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ShowMagic AV Series User Manual - SIRS-E

1. The In and Out values under Default Rec Times on the dialogue box can be used to select default times that will be set on each scene automatically as it is recorded The default times can of course be changed on each scene later in the normal way Default Wait In Hold amp Out times can be set as the default for all the fixture functions stored in that lighting scene Simply click on the appropriate box the box will then be shown pressed down and type in the time that you want in minutes seconds and frames Example Fade Times Default 00 00 00 00 I 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Mat n Hod Ot Pan Coarse 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Here we have entered a Default fade In time of 02 seconds and 00 frames by typing 2 0 0 Now if you press Enter on the PC keyboard that value will be stored as the default fade In time for that scene Follow the same procedure to enter any time values you want for the Default Wait Hold amp Out times then click on the Enter button on the Edit Scene dialogue box to remove it You will notice that the default times that you have set will then be displayed in the details display 62 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Now if you run that lighting scene by double clicking on its button you will see all the function faders on the fixture panel fade up to the values stored in that scene ov
2. Right click and left click on In for that schedule step to select between In On Out or Off and this setting will determine whether the event turns on fades In or comes On instantly or turns off fades Out or goes Off instantly Repeat steps 2 to 4 above for all the other events that you wish to schedule for that day of the week When a day contains steps i e it is not empty its button changes to dark grey to indicate this The 4 and 5 columns initially set to N A Not Applicable and 00 00 00 can be used to set an Out time for the event eliminating the need to have one schedule step to bring it in and another schedule step to take 1t out or to set an event to repeat every 5 10 15 20 30 or 60 minutes displayed as RO5 to R60 with a time for when that auto repeat ends If Out is selected in the 4 column with a time set to take that event out then the event will go out in the same way as it came in i e if In was used in the 2 column then Out will fade the event out but if On was used in the 2 column then Out in the 4 column will turn the event off instantly ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If N A is set in the 4 column the time is de highlighted and the event is left on at that stage You could then drop the same action button into a step further down in the schedule step details display and set the 2 column for this step to Out or Off at a specific time so that it is turned off in a different way to how it was turn
3. Min Random sequences only The minimum time in minutes and seconds up to 59 59 that ShowMagic will wait before picking a step to activate next can be set here Max Random sequences only 118 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual The maximum time in minutes and seconds up to 59 59 that ShowMagic will wait before randomly picking a step to activate next can be set here As well as randomly picking the next step the time for each step is also picked randomly within the times selected in the Min and Max settings e g if a Min of 00 02 seconds is set and a Max of 00 10 seconds is set then ShowMagic will pick a random time for each step between 2 and 10 seconds If you want ShowMagic to randomly pick the next step to trigger but to do so at fixed intervals e g 10 seconds then simply set Min and Max both to 00 10 Run If set to Cont continuous a chase manual or timed sequence will play again from the start when it has reached the end and so on until it is turned off If set to Once it runs only once then stops Chases default to Cont and manual and timed sequences default to Once but either can be changed by holding down Ctrl and left right clicking on this item Random and snapshot sequences do not use this function In any continuous sequence the last empty step in that sequence is automatically labelled as Repeat The last empty step in a sequence set to Once is automatically re labelled End Opt Chase only Various options ar
4. The Speed and Slope faders can be used to control or set the speed of a lighting chase the time between scenes being activated and the slope cross fade time Speed This fader is used to select the speed of the chase in beats per minute BPM Scenes in the chase are executed at each beat so at 60 BPM 60 scenes are executed per minute i e one every second Slope The rate at which each scene fades in and out ina chase is selectable as a percentage of the chase speed e g if a speed of 60 is set then a slope of 50 produces fade Chase faders in and out times of half a second Holding down Ctrl whilst left right clicking on Slope in the sequence settings display will select between Slope or Instant When set to Slope the first lighting scene in the chase will use the slope setting when the chase is started When set to Instant the slope setting will be ignored for the first scene i e it comes on instantly first time round Control events see Device Control Panel p 147 can also be used as steps in a chase If a video switcher was linked to ShowMagic via RS232 a chase sequence containing control events and or lighting scenes could then be run to switch between video sources Because a chase can be set to Random and steps can be activated by sound to light random video images could be switched in time to music In a similar way to other types of sequence the exclusivity of scenes in a lighting chase can be set to ei
5. AV Series User Manual Version 13 1 For AV and AV Plus Models www showmagic com Telephone 44 0 1405 740393 Fax 44 0 1405 814807 Email support showmagic com AVSS Ltd Field House Fieldside Thorne Doncaster South Yorkshire England DN8 4BE All rights reserved The authors have taken care in the preparation of this manual but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the information contained herein ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH All trademarks acknowledged Copyright 2011 AVSS Ltd 11 Table of Contents Purpose of the User Mantal acicate x Notes on using the User Manual oooooccccccnnncninancncnononononnnnanannnnncnononnnnnnnnn cnn cnn cnn nn cnn xii Section 1 OVORVICW noi 1 CTO TA IO PCA ON se ek octane edie Mia dks na E toe See lacs Seale doa Casti ts eden Ges di tt Ra 2 Load Desk and Sav DS E IS od Sine AAA 3 EME T E a A a E a aS 4 DOCUION 2 EVEN ae 7 OTITIS CONG See AE A AEE O iad died bt aN CE 7 Sound E S edad acl AA a o 7 Control Event O as 9 Video EYES id A a O N 9 Se LS E OS EEE T E E EN 10 PGT OTS ULL OTIS area seed NAN AAE EAE AE ET Mh Oa ede E E A gs 11 A A vay ie r a aretada are SEAT A E AEA EAR TORNAN 12 Section 3 Pateh Sereen nap te once ak Lecce ca cee Dace arnih acd ainoaan aaaea E
6. Aout You can route the audio for a video file to any available DirectShow stereo audio outputs using this pop up menu Note On the AV Plus model only if using hardware mpeg decoder cards the audio outputs for hardware mpeg decoder card channels come directly out of the breakout cable on that card it cannot be routed in the same way as software decoded video Section 10 Device Control Panel 155 Please Note You can only route audio for multiple videos to the primary DirectShow stereo audio channels e g channels and 2 If you want to route a video s audio to any other stereo outputs then the audio for only 1 video file at a time can be routed to those stereo outputs When a button on the control panel containing a video file event is highlighted the sub master fader at the top right changes to orange and the level for the audio in the video event can be adjusted using this fader The stereo pan position can also be selected by holding down the Shift key a pan fader that can be adjusted then temporarily replaces the volume fader File The location of the video file is shown here Len The length of the video file in hours minutes seconds and frames is shown here followed by the from and To play times which can be adjusted by holding down Ctrl and left or right clicking on the appropriate digits to decrement or increment them With particular types of video encoded files it is often not possible to determine the correct lengt
7. Channel 2 is at 55 i e 25 set by scene 1 30 set by scene 2 56 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Latest LTP When set to this option the latest scene takes precedence The values stored in the latest scene that is run will be used as the output values for any shared channels Example Channel 1 is at 30 set by scene 2 the latest scene that was run Channel 2 is at 30 set by scene 2 the latest scene that was run Highest HTP When set to this option the highest value stored in any of the running scenes for a particular DMX channel will take precedence Example Channel is at 50 set by scene 1 higher than the 30 of scene 2 Channel 2 is at 30 set by scene 2 higher than the 25 of scene 1 The general precedence for the ShowMagic virtual desk can be set using the Options gt General Settings gt Desk Precedence menu item to None NTP Latest LTP or Highest HTP However the precedence for each function on each fixture i e each DMX channel can also be set independently on the patch screen to DSK same default precedence as selected for the desk see above NTP LTP or HTP Please Note To control the dimming levels of scenes stored on action buttons with the action button s sub master fader the main dimming attributes for the fixtures in those scenes must all be set to HTP on the patch screen Normal and Live Modes ShowMagic has been designed to offer a comple
8. Scripted Action is run or stopped depending on if lt runif gt or lt stopif gt are being used 242 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual e g lt runif gt lt action gt 1 on break lt action gt lt action gt 2 on break lt action gt lt runif gt In the above example the state of action button 1 is checked first and if it is on true then no more conditions are checked because of the break instruction the checking stops and the Scripted Action is run If action button 1 is not on then the second condition is checked for action 2 and if that is on then the checking stops break and the Scripted Action is run If neither action button is on then the condition is false the checking stops and the Scripted Action is not run In the following example lt runif gt lt action gt on lt action gt lt action gt 3 off lt action gt lt action gt 22 on lt action gt lt runif gt There are no breaks at the end of the checked states so this means that all three states are checked collectively 1 e each state has to be true the state of action 1 AND the state of action 3 AND the state of action 22 must all be true in order for the Scripted Action to run If ANY of the states of the chosen action buttons is not as scripted then the condition is false and the Scripted Action is not run wait This instruction can be used with both the lt runif gt and lt stopif gt elements to
9. Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 217 2 Run ShowMagic then load the desk you have created containing the schedule 3 Tick the Auto gt Load Desk and Auto gt Run Schedule items 4 Save the desk as auto dsk That s it Save If ticked the selectable duration shown ticked i e 5 10 or 15 minutes will determine how often the desk is saved automatically If Off is set then Auto Save is disabled and durations are ignored System Locked If this item is ticked then only the currently selected page on each of the two currently selected panels will be available and all editing functions on the desk will be locked out action scene sound buttons etc can still be turned on and off in the normal way and certain audio lighting faders can be adjusted but all programming and recording functions are disabled Also if a password has been set and this item has been ticked when you select the user screen the Options gt Main Screen menu item on the user screen will be disabled and a password will need to be entered in order for the user to exit the user screen and return to the main desk screen This enables you to restrict end users to the user screen they will not be able to access the main desk screen at all unless they know the password If a password has been set using the Options gt Change Password menu item on the patch screen this password will be requested if you attempt to lock or unlock the desk or exit the user sc
10. fixture fader number is shown under this title The number for the first fixture fader on each page of fixtures on the fixture panel on the main desk is highlighted in white Fixs The number of fixtures assigned to that fader is shown under this title Up to 24 individual fixtures or banks of fixtures if they share the same DMX channels can be patched to a single fixture fader but they must be of the same generic type par cans fresnels etc or the same make and model for multi channel fixtures Please Note If you assign more than one fixture to a single fixture fader then you cannot control each of those fixtures individually all those fixtures will always do the same thing as the others If you want independent control of fixtures then those fixtures must be assigned to separate fixture faders Label The label for that fixture fader is shown under this title Like all items shown in yellow this label can be edited allowing you to give fixture faders meaningful names To edit any labels simply double click on the label and an Enter Label dialogue box will appear Edit the label and then press Enter or click on the Enter button to enter the label As an example double click on the label Par Can edit it to Front Cans and then press Enter to enter that label Similarly double click on the label GoldenScan HPE edit it to Front Scan then press Enter 16 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Type The type of fixture assigne
11. lt 02 gt 246 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual lt do gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 01 56 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 5 lt 01 gt lt 02 gt volume 0 1 5 lt 02 gt lt do gt lt audio gt In the example above the first lt do gt instructions in the script that are performed as soon as the event is started at 00 00 00 will set the volume of audio 01 to 0 over 0 seconds and set the volume of audio 02 to 100 from its current level over 1 and a half seconds The second lt do gt instructions in the script that are performed 1 minute and 56 seconds after the event is started will fade the volume of audio 01 up to 100 over 5 seconds and fade the volume of audio 02 down to 0 over 1 and a half seconds You can also mix multiple instructions in a script separated by a space such as in the following lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 10 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 0 0 alpha 0 0 lt 01 gt Note multiple instructions for each channel must be contained within the one pair of lt nn gt and lt nn gt markers lt 02 gt volume 100 1 5 alpha 100 2 lt 02 gt lt do gt lt video gt In the example above the lt do gt instructions in the script will 10 seconds from when the multiple video event is started set the volume of video file 01 to 0 and set its brightness to 0 over 0 seconds At the same time it will fade the volume of video file 02 to 100 from its current setting o
12. p 221 User screen User Screen p 227 and the Main Desk screen that is described next and is accessed from the patch screen by selecting the Options gt Main Screen menu item Main Desk Screen The main desk screen is split into two panel areas which each cover half of the width of the screen Eight panels are available that are designed to provide logical and easy access to the various features and facilities available on the desk The Master Fixture Lighting Scene Sequence Sound Control Monitor and Action panels can be accessed on either side of the screen by simply clicking on its tab at the top Master Panel Lighting Scene Sound Panel Monitor Panel Panel Fixture Panel Sequence Panel Control Panel Action Panel The panel selector tabs The tabs are normally colored grey except when one is selected in which case its icon is shown colored Master panel selector tab Fixture panel selector tab Lighting Scene panel selector tab Sequence panel selector tab Sound panel selector tab Control panel selector tab Monitor panel selector tab BDBBEREB Action panel selector tab Page buttons are used on the Fixture Scene Sequence Sound Control and Action panels as the number of faders buttons that are available cannot all be accessed from a single panel Event buttons and faders are therefore spread across a number of pages and the page buttons are used to select which page you require Section 4 Main Desk Scree
13. 3 Create a number of lighting scenes that just contain a variety of dimmer settings for those fixtures or gobo settings if a gobo is used as its primary light function 4 Now with these simple components we can create a varied light show very quickly and easily 5 Run one of the pan and tilt chases turn on one of the color scenes and turn on one of the dimmer gobo scenes 6 If you like the effect then select an empty sequence button hold down the Ctrl key and click on the Rec button on the sequence panel to record those chase and scene settings as a snapshot to that sequence button 7 Select Chase for In Out on that snapshot 8 Repeat steps 4 5 and 6 above until you have enough varieties of snapshots to create your required sequence 130 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 9 With a sequence panel on the left of the screen and a sequence panel on the right containing your new snapshots open an empty sequence on the left panel by right clicking on it s button and then simply drag the snapshot buttons into the bottom of the sequence step display in the order required 10 The sequence containing the snapshots can then be set to Manual Timed or Random and when it is run the mirror movements etc will move smoothly between chases as one ends and the other begins because they defaulted to being event steps set to In when they were recorded in the snapshots When color wheel channels are faded out they will often cycle d
14. A button marked DT Disable Triggering can be used to disable the external triggering of action buttons see Triggering Action Buttons p 186 and it is an alternative to un ticking the Options gt Action Panel gt Enable Action Triggers menu item When this option is off button shown in grey any action buttons set to trigger by external devices will have a T displayed in their LED graphic A button marked RD Run Defaults can be used to turn on the Run Default Action Buttons function described in Operation Options p 183 Action Buttons When an event is assigned to an action button see Assigning Events to Action Buttons p 180 the button changes to the appropriate event color for easy recognition e g if a lighting scene event were dragged onto an action button that button would be changed to red to indicate a lighting scene event The label for that event is also displayed on the action button Please Note Labels on action buttons cannot be edited the label shown is the same as the label used for the event that has been assigned to that action button Action Button LEDs An LED is provided on each button and when a button has been run from the action panel or the event assigned to that button has been run from its own panel this LED will turn half bright or bright green to indicate that it has been activated As with the scene buttons a half bright green LED on a red action button indicates that a scene is
15. ASIO drivers only support playback of un compressed wav files but the advantage of using ASIO outputs is that multiple uncompressed wave wav files can be played to any of the multiple audio outputs with up to 16 channels synchronized Audio inputs can also be mixed routed to any of the multiple outputs As described later in this manual any available DirectShow or ASIO channels that ShowMagic finds are listed in a pop up menu and can be selected for routing your audio files Please Note Not all soundcards that have more than 2 audio outputs allow you to adjust the volume levels on the DirectShow channels using the ShowMagic volume faders This is dependent on the soundcard and its drivers The Audio Type Selector Buttons US Wave file selector wav mp3 wma ac3 or aif 102 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual MIDI file selector mid files Audio CD tracks selector Digital input selector Line level input selector Microphone level input selector SS SIGE The first three audio types are automatically assigned to the three internal audio OUTPUT devices wave MIDI and CD respectively The next three types are INPUT devices the fourth is assigned to the digital input on the soundcard if it exists The fifth type is assigned to the line level input on the soundcard if it exists and lastly the sixth type is assigned to the microphone level input on the soundcard if available If any of the above are not
16. Go is used to start the music that plays for 2 minutes After the music is finished Go is used to stop the sequence Now let s say you are at rehearsals for the show and you want to rehearse the section of the show starting from the point of the second lighting scene You highlight step 003 click on the Play From Mark button to start the show from that point and the second lighting scene step 003 comes on which is what you want BUT the sound effect step 001 also plays which you don t want This is not a problem there are solutions with appropriate use of the exclusive group settings a b Set the exclusivity group for the second lighting scene step 003 to EX EXclusive when that step is triggered using Play From Mark only that lighting scene is run as its EX setting will turn off any other events that may otherwise have been run This will stop the earlier sound effect step 001 from playing and any earlier scene events from running If solution a above is not appropriate in a sequence because you may want to leave other earlier events such as video events chases etc still running but not play the sound effect or any previous scenes then you could do the following 1 Set the exclusivity group of step 001 to La here we are using main group letter L to represent lighting scene events and sub group letter a to represent audio events 2 Set any earlier scene events to LI 3 Set any other type of ear
17. Left right clicking with the Ctrl key held down on the display to the right of the Grp display determines how an action button is operated when it is triggered The options are as follows The operation options display On Off MIDI DMX Digital Analogue Input or Joystick Button the appropriate MIDI note program change DMX channel Input Digital Analogue Input or Joystick button will turn the action button on when it is received and the action button will stay on until the same trigger is again received to turn it off Spacebar Hitting Spacebar when the action button is highlighted and the action panel is on the left of the screen will turn it on Hitting Spacebar again will turn it off UNLESS the event assigned to the action button is a Manual sequence in which case subsequent presses on the Spacebar will trigger the next step in that sequence 1 e it will act as the Go button for that Manual sequence Hold This option has been provided specifically so that you can manually control how long an action button event is kept running via the following MIDI the action button will be turned on when an appropriate NOTE ON command is received via MIDI by holding down the appropriate key on an external MIDI keyboard or sending it from an external MIDI sequencer If the key on the external MIDI keyboard is released issuing a NOTE OFF command or if the appropriate NOTE OFF command is received from an externa
18. alternatives are provided to using the mouse where the keys on the PC keyboard can also be used to perform many of the functions The numeric keypad on the right of your PC keyboard can be used in a similar way to the keypads on hardware lighting desks for patching channels and setting values etc Edit Event Label User editable event labels can be applied to all ShowMagic event buttons Selecting this item enables you to globally or selectively find and replace all or sections of any event labels This eliminates the need to go to each event button highlight it double click on its label in the details display and then edit the label Example If you had recorded a number of lighting scenes for a venue s entrance hall and had labeled these as say Entrance Red Entrance Green Entrance Blue etc The venue owner then decides that the area should be referred to as the Foyer you can then replace all occurences of Entrance in the labels to Foyer in the following way 1 Click on the Edit Menu gt Event Label menu item and this will produce an Edit Event Label dialogue box thus Edit Event Label El M Audio Events Replace M Control Event ontrol Events With cs M Sequence Events M Scene Events Cancel 2 Tick whatever types of events you wish to replace the labels in In this instance we are changing the lighting scene events only so tick the Scene Events item 3 Type Entrance int
19. s circle and Odds Evens will trace the odd fixtures circles clockwise and the evens circles anti clockwise Clipping Shape FX using the Range Limiter Box The Range Limiter box can be used to clip a preset shape to create other varied shapes such as a semi circle quarter circle square rectangle etc As we have seen the range limiter box sets the limits as to how far the pan and tilt channels can scan and if we apply this with a shape the FX Generator attempts to trace the whole shape but if a channel reaches the range limit it will not pass that limit and remains in that position until it is told to move to another position which is in the range Here are a few examples Example 1 Creating a Semi Circle 1 Select only the Shape FX Circle preset and drag the centre handle down and to the right to make the circle full size The limiter box can be used to crop shapes of any size but use a full size circle to best illustrate the effect 2 Drag the bottom handle halfway to the left so that the right edge of the limiter box lines up roughly with the dotted vertical tilt line Now when you run that FX scene the fixtures will try to trace a The range limiter box for circle but will be restricted to the right edge of the limiter box and CH CHTEIE so will trace a semi circle instead Example 2 Creating a Quarter Circle Drag the bottom handle halfway up so that the bottom edge of the limiter box now also lines up with
20. sequence you can do so in the following way 1 Drag the sound event button containing the same midi file event from the sound panel onto a Null Step BUT hold down the Ctrl key before you drop it Step 004 is now a volume change event 2 Hold down Ctrl and right click on VL to change it to PN This changes the step from a volume change event to a pan change event 3 Hold down Shift and use the centre and right faders to adjust the pan position and pan fade times in a similar way to setting the volume change event described above The pan setting will then be shown to the right of PN Holding down Ctrl and left clicking on a step set to PN will change it back to VL To remove a volume or pan change step simply highlight the step press the Delete key and confirm Creating a Video File Event Volume Change Step If you wished to alter the volume level of a video file event s audio within a sequence this can be done in a similar way to sound events as described above by inserting a Null Step in the appropriate place in the sequence and then dragging the video file event button containing the same video file event from the control panel onto the Null Step BUT hold down the Ctrl key before you drop it VL will then be shown to the right of the video event name Now with the video file event volume change step highlighted in the step details display simply hold down the Shift key and adjust the orange volume and fade in fader
21. t stop at the end of that event instead another event is randomly picked which plays through to its end and so on until the sequence is stopped in the normal way This feature is of course only pertinent to events with set time durations sounds video files captured video with a selected To time timed sequences other Rnd Sel sequences and chases set to Once etc Snapshots To create a snapshot set all the events you want to be stored in that snapshot running then highlight an empty sequence button hold down the Ctrl key and click on the Rec button on the sequence panel All the running events will then be recorded to that Snapshot No timings are used in a Snapshot every event is started at the same time If the speed and slope settings for one or more chases that are running are adjusted before the snapshot is recorded and the Rec button for each chase IS NOT used then it is those adjusted settings that are recorded within the snapshot the original speed and slope settings for the original chases will remain unaffected A snapshot cannot be changed into a chase manual timed or random sequence it is fixed at Snap Events can later be dropped into a snapshot or deleted from it in the usual way and these events can be set to In or On but no other settings are available In Out When a snapshot has been recorded you can select either Normal or Chase for In Out as described below Normal When set to Normal the events in t
22. to indicate that it is a Multi File rather than a Single File video event Video Playlists In a similar way to audio playlists see Wave File Playlist p 104 all the video files stored in a particular folder can be played as a playlist in either linear or random order To create a video file playlist do the following Set Video Playlist 1 Click on an empty control event button to highlight it and then double click on the Video Playlist Linear Playist select button Selected File Types Y mpg M mp2 lv m2v M mp4 Vv avi M mov M vob M wmv 2 Using the file selector dialogue box find and highlight any video file contained in the folder that you wish to use as a video file playlist folder and then click on the Open button Sequence Insert A003 Adverts After every 15 minutes 3 Hold down Ctrl and click on the Off setting to the left of Plist Set video playlist dialogue 4 A Set Video Playlist Dialogue box will then appear Playlist Three playlist options are available from this drop down menu No Playlist Linear Playlist and Random Playlist Section 10 Device Control Panel 157 Selecting No Playlist will mean that the playlist option is ignored and only the selected video file will be played with all the options in the details display being available as described in Video Events p 155 Selecting Linear Playlist will mean that the video files stored in the selected folder wi
