Color Kinetics Color Blaze and Pearl Tiger Programming Issue

[Kixwy]

Hi guys,

Our theater just received (yesterday) a Pearl Tiger as well as some Color Blaze TRX5's, and I've been tasked with programming them as well as some older I-beams and conventionals into our house plot.

Surprise - I have a show tomorrow and our theater manager has informed me that the donor who bought us the gear is coming to see how they work. No pressure.

After a day and a half of reading the manual and hacking around, I've been able to get everyone patched and some basic looks in the console, but I'm having some trouble controlling the color blazes. Since they don't appear to have a master dimmer - unless I'm missing it - I can't seem to get them to fade out even when the GM is pulled down. Well, I can, by selecting them and rolling out all the color in the attributes section, but that's really clunky for a live fadeout.

I also get an issue where I've programmed a group of them to fade from one color to another, and on the memory/cue roller bar, as I crossfade from one look to another it inadvertently pulls out a third group that I never programmed. I thought I was pretty careful with clearing the programmer each time I created looks, but something is being held in the board that I'm missing.

I'm more of a HOG/MA/EOS kind of girl, so this is all new to me and I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around these commands with so little time available to practice. Any help or advice would be great.

Also - Is there a way to treat the roller bar pages 1A, 1B, etc as pile ons instead of a crossfade?

[icke_siegen]

Since they don't appear to have a master dimmer - unless I'm missing it

How did you patch them? They do have a master dimmer. But this sounds more like you used some RGB-/LTP only personality.

Also - Is there a way to treat the roller bar pages 1A, 1B, etc as pile ons instead of a crossfade?

I guess you wish to do something like a cue list. Well, it could be done (on that old 'Classic' desk) using the theatre stack, but I wouldn't recommend this, given the time you have to familiarize. So, unfortunately, no.

[niclights]

You might have to enable the intensity mode on the fixtures themselves as it is an option.

Thankfully, from your point-of-view at least, it seems there are no non-dim options in the r20 (Classic) personalities so whichever mode you chose (RGB/RGBAW/8/16bit) you should already have the intensity control available and so won't need to repatch (and lose programming!)

[Kixwy]

Ah, well, the fixture itself is in the library - it's a Color Blaze TRX5 (RGBAW) 8 bit, and I used that profile. Everything seems to work just fine when I capture the fixture and use the color wheel or set the shape generator to rainbow. I never saw an option for a master dimmer on the console or library.

I also haven't seen intensity mode on the fixture itself. These were a used purchase and didn't come with a manual, so I need to do some digging around. If I can't find that, how do I change the profile to an HTP vs LTP? I was able to invert the pan/tilt and shutter for my ibeams in the view/edit option - is this where I would go?

Worst case scenario I will build two or three base looks and run a chase, and stop it on a color I like. I have a few programming hours available while the band loads in and sound checks, but I don't like swimming with socks on and my pants around my ankles.


Apologies for all the dumb questions - I wish I had more time to ring out the rig before paying clients saw my work.

[icke_siegen]

Find the manual here: http://www.colorkinetics.com/support/da ... tGuide.pdf

To enable the intensity channel:
1. Select Configuration > Intensity Channel.
2. Select Enabled.
3. Press Enter to confirm your selection.

If you really need a master fader, you need to make use of this. In classic desks there is no way to create a 'virtual dimmer'.

The master dimmer would be accessible on the desk like for any oher moving light: select the fixture, select attribute 'dimmer', and turn the wheel. Or move the fixture handle fader...

[niclights]

The only options in the library are 4, 6, 8 and 12 DMX which refer to the RGB/RGBAW 8bit and RGB/RGBAW 16bit respectively. They all have dimmer.

However, these are quite recent additions (19th Dec 2011) so it is possible that they either replaced previous options or, more likely, that the one on your desk is custom made.

HTP/LTP is defined in the personality file and cannot be changed in the console. Instead you can use [Edit Times]/toggle mode until it reads [mode 2] and then press <enter> which is essentially the same as fade ICB in Hog. But this is only suitable for cues (not chases) and can get you into trouble in certain circumstances.

By far the best option is to use a fixture dimmer where one exists although unfortunately that sounds like it would involve patching a new fixture and therefore having to reprogram.

Apologies if this is too late now. If that's the case I hope you got through it ok. Perhaps this will still be useful in the future for yourself or others.
Note that Titan software in the newer consoles handles all this much better!

[Kixwy]

Well I'm sitting at the console now at the back of house, and I've managed to program some memories in mode 2. Something is still capturing the LED values and holding them, so I either didn't clear the programmer like I thought, or I'm still doing something wrong. Unfortunately I don't have time to change the settings of all of the units and reprogram, so I'm going to fly with what I've got. At least the stage won't go dark!

