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    Orpheus1982
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Building old-style fader-controlled submasters on the Element

Hi! I just started a new school job, and am earning how to work with LEDs and the Element for the first time. I’ve got 5 different models of LED lekos, pars, and bars in my hybrid (LED/conventional) rig, plus a couple of Martin MAC Quantum Profile moving heads. I know conventionals well and am all set there. On the LED side, I’ve figured out the DMX address conventions, and have assigned each LED instrument to its own channel on the Element (same as the conventional). I've also learned how to set an LED's intensity and color in the context of building a cue. So far so good.

Now that I have that covered, I would love to know how to create submasters that hearken back to the days of "spontaneous lighting design" for live concerts, where all the main lighting areas, plus a whole bunch of PAR color washes and other “looks,” were available at the nudge of a fader. Is there a way, in the age of LEDs, to build such subs as “SL blue” or “jazzy look” or “all downs” and assign each to its own individual fader for use in submaster mode?

Thanks!

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  • 0
    One thing that took me a bit to understand is that although LED units can be any colour, they can only be one colour at a time.
    Not that you can't do colour mixing on the fly, but it's not how the console works by default.
    And remember, 0 is a value, not the lack of a value.
  • 0 in reply to Wuz314159
    Really the console just does what you tell it.

    If you record a colour onto the sub then the complete color ie RGB is recorded, and brining up the fader would bring in that colour

    If you record just Red in one fader and Green in another and Blue in another then you can mix on the faders
  • 0 in reply to Mike A
    Yes and no.
    If someone were coming from an old school Express background, they would assume the console did not record 0 values. They would be sorely mistaken & confused af.

    Bringing up the Red LEDs and recording a submaster also records the Green & Blue values at Zero.
    So then when you try to bring up your Blue submaster, you just get a colour snap to Blue, no mixing.

    To fix this, you need to specify while recording your submasters, that you only want to record those specific NIP values, not the zero values. (You'll find the list of values you can specify as virtual buttons on the bottom left corner of your CIA)

    I know everyone says the Ion is just like using the Express, but it's different.
    20 years of using an Express and now 3 months on my Ion Xe & I'm still totally befuddled at times.
    I just ruined a show on the weekend because the console did something I wasn't expecting it to do.
    It takes time.
  • 0 in reply to Wuz314159
    Its really just what you are used to.

    I think I'd find the Express confusing if I got the colour on stage just right recorded it and then later when I slid that fader up the stage went to a different colour to what I had recorded just because it happened that the blue value I recorded was zero and so it took the blue value from what just happened to be on stage at the time.

    I suspect the way the Ion is working is that as it's more recent, colour mixed lights were more prevalent and so more effort has been put into making it just work without what might be surprises for those who haven't had years of Express experience.

    I like using a mac and its probably better than windows, but if you've always used windows, initially you think some things are strange. Its what you are used to.
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  • 0 in reply to Wuz314159
    Its really just what you are used to.

    I think I'd find the Express confusing if I got the colour on stage just right recorded it and then later when I slid that fader up the stage went to a different colour to what I had recorded just because it happened that the blue value I recorded was zero and so it took the blue value from what just happened to be on stage at the time.

    I suspect the way the Ion is working is that as it's more recent, colour mixed lights were more prevalent and so more effort has been put into making it just work without what might be surprises for those who haven't had years of Express experience.

    I like using a mac and its probably better than windows, but if you've always used windows, initially you think some things are strange. Its what you are used to.
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