23. 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt do gt lt video gt refers to the volume for video Because an event can possess more than one channel or file a number is used to indicate which channel file the instruction is referring to e g in a multi channel audio event the following instruction refers to the second channel lt audio gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 02 gt volume 100 0 lt 02 gt lt do gt lt audio gt Comments that are ignored by ShowMagic s script interpreter can be included in a script at the end of any line by preceding them with two characters e g lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt volume gt lt volume gt lt do gt set volume If two characters are placed in front of a start marker then everything between that start marker and it s corresponding end marker are ignored E g Section 16 Appendix 241 lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt do gt lt video gt 9 Itis common practice though optional to use indents within scripts to make the script easier to read For this reason linefeeds spaces etc are ignored by the ShowMagic script interpreter and both of the following scripts will successfully set the volume for the video as soon it starts as the timer element is set to 00 00 00 to 100 a lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt ti
24. 5 storing levels of 128 50 and 064 25 respectively We now have 5 dimmer levels 000 255 192 128 amp 064 that we can use in our dimmer chase for those par cans We will have the first frame set to black so click on the first dimmer palette box 000 and drag the mouse across cells 1 12 to set them to black Double click on frame 01 to add another frame With Frame 02 selected click on the 2 dimmer box dimmer level 255 and then click on the 4 and 9 cells to set them to a dimmer level of 255 They will then be shown as a bright yellow Double click on the Frame 02 box to add another frame click on the 3 and 10 cells to set them to 255 bright blue then click on the 3 dimmer palette box to select a level of 192 and click on the 4 and 9 cells to set them to 192 Double click on the Frame 03 box to add another frame click on the 2 dimmer palette box 255 click on the 2 and 11 cells to set them to 255 bright green click on the 3 dimmer palette box to select a dimmer level of 192 click on the 3 and 10 cells to set them to 192 click on the 4 dimmer palette box to select 128 and then click on the 4 and 9 cells to set them to 128 10 Double click on the Frame 04 box to add another frame click on the 2nd dimmer palette box click on the 1 and 12 cells to set them to 255 click on the 3rd dimmer palette box to select a dimmer level of 1192 click on the 2 and 11 cells to set them to 192 click
25. Blackout window Taking your finger off the mouse button then cancels the slide function leaving the faders at their last dragged position Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 67 Individual faders can also be adjusted independently by dragging them up or down That scene can then be overwritten or a new scene can be saved using these new levels by clicking on the Rec button to activate it and then clicking on the desired scene button In this way numerous individual scenes can be run adjusted and piled together the combined fader levels of all those scene settings can then be saved as a new scene Deleting a Scene To delete a scene click on the scene button and press Delete You will be prompted to confirm or cancel If the scene is used in any sequences you will be informed of this and if you confirm the deletion it will be removed from all sequences that contain it Copying a Scene To copy a scene drag the scene button or its label from the details display onto the scene button that you wish to copy it to dropping the scene elsewhere e g back onto the same button or back into the display will cancel the operation If the scenes are on different pages then select two scene panels on the desk one on the left and the other on the right and copy from one to the other If the scene button you are copying to already has a scene stored in it then you will be prompted to confirm or cancel the overwrite Moving a Scene To m
26. Insert a Null Step in front of step 004 by highlighting step 004 and then pressing Insert Hold down Ctrl and double click on the time digits to set them to be the same as the previous event 3 Drag the sound event button containing the same midi file event from the sound panel onto the Null Step BUT hold down the Ctrl key before you drop it Step 004 is now a volume change event VL will be shown to the right of the sound event name and the value of the volume level for that sound event as was set on the sound panel will also be seen to the right of VL In a similar way to adjusting settings for sound event steps you can also set the volume and fade time by highlighting that step holding down Shift and adjusting the first and third faders Volume fader The setting of this determines the volume that the sound event will play at after the volume change event step has been activated and the fading has finished 136 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Fade Time fader This determines the time that it will take to fade up or down from the current volume level to the level set for the volume change event This is adjustable between 0 seconds and 99 seconds If you click right click on the value below this fader the time can be decremented incremented in half second steps A half second is shown as a point e g 7 equals 7 5 seconds If you wished to change the pan setting rather than the volume setting for that sound event in the
27. To leave the FX generator panel and return to the normal scene panel simply click on the EXIT button Changing the Reference Positions in Existing FX Scenes If you have created a number of FX scenes that used a particular reference position such as the centre of a dance floor in the earlier example and you later wanted to change that reference position for whatever reason maybe you have had to move the scanners on the rig then you can change the position quite easily without having to create all the FX scenes again from scratch Do the following 1 Use the scanners pan and tilt faders to re position them on the new reference position 2 Record that position onto a new scene button label it as e g Reference then run that scene button We are now going to store the new reference positions for the scanners as Cued by the running Reference scene in each of the FX scenes so set the scene panel s clear button to Clr N by right clicking on it so that when we are re recording the FX scenes the faders are not cleared down and the Reference scene is still left running 3 Set the scene panel s record button to Rec M recording mode using right clicks 4 With the Reference scene running click on the Rec M button to set it recording and then click on the FX scene that you want to store the new reference positions in 5 Repeat step 5 above for each FX scene that you want to re record 6 Turn off the Reference scene and set the
28. Vid Video picture fade in and fade out times for the first and last video files in the playlist respectively can be set here by holding down the Ctrl key and right or left clicking on the appropriate digits Captured Video Events If you are using a Windows Direct Capture compatible video capture device such as a capture card or webcam etc you can play live captured video in any virtual window To create a captured video event do the following 1 Click on an empty control event button to highlight it 2 Double right click on the Video select button ShowMagic will then show in pink to the right of Dev in the details display any direct capture compatible device s that it finds If no such device is found then double right clicking on the Video select button will have no effect 3 Ifthere is more than one direct capture device available then right click on the pink device description and select the required device from the pop up menu 4 Select the virtual window that you want to run the captured video in by right clicking on the pink virtual window number to the right of Vw and selecting it from the pop up menu Now when that event button is run the captured video will be run in the selected virtual window and be automatically re sized to fit that virtual window Because a captured video event is a live event there is no From time available in the details display but a To time can be selected and this dete
29. a uniquely simple way A ColorScene lighting scene is more like an FX Scene than a normal ShowMagic lighting scene 1 e rather than it being a static lighting state the scene itself changes to produce dynamic lighting effects without the need to drop numerous static scenes into chases or other sequences to produce those effects LED fixtures are assigned to ShowMagic fixture faders and their DMX addresses patched on the patch screen in the normal way See Appendix B at the end of this manual for more information on patching LED fixtures Once they are patched the LED fixtures can be laid out on a grid to simulate their physical arrangement so that when effects are applied to them the effects produced can also be simulated on screen Please Note Throughout this section the term RGB fixtures refers to any fixtures with RGB or CMY color mixing functions Generic fixtures refers to any fixtures that have a physically fixed color e g par cans or spots with colored gels etc Creating a ColorScene Lighting Scene Let s assume we are using 9 ChromaPanels in a 3x3 matrix arrangement thus 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Throughout this section we will use the term matrix to denote the physical grouping or layout of LED fixtures and the term grid to mean the on screen grid Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 85 Let us further assume that the ChromaZone controller is set to 36 channel mode and its start address is 001
30. and Exclusive letter Groups p 182 can be used so that any action button set to group A for instance will automatically turn off any other action button set to A that may be running This is a very useful feature for ensuring that only one of a group of action buttons can be running at any one time What if however you want to set up the action buttons so that the running of a single action button can automatically turn off action buttons of it s own group but also turn off other action buttons of different exclusive letter groups as well The Action Sub Group Settings menu can be used to select what other letter groups sub groups will be turned off when an action button set to it s own group main group is turned on Click on the Action Sub Group Settings item on the Options menu or double click on the blue group letter on the action panel and a dialogue box will appear amp zrz e ronmooo y TERE RULE REELS ST N lt xgEg lt ciomomoz z raccionmo da dsd a Dd do DD N lt xgE lt caonovoz K e r r r r r r r r r r r TIIT TV tT If you tick Main Group A tick Sub Groups B C and D and click on OK any action buttons set to A will turn off action buttons set to A BUT they will also now turn off any other action buttons that are set to groups B C or D Action sub group settings dialogue box DMX Settings Selecting this menu item will display a Dmx Settings dialogue box Section 13 Main Desk Scr
31. and Vertical Blind These slide the new sign on whilst pushing the existing sign off Fade These select a cross fade between the currently displayed sign in the virtual window and this new one Four times are selectable between 0 5 second and 2 0 seconds in half second increments Off The length of time in hours minutes amp seconds that the sign should remain on If set to 00 00 00 then the page will remain on until the event is manually stopped or another digital sign is played on the same virtual window Note when setting an Off time you should allow for the durations of any sign transitions and block delays transitions described below otherwise the sign might go off before it is completed File A Default bmp file black background is automatically loaded from the default images folder If you want to load a different background picture for that sign then click to the right of File and using the file selector dialogue box find and highlight the picture that you wish to use then click on the Open button Pictures in bmp jpg gif and tga formats can be loaded as backgrounds If the picture is not a bitmap bmp file then it will be automatically converted into one and saved in the default image directory using the same filename You can only run bitmaps as background pictures the compressed file formats take time to decode which can cause system delays when the digital sign is displayed whereas bitmaps are displayed
32. and color wheel functions to snap on instantly when the scene is run rather than fading in and we also want the pan and tilt functions to fade in over 4 seconds rather than 2 1 Record the scene by setting the function faders on the fixture panel to the values you want to store in the scene 2 Click on the details display to call up the Edit Scene dialogue box 3 Set the Default In and Out times to 2 seconds as described above 4 Click on the Color Wheel button below the Default button on the Edit Scene dialogue box the button will appear pressed down and its Wait In Hold and Out value buttons will be activated for the color wheel The values are shown in black rather then being greyed out to indicate that they are being used instead of the Default times These times are initially set to 00 00 00 00 and that is what we want for that function i e no fade time snap on and off 5 Repeat step 4 above for the Gobo Wheel button 6 Click on the Pan Coarse button and the Wait In Hold and Out value buttons will be activated for the Pan Click on its In time button and enter 4 0 0 and do likewise for the Out time button Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 63 7 Repeat step 6 above for the Tilt Coarse fade time buttons 8 Click on the Enter button on the dialogue box to set those times Fade Times Default 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 Wait Hold Out Color Wheel 00 0
33. and so it continues to fade up to it s stored levels over the remaining 1 second What happens when the snapshot is turned off The sequence sub master fader takes 1 second to fade down to 0 the scene has faded down to 50 by this time but the sequence has finished so the scene then goes off instantly So in effect the scene was simply forced to fade out over 1 second rather than 2 by the priority of the sequence sub master fader Out time Chase Setting the In Out on a snapshot to Chase allows you to Blend the channels used by a number of chases contained in that snapshot If you are running chases recorded into snapshots and these chases use the same fixtures the various scenes used in those chases will move smoothly between each others positions if those chases are set to In in their snapshot If you wish those chases to restart from their recorded start positions to jump there rather than blending then set them to On Experiment with these In and On settings to achieve the desired results Here s an example of how you can very quickly create a sequence of chases whose various channels can be set to jump or blend 1 Create a number of chases that just contain pan and tilt position scenes for a group of fixtures When the chases are run they simply move the fixture s mirror or head to and fro in various patterns 2 Create a number of lighting scenes that just contain a variety of color settings for those fixtures
34. appropriate seconds minutes and hours until 1 hour has passed 00 00 00 will then be displayed until the digital sign is turned off Similarly editing the special code to CDC 00 00 30 will when the sign is run decrement the seconds digits until 30 seconds has elapsed Add Countdown To On selecting this the special code CDT 00 00 00 will be entered on that line of text This is similar to the special Countdown Clock code above but the countdown is referenced to the time entered When that block is run on the digital sign the clock will be run and the seconds minutes and hours remaining until the entered time is reached will be decremented in real time For example if you edit the special code to CDT 13 00 00 and then run the digital sign when the current time is 12 00 00 the clock will decrement the appropriate seconds and minutes until 13 00 00 is reached 00 00 00 will then be displayed until the digital sign is turned off Note the time digits entered in the special CDT code must be greater than the actual time when the block 1s run in order for the countdown clock to work correctly Extended countdown features have been added in version 12 1 onwards that can use up to 4 master date time references and these are described on the next page Spectrum Analyzer 5 Band This will produce a 5 band spectrum analyser graphic effect that makes good graphical use of ShowMagic s sound to light facilities This will display a five band spec
35. back to the previous step in the sequence Section 12 Action Panel 181 Fwd This is also used only for sequences If a Timed sequence it will move forward to the next step It has no affect on a Manual sequence Go must be used instead to move to the next step Action Panel Sub Master Fader The fader on the action panel serves a number of purposes depending on what type of event has been assigned to the highlighted action button If it is a sound event it acts as a volume control shown in orange otherwise it acts as a sub master fader for the scene Chase or sequence If the sequence includes sound events the overall volume s of the sound event s are also adjusted by this fader assuming that Snd has been highlighted in that sequence s details display For video events the sub master fader acts as volume control Please Note To control the dimming levels of lighting scenes stored on action buttons using the sub master fader the main dimming attribute for those fixtures must be set to HTP precedence on the patch screen See Function List p 19 for details on how to do this The sub master fader Mute Button A mute button situated under the fader is used to mute the sound if the action button contains a sound or video event turn all the lighting off that is used in a scene or Chase event or turn both lighting and sound off if it is a light and sound sequence Mute does not stop scenes Chases or sound
36. be dependent on the system you are using to send the strings to ShowMagic and the only stipulation is that the strings being sent to ShowMagic are terminated with a carriage return value of 13 Let s assume that you wish to control action button A001 Timer Sequence with a system that will send the string Play01 to start the sequence Pause01 to pause it and Stop01 to stop it This is how you would set the user strings for that action button 1 Load the Demo desk and click on action button A001 Timer Sequence to highlight it 2 Hold down Ctrl and click on the TG trigger button to activate it it will then be shown in red 3 Double click on the window showing String A2 to call up the Action Trigger dialogue box 4 Tick the Enable User Strings item and select Play from the drop down menu for the first Comm String box 5 Type Play01 in the first Comm String box Note you need to enclose ascii characters in quotes but you do not need to enter the terminator value of 13 Hexadecimal numbers should be preceded with a sign e g 6F Decimal numbers can just be entered as they are e g 64 6 Select Pause from the drop down menu for the second Comm String_ TE box and type Pause01 in the box 7 Select Stop from the drop down menu for the third Comm String box _ m E Le and type Stop01 in the box all es n a E E na E 8 Click on the Set button and receipt of those strings w
37. be discovered and rectified at the source Master Date Time Settings You can use this menu item to set up to 4 Master Date Time settings when using Master Date Time special codes on digital signage as described in Digital Signage Special Codes p 164 SVEN Simply select what Master Date Time number you want to 1 change from 01 to 04 from the drop down menu select a date gt using the calendar and then select the time in hours minutes and EE oa ae seconds ooo sou Deye If you want the countdown clock features to show the total Ce Co number of hours minutes and seconds or days remaining then 5 a tick the appropriate Absolute setting Master date time settings Digital Video Settings dialgoue box This is only used on the ShowMagic AV Plus model if using Visual Circuits Mpeg hardware decoder cards Video Offset Used to enter a value in milliseconds to delay the video playback if needed when synchronizing it to an audio file Not usually necessary Unblack Delay Used to enter a value in milliseconds to delay the un blacking of the video buffer to avoid the last frame of the last video being seen just before the new video is played Not usually necessary InitOnOpen tick this if you are using cross channel synchronization of video files Un tick it if you are not synchronizing videos but playing them independently provides smoother t
38. be displayed in white to denote page group mode A quick way to include all 12 fixtures in a selected page group or universal group is to hold down Ctrl and double click on the group number above the trackball all the fixtures on that page will then be included in that group A quick way to remove all 12 fixtures from a currently selected group is to hold down Ctrl and double right click on the group number all the fixtures on that page will then be removed from that group 46 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Multi Button Shown below the trackball this can be used to view the currently Multi highlighted function fader for all 12 fixtures on the page For instance if you highlight fixture fader 001 click on it s dimmer function fader and then click on the Multi button to turn it on shown red the 12 function The Multi button faders for fixture 001 will be replaced by any dimmer function faders that are possessed by the 12 fixtures with each dimmer fader appearing directly below its fixtures fader If any of the 12 fixtures do not possess that function a blank fader is displayed The Multi button can be very useful for viewing and editing a particular function on all 12 fixtures on the page at the same time and it can be used in conjunction with the preset panel and the grouping feature Please Note When using dissimilar fixtures on the same page the presets for the color function etc could differ If you group
39. be recorded as that steps trigger time 3 The next step will then be highlighted in the sequence step display waiting for the next click on the Play button or Spacebar and so on for all the events When the stop button is used the sequence will stop and the record button will be de activated Now pressing Play will run that sequence using the recorded timings Trigger times can of course be edited manually later in the usual way Using the Play and Play from Mark buttons trigger times for individual steps can be set in real time at any time This need not be done in a single session Section 9 Sequence Panel 127 Example You have set the trigger times for a four step sequence in real time and have then pressed Stop You now wish to add three more steps to the end of the sequence so you drag them in as normal Now you wish to set the trigger times for the last three steps in real time This can be done in two ways a Highlight the fourth step in the details display click the record Rec button and then click the bottom Play from Mark half of the Go Button The sequence will then start from the fourth step and subsequent clicks on either half of the Go button or Spacebar will set the times for each subsequent step until the sequence is stopped b Click on the Play button to start the sequence from step 001 When step four has triggered at its set time the Fwd and Rew buttons can be useful for skipping through long sect
40. be turned on shown red by clicking on it with the Ctrl key held down 188 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Double clicking on the o description to the right of the a amiina TG button will produce a Set Trigger Device Comm String F F V Comm String Action Trigger dialogue box for I Comm Device F DMX Input that action button encia Eset Using this dialogue box you can tick one of the following User Screen as the Trigger Device and then le click on the Set button to set pi Enable User Strings Par iiser per Ore Brunswik Scoring System Prev ON M Acknowledge Action x Act OFF M Acknowledge Master Gomm String Act ON pe TE shies oni ii z Set Page To DMX To DMX TP Trigger Remote Media Controller any external RS232 IP device ro IS will trigger that action button Cancel Refer to RS232 IP Command String Protocol p 255 for a full list of command strings Set action trigger dialogue box User Defined Strings As well as having default command strings as described in Appendix F you can also define what command strings will trigger and control an action button Here s an example 1 Load the Demo desk and click on action button A002 Cue List to highlight it 2 Hold down Ctrl and click on the TG trigger button to activate it it will then be shown in red 3 Double click on
41. below that threshold percentage are ignored Set Page To DMX If you had assigned a number of scenes to consecutive action buttons on a page and you wanted the DMX input channels that correspond to the action button numbers to be used to control those buttons then you can use the Set Page To DMX button to do this automatically for you in the following way 1 Highlight any one of the action buttons on the required page 2 Double click to the right of TG to call up the Set Action Trigger dialogue box 3 Select the required trigger level for the LTP Trigger 4 Click on the Set Page To DMX button this will then remove the dialogue box You will then see that each of the action buttons on that page has been set to trigger by DMX channels and you will also notice that a The DMX channel will correspond to the action button number e g DMX channel 001 will be set to trigger action button A007 etc Section 12 Action Panel 197 b The LTP Trigger percentage that you selected before clicking on the Set Page To DMX button will be applied to each action button on that page c Master control MTR has been selected for each action button on that page Event Scripts for Action Buttons The scripting feature enables you to write an XML type script for each action button that offers more powerful and flexible run and control logic options To access the Event Script dialogue box simply highlight the action button and then do
42. button that is already running turns it off and any Hold fade Out settings etc will be used Alternatively the panel s motor control buttons can be used as described on the next page Deleting Action Button Assignments To delete an assignment on an action button and make it empty simply highlight the action button and press Delete You will then be asked to confirm or cancel the operation Action Motor Control Buttons Go Clicking on this button or pressing Spacebar if the action panel is on the left will run the event assigned to the currently highlighted action button If you had 2 action panels selected on the desk the left panel is the one that Spacebar will affect Any Wait fade In or volume fade up settings will be used when the event is run with this button If the event is a Manual sequence clicking on the Go button or pressing Spacebar when the sequence is already running will start the next event in that sequence if its event Trigger is set to Go Stop This will stop any event assigned to the highlighted action button but unlike double clicking on the action button when it is running the event stops immediately ignoring any Hold fade Out or volume fade down settings set for that event Pause This will pause the event and the button is illuminated Clicking on Go or Spacebar takes pause off Rew This is used only for sequences on action buttons If a sequence is running it will move
43. button which setting selector raises the volume on the microphone input socket so that announcements button can be made whilst muting all other audio inputs and outputs in ShowMagic so that the announcements can clearly be heard Section 8 Sound Panel 109 To create a Mixer Setting sound event do the following 1 Highlight an empty sound event button 2 Double click on the Mixer Setting selector button The following settings can then be seen in the details display Label The number for that sound event 001 etc and a label that can be edited in the same way as described previously Sel The level of any or all the audio channel faders on the Master panel can be adjusted or their mute buttons turned on or off and stored as part of that mixer setting event by holding down Ctrl clicking on its label Wv Md etc to highlight it and adjusting the volume fader on the sound panel When that Mixer Setting event is then turned on the audio faders on the Master panel will be adjusted to those settings Res Restore If this is set to On then the audio faders will be restored to their previous settings the settings that they were at before this mixer settings event was run after the Mixer Setting event is turned off otherwise they will remain at those settings In An In time can be set here which determines the time between the original settings fading out and the mixer settings in this event fading in Out An Out
44. can and cannot access on the user screen by using the User Screen Access menu item from the main screen Options menu The programmer can also force ShowMagic when started to automatically go to the user screen and prevent the end user from accessing any other part of the ShowMagic desk by using the Auto gt User Screen and System Locked items on the main screen Options menu This can be done in the following way 1 Tick the Load Desk and Run Schedule items if required from the Options gt Auto menu and then tick the User Screen item on the Options gt Auto menu When ShowMagic is later re started it will then automatically display the user screen instead of the main desk screen 2 Select the User Screen Access item from the Options menu and the User Screen Access dialogue box will appear 3 Tick the functions and page buttons that you want to appear on the user screen and then click on the OK button 4 Select the System Locked item on the Options menu type in the password assuming you have created one on the patch screen and click on the Enter button The system will now be locked 5 Select the User Screen item from the Options menu and the user screen will be displayed The Main Screen item on the user screen Options menu is now disabled and the user cannot access the main desk screen they are limited to the user screen only Section 15 User Screen 229 Unlocking the user screen To access the main desk screen again h
