A designer's response to the Ion

RPaulsen:

4.  I only began to explore the Palettes, Focus, Intensity, Color etc.  Seem like very good tools.  However, I wonder if I place them in a cue, then alter the settings in that cue and then Update the cue, have I altered the Pallette in all of it's occurences?  That would seem  to me to be a mistake.

If you alter the settings then update the cue, you are no longer in that palette and the palette will not be affected. However, if you update the palette, it will then update itself in the cue(s) it is in.

RPaulsen:

6.  I have a couple of seemingly trivial, but significant (to me) gripes.  The first is that the displays that I have at the RVI don't always mirror what the board operator is seeing.  I realize that I can go to my own displays from the RVI but my point is that I want to see what the operator is doing in real time.  I would learn the console more quickly and would have the comfort that I might prevent an error if I could see what was going on.  The operators DO NOT want the LD to be making changes on their own, so the lighting table philosophy will probably be "hands-off" for the LD. 

If you put the RVI as user 1, then the command line will be mirrored at both places. This also means you both have the same access to the same group of channels. 

RPaulsen:

8.  I miss the +10/-10 keys from the Obsession.  Is there a way to do this?

Use [+][+] and [-][-]. Both of these commands are self-terminating. Oh, and use [full] [full] for Level. 

Thank you for your input.  Some comments to yours follow:

2)  If you disable automark, you can use referenced marks, which allow you to specify exactly which cue you'd like the lights to mark in.  If you choose not to use mark, but instead copy the data back to the cue you want the lights to preset in, [Update] [Trace]  will assure the changed NPs always track back to the cue with the initial move instruction.

 4)  Update, by default, always updates to the target providing the move instruction in a cue.  When you modify a reference (IFCB Palette or Preset), the "R" in superscript is your clue that you've modified a reference.  If you [Update], the reference is changed.  If you [Update] [Make Absolute] the change is made in the cue as absolute data, not impacting the IFCB palette or preset that was the source.  This command is remembered, so the next update will also be absolute.  Whether the reference is updated or not is a total jump ball. Depends on the show, the programmer, the designer.  So, we made the rule consistent, with an easy override.  By having the Update Dialogue box reflect the last style of update you used, you are constantly reminded of the way you are choosing to work.  

5)  Actually, this is a document that we are currently working on. Hope to have it soon.

6)  True mirror mode for the RVI is coming in 1.5 (fall).  Right now if you and your programmer are both in the same user, you'll see his command line, while you can format your displays as you choose.  

7)  Please look at the high contrast setting.  We are also working on some font changes to help distinguish some values.   I've not had this complaint from other Obsession designers when working in high contrast mode (where the rule was you needed to see the data from 10 feet away.... and a tape measure was involved.).    Very hesitant to customize the colors.  Designers become dependent on them.  If they can be customized, you'll have no idea what the local venue might have done.  I recently had designers call me to say "Please stop with the user defaults..... there are already too many.  I don't want to think about any of this stuff... I just want to light my show.  And I want to know I have the same conventions in every venue, because I don't have time to learn what the local crew have done."   That is the thing that resonates every time someone asks for a user default.... kind of a guiding principle.  But again, if you can look at the high contrast and let me know what you think.   Perhaps more tweaking is involved.

8)  [at] [+] and [at] [-] on Ion....

 Thanks much for the thoughtful input.  Look forward to hearing more!

Anne

One more thing from Anne on another thread (I assume this is from your board op/programmer) 

RPaulsen:

more than about 2 feet away.  Could we PLEASE get a slightly brighter purple color?  PLEASE?  I should not have to ask the operator, "what level is 27 at?".  I just do not have the time in tech to spend on this.  Either a brighter color or a way to customize colors would solve this.  I think you'll find a lot of LD's having trouble with this one. 

Anne Valentino:

Hi there. Provided the monitors are properly tweaked, if you set the desk to High Contrast Mode in setup, you'll see magenta at very similar values you can see it on Obsession. There is increased variability in high-res monitors, but it shouldn't be far off (in high contrast mode).

Hope this helps.

a

 

Here are some of the notes I've gathered for my own "hot sheet" for the console:

Split time: [Time] (x) [Time] (y)

Hang = Follow after complete

[+/-] (chan)             addsto or subtracts from current selection

{TRACE} track back

[At] [+] [Enter] and [At] [-] [Enter] can also be used forthe +10,-10 keys.

to view discreet timingis to press and hold the [time] key.  If you want to see discreet timingfor a channel in a Q that is not active, you can press and hold [time] inblind.

