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    Peter Pauze
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How to save a "look" and combine saved "looks"? Groups? Submasters? Intesity Palettes? Something Else?

I'm an ETC Insight 2x user of 17 years who just recently switched to an Ion. I'm trying to find a way to use my new Ion to construct light cues in a way similar to how I've done it for the past 17 years.

Here's how I would do it using my Insight 2x:

I'd work area by area--so I'd start with area A, adjust the relative levels of front light, back light, etc.--achieve a terrific look for area A, then save it as a Group. Then I'd so the same for each area--achieve a good balance, a standard look, and save it as a Group. Same with color washes, cyc lights. everything.

Then, when it came time to start writing cues, I could very quickly and efficiently build them using these Groups as building blocks. It worked great.

I'm trying to find a way to use this same method on an Ion and failing. I can no longer do it with Groups because (for reasons I cannot fathom) Groups on an Ion no longer record intensity information, so I can't recall a "look," I can only recall channels.

This past show I tried using Submasters to do this (just recording and recalling them using the keypad), but that was a disaster. Cues wouldn't save properly, I found it impossible to clear out channels (Go To Cue 0 stopped working), I'd hit Enter to save a cue and random lights would pop on. Insanity. As soon as I stopped using Submasters the insanity stopped, but I had to construct cues channel by channel, intensity by intensity, and it took forever.

I only vaguely understand Intensity Palettes, but the fact that they're referenced data worries me. (I don't want to end up changing all my cues when I change just one.)  Am I worried about nothing?  Is this what I should be using?

It seems like there MUST be a way to do something as simple as what I want to do--save a given look to be recalled later and combined with other such saved looks to create a cue--but I'll be darned if I can figure out how.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Peter Pauze

Denison University Theatre

 

 

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    Hi Peter.

    For the submasters, try using "recall from" sub x.  that should bring the intensities to Live, without running the fader handles, or making the subs active.  If you bring up a sub, manually change a level of a channel in the sub by bringing it down, and then record a cue from the combined values of the sub channels, AND manually changed channels,  channels will POP back to the submaster level (HTP sub vs cue).

    another old school technique would be to record your previous "groups" as cues 1001 - 10xx.

    then ch 1 - 36 recall from cues 1001 - xxxx.  This would pull levels to Live, and you could edit the live levels without worrying about messing around with referenced levels, etc.  Just pay attention to what you're updating or record targets.

    Yes, you want to use intensity pallets.

    Make Intensity Palette 1 your Nice Look palette (Basic Wash).

    work through your areas with front and back as you did previously, can same each grouping to the IP.  eventually all channels will be in the 1st IP.

    If you want to use channels twice, say for Night Look, make a second IP: Night Time.  Repeat.  A channel can only be in one palette once, but a channel can be in multiple palettes.

    You could have palettes for different looks on the cyc, back lights, tips, gobos bright, gobos dim.

    All gobos could be in 1 IP, since the break up gobos will be different channels than your window gobos.

    For building your cues: ch 1 - 36 (front and back) IP1 enter.  Channels will be in red, and show IP1 or the title of the IP.  Modify as necessary.

    Record Cue 10.  this will alway reference IP1.  If you update the levels in IP1, that will change the levels of cue 10.

    OR Record cue 10 {make absolute} enter.  this will keep the levels from the IP, but break the reference to the IP.  When you go back to edit cue 10, the IP will NOT be modified.  If you modify IP1, cue 10 will NOT change.

    Hope that helps.  I was a Strand user (and other ETC consoles), and without ML or DMX devices, it took a while for me to wrap my head around palettes.  I use them to set a consistent level for lectern, conductor, soloist, piano etc, across multiple shows, in a rental hall.  I also like having the label in the tombstone, telling me that channel 21 is the lectern, 22 is the soloist, and 44-48 is choir wash, since channel assignments change every show.

    Andrew Riter

     

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  • 0

    Hi Peter.

    For the submasters, try using "recall from" sub x.  that should bring the intensities to Live, without running the fader handles, or making the subs active.  If you bring up a sub, manually change a level of a channel in the sub by bringing it down, and then record a cue from the combined values of the sub channels, AND manually changed channels,  channels will POP back to the submaster level (HTP sub vs cue).

    another old school technique would be to record your previous "groups" as cues 1001 - 10xx.

    then ch 1 - 36 recall from cues 1001 - xxxx.  This would pull levels to Live, and you could edit the live levels without worrying about messing around with referenced levels, etc.  Just pay attention to what you're updating or record targets.

    Yes, you want to use intensity pallets.

    Make Intensity Palette 1 your Nice Look palette (Basic Wash).

    work through your areas with front and back as you did previously, can same each grouping to the IP.  eventually all channels will be in the 1st IP.

    If you want to use channels twice, say for Night Look, make a second IP: Night Time.  Repeat.  A channel can only be in one palette once, but a channel can be in multiple palettes.

    You could have palettes for different looks on the cyc, back lights, tips, gobos bright, gobos dim.

    All gobos could be in 1 IP, since the break up gobos will be different channels than your window gobos.

    For building your cues: ch 1 - 36 (front and back) IP1 enter.  Channels will be in red, and show IP1 or the title of the IP.  Modify as necessary.

    Record Cue 10.  this will alway reference IP1.  If you update the levels in IP1, that will change the levels of cue 10.

    OR Record cue 10 {make absolute} enter.  this will keep the levels from the IP, but break the reference to the IP.  When you go back to edit cue 10, the IP will NOT be modified.  If you modify IP1, cue 10 will NOT change.

    Hope that helps.  I was a Strand user (and other ETC consoles), and without ML or DMX devices, it took a while for me to wrap my head around palettes.  I use them to set a consistent level for lectern, conductor, soloist, piano etc, across multiple shows, in a rental hall.  I also like having the label in the tombstone, telling me that channel 21 is the lectern, 22 is the soloist, and 44-48 is choir wash, since channel assignments change every show.

    Andrew Riter

     

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