45. centred for easy viewing Using the Up and Down cursor keys turns the last selected faders dimmer channels off and the dimmer channels for the newly highlighted fader on and so on until the Fdr test button is turned off When the Dmx button is on the numeric keypad can be used to test any DMX channel directly 1 e typing 1 0 Enter will set DMX channel 10 to the test level and so on until the Dmx test button is turned off Alternatively the Up and Down cursor keys can be used to step through the DMX channels one by one When either of the test buttons is on the fader or DMX channel being tested is shown in the Command display The Dmx test button can be very useful as it enables you to test all the DMX channels at a venue if you do not have the information on the fixture channel set up information for that venue The results that you can note from the test can then be used to set up the correct address patches for that venue Load Fixture and Save Fixture Functions The functions Load Fixture and Save Fixture are available on the patch screen s File menu and although a new fixture that is not contained in the fixtures library can be made and then saved using Save Fixture as described above this is by no means the only use of these functions as the names suggest the complete set up and assignments for any fixture fader either made or loaded using Section 3 Patch Screen 23 the Library button can be sav
46. clear button back to Clr Y if required Please Note Make sure that no FX scenes are running when you are re recording them otherwise the current pan and tilt fader positions as being Moved by the running FX scene will be recorded to that FX scene rather than the static positions stored in the Reference scene ColorScene The ColorScene feature has been included in ShowMagic to simplify the programming of color patterns using LED lighting fixtures and single channel Fixed Color fixtures such as par cans with color gels Some manufacturers produce moving head and floodlight fixtures that use LEDs instead 84 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual of normal lamps these can be treated and programmed in the same way as other moving heads etc that use RGB or CMY color mixing channels The majority of LED fixtures however tend to be programmed and used in a dramatically different way to other DMX lighting fixtures they are used to produce moving colored lighting effects without any physical movement of the fixtures Typical applications would be Strips of LEDs to light the length of the underside of a bar or to highlight cornices ceilings etc LED panels used for illuminating dancefloors etc ColorScene provides a means of soft patching ShowMagic fixture faders containing LED fixtures or colored par cans onto a graphically visible grid which enables very quick and easy programming of any desired effects in
47. clear this display Run Clicking on this button selects a display showing a list of any events that are running Up to 29 events can be listed in this display Quick Find Feature If you wish to go to any of the running events shown in the Run display then double clicking on it within that display will select its panel on the other side of the desk with its button highlighted You can then access its button or use the motor control buttons on its panel to pause the event stop it etc 176 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Com Clicking on this button selects a display in the top half of the panel showing what input strings have been received via RS232 or IP ExPeERIMENTAL Up to 16 inputs can be viewed down the display and as with the MIDI input display as more are received the topmost input details are scrolled lost off the top Double clicking on the Clear button will clear this display The bottom half of the display shows on off status LEDs for each of the channels buttons on any data acquisition devices such as ADAM input output modules that are detected in your system If the module is an output module such as the 4060 for switching relays then the LEDs are colored yellow If the Module has input channels for triggering ShowMagic action buttons then they are colored green Analogue inputs outputs have LEDs shaped as Ramped triangles See Comm Device Triggering p 191 for more information on using in
48. commands if any on the fixture panel At Used to specify a value for a fader To When used with the F12 copy key to specify another fixture fader Thru Used to specify a range of faders Used to include a fader in a command Used to exclude a fader in a command Selects de selects a fader group Copy Function used to copy a fader s function setting to the range of faders specified Copy Fader press F12 twice to copy all of a fader s functions settings to the range of faders specified 250 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Del Delete TW oe gt Delete Command Deletes the command shown in the attribute display on the Fixture panel Zero Fader Sets highlighted function fader to 0 Scrolls through the fixture faders Scrolls through function faders Scene Panel on Main Desk Ctrl Single click Hold down and drag to slide Scene button levels up or down Hold down and click on a Scene button in record mode to call up the Scene generator Zeroes highlighted fade in fade out time settings Anywhere in the details display to edit the scene settings for the currently highlighted lighting scene event Sequence Panel on Main Desk Ctrl Shift Hold down and double click on a step time to select the same time as the previous step Hold down and click on the Sequence Rec button to record a snapshot to the currently highlighted Sequence button Hold down when dr
49. desktop There are other configurations available depending on the card or interface used that allow you to arrange the monitors so that the extended desktop is for instance 2 wide by 2 deep etc Whatever configuration is used ShowMagic can make use of this configuration by virtue of its Virtual Window features for playing video files captured video and digital signage on any or across any secondary monitor outputs Each of these secondary monitor outputs is referred to in ShowMagic as a Display Display Window Settings p 210 provides more detailed information on setting virtual windows using the different configurations of extended desktop 154 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Video Events ShowMagic uses the device control panel for creating video events and a Video button is used to select video Video files are large and require intensive disk access so the files should ideally be stored on a separate hard disk to the system disk On version 11 and higher ShowMagic AV uses the Microsoft Video Mixing Renderer for playing video files and therefore requires a PC running under Windows XP Vista or 7 If you are using an AV model to play video files then a PC with dual core processor or better is required because of the high processing power needed to software decode videos The AV model will play up to 3 video files at any one time and the AV Plus model will play up to 5 video files at the same
50. details display as described on the next few pages For every type of sound event the first row in the top details display shows the sound event number and its label The other rows in the details display are described on the next few pages for each type of sound event Wave File Playlist a The second row in the details display shows the type of event i e Aud Wave Right clicking on the pink description to the right of Wave produces a pop up menu on which you can select the audio channels either DirectShow or ASIO to use for that wave file or playlist event b The third row in the details display contains the file details e g File C AVSS ShowMagic wavefile Cash1 wav The length of that file in minutes seconds and frames and the From and To play times these are the time positions within the file that the event will play from and to These default to the start of the file and the end of the file but can be changed by holding down Ctrl and left right clicking on the time digits to decrement increment them If LP is highlighted click on it with Ctrl held down to toggle it on off then that sound event will repeat in a loop until the event is turned off c The fourth row in the details display contains the volume fade In and fade Out times in seconds and frames The default is 00 00 for both but can be changed by holding down Ctrl and left right clicking on the time digits to decrement increment them d To the rig
51. detected and shown along with a Pin brackets to denote physical If monitors are not physically attached then a V will be displayed to denote virtual This allows you to create desks off line for other systems that do have other displays physically attached You can also set the aspect ratio for each display so that graphics etc are shown in the correct aspect ratio When you set any virtual monitor outputs these default to either a the same size as the first physical display that ShowMagic finds attached to the system or b the same size as the primary monitor that ShowMagic is running on if only one primary monitor is physically attached to the PC The correct number of preview monitors on the master panel will be displayed in the correct ratios to reflect the display settings selected here When a desk file that you have been off line editing is saved and then later loaded onto the target PC with multiple physical monitors attached the monitor resolution settings are automatically set to the same resolutions as the detected physical monitors If you change the number of displays being used you will be prompted to save the changes exit ShowMagic and re run it in order for those changes to take effect If you want ShowMagic to ignore i e not grab any displays so that you can run another Windows application on that display such as a visualizer etc then tick the Hide box for that display The d
52. different In and Out settings Live Editing of Scenes in a Manual Sequence When you are running a lighting scene from a Manual sequence you can use the keyboard commands described in Setting Faders using Commands p 47 to adjust lighting fixtures and then re record them to a running scene Example Let us say that you have recorded 8 par cans assigned to fixture faders 1 to 8 at 50 stored on scene A007 and you have dropped that scene into step 001 of a Manual sequence If you want to adjust those values to 60 then you can do this as the sequence is running in the following way 1 With the sequence panel on the left of the desk highlight and run the Manual sequence this will then run lighting scene A007 2 Using the numeric keypad on the keyboard type 1 8 6 0 Enter to set fixtures thru 8 to 60 134 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 3 Now you can re record that scene using one of the following two methods Press the function key labelled F11 on the PC keyboard often labelled as Save on Microsoft keyboards this will immediately re record that scene without prompting for confirmation Or Click on the Rec button on the sequence panel You will then be prompted to confirm the overwriting re recording of that scene Notes on Live Editing e All of the commands described in Setting Faders using Commands p 47 can be used for adjusting fixtures e When a scene is Live Edit
53. dimming level Pulling the slider down past the threshold will stop the event assigned to that action button For instance a Ifthe event on that action button is a sound event then moving the slider on your lighting desk will adjust the volume of that event b Ifthe event is a lighting scene then the slider will adjust the overall brightness level of that scene c Ifthe event is a Chase then the slider will adjust the overall brightness level of all scenes in that Chase assuming that Dim has been highlighted in the details display for that Chase sequence d If itis a light and sound sequence then it adjusts both the volume of any sound events AND the overall brightness levels of any scenes chases etc in the sequence assuming that Dim and Snd have both been highlighted in the details display for that sequence e Ifthe action button contains a video event then it adjusts the video s audio volume f Ifthe slider is flicked straight back to zero then the event assigned to that action button is instantly stopped but you can of course push the slider down gradually to fade out the event s before it stops Flash Play If this is ticked then ShowMagic looks for any DMX value greater than or equal to the flash value default 255 being received on that DMX channel to trigger the action button such as when you press the flash button on an external lighting desk or push it s slider up to full If the event assigned to the act
54. display items PageDown Selects the next page of faders buttons or display items 11 Scrolls up and down event buttons e gt Scrolls horizontally through event buttons Right click On pink items to produce a pop up menu of options Single click On an event button to highlight it and view its details in the details display Double click On an event button to start or stop that event Master Panel on Main Desk Ctrl Hold down and double click on any clear button on the Master panel to clear ALL events Section 16 Appendix 249 Fixture Panel on Main Desk Shift Ctrl Enter i F1 to F8 F12 F12 F12 When the fixture panel is on the left of the screen holding this down produces the preset panel on the right Hold down when dragging faders or trackball to select fine adjustment Hold down and double click on a fader to set 1t to locked mode or released mode Hold down and double click on the group window e g showing F1 to include all 12 fixture faders in that group Hold down and double right click on the group window e g showing F1 to remove all 12 fixture faders from that group Hold down and double click on Centre or Locate to lock the function faders Hold down and double right click on Centre or Locate to unlock the function faders Hold down and right click on a preset panel to select all presets up to that one for the Scene generator Executes the displayed
55. display the last image until the next valid image can be loaded and cross faded 166 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Extended Countdown Features Using Multiple Master Date Times The extended countdown features are similar to the basic Add Countdown Clock and Add Countdown To features described on the previous page but they offer even more flexibility and are used in conjunction with the Options gt Other Settings gt Master Date Time Settings menu item described in Master Date Time Settings p 208 A selection of different display formats are given in the Master Date Time Code Select drop down menu and these can be used to display one of the Master Date and Time settings as set on the Master Date Time Settings menu item described in Master Date Time Settings p 208 If for instance you had set Master Date Time 01 to 10 May 2010 and you wanted to display that then simply select 01 Master 01 from the right hand drop down menu and then select Add Date dd mm yy User Edit from the drop down menu This would insert the code MDT01Date dd mm yy into that signage block When that sign is run the date will be displayed as 10 05 10 If you want to change the code later to use e g Master Date T ime Number 03 then you can edit the code directly to MDTO3Date dd mm yy the drop down Master Time Date Number and Master Time Date Code Selector menus are simply a quick and convenient way of entering the special codes for you
56. effects will be provided that will apply specific dimming algorithms to the grid without the need to create them manually frame by frame This will speed up the programming process considerably more for specific commonly used effects but as with the color algorithms it is impossible to create algorithms to suit every conceivable effect that may be required in the future so the Frame option has been made available first to allow for this Notes on Mixing Generic and RGB CMY Fixtures on the Same Grid Cells containing RGB CMY fixtures are shown in grey rather than black on the Set frame this is because fixed colors cannot be applied to them When creating frames clicking on a cell containing a generic fixture will automatically change the mode button from Color to Dim because colors from the palette cannot be applied to generic fixtures only dimmer levels from the dimmer palette You cannot change the mode button from Dim to Color when a cell containing a generic fixture is selected in the grid If you want to use the Color mode for cells containing RGB CMY fixtures then a cell containing an RGB CMY fixture must first be selected Use a right click on a cell to just select it this avoids any dimmer color changes being applied to that cell When a cell containing an RGB CMY fixture is selected right clicking on the Color button toggles it between Color and Dim modes Right clicking on the Color button with a generic fixture s
57. fader numbers 001 to 024 You can then use the commands for setting faders when creating lighting scenes and you know that the fixture fader numbers in those commands correspond to the DMX addresses If the pack is set to address 57 or 207 or 357 etc then you can still use fixture numbers 001 to 024 as it is easy to remember that the DMX addresses are all offset by 50 200 or 350 etc For instance on the fixture panel on the main desk screen if you want to set channels 212 to 218 to 50 you can use the keystrokes 1 2 1 8 5 0 Enter Notes on Overwriting DMX Addresses Already in Use If you attempt to patch a fixture to a DMX address that has already been assigned to another fixture you will be prompted to confirm this On confirmation the DMX address on the other fixture will be cleared i e set back to 000 000 You will then need to re enter another address for that other fixture This system ensures that no DMX cross channel conflicts can be created Deleting Fader and Fixture Assignments To remove a fixture from a fixture fader simply highlight the appropriate fader row press the Delete key press Enter to enter the command and then confirm or cancel on the dialogue box Please Note The fixture faders on the main desk fixture panel cannot be deleted only assignments to those faders can be deleted If a fixture fader is empty the fader knob on the main desk fixture panel will be shown in plain black
58. fades the event s volume of channel 1 to 50 over two and a half seconds pan In a similar way to the volume instruction this stereo pan instruction requires a percentage value from 0 full left to 100 full right with 50 being centre and a fade time Alternatively the letters l c and r can be used to replace 0 50 and 100 respectively Example lt 01 gt pan c 1 25 lt 01 gt pan from current position to the centre in 1 and a quarter seconds alpha Used for adjusting a video event s alpha brightness levels In a similar way to the volume instruction this requires a percentage value from 0 black to 100 full brightness and a fade time e g lt 01 gt alpha 50 3 lt 01 gt fades the brightness of the first channel of video to 50 over 3 seconds If you are running a multiple video event that contains two video files then the following script will set the volume for the first video file to 100 and the second to 0 at the start of the event lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt 02 gt volume 0 0 lt 02 gt lt do gt lt video gt Examples are by far the easiest way to describe scripts so here is an example wherein the lt audio gt lt do gt lt timer gt volume and lt nn gt elements and their values are used lt audio gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 0 0 lt 01 gt lt 02 gt volume 100 1 5
59. fixture fader is selected the value box below that fader is shown in dark red all its functions e g Pan Tilt etc are displayed on the lower function faders with icons to denote its function The primary light function e g Dimmer or Shutter is assigned to the fixture fader as well as its function fader so the brightness for the fixture s can be controlled by either The function fader values are shown below the function fader as a percentage i e 00 to FL Full 100 and the actual DMX values 0 to 255 are also shown below that The Left and Right cursor keys can be used to scroll along select each function fader for that fixture If a fixture possesses more than 12 functions the next selector button lt r below the Trackball illuminates to indicate that another page of functions is available Clicking on this button displays the next page of 12 function faders and buttons Clicking on the previous button Previous and next takes you back to the first page and so on buttons 42 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Function Buttons As well as the 12 function faders 12 Shutt Strobe Dimmer Color Wheel function buttons are provided in the Gobo Wheel Gobo Rotate Focus fixture section which serve a dual Prism Pan Coarse Tilt Coarse purpose Function Buttons Selecting Adjusting a Function Clicking on a function button selects that function in the same way as clicking on that function s fader b
60. given a part step number of 19 03 and so on This method avoids the need to re number all the cue numbers on the original cue sheet ShowMagic includes a feature to accommodate this popular cue numbering system if you highlight a sequence step hold down Ctrl and press Insert a Null Step is inserted at that point but its step number is shown as a part step of 01 You can then set that part step number by holding down Ctrl and left or right clicking on 1t to decrement or increment that number respectively between 01 and 99 Section 9 Sequence Panel 143 Loading and Saving Sequences Sequences can be saved to disk and loaded from disk independently of the desk file You may wish to use different desks at different times but use the same sequence in a number of these different desks The Load and Save sequence buttons have been provided for this purpose however it is very important that you read the notes below if you are going to use these functions To save a sequence 1 Highlight the sequence button you want to save 2 Double click on the red Save button on the sequence panel a Save Sequence dialogue box will appear with the files in the default directory shown 3 The name of the sequence is used as a default filename but you can of course edit this in the normal way 4 Click on the Save button to save that file To load a sequence 1 Highlight a sequence button that you want to load a sequence onto 2 Double click
61. gt Decrements the level of the MIDI sub master fader by l lt AUD_MIDI LVL lll gt Sets the level of the MIDI sub master fader to I lt AUD_CD_MUTE gt Toggles the master mute button On Off lt AUD_CD_LVL Ill gt Increments the level of the audio master fader by UI lt AUD_CD_LVL IIl gt Decrements the level of the audio master fader by I lt AUD_CD_LVL ill gt Sets the level of the audio master fader to J DMX Grand Master Fader Commands lt DMX_MTR_ONOFF gt Toggles the grand master fader button On Off lt DMX_MTR_LVL Ill gt Increments the level of the grand master fader by 111 256 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual lt DMX_MTR_LVL Ill gt Decrements the level of the grand master fader by ZI lt DMX_MTR_LVL 1l1 gt Sets the level of the grand master fader to II Section 16 Appendix 257 Appendix G Compatible DMX Interfaces Below is a table of ShowMagic compatible DMX interfaces Interfaces have different ratings of support Certified interfaces have passed our certification process They have undergone internal testing and are officially supported Non Certified interfaces are devices that have been found to be compatible with ShowMagic but have not been tested to the same level as Certified interfaces We only offer limited support for non certified devices and we cannot guarantee their functionality Other devices not on this list may also be compatible with ShowMagic We reco
62. hardware you are using For instance with an M Audio Delta 1010 multiple output soundcard there are DirectShow drivers available for analogue outputs 1 to 8 and ASIO drivers available for analogue outputs 1 to 8 Both these drivers share the same physical outputs on the card Where there are DirectShow drivers available for the physical audio outputs we refer to these herein as DirectShow channels Similarly where there are ASIO drivers available for the physical audio outputs we refer to these herein as ASIO channels Microsoft DirectShow Drivers Audio files in uncompressed wav file format and audio files in mp3 wma or aif compressed formats can all be played by ShowMagic using any available outputs with DirectShow drivers On the Default Directshow channels as selected on the Windows Sound and Audio Devices dialogue box multiple files of multiple types can be played at the same time Please Note On any other DirectShow channels other than the default only one audio file can be played at any one time If an audio file is started that uses the same channels as another audio file that is already playing on those channels the previous audio file is stopped This is also the case if you route the audio from a video file see Video Events p 155 to the same channels as currently being used by an audio file i e running the video will stop that audio event ASIO Drivers
63. into the next empty frame box Frame 03 is then automatically selected and highlighted 7 Click on the blue color Color 03 in the palette hold down Ctrl and double left click on any one of the green cells to turn them all to blue 8 Double click on the scene button to run it adjust the speed and slope faders to suit and you will see the grid changing colors as selected 9 Stop the scene hold down Ctrl and right click once on Opt Down to change it to Up Run the scene again and the colors will chase from blue to green to red i e the frames are running in the order 3 2 1 3 2 1 etc 10 Stop the scene hold down Ctrl and right click once on Run Cont to change it to 07 Run the scene again and the colors will chase from blue to green to red once and it will then stop automatically Let s create another slightly more complex chase where red green and blue colors are scrolled across the grid 1 Exit the ColorScene panel to the normal scene panel 2 Highlight the Scene A002 button and click on the CScn button to enter the ColorScene panel again 3 This time we will assume we are using a 3 x 3 grid so highlight the first fixture fader click on the second patch symbol Patch 01 Grid L R L R and then double click on the first cell This will then patch fixtures 1 to 9 to the grid thus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4 Double click on Set to insert the first frame click on the color red third color palette box and d
64. lighting scene events shown in red Though this may at first seem complicated the principal is actually very simple and it provides a very quick powerful and versatile system for the logical control of events Text Only Event Steps If you wish to mark certain sections of a sequence with labels for reference purposes you can change a Null Step into a Step Text event that you can then label Simply insert a Null Step hold down Ctrl and then double click on the step A dialogue box will then appear Enter the label and click on the Enter button Step Text events have no effect in a sequence they are there for information purposes only Double clicking on a Step Text event will change it back into a Null Step Part Step Numbering It is common in theatre applications to use a written cue sheet When a show is being designed the lighting scenes sound effects etc are each given a cue number denoting their running order in the show and the step numbers in a ShowMagic sequence 001 002 etc could be used to represent these cue numbers However during rehearsals the director of a show may decide to insert some extra cues in the show and the usual method used for this is to give these new cues a part step number For instance if a new scene or sound effect is inserted between the original cue numbers steps 019 amp 020 this is given a part step number of 19 05 if another new scene were to be inserted between 19 amp 19 05 it would be
65. loaded an image also centred on the sign in Blk 02 then the image would cover the text hiding it as it would be placed on top of the text when that digital sign was run For this reason the content of each block in relation to its Blk number is very important to the appearance of the sign Mixing Videos and Digital Signs on the Same Display Outputs You can mix video files captured video and digital signs on the same display outputs in the following combinations Section 10 Device Control Panel 167 a b c Digital signs can be displayed over other digital signs Video files and captured video can be played on top of digital signs but signs cannot be played on top of video files or captured video Multiple video files can be played in different virtual windows on a display output as long as they do not overlap Overlapped videos will flicker where they overlap which is not desirable The above options are because of the following Any of the 20 virtual windows can be set to any size and any position on any available display output The number of the virtual window determines the order in which it is displayed E g if virtual windows 01 and 02 were displayed on the same display output then virtual window 01 is printed up on the screen first followed by virtual window 02 Window 02 will therefore be overlaid on top of window 01 if their sizes and positions are such that they overlap Here is an example of creating a
66. on the 4 dimmer palette box to select 128 click on the 3 and 10 cells to set them to 128 click on the 5 dimmer palette box to select 64 and then click on the 4 and 9 cells to set them to 64 11 Double click on the Frame 05 box to add another frame click on the 3 dimmer palette box to select 192 click on the 1 and 12 cells to set them to 192 click on the 4 dimmer palette box to select 128 click on the 2 and 11 cells to set them to 128 click on the 5 dimmer palette box and click on the 3 and 10 cells to set them to 64 click on the 1 dimmer palette box and click on cells 4 and 9 to set them to 000 12 Double click on the Frame 06 box to add another frame click on the 4 dimmer palette box to select 128 click on the 1 and 12 cells to set them to 128 click on the 5 dimmer palette box to select 64 click on the 2 and 11 cells to set them to 64 click on the 1 dimmer palette box and click on cells 3 4 9 and 10 to set them to 000 13 Double click on the Frame 07 box to add another frame click on the 5 dimmer palette box to select 64 click on the 1 and 12 cells to set them to 64 click on the 1 dimmer palette box and click on cells 2 3 4 9 10 and 11 to set them to 000 If you now run that ColorScene you will see the cells brighten from the centre outwards and diminish leaving a comet type trail 98 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual In future versions of ShowMagic automatic chase
