Triggering A console over Midi

We used to do this with our Obession II, although it should be the same process as with the Express and Element.

What we would do is create a midi track and run the audio track once while recording the midi output of the light console, then we would swap the midi cabling so that we could play back the midi that we recorded.

I'm no protools expert, but my sound guy was able to show me how to view the midi track we created and move the msc triggers around on the track to fine tune cue placement.  I think there is a way to create show control triggers without recording them off the console, but the designer I was working with wanted to do it this way.

Just make sure you don't run midi from the console to protools and back again, it'll create a midi feedback loop.

Here has been my experience with midi and lighting control consoles.  The control consoles like to see Midi Show Control.  This is a stripped down version of the midi string.  Not in all but in most cases you will need some midi translator to accomplish this translation.  ETC expression/express line is not looking at the full midi string.  I do not remember exactly but I believe it is looking at the end of the midi string. 

Hope this Helps

P-

I'm afraid that you've misunderstood a few things there.

MIDI Show Control (MSC) isn't 'stripped down', and it's nothing to do with the start or end of a MIDI string.

Original 'General' MIDI provided two things: Notes and Controllers.

• MIDI Notes give commands like "Play Note X at Velocity Y" and "Stop Note X"
  • Play Note defines which key on your keyboard you pressed
  • Velocity says how hard you hit the key on your piano keyboard (usually volume)
  • 'Stop' says when you released the key
• MIDI Controllers set values between 0-127 for continuous controls such as "Set Pitch Bend to Z" (between 0 and 127)

This means that Notes and Controllers can easily be used for console keys and faders, as you can pretend that each key is a Note (press and release) and each continuous controller like Pitch Bend could be a fader (0-127)

However, that doesn't work when you want to tell a console (be it lighting, sound or something else) "Goto Cue 5"
- That's not a single key, and it's not a fader either.

Therefore, MIDI Show Control was added to the MIDI specification aimed at (you guessed it!) Show Control.

This has specific commands for "Goto Cue X" and a lot of other things.

So:

When you want to control cuelists, you'll use MIDI Show Control

If you want to control faders, synthesisers and that sort of thing, you use General MIDI.

Sometimes, you'll use both, and Express(ion) supports the use of both methods simultaneously.

We are also attempting to control our Express 24/48 via MIDI (Not MSC).  Our version of SFX does not spit out MSC so we are attempting to use vanilla MIDI to trigger macros which then fire the Go button.  We currently cannot get the console to respond to a single message we have sent.  We know all cabling is good and the MIDI is good (other equipment in the chain responds to the same messages if connected).  Does anyone have tips on specific MIDI string format to get the Express to respond?  I'd like to stick to MIDI rather than the other way we're thinking of which consists of the following:

 

SFX --> MIDI --> MD24 MIDI relay device with solid-state relays --> mechanical relay --> ETC Remote Macro trigger

 

Anyone?  

We are also attempting to control our Express 24/48 via MIDI (Not MSC).  Our version of SFX does not spit out MSC so we are attempting to use vanilla MIDI to trigger macros which then fire the Go button.  We currently cannot get the console to respond to a single message we have sent.  We know all cabling is good and the MIDI is good (other equipment in the chain responds to the same messages if connected).  Does anyone have tips on specific MIDI string format to get the Express to respond?  I'd like to stick to MIDI rather than the other way we're thinking of which consists of the following:

 

SFX --> MIDI --> MD24 MIDI relay device with solid-state relays --> mechanical relay --> ETC Remote Macro trigger

 

Anyone?  

use voice command and make sure your channels are right. qlab or max 7 is great for it.