Thank you for the help and suggestions! I'm going to wipe this show and start clean with the settings you suggested and see how that works in the future. For the moment, wish me luck as I fly by the seat of my pants.

I'm kind of surprised this software doesn't address a virtual dimmer. However, I threw a look up and my boss liked it, so I guess I'm not fired.

Thanks again. I expect to be visiting here quite a lot while I'm learning..

[niclights]

One possibility with the unexpected data in the cues is they were recorded 'by fixture' which will record all the attributes of selected fixtures. Use 'by channel' mode to record only the values in the programmer. Toggle this after pressing memory on softkey A (you only have to do it once).

With mode 2 cues be careful not to fire more than one at a time that share the same fixtures/attributes. This is where it can catch you out.

Handling of LED's, including virtual dimmer is just one of the many reasons for the newer consoles and hardware. Unfortunately the Classic software is limited by the old hardware which is getting close to 20 years old now.

Anyway, good luck!

[Kixwy]

Thanks!

The show went very well, all things considered. I see what you mean about the memory cues. I had one wayward mover that reset to the upstage on a look, and another chase sequence that took them all to open white instead of whatever I loaded in the programmer.

I programmed a memory cue for my LED's on the cyc and drape and left it there, and just used the live programmer to set my band LED's to a rainbow chase and stopped the speed when I got to a color I liked, or when the band was hopping, I ran the chase. Probably clunky operating, but at least no one was plunged into darkness. Halfway through the show I found the "clear this shape from selected fixtures" softkey, which helped a lot. I also made an "Oh $h!t" static memory cue as a backup to make myself feel better. Heh.

Definitely need to organize things better on the console and sort out the LED issue now that I have more time. So much to learn!

[niclights]

Glad to hear it worked out ok.

Definitely sounds like cues were recorded by fixture. Next time you will know to set by channel first, but one way to double-check what exists in a cue is to use include:
Press the include key and then the playback. This will bring everything in the cue into the programmer. You can then go through the attribute keys and look at the wheel display to see what is in the programmer (and therefore in the cue).

If there is something you don't want rather than re-recording the whole cue you can remove unwanted values with OFF:
Select fixture(s). Choose attribute bank. Press OFF. Select attribute to turn off using relevant softkey. Merge into cue.

[Kixwy]

So evidently we not only have color blazes, but color BLASTS. 12 of each.

Great.

The color blast doesn't seem to have an intensity setting on the fixture itself, or an option in the personality.

And I can't seem to get the color blaze personality loaded into the Tiger, even though I followed the instruction manual.

Now I'm having trouble with both sets of fixtures in two different ways.

I feel as though I'm back at square 1.

[icke_siegen]

Wow, that's really not too easy. At least you have found out the main obstacles. Yes, since the Colorblast doesn't feature a main dimmer, and the classic desks don't feature a virtual dimmer, you have to find your ways around this. If you want, we'll might help you loading a personality first, but yu might use Generic LTP as well.

I'd suggest
- make yourself familiar with how the desks distinguishes between LTP and HTP
- since the colorblasts don't have a master channel, patch them as Generic RGB (which should do the same like using the dedicated personality); further, in that case the dimmer of the ColourBlaze isn't of that priority for you... Conciously try HTP and LTP modes (do not mix them), and find what you'll prefer
- make a habit of not touching the master faders
- make yourself familiar with preset palettes
- you'll find your way with preset palettes and carefully using mode 2 memories

[Kixwy]

So my current solution was to make a memory cue with all the color attributes for the Color Blasts at 0.0% in Mode 2. When I raise the fader it "dims" the LED's. It acts like an inhibitive sub on an ETC Console. Still a bit clunky, but at least I can get an even fade out and change colors with a palette without looking terrible onstage.

Thoughts? Is this a reasonable solution for the problem or are there better options?

Baby steps...

[icke_siegen]

Yes, this is one solution. Please bear Niclights' statement in mind:

With mode 2 cues be careful not to fire more than one at a time that share the same fixtures/attributes. This is where it can catch you out.

Hence, the recommendation is doing a lot of that stuff with palettes. Remember palettes can fade in ( == colours will xfade, in your case) when called with a time. Quite a good thing for busking.

[niclights]

Nice idea but I'd be surprised if that actually worked. As soon as you recall a palette it takes precedence and the zero value from the cue is overridden. It could, however, be used to fade chases where there is no other solution for LTP colour-mix attributes.

Personally I would tend to go with HTP personalities so everything natively fades by fader. This does come at the expense of palettes and, depending on number of channels, console performance (although I think you should be ok in this situation). This also provides some nice additive possibilities.

If sticking with LTP you are probably better off simply making a zero palette along with the others and use timed recalls throughout.