67. on the red Load button on the sequence panel if the sequence button is not empty you will be prompted to confirm the overwriting of that sequence 3 Use the Load Sequence dialogue box to select the sequence you want to load 4 Click on the Open button to load the sequence Notes on Loading and Saving Sequences Please Read Very Carefully When an event button is dropped into a sequence ShowMagic stores a pointer to that event button in the sequence not the event itself When you run the sequence it will run whatever is loaded onto that event button at the time Therefore if you want to use the same sequence in two different desks it is crucial that any events contained in that sequence are stored on exactly the same event buttons and are exactly the same events on both desks otherwise you will get some very unexpected results Example 1 In desk A we create four lighting scenes for par cans on scene buttons D010 D011 D012 amp D013 We then create a lighting chase sequence that runs scene buttons D010 D011 D012 amp D013 We then save that chase sequence as a sequence file We load up a different desk desk B and load the chase sequence onto a sequence button on that desk 144 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual We then run that chase sequence but instead of a par can chase we get scanners going crazy because scene buttons D010 to D013 on desk B contain FX movement scenes for the scanners and the chase s
68. one of the items on the pop up menu When operating in Rec T mode the background color of the function buttons on the fixture panel default to blue un tagged To tag functions so that only their settings will be recorded you simply Right click on the required function button s to turn them red tagged or blue un tagged Double clicking on the scene panel s clear button labelled as either Clr Y or Clr N will clear all fixture faders back down to 00 When using the Rec T recording mode tagged functions are not un tagged when the clear button is used unless you hold down Ctrl when double clicking on the clear button Before creating and recording a scene in Rec M and Rec F modes it is good practice to clear the desk first to ensure that all the faders are in Released mode and at 00 This is where the Clear button comes into play Clear Button Double clicking on the Clr button will clear any fixture fader settings on a the desk except Locked faders and it will also turn off any running scenes Clr Y except Safe scenes see Type below If you hold down Ctrl whilst double clicking on the Clr button it will also unlock and clear any locked faders except faders locked by running Safe scenes This provides a clear Clear button desk on which to create new scenes There are two settings for the Clear button Clr Y and Clr N and these settings effect what happens to any running scenes and fixture fader settings on
69. or load an image file picture into that block Using the example above if you right click to the right of Blk to select another block e g Blk 03 then click to the right of Text to produce the Edit Digital Signage dialogue box you will see a drop down menu labelled Special Code Select below the text editing window This drop down menu can be used to enter a special code on a line of the text block The special code options are as follows Clear Code On selecting this and clicking on the OK button any special code s in that block are cleared Add Clock amp Add Clock On selecting one of these the special code CLK 00 or CLK 00 will be entered on that line of text When that block is run on the digital sign a real time clock derived from the PC clock with no time offset will be displayed in the font style color and 164 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual position set for that block If you want to show the current time plus 2 hours for a different time zone then edit the code to CLK 02 Similarly to show the time minus 8 hours edit the code to CLK 08 Add Countdown Clock On selecting this the special code CDC 00 00 00 will be entered on that line of text When that block is run on the digital sign a countdown clock will be run and the seconds minutes and hours will be decremented in real time For example if you edit the special code to CDC 01 00 00 and then run the digital sign the clock will decrement the
70. pan amp tilt movements which occur straight away are brought in using the In time In If a fade In time is set then any function faders stored in the FX scene that are set to the Default In time other than pan amp tilt will fade In over this time Hold When the FX scene is turned off all the functions will pause at their current position for this period before fading out If Flash has been selected on the standard scene panel for Eff when no FX have been applied to this scene then the FX scene will run for the time set for Hold and it will then automatically fade out using the Out time O ut When the FX scene is turned off all the function faders set to the Default Out time for that scene other than pan and tilt will fade out over this period The fade in and out times for pan amp tilt functions in an FX Scene are determined solely by the In and Out settings on the right hand side of the details display as described on the next page FX Generator Details Display settings on the right Type This can be set to Normal or Safe in the usual way on the standard scene panel this cannot be changed on the FX generator panel Eff When one or more Pan FX Tilt FX or Shape FX presets are selected for a scene as described below FX Sen is displayed here to denote that the standard scene has been changed to an FX scene If you wish to select Flash for an FX scene then the scene must be set to Flash on the standard scen
71. range limiter box for covering one area around its fixed central point and another an oblong fixture covering another area etc However you can use the Pan FX and Tilt FX presets in conjunction with Shape FX presets to move the shapes around a specific area instead The range limiter box defines the area that the shapes will move around in and the rate of movement of the shape is defined by the Pan FX and Tilt FX Speed fader settings Here s an example 1 Select the Shape FX Circle preset and drag the centre handle to make the circle quarter size 2 Select the Pan FX Straight and Tilt FX Straight presets A Pan FX Speed fader and Tilt FX Speed fader will then be accessible These are used to set how fast the shape will move around the area defined by the Range Limiter box These speeds are relative to the Shape FX Speed Slide both of these to FL to set the fastest speed 3 Run the FX scene and you will see the fixtures moving around the range limit as they trace the circles Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 83 4 Select Tilt FX Random and you will see the shapes moving between randomly picked tilt positions but sweeping to and fro on the pan 5 Select Pan FX Random and the shapes will move between randomly picked pan and tilt positions Now that you have learned the principles of the FX generator experimentation should provide you with plenty of effects and enable you to find the effect you require
72. range limits using the Range Limiter box you can also set the range position using the top handle Here s an example This time using the RIGHT mouse button drag the top handle down and to the right to move the Range Limiter box into the centre of the FX window You will notice that the pan and the tilt channels now scan between the values of 064 and 191 the channels are still scanning over half their range as indicated by the size of the box but they are now doing so in the centre of their range The range limits and positions given in the above examples were used to illustrate simply how the Range Limiter box works any range limits and positions of your choice can of course be used Here s a practical example of using the Range Limiter with a simple FX scene Let s say you have four scanners in a row at the back of a stage You want the scanners to trace a sine wave pattern to and fro in unison across the stage but you don t want the beams to leave the stage area and blind the audience 1 Group the four scanners using a group button F1 to F8 2 Move the pan and the tilt function faders for any one of the scanners in the group 78 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 3 Record a scene and then un group the fixtures 4 Highlight that scene button and click on the FX button to call up the FX generator panel 5 Select the Pan FX Straight and Tilt FX Straight presets 6 Set the Pan FX Speed fader to 20 the Pan F
73. red appears followed by green etc This is no problem simply highlight the first frame box press Insert and confirm An empty frame will then be inserted into frame box 01 with the rest of the frame numbers shifted up by one Then simply highlight the last frame press Delete and confirm Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 93 Setting a Loop Point You may want a ColorScene chase to start in a particular way and then loop between certain consecutive frames until it is stooped For example You may want to start with a black grid then introduce a column of red followed by green followed by blue as in the previous example however at this point you want the colors to now wrap around the grid until the chase is stopped Here are six sample grid frames using a 3x3 grid and RGB columns that would achieve that effect 01 02 03 04 05 06 However if you were to run this ColorScene chase as it is frames 01 to 06 would run the first time which is good but when the chase repeats it would start at frame 01 again black which is what we don t want If you look at the frame 01 box you will notice that unlike the other frame boxes it is colored light blue This is a loop point marker that defaults to the first frame The sequence of frames that would achieve the effect we are after is 1 2 3 4 5 6 4 5 6 4 5 6 and so on i e after the R G and B columns have been initially brought onto the black grid the frames should then loop b
74. run This is fine but what if you want the default buttons to be active only between certain times This is where the Run Default system control event can be used You simply create the event as described above drop it onto an action button and then schedule it to turn on at the appropriate opening time and go off when the venue is closed This in effect schedules when the defaults are run without having to manually use the RD button on the action panel or manually tick or un tick the Run Defaults menu item Reset Desk This can be used to reset the whole desk to ensure that only the events that should be running at that time are run and any other events that may have been run manually etc are turned off When this event is run either directly from the action button or automatically by the scheduler etc all events are turned off and then the scheduler and any action buttons set to Default etc are run as appropriate Dummy This can be used to create a dummy event i e an event that can be turned On or Off but doesn t actually do anything The reason for providing dummy events is so that they can be used on the action panel in conjunction with other action buttons for conditional logic applications Example Let s say that you have action buttons that are automatically triggered by PIR sensors However you might not want any of those buttons to be triggered outside the hours of 09 00 and 18 00 By creating a Dummy system co
75. same shape at the same speed and in the same direction This is what we have been using so far Individual If this preset is selected then each fixture will trace the same pattern as the rest and at the same speed etc but some are picked at random to trace the pattern in the opposite direction This can be used to produce random criss crossing effects etc Odds Evens If this preset is selected then each fixture will trace the same pattern as the rest and at the same speed etc but the odd fixtures in the scene 1 3 and 5 will trace the pattern in one direction and the even fixtures 2 4 and 6 will trace the pattern in the opposite direction This can be used to produce symmetrical criss crossing effects Using Odds Evens to Create a Marching effect Lets assume that we are using the six scanners as above We can use the Fixture presets along with the Tilt FX preset to create a march effect where the odd fixtures move up as the even fixtures move down in the following way Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 79 1 Group the six fixtures 2 Move their pan amp tilt function faders to 50 and record that as a scene 3 Click on the FX button to call up the FX generator panel 4 Select the Tilt FX Straight preset the Fixture Odds Evens preset and slide the Tilt FX Slope fader to FL 5 Double click on the scene button to run it You will see that the pan channels will move to the position stored in the scene 5
76. seconds and frames can be applied to a block When the sign is run the block will not appear until this delay time has expired Creating Text Blocks To create a block of text in block 1 i e Blk 01 double click to the right of Text and an Edit Digital Signage editing box will appear Type in the following text using the Enter key to create each new line up to 10 lines of text can be entered for each block Digital Signage Test Line Two When you click on the OK button to enter that text you will notice that the 2 lines of text are initially placed in the centre of the digital sign To alter the horizontal X and vertical Y position of the block on the digital sign use the following X The horizontal X position of the currently selected block is shown to the right of X The default setting is Ctr which automatically centres it horizontally on the digital sign Right clicking once on Ctr will change it to RJ which will right justify the block on the sign The pixel position in increments of 10 from the left of the digital sign can be decremented incremented by left right clicking on this value To set a value other than Ctr or RJ right click or hold the right mouse 162 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual button down on the value to select 010 020 030 etc To select Ctr again either hold down the left mouse button on the value until it decrements back to Ctr or hold down Shift and left click on the value Y T
77. select a MIDI note to start stop control an event on an action button but in addition you can also select different MIDI notes to go to the Next step if it is a manual sequence go Back a step if it is a manual sequence or Pause everything that is running in that event This can be done by pressing the Tab key to select the function and pressing clicking on the MIDI note for that function To disable the extra Back Pause and Next MIDI triggers for that action button simply press Tab to call up Back click on Back with Ctrl held down to turn the word dark pink and then press Tab three times Comm String Triggering Please Note This section refers to IP triggering features which are currently ExPERIMENTAL Specific commands sent to ShowMagic by external RS232 devices or an IP outstation device can turn action buttons or the schedule on or off Because any type of event can be assigned to any action button this means any event can be activated simply by assigning it to an action button setting it to be triggered by RS232 IP and sending the command from the RS232 or IP device In order for commands to be received and acted upon the appropriate serial port s or IP address es must first be set up as described in Configure Comm Devices p 25 The RS232 device must be connected to the appropriate serial port on the PC or the IP device should be connected to the PC network and the trigger button TG on the action panel must
78. setting Triggering Action Buttons Besides running and stopping events assigned to action buttons by double clicking on the action button clicking on the Go button or pressing Spacebar running the action button in a schedule etc they can also be triggered in the following ways as described later in this section a When ShowMagic receives selected notes or program change commands from the MIDI port e g using a MIDI keyboard or MIDI sequencer etc Within this section we will assume that you have a MIDI keyboard connected to a PC MIDI port b When a wireless Media Player remote controller is used c When ShowMagic receives command strings via RS232 or a script has been loaded for a data acquisition input device as described in Configure Comm Devices p 25 d When ShowMagic receives command strings from an IP outstation EXPERIMENTAL see Configure Outstations p 28 e When specified DMX input values are received from a lighting desk for instance when using a DMX interface card with DMX input capability If any action buttons are triggered by any means the fade In and Out times set for that event will be used The various action button triggering options are as follows MIDI Input Triggering Situated just below the details display are the MIDI trigger displays 186 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual The MIDI trigger display The first display shows what PC MIDI port is set to recetve MIDI data Ri
79. so that you do not have to learn or remember those codes With the exception of editing the Master Date Time Number only the Add Date dd mm yy User Edit and the Add Year yyyy User Edit Master Date Time Codes are user editable i e if you edited the code in the block to MDT01Date mm dd yy then the date would be displayed as 05 10 10 Similarly if you only wanted the last 2 digits of a year displayed then you can edit the MDTO1 Year yyyy code to MDTO1 Year yy The other special codes for periods remaining Add Weeks Remaining Add Days Remaining etc can be used to count down the appropriate periods until the selected Master Date Time is reached Useful for limited duration sales times until product launchs etc If there were 10 hours 15 minutes and 3 seconds remaining until the Master Date Time is reached and you used Add Hours Remaining and Add Minutes Remaining and Add Seconds Remaining then these are modded so they would be displayed as 10 hours 15 minutes and 3 seconds However if the Absolute options were ticked on the Master Date Time dialogue box for that Master Date Time then the total amounts would be displayed I e 10 hours 615 minutes 10x60 15 36 903 seconds 615x60 3 Ordering of Blocks The blocks are placed onto the sign in the order of their block number i e Blk 01 appears first followed by Blk 02 and so on If you had created text centred on the sign in Blk 07 and
80. step from a file The event step will then be replaced with that new file based event and subsequently the appropriate event button on its event panel will also now contain that new file based event Section 12 Action Panel 201 Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus Patch Screen Menu This item selects the patch screen see Patch Screen p 13 Schedule Screen Menu This selects the schedule screen see Schedule Screen p 221 User Screen Menu This selects the user screen see User Screen p 227 General Settings Menu Enable Alt F4 Quit If ticked pressing Alt with F4 will instantly quit from ShowMagic use with care Clip Cursor If ticked the mouse cursor is restricted to movement within the ShowMagic screen 1 head only on a multi head graphics card or interface Control Key If ticked the Ctrl key must be held down when changing most items shown in blue Sound To Light The sound to light facility for triggering FX scenes and normal scenes in Chases can be enabled or disabled by ticking or un ticking the Enabled menu item Desk Precedence None NTP Latest LTP or Highest HTP The overall precedence of the desk can be set to any one of these by ticking it Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 203 Disabled Event Layering On a desk set to LTP it is the latest event that is run whose values are sent to the DMX channels of fixtures contained in that event E g if a 60 BP
81. the Live operating mode whereby when the scene is run you know that ALL the function faders will go to the settings recorded in that scene irrespective of what scenes that might be using some of those functions were run beforehand Rec S This is short for Record by Sniffing DMX When set to this recording mode the values of all the DMxX channels of any selected fixture or group of fixtures is sniffed from the incoming DMX input and recorded to the scene when the record button is used This is useful if you already have lots of lighting scenes already programmed in an external lighting desk and want to transfer those scenes onto ShowMagic lighting scene buttons For more detailed instructions on creating scenes using this recording mode see Recording Scenes by Sniffing DMX p 68 Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 55 Overwrite Recorded Channels Only Option If you right click on the scene panel s Rec button you will see an Overwrite Recorded Channels Only option The setting of this only has an effect when you are re recording overwriting scenes If this is ticked then only the channels that were recorded in the original scene that you are now overwriting will be re recorded to that scene In this case the recording mode of the Rec button RecM RecT etc is ignored This feature is particularly useful when using the Live Edit feature described in Live Editing of Scenes in a Manual Sequence p 134
82. the dotted horizontal pan line 82 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual When you run that FX scene the fixtures will try to trace the circle but will be restricted to the right and bottom edges of the limiter box and so will trace the shape of a quarter circle instead Example 3 Creating a Square Use the circle as above but drag the top and bottom handles so that the edges of the limiter box fall inside the circle When you run that FX scene the fixtures will try to trace the circle but will be restricted to all four edges of the limiter box and so will trace the shape of a square instead The range limiter box for a square The range limiter box for a quarter circle Example 4 Creating an Oblong This time select the Shape FX Ellipse preset and drag the top and bottom handles so that the edges of the limiter box fall inside the ellipse When you run that FX scene the fixtures will try to trace the ellipse but will be restricted to all four edges of the limiter box and so will trace the shape of an oblong instead We have used the range limiter with Shape FX to modify the preset shapes but you can use the range limiter in a different way to achieve even more effects With Shape FX presets the shape is normally centred on the reference pan amp tilt positions recorded in the original scene This can be useful if you wish to fix shapes to specific areas such as spots on a dance floor with one fixture The
83. through the steps in the display a Screen Page at a time Use Home key to go to the start of the steps and End to go to the last steps in the sequence The Tab key can be used to toggle through and highlight settings or the sequence step display in order to edit settings or step details Alternatively you can click on the appropriate item to highlight 1t Right clicking in the left half of the step details display will revert back to the sequence button display Quick Find Feature Double clicking on the Ref or Label of any event step in a sequence s step details display will put that event s panel on the other side of the desk with that particular event button highlighted to enable quick access to that event and its settings 122 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Creating Sequences In order to understand how certain settings are made it is easier if you have a small sequence created which you can work with so to create a simple sequence do the following 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Create 4 simple scenes e g A001 to A004 using the fixture and scene panels or use scenes A001 to A004 on the demo desk Leave the scene panel on one side of the desk and select the sequence panel on the other Highlight any one of the empty sequence buttons by clicking on it Click on the Edit button or right click on the empty sequence button to remove the sequence buttons and view the Live and Step Details displays conte
84. ticked then the Previous action button A007 must be on in order for this button A002 to be enabled so that it can also be run If action button A007 is not running then A002 cannot be run it is disabled You can use the conditional logic feature with the scheduler see Schedule Screen p 221 to disable certain action buttons at particular times of day For instance if we want to make action button A002 only able to be run between 09 00 00 and 18 00 00 then you can create a dummy event such as a manual sequence containing just two Null Steps drag it onto action button A007 select User Screen Hide so that it does not appear on the user screen see User Screen p 227 set button A002 to Conditional Prev ON and then schedule button A007 to come In at 09 00 00 and go Out at 18 00 00 Act OFF If this is ticked and an action button number is selected in the drop down menu below it e g Act A1 then this action button can only be run if the selected action button is off This function is useful if you want to set the conditional logic for a number of action buttons to be dependent on one other action button Act ON This works in a similar way to the above but is conditional on the selected action button being on not off LTP Trigger Selecting a DMX value from the drop down menu will set the LTP Trigger threshold Any DMX value received above that threshold value will be used to trigger that action button Any DMX values
85. time Both AV models will run multiple Digital Signage events at the same time but again depending on the content Digital Signage can be processor intensive so care should be taken Video button Mpeg wmv DivX and avi video files can all be played in Virtual Windows on any of the available display outputs See Display Window Settings p 210 Please Note For pre Windows 7 operating systems In order for ShowMagic AV to play video files codecs for the required video file formats must first have been installed on the PC To select a video file event do the following 1 Click on an empty control event button and then double click on the Video select button 2 Using the file selector dialogue box find and highlight the video file that you wish to use and then click on the Open button The following details will then be shown in the details display Label The control event number for that video file event A001 etc and a label that can be edited as usual tr Digital Video indicates the control event is a video file Vw The number of the virtual window to play the video file on can be selected here by right clicking and selecting from the list on the pop up menu Please Note On the AV Plus model only any Visual Circuits hardware mpeg decoder cards detected by ShowMagic will also be listed here under the Video Hardware heading and the appropriate video output channel on that card can be selected
86. time can be set here which determines the time between the mixer settings in this event fading out when it is turned off and the original mixer settings fading back in if Res On is set Beats Per Minute Counter The beats per minute counter in the details display can be used to store up to 8 different bpm settings for each sound event If you were creating lighting chases to run with this particular sound event wave file or MIDI file you might wish to create a pan and tilt Chase with a BPM setting that follows every beat a color chase which is set to follow every other beat and a gobo chase that follows every fourth beat and so on You might even want to set a BPM that is an odd number per bar or offset to the natural beat of the music so for this reason ShowMagic enables you to log these BPM settings whilst listening to the sound event 110 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 1 Simply left or right click whilst holding down Ctrl on the digit to the left of the colon to select your BPM setting 1 8 This selects one of the 8 BPM slots for that sound event 2 Start the sound event in the normal way so that you can hear it playing 3 Whilst holding down the Ctrl key tap Spacebar in time to the BPM you are logging After every four taps of the Spacebar ShowMagic will display the BPM setting The displayed BPM value can then be used as a reference when setting the BPM for the chase on the sequence panel Deleting a So
87. to 50 Click on the Dim 01 box and draw down the middle red column to set it to 75 Select the frame 04 box and draw down the middle green column to set it to 75 Click on the Dim 02 box and draw down the first blue column to set it to 50 The right red column is at 100 which is OK Select the frame 05 box and draw down the first red column to set it to 50 Click on the Dim 01 box and draw down the middle blue column to set it to 75 The right green column is at 100 which is OK Select the frame 06 box and draw down the middle red column to set it to 75 Click on the Dim 02 box and draw down the first green column to set it to 50 The right blue column is at 100 which is what we want Now when you run that ColorScene chase the colored columns will increase in brightness as they are scrolled from left to right across the grid Using ColorScene with Colored Generic Lights The dimmer function in ColorScene can be used effectively for generic fixtures Let us assume that you are using 8 par cans 4 on each side of a stage The innermost cans have yellow gels the cans next to them have green gels the ones next to those have blue gels and the outermost cans are red 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Select New Desk from the File menu to create a new empty desk Go to the patch screen and patch 8 par cans to fixture faders 001 to 008 Go back to the main screen highlight the empty scene button A007 and click on the CS
