

I am liking the syntax and the speed I am able to program, tho I have to admit when it gets late I slip back to my Expression 3 syntax from time to time, hehe.

I am still having some trouble with moving lights, I kinda cheated it by manually programming the parameters as presets and put them on faders, and I am sure this is not the best way.

Two questions, 1. What is the best way to add a patched device to the master faders ( I prefer using those over the wheels), and 2. how do I access the other 30 Master faders ( so far I only seem to be able to access pages 1 to 10 using the (+ and -) buttons. 

I am sorry if I seem like complete dunce, but I figure I'd give it a shot. But hey, the audio guy in my venue seems impressed. ;)

Hi Obie -

I'm glad you like your Congo jr!

1) You can place any parameter controls onto the masters directly - the faders would then behave like the wheels for the most part. To do this, first select a channel that corresponds to one of your movers. This will place the parameters on the encoder wheels. Then press and hold down an encoder wheel and while keeping it pressed down, press the master key for the fader you would like that parameter to be on. This moves manual control of your light onto a fader. However, there are some parameters that might be better controlled by using an encoder - especially functions that have ranges, like strobe, color wheels, gobos and the like - because you can press and hold down the encoder and see the individual ranges on the master wing or up on the direct select keys above the LCD display.. Have a play and see which way you like better.

2) I'm not 100% sure I know what you're asking, but here's some clarification on the master pages - Congo has 999 pages in a show file, we just pre-build the first 10 for you as a convenience thing. You can make a new page simply by typing the number you would like to use for that page, then press the PAGE key between masters 10 -11 or 30-31. Congo will throw a dialog box asking if you want to make that page. It doesn't matter which bank of faders you apply that page to, as you can use any page either the top or bottom faders. You can jump from page to page using the PAGE key as well, just type the number of the page you want to go to then press the PAGE key. Congo supports up to 80 masters, and the master wing alone will get you physical faders for masters 1-40. Masters 41-80 can be used with keyboard commands or for master links, or if you don't need them you can pretty much ignore them. Otherwise, if you get a second wing you can have hands on control over them as well. Controlling the masters is described in the help system on the console.

Does that help?

Thanks!

Sarah

Heh, Sarah, ETC should ship a tiny hologram version of you with each console...you rock.

I never even knew the circle wheels clicked! I guess the little things you miss in that whopping 1000 page user manual.

Thanks for those tips, some of them seem obvious now, I've always been more of a hands on guy instead of a bookworm. I learned everything I needed of the Expression 3 after running a single show in High school. 

Two more silly questions, every preset I make gets auto numbered, is there a way to number each preset to the number of my choosing? I went in the edit playback section and renamed some cues...I mean presets...and while the numbers changed their order did not fall back into numerical order. Example, the board automatically numbered presets 5, 6 and 7...I wanted to change 6 into 4..but when I did, it did not slide in front of 5. :(

And second question, is it impossible to manually edit Master presets while they are active? Example: I had Master preset fader up for 5 channels at full, I wanted to rerecord that preset with 4 channels at full, but while I selected and tried to lower the fifth channel it would not budge. On Expression I was always tweaking levels on my subs.

Again...you are a saint....what can I say.

I did get my iRFR remote to work on my ipad and iphone...funny it does not seem to use Congo syntax!

To choose a number, type it first then do the Record. By default ("Build" mode), it will automatically place the new Preset into the Main Playback in numerical sequence.

Eg: 123 [Record] - Congo offers to Record Preset 123 and put it into the sequence on Main Playback between Presets 122 and 124.
Hit [Record] again to confirm.

- If Preset 123 already exists then Congo will ask if you want to update it instead.

On re-numbering Presets:

Presets are just looks, the console doesn't actually care what order you play them back in.
So if you want to re-order Preset in a Sequence, easiest is to use [Copy/Cut] and [Paste] to move them around (this also keeps the timings!)

You can also use # [Insert] to insert a Preset into the Sequence List (even if that Preset doesn't exist yet).

On Masters:

Levels from the Masters are HTP with each other and the Main Playback.

If you want to modify the content of a Master - hold [Modify] and press the [Master_Key] for that Master and you'll get a live editor for it.
You can then hit [Update] to record the change, or just leave it if it's a temporary nudge 'for the moment only'.

This is an example of probably the most useful Congo command:

[Modify] & ["Thing"] - Opens an editor for the "Thing".

Another example of this is [Modify] & [Playback], which opens the editor for the sequence in the Main Playback.

Thank you Richard! Its amazing how some little things make your life infinately easier.

I will start working with sequences tomorrow, I know that within sequences presets work as steps...but I am having problems having the presets follow each other automatically, and sequences cant seem to trigger quickly. Any tips? 

My girlfriend also sends her regards and promises to mail you guys home made brownies for all your patience. 

Obienator said:

I will start working with sequences tomorrow, I know that within sequences presets work as steps...but I am having problems having the presets follow each other automatically, and sequences cant seem to trigger quickly. Any tips?

For presets to follow on automatically use either follow on times or wait. I do prefer wait times. The difference is wait times start counting when the previous cue has finished. so you can alter the times of the previous cue without worrying about changing the follow on time ( they start counting with the go on the previous cue). This is easiest done in the seq-editor (you get to your seq in the playback by using Richards tip Another example of this is [Modify] & [Playback], which opens the editor for the sequence in the Main Playback.)
you can select multiple cells in there by holding down the metal select button and using the down arrow key. You then can put in wait or follow on times for all selected cells at once.

About the quick trigger I assume you are talking about the time in which a cue is played back. If you do not assign a time to a cue `Congo uses the Default Cue time which is set to 5s. You can alter that in setup. If you need real snap (i.e. 0s) you need to set the default cue time to 0, but be aware that all cues will than snap. Otherwise just select in and out times and set them to 0.1 in the playback editor.

Hope that helps

Thanks Flo! 

Now a really silly question...so far I have been working in Sequence 1....errrr...how do I make a brand new sequence of my choosing? Lets say I wanna make a chase and call it sequence 5....I swear I am not always this dense. :-(

Other than that, everything is falling into place and I am really liking the board....I saw my old Expression 3 in storage today...I felt a pang of guilt....its weird how we can get attached to inanimate objects sometimes.