In spreadsheet, keychannel, [Select] then can use arrows

Press pan/tilt wheels toswitch from coarse to fine

"Open"functions always assume you want to replace any other existing show data, where"Import" always adds to the show file.

Copy Palettes from one channel to others in same type ofdevice

Additionally, ifyou need to switch a palette back from HSB, if you edit the palette in Blind,and rehit the color (I mean colour) frame, or tick the scroller wheel, it willswitch over, and HSB will be greyed out again.  The only big reason youmight want to do it in your situation is that a live fade across the HSB colourspace ( color picker) might end up a bit spastic.

Conversely, if you havea colour mixing  fixture, want to fade by HSB but your palette is recordedCMY (or MYC on Ion) you can edit the palette in blind CP by grabbing theappropriate fixtures and clicking on their current location in the color picker

 Justfound that when working Offline, holding down F1  and pressing ; gives youan on-line list of Keyboard Shortcuts in the CIA.

6.  I have a couple of seemingly trivial, but significant (to me) gripes.  The first is that the displays that I have at the RVI don't always mirror what the board operator is seeing.  I realize that I can go to my own displays from the RVI but my point is that I want to see what the operator is doing in real time.  I would learn the console more quickly and would have the comfort that I might prevent an error if I could see what was going on.  The operators DO NOT want the LD to be making changes on their own, so the lighting table philosophy will probably be "hands-off" for the LD.

------- 

As a designer, I understand your desire to know exactly what the programmer is doing and even thinking.  (I think this is quickly becoming an old fashion way of designing.)  But as a programmer (with the experience of many years and many consoles under my belt) you have to trust the programmer to help you accomplish your artistic vision.  As technology becomes more sophisticated and complicated, it is the programmer who is the liaison between the designer and the console, and the console and the rig.

I may be out of line here, but Designers don't need to know everything about all aspects of the console.  Certainly knowledge is a good thing!  And the more you know about the functionality of the EOS and ION the more you can take advantage of it.  But sometimes I find it's better to tell a programmer what I want to have happen and just close my eyes and let him/her make it happen without getting invested in the programming of it myself.

Re:  RVIs.... right now, if you and your programmer are both user 1, you will be in the same displays as the programmer, and will see his/her command line, but will be able to have your own channel formats - a lot of designers seem to like this.   We are adding a true "mirror mode" in 1.5, which will show you exactly what the programmer is seeing.  If you are a separate user, you can work totally independent of the programmer.

Hope this helps.

a 

It's certainly an unenviable task: making designers, programmers, and board operators happy with their displays.  In the olden days, it was easy: the designer saw what the board op saw, no way to customize it.  The 1979 Light Palette had a "Designer's Remote" with almost all of the buttons of the console, but in most places (due to Union or other working rules) it was just used as a remote display.  I remember once, as a designer, putting channels on the wheel on an RFU, altering levels, and then telling the board op in the booth to record/update the cue.  He hated me for that--didn't like lights changing without his control.  And of course, I couldn't do a show without asking the Expression operator to press <Swap> at least a million times during tech rehearsals.  One of the best stories was when a designer asked me to print out a complete track sheet on a Prestige just before we broke for lunch.  When I came back, he had taped all the sheets together and said "I found the problem!  Never mess with your apparent light source!" He then proceeded to give me changes to about 10 channels in 100 cues.  Same designer was particularly fond of the levels 08%, 12%, and 17%.  Me?, I'm a 0, 25, 50, 75, FL, kind of guy.

Today, I say professional designers with professional programmers should look at thier data however they want and trust that the programmer will achieve the final outcome they ask for, and not worry about how it gets there.  As a programmer, there's nothing more frustrating than a designer who attempts to call keystrokes at you.  I would deck a designer who watches my command line for errors.  Designers are supposed to be watching the stage, not the console!  Now I understand this may be slightly different in an educational environment, but still, it's okay to allow the board op make a mistake on the command line.  What's the worst that could happen?  Just press <Oops> or <Undo> or <Cmd-Z> a few times and start over.  That's how students learn.

Clifton Taylor has a very good article on the various needs and requirements of remote monitors, including GMA 2 and Eos, here:  http://blog.cliftontaylor.com/2008/05/29/control-desks-continued---displays.aspx#comment-1085201

DL 

It's never boring!  :-)  And with displays the question always is "is it bad, or is it just different."  And it always take a bit of time working with new displays to make those choices.  So, we continue to gather input... and then from our own experiences and those using the product, we just continue to refine them.   It's always a work in progress.   Thanks much for the input.  Clifton actually forwarded me a link to his blog on this.  It's now bookmarked and I check back regularly to see what he's got to say.  Always very thoughtful and well considered.

 a