88. use this function 1 Using the demo desk go to the patch screen and assign Martin MiniMac Profile Mode 2 fixtures to fixture faders 13 14 15 and 16 2 Go back to the main screen click on the fixture panel tab on the left hand side of the desk and click on the second page button to select fixture faders 13 to 24 You will now see the 4 MiniMac fixtures 3 If you are grouping fixtures the scene generator function will only work if the fixtures contained in that group are OF THE SAME TYPE If you wish to generate preset scenes for a single fixture then don t use the group keys simply highlight that single fixture 70 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 4 5 6 7 8 9 For this example use the F1 key to turn on group F1 and the buttons below the MiniMac fixture faders will turn red to indicate that they are contained in that group i e the F1 group contains ALL 4 MiniMacs Click on any one of the MiniMac fixture faders in the top section of the fixture panel to highlight it and then click on the color wheel function fader in the bottom section of the fixture panel to highlight that function On the right hand side of the desk select the scene panel and using the bank and page buttons Scene Generator select an empty page of scene buttons such the Label Prefix ms first page on bank B i e scene buttons B001 to B024 Group xT Sub o Hold down the Shift key and the presets for that Fa
89. video events from running it simply turns the output off Double clicking on the mute button toggles it on or off Latch and Exclusive letter Groups Each individual action button can be set to either LA meaning Grp Latch or to one of 26 exclusive letter groups labelled A to Z by holding down the Ctrl key and then left clicking or right clicking on that description Alternatively you can hold down the Ctrl key and The group display hit the required letter on the keyboard If an action button is currently set to a letter group and you wish to set it back to LA then hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 0 zero key If buttons are set to LA then any number of those buttons can be run at the same time They must be turned off by double clicking on them again by a trigger or by using the Stop button when the appropriate action button is highlighted 182 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If set to an Exclusive letter group A B etc then the group letter is displayed in a box at the top right of the button and only one of those buttons in that letter group will be allowed to be run at any one time Clicking on another button set to that same group letter will turn off any other button set to that group letter which is running and any Hold or fade Out times etc set for the out going event will be used See also the description for the Action Sub Group Settings menu in Action Sub Group Settings p 205 Operation Options
90. warning will be given If you confirm the deletion then that event will be removed from any sequences that contain it Copying a Control Event To copy a control event to another button drag the button you wish to copy onto the button you wish to copy it to select two panels on the desk if necessary An overwrite warning will be given if appropriate 172 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Moving a Control Event To move a control event from one button to another drag the button onto another empty button and hold down Ctrl before dropping it If the original control event button is used in any sequences those sequences will be updated with the new control event button number Section 10 Device Control Panel 173 Section 11 Monitor Panel Fdr Addr COO C01 C02 C03 C04 C05 C06 C07 Pan Tit Col Gb Sht Rot Col Gb eT Dmx Midi Run Com The monitor panel This panel is used for monitoring what is currently running in ShowMagic and what input and output signals are coming into and going out of it Buttons are available on the bottom for selecting the different monitor displays DMX output Dmx e MIDI input Midi e Running events Run e RS232 amp IP input IP features are ExPERIMENTAL Com Section 11 Monitor Panel 175 DMX This display shows a list of fixture fader numbers under Fdr and their labels plus the DMX universe number in brackets and start address under Addr for the first fixture assign
91. will fade out using the time set in the Out option on the left of the details display If set to Spd then those functions will fade out using the value set for the FX speed in BPM see below The Pan FX Presets You can select either Straight or Random for the Pan FX If you click on either preset button to highlight it in blue you will notice that the graphic for the scene button changes slightly Scans Shape 1 This denotes that an effect has been applied to that scene turning it into an FX scene An FX scene button Straight If selected the first three faders on the FX generator panel will change This first fader is used to set an FX Delay Offset default 00 D This second fader is used to select a Pan FX Speed in BPM default 60 S O This third fader is used to select a Pan FX Slope setting default 00 If you double click on the scene button as normal to run the scene the tilt faders for all of the fixtures recorded in the original scene will move to the reference positions set in that scene and remain there Because you have selected Straight for the Pan FX faders the fixtures will jerk between the extreme left and right positions at 60 BPM If you adjust the third Pan FX Slope fader to 50 then the fixtures will pan between the positions over half 30 BPM of the period set by the Pan FX Speed setting 60 BPM wait for half the period and then pan back the opposite way over Section 7 Lighting Scene P
92. within the desk file as well as being saved automatically to a system file This allows you to create different virtual windows set ups for different desks Action Panel Menu Auto Increment On Spacebar If you are using the action panel on the left or the user screen and you are using Spacebar to trigger the currently highlighted action button ticking this menu item will cause the next action button to become highlighted ready for triggering In this way action buttons can be triggered sequentially using just the Spacebar key Disable Midi Note Changes If this item is ticked it will remove the keyboard icon from the action panel and prevent the current midi triggering options from being changed Key Activated Presets If this item is ticked the Key Activated Presets feature will be enabled If un ticked the keys will have no effect on the action panel Midi Record Enabled If this item is ticked you can select what MIDI note triggers the highlighted action button by pressing the required key on an external MIDI keyboard whenever the keyboard icon on the action panel is shown see above Number Action Buttons If this item is ticked then ShowMagic will print the numbers of the action buttons A1 A2 etc on the bottom left of those buttons Run Default Action Buttons If this item is ticked any action buttons set to Default will then be automatically run if no other action buttons in the same letter group are running F
93. you need to send a space character as part of a string It is not necessary to type in the string terminator 13 decimal as ShowMagic does this automatically for you when a device is set to String If a device is set to User Defined then you can enter a mixture of string data and or numbers Section 10 Device Control Panel 151 152 If you need to send hexadecimal values to the device then these need to be preceded by a character or the characters 0x to differentiate them from decimal numbers or strings Example to send the hexadecimal value 2F type 2F or 0x2F Multiple characters can be separated using a space or comma Example if the device expects the 4 hexadecimal codes of 2F 02 01 00 then simply type 2F 02 01 00 or 0x2F 0x02 0x01 0x00 or 2F 02 501 00 or 0x2F 0x02 0x01 0x00 66 99 The string section of any command must be enclosed with quote marks and any command containing a string or string and number combination must be terminated with decimal number 13 Example if the device expects the command PL 8F A1 where PL is a string and 8F and Al are hexadecimal values then type the following PL 8F A1 13 or PL Ox8F 0xA1 13 etc If the port is set to a particular device for which a script has been loaded on the Configure Comm Devices dialogue see Configure Comm Devices p 25 then the name of the device will be shown next to Name The appropriate control commands availab
94. 0 and stay there This is because no Shape FX pan AND tilt or Pan FX preset has been applied to the scene that would affect those channels so ShowMagic simply uses the stored pan position instead The odd fixtures will move up as the even fixtures move down at the speed set by the Tilt FX Speed fader to produce the marching effect If you now click on the Pan FX Straight preset to select it set its Speed fader to 10 and its Slope fader to FL then stop the FX scene and re run it you will see the scanners march as before but the odd and even fixtures will now also criss cross each other slowly If you now wish to limit the range of this effect then use the Range Limiter box in the FX window as described in The FX Window and Range Limiter Box p 77 to select how low and high the scans march and how widely they cross The Delay Offset Fader The first fader on the FX generator panel can be used to set an offset delay to the fixtures in an FX scene In all the effects we have used up until now the fixtures have all started to trace their shape at the same time but we can use this fader to select a delay so that each fixture can be made to lag behind the previous one to create Mexican wave type effects gt The value of the Delay Offset fader is a percentage of the Pan FX Speed fader times 2 1 e ifthe Pan EX Speed is set to 30 BPM i e 2 seconds and the Delay Offset fader is set to 50 then the Offset Delay time will al
95. 0 00 00 00 a 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Gobo Rotate 00 00 00 001 000000001 ooon 00000000 Gobo Wheel _00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Dim Strobe 00 00 00 000 000000 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Pan Coarse _00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 TiltCoarse _00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 Effects 0000 0000100000000 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Focus 10 00 00 00 Pan Fine 00000000 00 00 00 00 0000 00 00 30 00 00 00 Tilt Fine 00 00 00 001 00 00 00 01 00000000 00 00 00 00 Our new fade times Now if you run that scene the gobo and color functions will snap to the settings stored in that scene the pan and tilt will fade in over 4 seconds and all of the other functions stored in that scene will fade in over 2 seconds the Default settings Sub Master Control Although it is good programming practice when running ShowMagic in Normal mode to record separate scenes for each of a fixture s or group of fixtures functions so that you can then easily mix and match them in different sequences there may be times when you want to record all the functions as a single scene One example of this might be that you want to be able to run the scene from the action panel either directly or by using sliders on an external DMX desk and use the action button sub master fader or external slider to manually bring in that scene and adjust its level etc For s
96. 111 Moving a Sound E nann oia 111 Using ASIO Drivers and Multiple Input Output SoundcardS oooonnccnnconiocononaconcccnnnncnonannncnnnnos 111 Playing Multi Tracks Multiple Synchronized wav Files ooonnoonnnccnnccnnocccoccconccnonoconcconnccnnoos 112 Playing and Routing Way PES ta RS aaa alii 113 Playing Multiple Pl sii A ISR A ETA AAA 114 Routing Audio Inputs to Audio OutputS oocoooocnocococccoonononaconnnonnnonnononoconcc cnn nro conc n conan nncnnnnnnns 114 Section 9 Sequence Panel aa a tion 117 SEQUENCE SEN GS onein r aan Eeoa E O AO E ataanatasans seas rimar EE ORES AREAS 117 O TR tee ah asa E E E E artes ee 120 Step Details Dip A a a A a a e aa 120 OSEA EA a A E E E coitus 122 Creatina EU E E ac 123 Dragging a Bank or Page of Lighting Scenes into a SequenCe oococonocnnccnoccnonononncnonncnnnnannnananccnns 123 Sequence Motor Control Buttons o4 2 504 a ckeser deena tins A AS de 123 Sequence Faders at a ta da 124 Mita PU e od ll ale cutee 124 Cas a e dt e es el 125 Manual SEQUE e ROO aoc MR a id 125 Using a Pause Resume Step in a Manual Sequence cc ccccsscencsceccssnssescccessrccsssenscessnnecnene 126 Stopping a Sequence iD ito 126 Timed CUE ri ia NOUS 126 Pausing Resuming Events within a Manual or Timed Sequence ococonnoninonncononconnnoncnoncnnncnnanos 127 Recording Event Trigger Times in Real TIM a a ai ia 127 Random SEQUENCES tit ai 128 Autos Timed Random SEQUE SN 129 O RT 129 Deletina a SE
97. 12 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Section 3 Patch Screen The Patch screen is not used very often as it is designed for performing the initial set up and other one off functions e Checking what audio RS232 and video capabilties have been detected by ShowMagic e Selecting the makes and models of DMX lighting fixtures you are using and assigning these to virtual fixture faders on the ShowMagic fixture panel Setting the DMX addresses of the lighting fixtures Please Note With all models of ShowMagic any DMX addresses between 001 and 512 can be used The DMX addresses can also be spread across up to 4 universes However the amount of DMX channels that can be assigned to fixtures is dependent on the model as follows SL Free Edition 24 DMX channels SL SLX amp AV models 512 DMX channels SL Plus SLX Plus and AV Plus models 2048 DMX channels Setting up the communication settings for IP ExPERIMENTAL and RS232 devices that you wish to be controlled by ShowMagic Section 3 Patch Screen 13 Assigning Physical Fixtures to the ShowMagic Virtual Desk The Patch Screen The Patch screen consists of 4 main displays windows 1 Key Input This is where you can enter commands 2 Fader List This where you assign fixture types to the fixture faders on the main screen s fixture panel 3 Address List This is where physical fixtures and their DMX addresses are shown set 4
98. 16 and the DMX address range 1 64 Now if any DMX fixtures have been set to the channels within that DMX address range they will receive lighting control instructions via MIDI rather than DMX PISO 813 Settings Test If you have installed a PISO 813 32 channel analogue input card in order to control action buttons via analogue voltage inputs selecting this item will produce a dialogue box allowing you to view the state of the 32 analogue inputs for test purposes Freeze clicking on this button holds the last values received and the button changes to UnFreeze Clicking on the UnFreeze button un freezes the inputs and the values are updated again with live incoming values Threshold values between 0 1V and 1 0V can be selected here and any changes of values received below this threshold are ignored in the display Please Note When connecting the analogue inputs to the PISO 813 card a 1K resistor should be used between each input pin and the GND pins to eliminate crosstalk between channels Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 209 Spectrum Analyser Settings When creating digital signage special commands can be entered as lines of text to produce special effects E g Spectrom Nnalyeer Settings entering the special command 00 00 00 in a digital signage sed GOL text block will produce a real time digital clock and TE entering the special command SA USER will produce a Band3 125K 20052 user definable
99. 24 colors The first two colors are fixed as black and white and the next 6 colors default to red green blue cyan magenta and yellow To create a different palette highlight any color box from the third box onwards by clicking on it and then you can choose your colors using one of the following options a Selecting Lee Rosco gel colors using the Presets panel If you wish to use a range of colors available on the presets panel then simply click on any one of the RGB function faders on the fixture panel hold down the Shift key to call up the Presets panel and then click on each preset that you want in order Those colors will then be selected and set on the color palette in that order If you want to add another color to the palette at any time or change one of the existing colors simply click on the color box click on any one of the RGB function faders on the fixture panel hold down the Shift key to call up the Presets panel and then click on the preset color that you want for that color box b Creating colors using the RGB function faders on the fixture panel If you wish to use the RGB function faders on the fixture panel to select a color and then store it in the palette simply adjust those faders to obtain the color you want and then hold down Ctrl and double click on the appropriate color palette box to store that color in that box Do likewise for the other color boxes Conversely if you want to set the RGB function faders
100. 3 1 1 7 5 Enter would set fixtures 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 amp 11 to 75 Section 6 Fixture Panel 47 ShowMagic stores the last command entered in a temporary buffer so after using b above if you were to just type 8 0 Enter fixtures 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 and 11 would be set to 80 Similarly if you were then to type 7 0 Enter this would set fixtures 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 and 11 to 70 and so on The command stored in the temporary buffer is overwritten whenever you enter another command that doesn t start with You can also use commands to adjust fixture settings and re record scenes whilst you are running a scene from within a Manual sequence See Live Editing of Scenes in a Manual Sequence p 134 for more information Copying Fixture Function Settings using Commands The F12 function key can be used to copy one or all function settings from one fixture fader to one or more other fixture faders that have the same type of fixtures assigned to them Example If you had 4 scanners of the same type assigned to fixtures 1 to 4 and had set up the pan tilt color etc on fixture 1 and you then wished to copy one or more of those function settings to one or more of the other three fixtures then this can be done in one of the following ways a To copy one of the function settings to all the other 3 fixtures 1 First highlight the particular function that you wish to copy the setti
101. 45 Grouping Fixture Soren NN A E E 45 A A RO 47 Setting Faders using Comm a a E A E a a aa e i i aa a 47 Copying Fixture Function Settings using Commands ss sssssesseeseesrossesetsressresersressrresseresseres 48 Clearing Fixture Function Settings using Commands ccccceesceeeseeesseeeeeeeseeeeseceseeenseeeeneneees 49 Section 7 Lighting Scene Pannel seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeseeneeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeees 51 Applying Icons To Bank and Page Selector BULONS oooooocinccnoocnooccconccoonononcconnccnn conocio cono coronan 51 Scene Buon LEDS a dica 52 A EA 53 Recording and Playing Scenes Fundamental PrincipleS ooooonnnncnnnccnocaninccinncnccnnanrccnoncnccnnncnnn 53 WE eE ae I S A E A A A A E ASE S 53 Record Button The Different Recording Modes s ss ssssssessessessresreesresresssesesrtssresressessresresse 55 Overwrite Recorded Channels Only OPM eecc attain ids Svevediainscid hee ciunteetetts 56 Desk Pr NI intestines 56 Norm l and Live Mod AN AAN NR 57 Summary of the Different Recording Modes cccccsseesseessseeseeeseeeeseeeeeeeseceeeeeseeseeesseeneaees 58 Ly ere a 510080 Petar IN MRED or aa ES 59 Scene DEUDA A ad 60 Recording ACME moniin e a a E E E E EE OTT pashan duke EEEa a vena neea E Eae 61 Setting Fade Times fora SCENE sia A AA A A ON 61 M lti Part Scenes n a o el lios 63 A A AN 64 iv Recording Scenes With Sub Master Control ccccccccceeesccessees
102. A011 Ctrl A019 Intro Video Ctrl A012 DSign Credits Main Video Ctrl A013 DSign Times End Video Ctrl A014 DSign Offers Ctrl A007 Ctrl A015 Ctrl A023 Ctrl A008 Ctrl A016 Ctrl A024 The device control panel This panel is used to send commands to external RS232 IP ExPeRIMENTAL or MIDI controllable devices to run system control settings to play video files captured video PowerPoint slideshows and digital signage containing pictures text and graphic effects You can set up Virtual Windows on any available display outputs of a multi head graphics card or interface The first head on a dual or multi head graphics card interface is always used for displaying Windows and the ShowMagic virtual desk ShowMagic can use any other heads that are available as Display outputs up to a maximum of 3 on AV or up to 5 on AV Plus For instance on a dual head card head 1 is used for the ShowMagic virtual desk and head 2 is used as Display 1 On a quad head card heads 2 3 and 4 can be used as Display 1 Display 2 and Display 3 Video digital signage or a PowerPoint slideshow can then be played on any of those Display outputs In addition to being able to select a Display output you can specify virtual windows of any size on these Display outputs in which you can play video files captured video and digital signage Depending on what multi head device is used content can also be played across multiple Display outputs see Using Mu
103. AL status Selecting Comm gt Configure Comm Devices enables you to set up the parameters for controlling external RS232 and IP network devices or for setting up devices for triggering action buttons and controlling various elements of ShowMagic via RS232 For the triggering of action buttons via IP outstations see Configure Outstations p 28 RS232 1P Command String Protocol p 255 provides a list of command strings for triggering amp control of certain ShowMagic elements via RS232 amp IP RS232 compatible devices work at specific serial port settings and these can vary between devices so this menu item can be used to select the appropriate Communications settings baud rate parity and number of data and stop bits used for the serial port s on your PC that you wish to use for controlling communicating with RS232 devices If you have more than one serial port on your PC then the settings for each is independently selectable Similarly IP devices use IP addresses and these can be set on this menu item Device RS232 IP Settings Device 01 No Port Selected gt Baud 1200 Parity None String In Out F Reply Timeout 500ms 8 Data Bits 1 Stop Bit To configure a device select the Comm gt A Teo FREE Configure Comm Devices menu item on the Sting Patch screen and a dialogue box will appear EEEE R EE RA Threshold 0 0v Script Settin
104. Click on the Do button the dialogue box will be removed and trigger times will automatically be calculated and set in accordance with the time durations of each of the events so that one follows the other Edit the label for this sequence as Playlist Because the first step Midi Funk has a duration of 01 03 00 the second step Till FX will have it s trigger time set to 01 03 00 Likewise Till FX has a duration of 00 01 08 so this is added to make the trigger time for the third step 01 04 08 and so on for all the steps You will notice that the trigger time calculated for step 004 Timed Sequence is the same as step 003 Spot Chase this is because the Spot Chase event does not have a fixed duration and therefore a trigger time cannot be calculated for the next step the same goes for other events with no fixed duration such as lighting scenes control events excluding video or manual sequences As well as using the Auto playlist function trigger times can be edited manually in the usual way the function is provided however to make the setting of consecutive trigger times in a typical playlist that much easier Auto Time Function If you had consecutively timed steps in a timed sequence such as the example Playlist sequence described above but you wished to set a delay of 4 seconds between the Midi Funk event finishing and the Till FX event starting the timings for all the events following the Midi Funk event would have to be incre
105. Desk Precedence Makes and models of hardware lighting desks differ in their operating logic some operate using what is called latest takes precedence logic others operate using highest takes precedence logic and so on For flexibility the ShowMagic virtual desk enables you to select any of the three types of precedence logic that will now be described When a number of lighting scenes are running that are using one or more of the same DMX channels the way in which the output values to those DMX channels is determined is called the precedence The three types of precedence are a None take Precedence NTP b Latest takes Precedence LTP c Highest takes Precedence HTP To best explain how these different precedences work we will use an example in which In scene 1 channel 1 is set to 50 channel 2 is set to 25 In scene 2 channels 1 and 2 are both set to 30 e Both scenes are running with scene 1 being run first followed by scene 2 None NTP When the desk is set to this option no scene s settings takes precedence over any other scene The values for any running scenes sharing the same channel outputs are simply added or piled one on top of the other to produce a compounded output value for those channels up to the maximum percentage value of FL Full 100 or DMX value of 255 Example Channel is at 80 i e 50 set by scene 1 30 set by scene 2
106. Function List This is where the functions of the fixtures are shown set Two test buttons Fdr and Dmx a Make button and a fixture Library button are also provided The Library button is used for selecting lighting fixtures that are contained in the ShowMagic fixture library Clicking on this button produces a Fixture Library dialogue box from which you can select first the Make of fixture then the Model and lastly if the model possesses different options or modes e g 5 channel mode 7 channel mode etc the required option can be selected from the Option drop down menu 14 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Vertical scroll strips are provided to the side of the patch screen displays for when all the items in the list cannot fit within the depth of the display area These scroll strips enable you to quickly scroll through the lists by simply dragging the mouse pointer up or down the strip or alternatively clicking on the strips will scroll up the list one item at a time and right clicking will scroll down the list one item at a time DMX Universes A DMX universe can only support up to 512 DMX channels In order to accommodate applications where more than 512 DMX channels are required or where the DMX channels are split across a number of universes the number buttons to the right of the Command display are used for selecting the appropriate DMX universe when patching fixtures The correct universe number should fi
107. IO channels The sub master levels for each ASIO input channel available can then be adjusted using the appropriate faders and muted un muted using their appropriate buttons Section 5 Master Panel 39 Section 6 Fixture Panel Fixture Faders Each fixture fader at the top of the panel has a button below it showing its number and double clicking on a button shown in blue on will turn it off then shown grey These buttons can be used to disable the fixture s assigned to that fixture fader which can be useful if a fixture develops a fault during a show the DMX output is disabled S432 az 49 6 23 8 97 gt i e only zeros are sent to any fixtures assigned to a fixture IICA e fader that is turned off irrespective of what scenes are AAA Dim Strobe Pan Coarse Tilt Coarse running that may use that fixture AAA a The DMX universe and start address of the currently highlighted fixture fader is displayed in pink below the large fixture fader number in the central display area A page of 12 fixture faders is visible on the fixture panel at any one time and individual fixtures or groups of fixtures e g a bank of pars can be assigned to these using the Patch screen The numbers below each fader show the fader setting as a percentage i e 00 to FL Full 100 The fixture panel D 1 13 25 37 49 61 73 85 97 1209 gt The fixture page selector buttons Page buttons containing the number of the first fixture fa
108. If it is not ticked then any DMX input is ignored by the action buttons Record Scene You can select here a DMX input channel that when flashed will record a scene when sniffing DMX Grand Master You can select here a DMX input channel that can be used to control the level of the grand master GM fader on the master screen Audio Master You can select here a DMX input channel that can be used to control the level of the audio master AM fader on the master screen Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 207 General Settings If you are using low cost DMX fixtures with an FTDI type DMX interface and you are experiencing problems with those fixtures such as twitching it is possible that the default DMX Refresh Rate 40 per second is too fast for those fixtures To remedy this you can try reducing the refresh rate using this section of the dialogue box The Break Time and MaB settings should not need to be changed If you are experiencing problems where the DMX interface is locking up due to mains power fluctuations faulty DMX fixtures sending spikes back down the DMX line etc Then ticking the Reset On Error item in this section will instruct ShowMagic to attempt to reset the interface if it finds that it has lost communication with the interface Please Note Due to the nature of such errors it is not always possible for ShowMagic to reset the interface and in any case the cause of these errors should
109. If you intended to create a number of ColorScene chases with this layout of colored par cans then you should exit the ColorScene panel at this point and drag and drop this scene onto a few more empty scene buttons to copy the soft patch and color palette set up to those scenes In this way you don t have to create that set up again from scratch for each new scene Let s now create a ColorScene dimming chase for scene button A007 in which the par cans come on from the centre par cans outwards and then diminish to give the effect of a trail of brightness pulsing outwards The dimming levels we will use are 000 off 064 25 128 50 192 75 and 255 100 1 2 3 Click on scene A001 and click on the CScn button to go to the ColorScene panel There are no frames created yet for this ColorScene so double click on Set to create a new frame You will notice that the Color button changes to a Dim button because ShowMagic knows that none of the fixtures used on that ColorScene grid possess RGB or CMY functions The color palette is also changed to a dimmer palette As with the color palette the first two dimmer level boxes in the dimmer palette are fixed at 000 and 255 Click on the third box move one of the dimmer faders for the par cans on the fixture panel to 192 75 and double click in that dimmer box to store it Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 97 4 5 6 7 8 9 Do likewise for boxes 4 amp
