Andy, I´m with you. Fixture builder is for sure something that should find its place in advanced trainings (and videos) and you know it has its place in my trainings. When you edit a custom fixture, you need to log off and back into the show, otherwise the changes wont be avialable. You dont need to copy and rebuild/repatch. Lib-infos are read during show-load or when a new fixture is added. So thats why you need to this after changing an already patched fixture.
Problems with fixtures are often on the side of manufacture as well, because libs had been changed or not all values are shown in the available documents... This happens also to major brands... e.g. Clay Paky B-Eye K20... Simply not correct what you can find on the website
I think what it all boils down to is the double-edged sword we call "abstraction". the abstraction layer is what makes it so easy to change types...move programming around to different fixtures and different rigs relatively easily (Festival/touring LDs know what I'm talking about....the Hog programmers onsite usually have done in minutes what it usually takes hours to do and verify on other console platforms). The downside of abstraction is that it requires a bit more work and skill to create a fixture profile. The builder works just fine for a quick situation, but proper profiles need to be created by the developers. At least the Hog console comes loaded with profiles that have been checked as best they can and the library contents are ever growing......
Abstraction is what the super computer "The Abstractor" does, when not solving the worlds problems, answering all the questions of the universe and everything it tries the impossible and create fixture files. In my mind this beast is in a room on top of a mountain, it has valves and a low fog machine for ambience where data sheets are presented in the hope of acceptance into the library of enlightenment and within a time frame of two week be sent out to the churches of light where priests will baptise these files and insert them into the bellies of the Hogs. It may look half green and pink but it is red, you are an unbeliever.
This summer I ran 3 festival systems, all with RH4's . This country has a number of festivals where the same bands will crop up again and again. The systems are all 48 moving heads, 12 strobes, some 2 lites and front. The fixtures in the system are different, so Viper, VL300, Clay Paky Alpha Beam, Mac 700 wash, Atomic, X-5. I programmed on Mac 700 wash and Clay Paky, then fixture swapped to the other 2 systems. The Robe's zoom was inverted and as its rotating gobo wheel is on the second wheel updating that palette had no effect in programming, no biggy as its just six scenes to deal with and the zoom effects seem to look better that way. From using an M Series and a Chamsys I would say the process is not quicker or slower to lets say have a quick butchers at the results as you would surely do.
Cutting to the incoming LDs who seemed split between MA, Chamsys and Hog, I would say the Chamsys lads won the quickest up and running, by that from the time I give them a patch sheet to the look of smugness. The MA's are truly mystical beasts that arrive FOH via a sea of Angels, take up to much room and seem to get on with life and I am quite sure they will reveal the answers to life, the universe and everything when V4 comes out. The incoming Hogs are fine. The Chamsys had a problem with a fixture, very quick to sort out and within 10 days that was in a fixture update drop, I liked that when the request was made via bug tracker that we saw its progress at all stages, very good system. The Hog didn't get on with Robes zoom inversion which was more of a problem for the incoming chaps, the palettes in one show where updated, but the LD felt the playback of the show did not reflected that, also non of the Hog guys managed to get any rotating gobo action, again updating the palette seem to not make any difference.
Run out of room there. One chap with LED things had some bother with his white point as he used HSI and although we managed to get a better white via CMY+W er, RGB+W as the 2 are not connected again the update failed to make it to the programmed show, which is where Marc's advice to build a fixture with everything in seems to be so important. Once these small problems crop up then its not a fast system at all, its a time vampire, as one chap asked if we could edit the fixture for him after he had updates a lot of his palettes, well mate, yes but you will need to start again which all that, against lets say the Chamsys where the update seemed to be live and within the current selected patch.
I enjoyed my Hog festival season, I found it the best busking/festival desk I have ever used, anyone using it had no problems, got everything they needed, it made my life very easy, loved it. You can set up a quite complex show then is very simple to use without that much effort, but I do wish the library was better and yes I know the fixture priests have to do it from dodgy data sheets, but if that is a known then a way needs to be found, its the same with MA and all the rest, but its just so much easier and quicker to do it yourself or get them to do it.
A decent fixture builder would not be bad... But like Marty said we have to take care that abstraction/real world values/change type works. A decent fixture builder should be a something that is easy to use and guides the users to build fixtures in a standardized way. Like, we have to have an agreement (and a note in builder) how the zoom should work. So, an inexperienced user can make it right. IMO, one thing what we also need is a user community fixture forum/thread where users can easily send built fixtures and other users can leave comments and ratings about how well they work. Also the same place should have a list of all fixtures in the library and users can leave comments about them. I believe this would help people to give faster feedback about the libraries and help the others to easily find and solve the possible problems with libraries.