110. In settings for a scene will be ignored it will come straight on at the set levels Similarly any fade up settings for a sound or video event step will be ignored and the event will play immediately at its volume setting Out If a scene this will use any Hold and fade Out settings Similarly if the step is a sound or video event any fade down settings will be used Off This will set that event step to stop instantly all Hold and fade Out settings for a scene will be ignored the scene will go off instantly Similarly any fade down settings for a sound or video event step will be ignored and the event will stop immediately Pa This will pause the event See Pausing Resuming Events within a Manual or Timed Sequence p 127 for detailed instructions Re This will resume the event if it is paused See Pausing Resuming Events within a Manual or Timed Sequence p 127 for detailed instructions If an event step is another sequence that contains scenes chases and or sound or video events the above In On Out or Off settings will be applied to the first last event s in that other sequence Depending on the type of sequence selected other details may be displayed on the right of the fifth column These will be described in the appropriate sections that follow Keyboard Commands Use Up and Down cursor keys to scroll through the sequence steps one by one in the step details display Use Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll
111. Lighting control and MIDI device control SLX Sound output amp input output routing Lighting control MIDI device control eXternal RS232 IP ExPERIMENTAL device control plus auto scheduler AV As SLX but including on board software video file playback with captured video output multiple digital signage creation playback and single PowerPoint slideshow playback Up to 3 displays are supported in the AV model The AV Plus model provides the same functionality as the standard AV model but supports up to 5 monitor outputs and also includes multiple synchronized software decoded video file playback Section 1 Overview 1 General Operation Whichever model you are using the methods of operation are consistent throughout the range If you upgrade to another model at a later time you can use your existing desk files and it will work just the same as the model you have been using but you will have access to more features which themselves use similar and consistent methods of operation The ShowMagic desk has been designed to be as simple quick and easy to use as possible Just like a hardware lighting desk or audio mixing desk the ShowMagic desk uses displays and faders but these are operated with the keyboard mouse or a touch screen Lighting scenes sounds video digital signage etc are all treated in ShowMagic as events On SLX and AV models you can connect any DMX lighting desk to ShowMagic using a selection of DMX input int
112. M chase was run for fixtures 01 to 04 first followed by a 30 BPM chase for the same fixtures the channels will be updated by the 2 30 BPM chase because that chase was the latest event to be run If that chase is stopped control reverts back to the earlier 60 BPM chase If this item is ticked to disable event layering then the logic for scene processing reverts back to strict desk precedence E g the DMX values for fixtures 01 to 04 would be updated by both the 60 BPM chase and the 30 BPM chase on a strict LTP basis Boot Delay If for any reason there is a conflict between other programs or utilities that are being auto run on boot up along with ShowMagic you can set a boot delay with this drop down menu between 1 and 20 seconds ShowMagic when it is auto run will then wait for the duration of this boot delay time before initialising any resources that may cause any conflicts Live Mode If this item is ticked then the logic of how channels are updated when running scenes is changed from the Normal operating mode to Live mode as described in Normal and Live Modes p 57 Auto Set will automatically set all action buttons to run on the respective DMX input channels A007 from DMX channel 001 A002 from DMX channel 2 etc and use the selected Threshold and LTP trigger settings Other Settings Menu x 16 Bit Settings Ticking Enabled and then ticking the appropriate functions enables 16 bit operation for fixtures possessing fine chan
113. Panel 01 above is assigned to fader 001 ChromaPanel and E scene ons addressed to DMX channels 001 to 003 Panel 02 above E 1s assigned to fader 002 and addressed to DMX channels 004 to 006 and so on 1 Select the fixture panel on the left of the screen this should remain on the left hand side when you are using ColorScene and click on the first page selector button at the top labelled 1 to select fixtures 1 to 12 Patch 00 2 Select the scene panel on the right highlight an empty scene button e g Scene A007 and then click on the button labelled CScn a ColorScene panel will then replace the normal scene panel The panel consists of The ColorScene panel a The usual details display at the top left b An Exit button for exiting the ColorScene panel and returning to the normal scene panel c Acopy of the scene button initially shown grey empty d A Speed fader that uses BPM in the same way as lighting chases with a sound to light frequency selector button below it Left amp right clicking on this button selects the frequency range that will trigger each Colorscene frame LF LM HM or HF or if Off is selected on the button then the speed set by the speed fader is used The combination of the speed amp slope settings determines how quickly the ColorScene frames crossfade and can be re triggered when set to trigger by sound to light e A Slope fader with a randomise selector button below it right c
114. QUENCE E a a E E a S 131 Copying a Sequen Cen A di 131 Moving a Seguente A A A O A 131 Deleting S q nce SISOS A urna hece da stanesedcoaas Veal ucauses deuslaataseoaiaumrta due auesacreneaeen 131 Inserting Null Sequence Stepson a 132 Changing Event Settings Within SequenCes sica da aci 132 Adjusting Settings for Sound Event SEP ni theendandes 133 Adjusting Settings for Lighting Scene Event StepS oocoonoccnnonnnocononncoonononcconcconnocancconncconncncnnns 134 Live Editing of Scenes in a Manual Sequence ccecccssceesecessceseeeseeeeeeceeeeeeeeeesseeeeeeeeeees 134 Adjusting Settings for Chase Event Steps ccccccecsccsssecsseceseeeeeceseecsseceseeeeeseeeeeeeaeeeseaeeesegs 135 Adjusting Volume Settings for Video File Event StepS oooonoconnconionnnococonnconncconnncccnnnnncnnnanonnns 136 Creating a Sound Event Volume or Pan Change teP ooooccnnnccnoconoccconnnconccnonocancconnnconccnanccnnnos 136 Creating a Video File Event Volume Change SteP coooonoccnonccnococonncoonononcconcncnnncno cono ncnonnncnccnnnos 137 Auto Playlist FOCO Ai E e 137 AU TM AI A A o od 138 Continue From OS 139 Text Only Event Steps A O ela 143 Parte step NUMEN A TE A AE AAEE EAE A E Lote 143 vi Loading and Saving Sequences ic A RA A idas 144 Section 10 Device Control Pannel c seeecceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesnceeeeeeees 147 Using MIDE Controllable Devi ES A ie tet avon ase aatas heuer ieee ed
115. Runs the schedule SCHPL As above legacy Section 16 Appendix 255 lt SCH_STOP gt Stops the schedule SCHST As above legacy ShowMagic will also return a status string to an external RS232 IP device if it receives the command SCH for the schedule or Annn where nnn is the action button number For Example If ShowMagic receives the command string SCH it will return the string SCHPL if the schedule is currently on or SCHST if the schedule is currently off Similarly If ShowMagic receives the command string 412 it will return the string 4 2PL if action button A012 is currently on or A 2ST if the action button is currently off Audio Fader Commands lt AUD_MTR_MUTE gt Toggles the master mute button On Off lt AUD_MTR_LVL Ill gt Increments the level of the audio master fader by UI lt AUD_MTR_LVL Ill gt Decrements the level of the audio master fader by I lt AUD_MTR_LVL lll gt Sets the level of the audio master fader to J lt AUD_WAVE_MUTE gt Toggles the wave sub master button On Off lt AUD_WAVE_LVL IlI gt Increments the level of the wave sub master fader by 111 lt AUD_WAVE_LVL Ill gt Decrements the level of the wave sub master fader by U lt AUD_WAVE_LVL lIll gt Sets the level of the wave sub master fader to Jl lt AUD_MIDI_MUTE gt Toggles the MIDI sub master button On Off lt AUD_MIDI LVL lll gt Increments the level of the MIDI sub master fader by Ll lt AUD_MIDI LVL III
116. Section 3 Patch Screen 21 Multiple consecutive fader assignments such as faders 4 through 10 can be deleted by pressing Delete 4 10 Enter and confirming on the dialogue box Where a number of fixtures are assigned to a fixture fader fixtures can be removed by selecting the appropriate fader row highlighting the appropriate fixture and pressing Delete Enter the highlighted fixture will then be deleted from the currently highlighted fixture fader The Load Patch and Save Patch Functions The patching of a desk can be loaded and saved independently of Load Desk and Save Desk using Load Patch and Save Patch from the patch screen s File menu The Load Desk function will however overwrite any patch settings as Load Desk loads ALL the desk AND patch settings Load Patch and Save Patch are very useful though for loading in the known settings for a venue prior to creating a new desk Making Fixtures If you are using fixtures that are not included in the ShowMagic fixture Library you can create a new fixture for a fixture fader and save it to disk so that you can still take advantage of ShowMagic s function icon display and control features To create a new fixture do the following 1 Highlight an empty fixture fader row that you want to assign your new fixture to and click on the Make button to activate it The top right fixture list is then temporarily changed into a Function List and a comprehensive list of functions i
117. The Auto Setting If you want to run a ppt slideshow that contains manual slides but you want each of the slides to be run automatically after a fixed time then setting a value for Auto in seconds and frames will run each slide with that timing Pre empting Timed Slides If you are running a timed ppt slideshow in ShowMagic you can pre empt the stored timings i e run a Slide earlier by using Spacebar or a Next Slide system control event at any time Notes on the PowerPoint Viewer Running in ShowMagic e When you are loading ShowMagic a PowerPoint Viewer dialogue box will be momentarily displayed whilst ShowMagic is initialising it e When ShowMagic calls the PowerPoint Viewer utility to run PowerPoint files there will be a short flicker on the ShowMagic screen before the slideshow appears on the selected virtual window this is unavoidable due to how the PowerPoint Viewer works e Mouse clicks cannot be used to trigger the next slide when the PowerPoint Viewer is being run in ShowMagic unless of course you use the mouse to double click on a Next Slide system control event or move the mouse pointer onto the display output on which it is being run and click there This is due to how the Viewer uses the Windows window focus system e The PowerPoint slideshow control event must be used to stop the PowerPoint slideshow that it is running unlike sound events video events or other timed events a PowerPoint slideshow
118. The two items Load Schedule and Save Schedule on the File menu of the schedule screen are provided for this purpose Schedule files are also used for creating schedule logs as described in Schedule Log p 224 Auto Schedule Button When events have been programmed into a schedule clicking on the Auto Schedule button on the left of the schedule screen will toggle the CoO schedule on and off and the button will turn red to indicate when it is turned on and running Alternatively double clicking on the Auto Schedule button on the Master panel on the main desk screen will also toggle the schedule on and off and this button will also be displayed in red to indicate when the schedule is running The auto schedule button The steps due to be triggered by a schedule are shown in the live display on the schedule screen and also in the live display on the Master panel A schedule can be edited even if a schedule is running but any changes that are made will only come into effect if the schedule is first turned off and then turned on again Schedule Log So far all the features described on the schedule screen have been concerned with running certain action buttons on particular days of the week but what if the scheduling of these events needs to be changed at different times of the year to allow for festive seasons or bank holidays etc The schedule log features have been designed for this purpose Example Lets assume that ShowM
119. User Sereen ME A aaa 203 General Settings Me AS E A neskt uiaeks 203 O aoe at MEP 203 Desk Precedence latreo a ar 203 Boot Delay catia n EE did 204 Five INS as panies hl snc paca codons areechnae cou ah ies cat cok AEN 204 Other Settings Me AS tds 204 A R T TS 204 PUIG ASIO Stings Seepia a n 204 Action Sub Group Setting Ssss irina e eA E EE E ER a a aa 205 DMX Seting Seos a eae e T E a A AN 205 Master Date Time Setting Sii i a EE E ued ieee 208 Digital Video Settings ennan edo oss ls ead Oa eas neice innate aur eines 208 IVIL POT o E 209 PESOS 1S Se tims es dated lets ep ae ed ay de ae cca es ea 209 PECHINA Setting Snesere arain casnarondabvacin ch os 210 Display WindGw Seti ri A A A A a 210 Action Panel Menta A Aaa 214 MA A A A 214 Monitor Panel Men tl a ds 215 User Screen Access Me A di 215 E A ew eke ht aed Naas a Sle RCN at ok dace 217 System Locked enact yates cts cometh seat a o a ac death eas 218 The Notepad Mi a alate 218 Section 14 Schedule SICFEON iris 221 PA A ta aslececieses Gu op eaten ec es ba E E Gen a ncaa Nea pes E ETRE 222 a A O A En 222 Copy sc dile Da dae NA E Rad 223 viii Inserting A SCHEOUIS SUC yncci scene seta ssa decise teats a O ee 223 Deleting a Schedule Stepne cinnin aic us Spaced hacia a a a a a 224 Loading and Saving Schedule ci ti 224 Auto sehedule BUON tati dador 224 Sched le Log ienna a ne cone ne ee Ie ee E E ve ne eee a ar eee eer 224 Section 15 USED OCA 227 QUT SANG a KON C2 a
120. Wave 5 FL 60 FL 3 Peak Horizontal Sine Wave 10 FL 60 FL 6 Peak Vertical Sine Wave 60 FL 5 FL 3 Peak Peak Vertical Sine Wave 60 FL 10 FL 6 Peak Horizontal Triangular 5 FL 60 90 Wave 3 Peak Horizontal Triangular 10 FL 60 90 Wave 6 Peak Vertical Triangular 60 90 5 FL Wave 3 Peak Vertical Triangular 60 90 10 FL Wave 6 Peak Horizontal Square Wave 5 FL 60 0 3 Peak Horizontal Square Wave 10 FL 60 0 6 Peak Vertical Square Wave 60 0 5 FL 3 Peak Vertical Square Wave 60 0 10 FL As you can see from the above examples it is the relationship between the Pan and the Tilt Speed settings that determine the vertical horizontal direction and frequency of the waveform and the Slope settings determine the shape of the waveform The FX Window and Range Limiter Box The FX window consists of a black background with intersecting horizontal and vertical yellow dotted lines The vertical dotted line represents the DMX value range for tilt channels with the very top of the line representing 000 and the very bottom representing 255 The horizontal dotted line represents the DMX value range for pan channels with the extreme left of the line representing 000 and the extreme right representing 255 The range limiter box Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 77 Contained inside this window is a white square outline with two handles shown as grey squares in the top left and bottom right this is the pan and tilt Range Limiter box The two ha
121. X Slope fader to FL the Tilt FX Speed fader to 60 and the Tilt FX Slope fader to FL these settings will trace 3 sine waves to and fro across the stage when run 7 Run the FX scene and whilst it is running you can drag the handles on the Range Limiter box in the FX window to set a range and position that will keep the scanners beams confined to the stage area Tf you use Pan FX and Tilt FX presets the initial stored reference values of the pan and the tilt faders become irrelevant but you must still record a value for pan and tilt channels in order to include those fixtures in the FX scene It is only when you are using a Shape FX preset such as a circle that requires a central reference point to draw the shape around or if you are going to use just one or the other of the Pan FX or Tilt FX and not both that any stored pan and tilt reference values are actually utilised The Fixture Presets The last column on the bottom of the FX generator panel contains the Fixtures presets So far we have applied Pan FX and Tilt FX presets to the fixtures contained in the scene but when we have run the FX scene all the fixtures in the FX scene have traced the same shape in unison Let s assume that six scanners on fixture faders 1 to 6 are contained in the scene the Fixtures presets can select the following options All This preset is the default and it makes all the fixtures in the FX scene do exactly the
122. _ RS232 IP Settings a j Device 01 No Port Selected Baud 19200 Parity None Settings section below will be enabled so that em e you can load the device script by clicking on Units 01 Eato1 7 SendDetay rooms Rs232 the Load button The default directory for the js l A storage of device scripts is the ad AVSS Device folder but a script can be EE stored in and loaded from any directory RUN I In this example communication port 1 Set Cancel COMI has been selected as the appropriate port and a script has been loaded for a Sanyo PLC XU116 video projector The Configure Comm Device dialogue box with a script device loaded The location of the script is shown in the box to the right of the Load button and the correct ports settings are automatically set up from the information in the script The port settings can however be changed manually if required Units 01 to 16 The number of individual units of the same device type that you are using can be selected here Edit 01 to 16 This drop down menu enables you to select each unit to set its com port and edit its name For instance if you were using two Sanyo PLC XU116 projectors one connected to COM1 and the other to COM2 and the first projector was located in room 1 and the other in room 2 then these could be set up as follows 1 Select Units 02 2 With Edit 01
123. a E single monitor channel pair This facility is used mainly in i 58 vawwe music recording applications for mixing tracks etc and as such maa Advanced ropas is of little use in ShowMagic so it should be disabled TF Use only preferred devices M Show volume control on the taskbar DirectSound uses the emulated port drivers on multi output soundcards The Delta Series and ESI range of cards possess these port drivers for Windows XP amp Vista Delta Series Control Panel If you wish to use all the output AMADO DEA AEE channel pairs separately then click on _ Mamie Pactos Foner Harina Satinas s POIE About m Clocks and Sample Rates H Save the Monitor Mixer tab and disable all ea e a aeee S PDIF Sample Rate Es gt monitor functions C 8000 C 00 11 025 C 12000 Delete f C S PDIFin C 16 000 C 22 050 C 24 000 C 32 000 Pe 44100 C 48 000 C 88 200 C 96 000 H w Installed Select the Hardware Settings tab _ Locked Be al rae A and make the settings as shown thus MuliTrack Diver Devices Single and In Sync Independent fulipe Gard Spne Variable ae ae Levels Select the Patchbay Router tab aa E and select WavOut 1 2 WavOut Lateney 1055 samples 104By_ Consumer z 3 4 WavOut 5 6 WavOut 7 8 and ale Mono Asio Easi Options Wa vO ut S P D I F I Disable audio app use of Monitor Mixer and Patchbay Router I Disable multicl
124. a fixture or group of fixtures has been selected For instance by holding down the D key the main dimming function is selected in the function fader section of the fixture panel and the presets panel for that function will also appear on the right hand side of the desk holding down G will select the gobo function and display that fixtures gobo presets and so on Section 6 Fixture Panel 43 C Color wheel If more than one color wheel exists then this selects color wheel 1 D Dimming function dimmer dimmer strobe etc F Focus G Gobo wheel If more than one gobo wheel exists then this selects gobo wheel 1 l Iris S Shutter X Effects Z Zoom Lee and Rosco Color Filters Presets for RGB CMY Functions If a fixture possesses red green and blue or cyan magenta and yellow functions then highlighting any one of these function faders and holding down Shift will produce a presets panel containing a list of Lee and Rosco filter numbers and labels Clicking on one of these presets will set the three RGB or CMY function faders to the values to produce that color These values are approximate as fixtures vary by make and model Because there are so many Lee Rosco presets they are spread across a number of pages that can be accessed using the numbered buttons at the bottom of the panel Certain function preset buttons are shown in white and these are used as labels for indicating the functions depending on the
125. ach track is pre determined on the music CD itself If a CD sound event s track range is set to A I and you change the CD in the drive clicking on the play button will automatically refresh the details display for the currently loaded CD first before playing it 108 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Digital Line and Microphone Input a The second row shows the type of event e g Aud Microphone b The fade In and Out times default to 00 00 and can be used to open and close the inputs over a duration of seconds and frames Running a sound event button containing Digital Line or Microphone Inputs will open that input and turning off the event will close it The label for any sound event can be edited in the details display in the normal way and values or time settings can be edited by clicking on them to decrement the value or right clicking on them to increment it with the Ctrl key held down in both cases For example if you wished to start a wave file 10 seconds into the file you would simply hold down the Ctrl key and right click on the From seconds digits to increase them from 00 00 00 to 00 10 00 The volume fader is used to set the playback volume for that sound event and double clicking the mute button directly below it toggles mute on and off to turn off the output volume Sliding the pan fader up past the halfway mark centre pans the stereo image of that sound event to the left sliding it down past the halfway
126. ack to a Null Step simply double click on the words Pause Resume This enables you to pause that sequence using Spacebar or any external trigger MIDI input etc instead of having to manually click on the Pause button Stopping a Sequence Step A sequence step in a manual sequence can be stopped by highlighting the step holding down the Ctrl key and left clicking on the sequence STOP button Timed Sequences A sequence with its Type set to Timed is the type most suited to automated shows where each step is set to occur at a pre determined time referenced from the start of that sequence When the last step is triggered the sequence ends so you may need to insert a Null Step at the end with its trigger time 126 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual set to the time at which you want the sequence to end The last empty Null Step in a sequence is automatically re labelled as End Events in a timed sequence have a default timer setting of 00 00 00 00 and these can be changed in a number of ways a Highlight the event in the step details display and then type in the values in the same way as typing in fade times for scenes b Hold down the Ctrl key and double click on the time to set it to the same time as the previous step c Set them in real time using the Rec button as described below d Use the Auto Playlist see Auto Playlist Function p 137 and Auto Time Auto Time Function p 138 features for auto calculating st
127. add a delay in seconds and decimal fractions if the condition is found to be true after which time the Scripted Action is run e g lt runif gt lt wait gt 5 25 lt wait gt lt action gt 1 on lt action gt Section 16 Appendix 243 lt runif gt If action button 1 is on then this will add a five and a quarter second delay before running the Scripted Action Similarly lt stopif gt lt wait gt 3 5 lt wait gt lt action gt on lt action gt lt stopif gt If action button 1 is on then this will add a three and a half second delay before stopping the Scripted Action Please Note Leading and trailing 0 s aren t used and decimal fractions must be preceded by a decimal point so any of the following value examples are valid syntax 5 five seconds 5 75 five and three quarter seconds 25 one quarter of a second etc TG amp DT You can also check the condition of the disable triggering DT button on the action panel and or the condition of the Scripted Action s trigger TG button The DT button is global for all action buttons but the TG button is specific to the action button that you are applying the script to The break instruction is not used with TG amp DT condition checks e g If you want to run this Scripted Action on the condition that the global DT button is off shown grey the Scripted Action s TG button is on shown red and that action butt
128. agging events into a sequence to create an event change step Hold down and click on the Sequence Shf button to set auto playlist times Hold down and double click on a Null event step to change it to a Step Text event Hold down and press Insert to insert a Null event step with a Part Step number Hold down to display settings faders for highlighted sequence step event if any are available Hold down when clicking right clicking on exclusivity groups to select sub groups Ctrl Shift Hold these down and click right click on sequence step s times to auto time all Section 16 Appendix 251 steps in the marked area from that step downwards Insert Inserts a Null sequence step Zeroes highlighted time settings 11 Scrolls up and down the sequence steps display when it is selected on the Sequence panel Sound Panel on Main Desk Ctrl Hold down and tap Spacebar 4 times to log BPM when a sound event is playing Control Event Panel on Main Desk Shift Hold down and click on X or Y settings to select Ctr Action Panel on Main Desk Shift Hold down and click to toggle between midi note program change selection on the action panel Tab Used to scroll through extra midi trigger functions Back Pause amp Next on action panel Schedule Screen Ctrl Hold down when dropping a schedule day button to copy that day to a range of days Patch Screen Ctrl This must be held down when u
129. agic is being scheduled to run a retail store We need 1 main schedule for normal opening times On top of this we also need 2 special schedules for the festive periods Christmas and New Year and these are used to adjust the timing of events to allow for extended opening times or closing times that are different to the rest of the year Let us further assume that the schedules should commence as follows 224 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Normal on 2 January the Christmas schedule should run between 21 December and 30 December and the New Year schedule should run between 30 December and 2 January Here is an example of how to do it 1 Create a schedule suitable for normal times and save the schedule as Normal sch and do likewise for the Christmas and New Year holiday periods You will then have three schedules saved to disk Normal sch Christmas sch and NewYear sch 2 Click on the Log button to display the log entries in the details display The Log button is then shown in red 3 Hold down Ctrl and click where it shows No Schedule Entry on the first row marked 01 and a Load Log Schedule dialogue box will appear 4 Select the Normal sch file and click on the Open button 5 Hold down Ctrl and then left or right click on the Month Date Year and Hour items to set them as required 6 Highlight the next row marked 02 and follow steps 3 to 5 above for the other Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fr Sat schedules that are needed in t
130. ails display 2 Whilst the Shift key is held down the 2 and 3 faders on the top right of the sequence panel will change into red Speed faders 3 With the Shift key still held down adjust the 2 fader for the scenes fade in time and the 3 fader for the scenes fade out time Lighting scene step The decimal point denotes half a second so values of 1 or 2 etc faders denote 1 5 seconds 2 5 seconds etc 4 Release the Shift key and the normal sequence faders will again be shown The fade in and fade out values can be adjusted as above between the range of 0 seconds 00 and 99 5 seconds 99 If you wish to use longer fade times than this then do step 3 above but this time push the faders to the topmost setting to display FT Fade Time The scene will then fade in out over the times set for it on the scene panel that can be up to 1 day 23 59 59 24 Please Note The FT option uses the In and Out settings shown in the scene s details display on the scene panel If you alter these In and Out settings on the scene panel then the sequence will use those altered settings You cannot use the same scene elsewhere with different fade times in excess of 99 5 seconds because all sequence steps containing that scene event will use the CURRENT In and Out settings shown in the scene s details display Instead you should copy that scene button onto another empty scene button and use that new scene in other sequences etc with
131. al window as an alternative to PowerPoint 240 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Appendix D Event Scripts Events stored on action buttons can have a script attached to them to enable greater control of the event assigned to that action button Scripts are available for automatically running or stopping action buttons and for controlling audio events and video events The ShowMagic event script follows an XML type element format as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Elements are contained within less than and greater than characters e g lt video gt Element names and instructions are in lower case with the exception of the DT and TG items Each element has a start marker and an end marker with the end marker containing a before the element name e g lt video gt lt video gt Instructions or values are contained within an elements start and end markers e g lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt do gt lt video gt Any elements contained between a lt do gt start marker and a lt do gt end marker are performed at the time determined by the lt timer gt nn nn nn nn lt timer gt element that has elapsed since that event was started Any elements contained within another elements start and end markers will be applied to that first element e g lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00
132. all of the function settings to the other three fixtures 1 Press F12 twice to select Copy Fader 2 Press 1 to select fixture fader 001 the fixture you are copying all the function settings from 3 Press then 4 followed by Enter to copy all those function settings from fixture 1 through to 4 e To copy all of the function settings to just fixture 3 1 Press F12 twice to select Copy Fader 2 Press 1 to select fixture fader 001 the fixture you are copying all the function settings from 3 Press then 3 followed by Enter to copy all those function settings from fixture 1 to fixture 3 Pressing F12 three times will cancel the Copy Fader command in the function display Clearing Fixture Function Settings using Commands The Delete key to the right of the Enter key on the main keyboard can be used to clear down function faders on one or more fixtures Please Note The Del key on the numeric keypad has a different function being used to clear commands in the function display see below Example 1 Highlighting a function fader pressing Delete once followed by 1 4 2 Enter will clear just that function on faders 1 3 and 4 Example 2 Highlighting any fixture fader pressing Delete twice followed by 1 4 8 Enter will clear all function faders on fixtures 1 2 and 4 Section 6 Fixture Panel 49 Pressing Del on the numeric keypad once will canc
133. almost instantly bitmaps are larger but far more efficient Ideally any pictures that you use should be saved at the native resolution of the display output and correct aspect ratio for the virtual window but if they are not then they will be automatically re sized to fit the Virtual Window when shown on a digital sign The auto bitmap conversion feature is provided for convenience e g you can easily copy jpeg files directly from a digital camera etc to your PC ShowMagic will then automatically convert them for you as more efficient bitmaps when you want to use them on digital signage events without you having to use external paint packages or converter software If you want to use a color for the background rather than a picture simply right click to the right of File this will display Use Background Color and to set the background color click on this label to produce the color palette Use the color palette in the same way as for setting the color of text To revert back to a picture background right click to the right of File The other items are described in the relevant sections below Digital Signage Blocks A block is selected by left right clicking on the block number to the right of Blk Each block can be positioned on the sign by setting offset values in screen pixels for the X and Y position of the top left corner of the block The default Ctr settings for X and Y will position the block in the centre of t
134. alues that ShowMagic is sending when set to Merge Desk If this is ticked then the precedence is the same as that selected on the Options General Settings Desk Precedence menu item on the main screen NTP The DMX input values for each channel are added to the DMX values being updated by ShowMagic and then sent to the DMX output port LTP The latest DMX values being updated by either ShowMagic or the external DMX device for each channel are the values sent to the DMX output port HTP The higher of the two values being updated by either ShowMagic or the external DMX device are sent to the DMX output port The Threshold and Flash settings are used to determine what minimum and maximum DMX input values are used in triggering action buttons etc Some lighting desks output non zero values even though the slider is at its bottommost zero position and likewise a slider at its topmost or Flash position does not always output a value as high as 255 Therefore these threshold or sensitivity settings can be used to compensate for any inconsistencies Threshold This can be set to a value of 0 10 and any DMX input values received below this threshold value are treated as zero Flash This can be set to a value of 255 down to 001 and any DMX input values received at or above this Flash value are treated as a Flash Action Trigger On If this box is ticked then action buttons can be triggered and controlled by the DMX input
135. an be used to select one of the pre programmed chases built into the ChromaZone unit use the Presets panel as normal to view the preset chases available The 5 and 6 function faders can be used to adjust the speed of the selected chase and adjust the intensity of the colors in that chase Using 9 Channel Mode In this mode the ChromaZone unit uses the following 9 channels 1 Red 2 Green 3 Blue 4 Chase 1 5 Speed 1 6 Dimmer intensity 7 Chase 2 8 Speed 2 amp 9 Dimmer 2 Select Make Pulsar Model ChromaZone Option 9 Channel using the fixture Library button and set the start address The first 6 functions work as in 6 channel mode above but in addition a secondary chase can be run with the first using channels 7 to 9 to produce some mixed chase effects Using 36 Channel Mode In this mode the ChromaZone unit uses 36 channels to control the Red Green amp Blue 3 channel settings independently for up to 12 fixtures 3x12 36 channels i e Ch 1 Red on fixture 1 Ch 2 Green on fixture 1 Ch 3 Blue on fixture 1 Ch 4 Red on fixture 2 Ch 5 Green on fixture 2 Ch 6 Blue on fixture 2 and so on up to Ch 34 Red on fixture 12 Ch 35 Green on fixture 12 and Ch 36 Blue on fixture 12 Use one ShowMagic fixture fader for each Chroma fixture in this way you can use the grouping keys F1 to F8 to set up different groups for the fixtures Odds and Evens etc Highlight the first empty fa
136. and also patch them consecutively beginning at channel 1 Yet another way to assign and patch multiple fixtures is to assign a fixture to a fader double click on it s DMX Address enter the start address for that fixture in the Address box but also type the number of copies you want in the Copy box That number of fixtures will then be assigned to the faders and patched consecutively Function List When a fader is highlighted in the Fader list the functions for the type of fixture patched to that fixture fader are displayed here Section 3 Patch Screen 19 Function Descriptions of the fixtures functions are provided under this title e g Dimmer Color Wheel etc Pre The precedence of each function on a fixture can be set independently of the overall precedence set for the desk see Recording and Playing Scenes Fundamental Principles p 53 for a full description of precedence on the desk The default is DSK desk precedence but they can be set to NTP LTP or HTP by left right clicking on them whilst holding down the Ctrl key Please Note To control the dimming of scenes stored on action buttons with the action sub master fader the main dimming attribute must be set to HTP Mn The minimum DMX value for that function is shown under this title The function fader on the fixture panel cannot go down any further than this and if the blackout button on the Master panel is used this minimum value not zero is sent t
137. and frames by holding down the Ctrl key and right or left clicking on the appropriate digits Vid Video picture fade in and fade out times for the video file event can be set here by holding down the Ctrl key and right or left clicking on the appropriate digits 156 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Multiple File Video Events On the ShowMagic AV Plus model more than one video file can be assigned to a video event and playing that video event will synchronize the playing of those video files To assign the different videos to their appropriate virtual window outputs do the following 1 Load the first video file onto a control event button as normal and select the virtual window and stereo audio channels for that video Note the virtual window for the first video defaults to virtual window 01 but this can of course be changed If using hardware mpeg decoder cards select the output channel from the Video Hardware list 2 Hold down Ctrl and right click on 01 shown to the right of S F to increment it to 02 3 Click on the No File item to the right of File and select the required video file 4 Select the virtual window and stereo audio channels for the second video Please Note The virtual window for the second video defaults to virtual window 02 and likewise for video files 3 4 and 5 but any of these can be changed at any time When multiple video files have been selected for a video event the S F item will change to M F
138. and gobo functions are set to snap and that scene is assigned to an action button Dragging up the sub master fader for that action button will run the scene the pan and tilt will fade to their recorded settings over 2 seconds the color and gobo will instantly snap on to their settings and any manual adjustment of the sub master fader will determine the level of the main dimmer function HTP setting recorded in that scene When operating in Normal or Live mode if the sub master fader is dragged down the dimmer level will follow the sub master fader level When operating in Normal mode if the fader reaches 00 the scene is told to go off so the color and gobo will snap off instantly and the pan amp tilt will start to fade out over 2 seconds When operating in Live mode if the fader reaches 00 the scene is turned off but the all functions not set to HTP will remain in their current position Recording Scenes With Sub Master Control If you record a scene whilst using sub masters to control the overall levels of running scenes the scene being recorded will take account of the current levels of any channels being controlled by the sub master s In this way what you see level wise will be what you get when you later run that recorded scene Using the Fixture Panel s Centre and Locate Buttons In a similar way to double clicking on the fixture panel s trackball to move pan and tilt channels to their central position the Centre a
139. anel 75 half the period and so on continuously in a similar way to scenes in a lighting chase The Pan FX Speed can of course be changed by sliding the Pan FX Speed fader up down to increase decrease the speed respectively Random If this preset is selected then the three faders appear as above but instead of panning between the extreme left and right positions ShowMagic will randomly pick continuously pan positions within the range limiter box for the fixtures to pan between The Tilt FX Presets As with the Pan FX presets you can also select either Straight or Random for the Tilt FX When either of these is selected the fourth and fifth faders on the FX generator panel change to Tilt EX Speed and Tilt FX Slope faders Now when you run that FX scene rather than staying at the tilt positions recorded in the original scene the Tilt FX will be applied to the fixtures tilt fader using the Tilt FX Speed and Tilt FX Slope settings as selected Of R Off R The Pan FX and Tilt FX presets can be used independently or together Combining them and varying their speed and slope FX generator faders settings can produce an almost unlimited number of waveforms and other shapes Example Select Straight for both Pan FX and Tilt FX presets and use the values shown in the table below to create some example waveforms 76 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Pan Speed Pan Slope Tilt Speed Tilt Slope 6 Peak Horizontal Sine
140. any type that is set to A all other events however such as those set to LA or other main groups such as B C etc are unaffected Sub groups Each main exclusivity group letter A to Z contains 26 sub group letters i e Aa to Az Ba to Bz etc displayed in lower case and in yellow If an event is set to Aa and another is set to Ab then they will not affect each other However if an event is set to main group A shown as A in blue then this will turn off any events set to main group A and also any sub groups of that main group letter i e A will turn off any events set to A or sub groups Aa to Az To set a sequence step to a sub group highlight the step hold down Shift instead of Ctrl and then left right click to decrement increment through the sub group letters Alternatively highlight the step and then type the main group letter followed by the sub group letter within 1 second To reset a sub group back to a single main group letter simply type the single letter Action except Chases The action that the event should perform within the sequence is shown in the fifth column Left right clicking using Ctrl on an action description selects Section 9 Sequence Panel 121 In If a lighting scene this will use any Wait and fade In settings Similarly if the step is a sound or video event any fade up settings for that event will be used On This will set that event to play instantly all Wait and fade
141. ap Gal tt des dicks cue tie a ds 230 SECTION 1G APpendix AO recs ue PPC Epara Eeee eaae Esap PELER Eaei Er ESETRE 231 Appendix A Setting up Multi I O Soundcarads cccccccccccccccccccccccccnncnnnananoncnnnnnss 233 Appendix B Using LED Fixtures and Controllers with ShowMagic 235 Appendix C Using ShowMagic AV with LED Matrix Panels Videowall Systems 239 Appendix D Event Seripts ices cceccjascesccccccscenkccecesccuscsecscescescccsceseceucsssdecescdeceasuaseveessdevensax 241 Appendix E Quick Key Command ReferenCe sssssssssssssssnsnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnne 249 Appendix F RS232 IP Command String Protoco ccccccccccccccccccccccncccnnnnncnannnos 255 Appendix G Compatible DMX Interfaces oooooooccoccccccccccncncncncnonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnonennnnnaanans 259 Purpose of the User Manual Please Read This Important Notice Before Using This Manual AV and show control by their very nature can be very complicated processes so a great percentage of the development time of ShowMagic has gone into making it as flexible but as quick and easy to use as possible The ShowMagic user interface has been optimised to make the best use of space providing large and clear items that are easily recognisable for instant feedback and fast operation To avoid cluttering the screen with numerous function buttons for every different function extensive use has been made of keyboard shor
142. apture menu item will display the device on your soundcard that ShowMagic will use for the sound to light features If No Direct Capture is shown then the sound to light features will not work On board soundcards or certain laptops may not have this capability so to use sound to light you will need to upgrade your soundcard or use an external interface that is Soundblaster compatible Digital Video Selecting the System gt Digital Video menu item will list any detected methods for software or hardware decoding of video If running on Windows XP Vista or Windows 7 then Directshow Video Mixing Renderer should be displayed ShowMagic AV can play different types of video files mpg wmv DivX avi files etc provided that the necessary CODECs have been installed on the PC Please Note Software decoding of video files can be very processor intensive The use of a multi core processor in the PC is required for running multiple video files and digital signage in ShowMagic AV If any Visual Circuits Mpeg decoder cards are detected in the PC by ShowMagic then they will be listed Notepad Menu The System Notepad and Desk Notepad menu items can be accessed from the patch screen as well as from the main screen as described in The Notepad Menu p 218 Section 3 Patch Screen 29 Section 4 Main Desk Screen Now that the patch screen has been described the rest of this manual will be dedicated to the Schedule screen Schedule Screen
143. at the events have been dropped onto the action buttons in a particular order dance floor events in the left column Dim Background scene in the middle column and the other background scenes in the right column This has been done because the way in which you organise events onto action buttons determines how they appear on the user screen as you will see Select the User Screen Access item from the Options menu and a User Screen Access dialogue box will appear The User Screen Access dialogue box allows the programmer to select what action buttons and faders control buttons such as the schedule On Off button etc the end user has access to We only want the user to access the first page of action buttons on the user screen so tick the Page 1 item in the right column and click the OK button 228 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual D B STL Show A Early Evening D B E STL Show B Dim Background Mid Evening D Artiste Setting Late Evening The user screen Select the User Screen item from the Options menu and the user screen will be displayed You will notice that the action buttons are laid out in the same order and positions as on the action panel and any action buttons that are empty are simply not displayed at all The whole purpose of the user screen is to limit what the end user sees on the screen to keep it as simple as possible for them to use The person who programs the desk can decide exactly what functions the end user
144. ate This is used in the same way as the Centre button However all of the function faders for that fixture s are set to a moved state so if a scene is then recorded using Rec M all the functions are recorded to that scene Play and Quick Buttons Scenes can be previewed sequentially by clicking on the scene button for the first scene that you wish to preview this will highlight the button and clicking on the Play button or pressing Spacebar if the scene panel is on the left will activate that scene and the next Play and quick buttons scene button will become highlighted ready for previewing when the play button is clicked again or Spacebar is used and so on Scenes are thus automatically incremented so that any number of numerically sequential scenes can be previewed easily Please Note If two panels containing Go or Play buttons are displayed on the desk at the same time the panel on the left is the Spacebar active panel that pressing Spacebar will affect This means you can be triggering events on the left panel with the Spacebar whilst selecting panels and clicking Go or Play buttons with the mouse on the right hand side at the same time Clicking on the Quick button will toggle the button on and off When set to on it is shown in red when off it is grey If the button is on when the Play button is clicked or Spacebar is used any Wait fade In Hold and fade Out times set for the scenes ar
145. available on your soundcard or if the soundcard is not correctly set up on your PC then the appropriate button is left blank and that type of sound event will not be available This last selector button is used when creating a Mixer Setting event as described in Mixer Setting Events p 109 Sound Motor Control Buttons Motor control buttons can be used depending on the sound event type to play pause or stop a sound event The pause button can also be used to hot start a sound event simply highlight the sound event button and click on the pause button When the pause button has illuminated clicking Go or pressing Spacebar if the sound panel is on the left will start the sound instantly Creating Sound Events 1 Highlight a sound event button by clicking on it double click on the audio type button that is appropriate for the type of sound event that you wish to create for that event i e to create a wave file playback event double click on the wave type selector button 2 Ifa wave or MIDI file event is being selected a file selector appears Select the appropriate file and click on Open the file details will then be shown in the details display If a CD is being selected then the CD in the CDROM drive is read and the details of the CD are shown in the details display Section 8 Sound Panel 103 That sound event is now assigned to that sound event button The settings for that sound event can be made via the
146. banner and let us assume that you are using virtual window 01 to play a sign full screen on Display 1 and you want to create a banner over the top of that window with scrolling text messages 1 2 3 4 5 Use Options gt Other settings gt Display Window Settings to set virtual window 20 to Xpos 50 Ypos 700 Width 924 and Height 60 on Display 1 Create a digital signage event and enter the text Scrolling Text Banner into a block Set the font size so that the height of the text is how you want it within the banner e g 400 Set the block transition to HS with a speed of 04 00 Select Vw 20 for that signage event Now if you run the full screen digital sign on Vw 01 and the banner signage event on Vw 20 you will see the message scrolling across a banner on the bottom area of the large sign PowerPoint Slideshow Events You can run PowerPoint ppt files directly from ShowMagic and these will be played in the selected virtual window in a similar way to ShowMagic digital signs but note that PowerPoint can only be displayed on virtual windows that are the same resolution as the primary monitor that ShowMagic is running on If you have one or more events running in virtual windows on the selected display output these will be automatically turned off when you run a PowerPoint slideshow on that display output 168 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual ShowMagic uses the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer utility to play these f
147. be connected between the MIDI port on your PC and the MIDI controllable effects unit before using the device control panel to communicate with the device To create a MIDI control event do the following 1 Click on a control event button to highlight it 2 Double click on the port select button containing the icon depicting a MIDI socket This selects output from the MIDI port for that control event button and the details will then be shown in the details display 3 If you have more than one MIDI port on your ShowMagic PC then hold down Ctrl and then left right click to the right of Port to select the port you wish to use for that control event 4 Double click to the right of On and an Enter Midi CTRL string dialogue will appear 5 Type in the appropriate code in the On box for the Example C1 P27 964 V100N505457 MIDI command that you wish to send A list of valid codes to type in can be viewed in the String ee Codes drop down menu X Control Channel X1 to X15 Program Change GM Instruments 000 Piano 1 Please Note Cancel These codes are upper and lower case sensitive a lower case p has a completely different function from the upper case P both being used to send The enter MIDI control string different MIDI commands dialogue box Example Let us assume that the effects unit uses Program Change MIDI commands to select settings e g the receipt of a Program Chan
148. be recorded to scenes any other channels shutter color gobo etc are ignored Double clicking on a Locked fader or anywhere within its column with Ctrl held down unlocks it and it reverts back to its original state Cued Fader The values of any faders contained in any scene s that are running them are shown in bright yellow to indicate that a scene has moved those faders Any faders that are in a Cued state at the time a scene is recorded in Rec M or Rec F recording modes are recorded to that scene Released Fader Faders can be set to Released mode by holding down Ctrl and double clicking on them or anywhere within their fader column TWICE the values below the fader will then change from their current color to white then to dark yellow to show that it is Released When faders are in Released mode their settings are not written to a scene when it is recorded unless the record button is set to its Record by Fixture Rec F setting as described below Though faders set to Locked or Released states are similar in that neither get recorded in scenes they differ in that when the scene has been recorded the Released faders will return to 00 if the clear button is set to Clr Y whereas Locked faders will stay locked at their position Moved Fader When Cued or Released faders are moved manually by dragging them their values are shown in bright blue to indicate that they have been Moved When recording scenes in Rec M or Rec F m
149. bels such as Lighting Motor Control etc by clicking on and typing in the boxes provided Auto Menu Load Desk If ticked then ShowMagic when it is run looks for a file called auto dsk in the default desks folder and if the file exists it will be automatically loaded A desk set up can be saved as different dsk files by simply saving the desk under different names so if you wish to make use of this function first save your desk with the name you would normally use for it and then save it again as auto dsk User Screen If ticked then ShowMagic when it is run will automatically display the user screen as previously configured The status of the System Locked menu item will also be preserved so if the desk has been locked the user will not be able to access any other screen unless they know the password and how to unlock the user screen Run Schedule If this item is ticked as well as the Auto gt Load Desk described above then if the auto dsk contained a schedule see Schedule Screen p 221 when it was saved this schedule will be set running automatically If you want ShowMagic to automatically run when the PC is switched on and load the auto desk and then automatically run the schedule contained in that desk do the following 1 Create a shortcut for the ShowMagic exe program and place it in the Programs StartUp folder Windows automatically runs programs or their shortcuts that are put in this folder when it starts up
150. best explain how to use the user screen and to introduce some other useful tips regarding using action buttons and the scheduler we will use a theoretical simple application in which you have been commissioned to install and program a ShowMagic system to run the lighting in a nightclub Here s the brief The nightclub has some background lighting that needs to change automatically at different times of day early mid and late evening via the ShowMagic scheduler There is also an area that is used sometimes as a dance floor and sometimes as a stage floor for artistes singers comedians etc Different colored par cans are used for illuminating the stage area When the dance stage floor is not in use the background lighting is controlled solely by the scheduler When the floor is being used for dancing the background lighting continues to change as scheduled When the floor is used as a stage however the background lighting needs to drop down to a dimmed level and stay there until the stage show has finished and an appropriate background scene is selected The club owner wants to be able to select the different lightshows for the floor area by simply touching different options on a touch screen The user screen is ideal for this and here is how it can be done 1 2 Create the early mid and late lighting scenes for the background lighting drop them onto action buttons set their exclusive letter groups to B for backg
151. button clock face is situated on the left below the day buttons and to the right of this are Sort Log and Use buttons that are used for running a schedule log Finally the large display in the bottom left is the schedule log details display that shows what events are programmed for each day or the schedule log Section 14 Schedule Screen 221 Day Buttons Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri The day buttons Clicking on a day button will turn it red to show that it has been selected and any events scheduled for that day are displayed in the large details display Creating a Schedule The auto scheduler will turn on or off action buttons automatically on selected days and times Therefore in order to run an event automatically via the scheduler it must first be assigned to an action button To create a schedule do the following 222 1 2 3 A 5 6 Make sure all the events you want to run are assigned to action buttons then click on one of the day buttons to select it Using the action panel section on the right select the page containing the action button that you wish to use in the schedule and drag the button into the bottom of the details display on the left In 00 00 00 00 00 00 will then be displayed to the right of the button s name Click on the time digits to the right of In and type in the time of day that you wish to set that button to come on or go off at e g 00 30 00 half an hour past midnight
152. cancel Section 9 Sequence Panel 131 Inserting Null Sequence Steps If you wish to insert a Null Step empty step at the end of a sequence so that actions times etc can be set ready for events to be dragged in later then highlight any blank step at the end of the sequence and press Insert The Null Step will then be added after the last non empty step and automatically labelled as End When recording sequences in real time Null Steps will automatically be inserted at the current end of the sequence if no Null Steps already exist there for each click of the Go button until the sequence is stopped If you wish to insert a Null Step between two steps containing events then highlight the step that you wish to insert the Null Step in front of and press Insert All the steps from the highlighted step will then be moved down one with step numbers automatically incremented and the Null Step will be inserted Changing Event Settings Within Sequences The following settings for each event in a sequence are stored in that sequence independently from the settings on that event s original button e Scene fade in and fade out e Chase speed and slope e Volume e Volume fade in and fade out e Pan position e Video volume volume fade in and fade out e Video brightness fade in and fade out When an event is dropped into a sequence step a copy of the settings set at that time for that event is stored for tha
153. cate that a video is being played on that display output If no display outputs are connected to the system then the video will be played in the preview window Sound To Light Section ShowMagic uses the wave record channel on a Soundblaster compatible soundcard for its sound to light features Please Note Some on board sound for laptops and desktops do not have this facility The sound to light functions are not available for soundcards running ASIO drivers However if you are using a Soundblaster compatible soundcard AND a secondary ASIO soundcard then the input output channels on the Soundblaster compatible soundcard can be used for sound to light 34 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If the sound to light selector above the AM fader is on which selects What you Hear see below then certain input channels may be automatically disabled muted if others are enabled ShowMagic will indicate this on their mute buttons Please Note If you wish to open Line or Microphone inputs etc all at the same time then the sound to light selector above the AM fader MUST NOT be on click on any other sound to light selector instead This is a limitation of soundcard hardware When music is playing through the ShowMagic desk the volumes of particular frequency bands in the music can be seen in 5 meters which are provided on the sound to light section low frequency LF low mid frequency LM high mid frequency HM high frequency HF and
154. ce then double click on the Ctrl button to turn it red No volume transposition changes will then be made to affect the original MIDI data going to the device Finally right clicking anywhere in the tracks area or clicking on the Exit button will close the track list and return the display to the normal sound event buttons CD Tracks a The second row shows the type of event i e Aud Internal CD b The third row shows the number of tracks on the CD and the total running time of those tracks c The fourth row shows the range of tracks to play defaults to A and the total running time of that range of tracks Right clicking with Ctrl to the right of Play will change the display to show the track number to play from and the track number to play To Left or right click on these track numbers with Ctrl to adjust them Clicking on RND with Ctrl will toggle between enabled bright blue or disabled dark blue When enabled ShowMagic will randomly pick the order in which to play those tracks In the same way the LP loop option can be enabled disabled to continuously loop the sequential or random playing of those tracks d The fade In and fade Out times in seconds and frames default for both 00 00 These In_ and Out times affect how the CD playback starts and finishes it does not affect each track it just fades in the first track in the selected range and fades out the last track in the selected range The fading of e
155. ced by a page of 8 input faders colored red and 32 output selector buttons 3 Click on an input fader to highlight it and then either click on each output selector button to turn it from grey to orange to route the input to those outputs or right click in the output button area to call up a pop up window and select the output channel s from there To remove any output from that routing event simply click on the orange output button again to turn it back to grey You will notice that when you have selected one or more outputs for an input the button below the red input fader turns red 4 Ifyou are using more than 8 inputs the other inputs 9 to16 etc can be accessed using the page selector buttons on the bottom left 5 The faders for each input can be used to select the input level and In and Out values can be set for fade in and fade out times See Event Scripts p 241 for details on how to set independent levels for each output in an audio routing sound event 114 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 6 When all the settings have been made right click anywhere in the bottom input output routing area or click on the Exit button to return to the normal sound event buttons display Section 8 Sound Panel 115 Section 9 Sequence Panel This consists of a sequence settings display top a sequence sub master fader and two other faders described later on the right of the display with mute and record buttons below t
156. cenes containing single channel fixtures this is no problem the sub master fader for the action button containing the scene will control the level of the dimmers for those generic fixtures However 1f you were using intelligent fixtures in the scene this might not be ideal as you move the fader the dimmer will scroll up to the limit set by the fader which is OK but all the other functions pan and tilt color gobo etc will also scroll up to that limit which is seldom what is wanted It is more likely that you would want certain functions to snap to their scene settings instantly other functions to fade to their scene settings over a fade time and manually control just the dimmer level with the sub master fader This is where the Sub master control comes into play The level of the sub master fader on an action button to which a scene has been assigned will control the level of any functions recorded in that scene that are set to HTP on the Patch screen 64 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If a function is set to LTP that function will not be controlled by the level of the sub master fader it will just fade in if the sub master fader goes above the LTP trigger level initially set to 00 or fade out if the sub master fader goes below the LTP trigger level The LTP Trigger level can be changed using the Set Action Trigger dialogue box Example Let s assume the scene s default fade in and fade out times are 2 seconds the color
157. chedule item is also ticked Use Fader Buttons If ticked then the sliders on the user screen will be replaced by Up and Down buttons These buttons are easier to use on a touch screen then the regular faders Touch the Up button once to increment the level by one notch or touch the Down button to decrement the level by one notch If you hold either button then the level is constantly incremented or decremented As with the sliders the Up and Down buttons for the currently highlighted action button will appear in the color appropriate to the event stored on that action button If the event is a lighting scene the scene can be faded in manually using the Up button The audio master Up and Down buttons are always displayed in orange and the grand master lighting Up and Down buttons are always displayed in blue Clear Scenes Button Clear Seqs Button Clear Snds Button amp Clear Ctrls Button If any of these are ticked then a smaller version of that clear button as found on the Master Panel will be made available at the bottom of the User Screen Page Selectors You can determine what pages of action buttons can be selected on the user screen by ticking the appropriate items here These pages can then be selected by the user via the page selector buttons labelled 1 2 3 etc that then appear on the user screen The labels 7 2 3 etc are initially used on these page buttons The labels can however be replaced with more descriptive la
158. clicked on the Set button on the dialogue box to remove it you can then quickly sniff and record multiple scenes in the following way 1 2 3 4 5 With the fixture panel on the left and the scene panel on the right of the ShowMagic desk group the fixtures that you want to sniff DMX for on the fixture panel using one of the group keys F1 to F8 and click on one of the fixtures in that group to highlight it Select the bank and page of scene buttons on the scene panel where you want to store the sniffed scenes Highlight the scene button where you want to store the first scene Click on the Rec S button to go into record mode it will flash Run the scene on the external desk Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 69 6 Press the flash button on the external desk for the channel you have selected for Record Scene or push its slider up above 00 and then back down again That scene will then be recorded to the scene button and ShowMagic will then automatically highlight the next scene button on the scene panel ready to store the next sniffed scene 7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 above for all the scenes that you want to sniff and record 8 When you have finished recording scenes by sniffing DMX click on the Rec S button to turn record mode off it will stop flashing and then right click on the Rec S button to change it back to Rec M or Rec F By using the above system you only need select a page of scene buttons and the fi
159. cn button to call up the ColorScene panel We will create a grid of 12 cells across by 12 deep so that we can represent our two lines of four cans on each side with a gap of four cells in between Right click on X03 nine times to increase it to X12 then right click on YO3 nine times to decrease it to Y12 We are only going to use one row of 12 cells but making the grid 12 x 12 keeps the cells square It also shows that you can position multiple rows or groups of fixtures on different sections of the grid and use ColorScene to apply effects across multiple groups of fixtures 1 e you can roughly simulate the actual physical layout of your fixtures Click on fixture 1 on the fixture panel decide on which grid row you want to place your 8 par cans and click on the cell 1 in that row to soft patch that fixture to that cell Soft patch fixtures 2 to 4 to cells 2 to 4 in the same way Highlight fixture 5 and double click on cell 9 Do likewise for fixtures 6 7 and 8 to soft patch them to cells 9 10 and 11 respectively We now have fixtures 1 to 8 soft patched to cells 1 2 3 4 9 10 11 and 12 respectively 96 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Because par cans are single channel dimming fixtures that use colored gels their colors are always fixed and you can only create ColorScene chases for the dimmer function of these fixtures However it would be very useful if the colors of the par cans could be represented on the grid to observe the effe
160. contained in a chase sequence it is ignored Manual This is similar to a Cue List on popular lighting desks but unlike lighting desks a ShowMagic Manual sequence can be used to cue much more than just lighting scenes You may be running a show where for instance lighting scenes music sound effects etc must be operated manually to allow for fluctuations in human participants timing Each step of a manual sequence lighting scene music etc can be activated manually by pressing the Spacebar key if the sequence panel is on the left hand side or by clicking on the green Go button on the panel when that sequence button is selected highlighted Timed To create an automated show or presentation where each event is activated at a pre determined time the sequence type can be set to Timed A time referenced from the start of the sequence can then be set for each step in the timed sequence at which that event will be automatically activated Random With chase manual and timed sequences event steps are activated sequentially through the sequence list but in a random sequence the next step to activate is chosen randomly from the list by ShowMagic For instance steps 001 to 004 might contain 4 different lighting scenes or lighting chases When that random sequence is run it may trigger step 003 first followed by step 1 next and so on The time between each step being activated is also chosen randomly between selectable
161. corded at full create another in which tilt is recorded at full then drag and drop these two scenes onto another two action buttons Now we have 5 action buttons that we can control via analogue inputs 3 Highlight the action button containing the Cyan scene set it s trigger to PISO 813 set the appropriate Input channel set Min Voltage to OV set Max Voltage to 10V set the Percentage to 1 and tick Master That slider will now control the amount of Cyan 0 to the 100 level recorded in the scene 4 Do the above for the action buttons containing the Magenta and Yellow scenes and we can now mix the CMY levels on the fixture using the three analogue sliders 5 Let s say the potentiometer for the horizontal pan axis of the joystick produces 2 5V when pushed to the extreme left and 6 5V at extreme right Highlight the action button containing the pan scene set the trigger to PISO 813 set the appropriate Input channel set Min Voltage to 2 5V set Max Voltage to 6 5V and then tick Master With the joystick in it s static centred position you now need to keep increasing the Percentage value until it is great enough to eliminate any jitter caused by any spurious fluctuations in voltage 6 Do the above for the action button containing the tilt scene You can now use the analogue joystick to control the pan and tilt on the fixture Wireless Media Player Remote Controller There are many wireless Media Player remote handheld
162. crease the size of the image in steps of 5 The X amp Y settings determine the position of the image on the sign Right clicking to the end selects FW Fit to Width that will stretch the image to fit the whole page Section 10 Device Control Panel 165 Holding down Ctrl and right clicking once on O to turn it bright blue will select an outline for the image The color of this outline can be changed using the bottom color block You can select a transparent color for an image so that when it is displayed on the digital sign the sign can be seen through that color on the image Example let us say that the image you want to use is around logo but images are always saved as rectangles By setting the background the outside of the round logo on that image to a specific color e g R 32 G 255 B 32 a bright green that is unlikely to be used elsewhere in that image you can then tell ShowMagic to treat that color on that image as transparent This is done as follows 1 Load the image into a block on a digital sign 2 Hold down Ctrl and right click on O to turn it bright blue then right click again to change it to T 3 When T is shown the transparent color can be changed using the bottom color block click on this block and then use the standard color palette dialogue box to select the transparent color Hourly Image Crossfade Feature If you create image files for each hour of the year such as sunlight maps of the wor
163. ct of those colors dimming For this reason you can set a color for each cell in the grid that is fixed for generic fixtures This is done using the first frame of the Frame ColorScene chase in the following way 1 2 3 4 5 6 Click on the Sf frame to select it it should already be selected as this is a new chase and no new frames have been created yet The cells containing generic fixtures will then be shown black ready for coloring ColorScene automatically goes into Color mode when the Set frame is highlighted as this frame is used just to set fixed colors for generic fixtures Please Note If you are mixing RGB fixtures and generic fixtures on the same grid then please read the notes in Notes on Mixing Generic and RGB CMY Fixtures on the Same Grid p 99 You can edit the color palette in the Set frame in the normal way but the default palette possesses the colors we need so we will stick with 1t Par cans 1 and 8 have red gels so click on the red color box then click on cells 1 and 12 to color them red Cans 2 and 7 are colored blue so select blue in the palette and then click on cells 2 and 11 to color them blue Cans 3 and 6 are colored green so select green in the color palette and then click on cells 3 and 10 to color them green Cans 4 and 5 are colored yellow so select yellow in the color palette and then click on cells 4 and 9 to color them yellow The colors for each cell in the grid are now set
164. d for input only Double click to the right of On and an Enter CTRL String dialogue will pop up This dialogue allows you to enter a command in a box to the right of On which will be sent when that control event button is turned on either manually as a sequence step set to In or On or from an action button You can also enter another command in the box to the right of Off which will be sent when that button is turned off either manually as a sequence step set to Out or Off or from an action button If the Off box is left empty and this control event is run the button s LED will flash momentarily as the command in the On box is sent and the button will then go off automatically The codes or commands that you need to send to devices will be dependent on the particular device some devices such as video switchers require simple byte values whilst other devices may need string messages and some devices may even require a mixture of both refer to the protocol information supplied with your device If the Name of the device you have selected is set to String then simply type in the appropriate command for the device connected to that port in the On box and in the Off box if required String messages are simply typed in as they are e g hello sends the string hello The quote characters that are often used to contain strings are optional i e typing hello or hello will both work The quote marks are useful however if
165. d the difference between Normal and Live mode is required to understand Locate them they are described in the appropriate lighting scene section Using the Fixture Panel s Centre and Locate Buttons p 65 Centre and locate buttons Color Box The Color Box to the left of the Centre and Locate buttons displays the currently selected color when using a fixture s RGB or CMY function Cer faders Loc Please Note The fixture s main dimming function level is also reflected in this box 1 e The color box if a dimmer function fader is at 0 the box will show black Grouping Fixtures One or more of the twelve fixture faders on each page of faders can be grouped so that any adjustment to one fixture when the group is turned on also affects the other fixtures in that group By grouping two or more fixture faders you can then select a gobo on one of the fixtures and the other fixtures in that group will also be changed to that gobo This eliminates the need to set each fixture independently Fader Page Groups The function keys F1 to F8 can be used to store up to eight group selections for each page of 12 fixture faders When one of the keys is pressed to select a group it is shown in the display above the Trackball 1 Pressing the function key again turns the group off Example The current group As an example we will use the four par cans in the first page of fixtures on the demo desk Let us say that you wis
166. d then click on the bottom Play From Mark half of the Go button ShowMagic will then jump to that step in the sequence it will be triggered and ShowMagic will then await a Go or Spacebar to trigger the next step after that as normal Similarly at any time when a timed sequence is running highlighting a step in the step details display and then clicking on the bottom Play From Mark half of the Go button will restart the timed sequence from that point time in the sequence Section 9 Sequence Panel 139 Notes on using Play From Mark and Continue From Mark There are fundamental differences in the logic involved when using the bottom half of the Go button as a Play From Mark or Continue From Mark button in a timed sequence and using it in a manual sequence It is important that you understand the difference so that you can set the exclusivity settings for steps in manual sequences correctly to achieve the right results as will now be explained with some examples If you use the Play From Mark feature with timed sequences ShowMagic can automatically calculate what events in that timed sequence should be running at the trigger time set for the step it was started from and what events would have finished by that time Example a timed sequence contains the following Step 001 trigger time 00 00 00 00 group XT a sound effect lasting 6 seconds Step 002 trigger time 00 00 00 00 group XT first li
167. d to that fader is shown under this title A copy of this name is used as the default label until you edit the label as described above and replace it with your own Fixture List When a fader row is highlighted in the Fader list the addresses that the fixture or fixtures are patched to are displayed here Initially when a fixture is selected using the Library button there are no addresses assigned The information provided in this display is as follows Fix Each physical fixture s that is patched to a fixture fader is shown under this title in white by its number 1 to 24 e g if you assigned 4 par cans with different channels DMX addresses to the fader the Fix numbers 1 to 4 would be shown in white with the remaining Fix numbers 5 to 24 shown in grey to indicate that they were not used Dmx Address The DMX address range for each fixture patched to the fixture fader is shown under this title Name This can be edited in the normal way for easy identification of the fixture s or bank of fixtures If the fixture you are patching uses a dip switch for setting its DMX start address and you wish to view the dip switch setting for the DMX channel set for that fixture on the patch screen then clicking on the Options gt Display Dip Switch menu item to tick it will replace the fixture Name with the correct dip switch setting to set on the fixture for that DMX address Clicking again on the Options gt Display Dip Switch menu i
168. de In _00 00 00 00 function will be displayed on the right of the Fade Out _00 00 00 00 desk as normal Right click on the presets that you want auto generated and their text will turn yellow to indicate that they have been selected Cancel for auto generation If you want to select them all C then also hold down the Ctrl key and click on the last preset in the list If white labels are The scene generator dialogue box present on the preset panel then all of the presets from the last one clicked UP TO the label will be selected Presets can of course be de selected from the auto scene generator by right clicking on them again to turn their text back to white F Automatic Overwrite Click on the Rec button on the scene panel and it will flash to indicate that it is in record mode but this time hold down the Ctrl key whilst clicking on the first empty scene button B001 and a Scene Generator dialogue box will appear There are a number of items available on this dialogue box described on the next page but for now we will just use the Label Prefix box In the Label Prefix box type in All MiniMacs and click on the Generate button and you will see that ShowMagic automatically creates 31 scenes B001 to B031 on the scene panel for each available preset and also labels them with the prefix followed by the preset name For instance the first available color preset on the Preset panel is named White so scene button B001 is labell
169. der for that fixture on the 22 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual fixture panel will alter this function s value If you wish to make another function on the fixture the main dimming function then simply double click on its number with the Ctrl key held down to turn it yellow 6 If you wish to save the new fixture make sure the fader row containing the new fixture is highlighted select the File gt Save Fixture menu item and save it with a name of your choice The Test Buttons Fdr and Dmx The Fdr and Dmx buttons can be used to test the physical fixtures assigned to fixture faders or test individual DMX channels respectively Clicking on one of the buttons selects that particular test mode only one can be on at any one time Clicking again on a test button will turn it off and take the patch screen out of test mode When the Fdr test button is on the dimmer shutter channel for the fader number currently highlighted is set to the value selected on the Options gt Dmx Test Level menu item default 50 so that the effect can be observed e g if you had 2 Goldenscans assigned to fader 001 highlighting fader 001 with the Fdr test button on would turn on the dimmer channels 4 functions for those two fixtures at their test levels Also because ShowMagic knows what channels need to be used to open the beam iris etc it opens these channels and also sets the pan amp tilt channels if any to 50 so that the beam is
170. der on that page as it s initial label are provided for access to any one of the pages of 12 faders These buttons can be labelled using up to 3 characters however many will fit by double right clicking on them and entering the label e g you could use sca to denote scanners mh for moving heads par for par cans etc The Up and Down cursor keys can also be used to scroll backwards or forwards through the fixture faders The Page Up and Page Down keys can be used to select the previous page or next page respectively on any panels that contain page buttons Similarly the Home and End keys can be used to select the first and last pages respectively Previous and Next bank selector buttons are provided at each end of the page buttons for selecting any 1 of 4 banks of 10 pages each thus providing access to a total of 480 fixture faders The label for a fixture can be displayed down the left of the fader column using the Options gt Fixture Panel gt Display Fixture Name menu item Section 6 Fixture Panel 41 Function Section Single channel fixtures such as par cans can be fully controlled using just the fixture faders but multi channel intelligent fixtures can have numerous functions so the function section at the bottom of the fixture panel is provided as a means of accessing any function of a fixture Function Faders Function faders When a multi channel fixture is assigned to a fixture fader and that
171. der row on the patch screen that you wish to use select the appropriate Pulsar fixture from the ShowMagic fixture library copy however many Chroma fixtures you are using up to 12 by using the F12 copy facility and enter the start address of the ChromaZone pack as part of the command 236 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Example If you have assigned the first fixture to fader 13 are using 12 Chroma fixtures and the start address of the ChromaZone is 30 the following keystrokes would copy and patch all 12 Chroma fixtures to faders 13 to 24 F12 1 3 1 1 8 0 Enter Using 42 Channel Mode In this mode the first 6 channels of the ChromaZone are used as in 6 channel mode above to control all 12 Chroma fixtures together i e 1 Red on all 2 Green on all 3 Blue on all 4 Chase 5 Speed amp 6 Dimmer intensity However the next 36 channels are used to control the Red Green amp Blue 3 channel settings independently for each fixture The way to patch this is as follows Highlight an empty fixture fader e g 001 select Make Pulsar Model ChromaZone gt Option 6 Channel using the fixture Library button and set the start address Next highlight fixture fader 013 and select the appropriate Pulsar fixture from the fixture library Copy another 11 fixtures on faders 014 to 024 using the F12 copy function as described above but this time use the start address of the ChromaZone 6 as the start address of
172. der the example above but this time as a manual sequence thus Step 001 trigger Go XT a sound effect lasting 6 seconds Step 002 trigger Wait 00 00 XT first lighting scene which auto starts with the sound effect Step 003 trigger Go XT second lighting scene Step 004 trigger Go XT a sound event of music lasting 2 minutes 140 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Step 005 trigger Go XT a Null Step as the last step to stop the sequence If you were to highlight step 003 and then click on the Play From Mark button the sequence would be started from step 003 and the following would happen a b The lighting scene in step 003 would be run and because it is set to XT the previous scene in step 002 is automatically turned off ShowMagic would however now play the sound effect in step 001 because it has no way of knowing how soon after the sound effect is supposed to play that you are triggering this step Let us assume that you want to run the manual sequence at roughly the same timings as the timed sequence 1 2 3 4 The sequence is started with Go and the sound effect step 001 and the first lighting scene step 002 come on together Approximately 1 minute later the sound effect has long finished by this time Go is used to trigger the second lighting scene step 003 that turns off the previous scene step 002 because of its XT setting Approximately 1 minute after that
173. devices on the market for controlling programs such as Windows Media Player These devices output common commands for Play Pause Stop Previous Track Next Track Volume Volume and Mute You can use one of these devices to control the currently highlighted action button when the action panel is on the left of the desk or the user screen is displayed by first installing the device on your PC laptop follow the instructions supplied with the device The various buttons on the handheld devices do the following 192 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Play Pause Stop Prev Next Vol Vol Mute This plays the event if it is stopped pauses the event if it is playing and pressing again resumes This stops the event if it is playing If the event is a manual sequence this jumps to the previous step set to Go and runs from there If the event is a manual sequence this jumps to the next step set to Go and runs from there This increases the volume of the Audio Master fader on the Master Panel This lowers the volume of the Audio Master fader on the Master Panel This mutes the Audio Master fader on the Master Panel and pressing this button again un mutes it DMX Input Triggering If you are using a DMX interface that has DMX input capability then DMX input can be used to trigger and control action buttons in the following way 1 2 3 4 5 Tick DMX Input as the Trigger Device on the Set Actio
174. djustable between NA Topmost position full pan left shown as lt FL Bottom position full pan right shown as gt FL Any settings in between are in 2 increments from gt 98 through lt 0 gt centred to lt 98 Fade Time This is adjustable between 0 and 99 seconds If you click right click on the value below this fader the time can be decremented incremented in half second steps A half second is shown as a point e g 7 equals 7 5 seconds If the sound event step in that sequence is set to n then this fader sets the fade in time for that event step If it is set to Out then this fader sets the fade out time The fade in and fade out settings set on the sound panel at the time the event is dropped into the sequence are stored in the sequence until one of them is changed using the Fade Time fader as above UW Please Note You can make any adjustments described above whilst that event step is playing The above settings will only affect that sound event in that particular sequence The original volume pan fade In and fade Out settings for that sound event on its own sound event button on the Sound panel remain unaffected Section 9 Sequence Panel 133 Adjusting Settings for Lighting Scene Event Steps If a sequence contains a lighting scene then the fade in and fade out settings for that scene within that sequence can be adjusted in the following way 1 Highlight the lighting scene event in the sequence step det
175. e If the Shape FX Ellipse preset had been selected then dragging the centre handle to the right increases the width of the ellipse dragging to the left decreases the width dragging down from the centre increases the height and dragging up from centre decreases the height The Shape FX Speed fader is used to select how fast the fixtures in the FX scene trace the shape If set to 60 BPM the fixtures will trace 60 circles per minute i e one per second Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 81 If The Shape FX Slope fader is set to FL then the circles will be traced continuously If set to 50 then the shape will be traced over half the speed setting the fixtures will then remain static for half a speed setting and so on Triggering a Shape FX using Sound To Light If the button below the Shape FX Speed fader is set to PK LF LM HM or HF respectively the shape will be traced at the speed set with the fader whenever that sound to light channel is triggered then it will remain static until triggered again and so on Using the Fixtures Presets with Shape FX Presets The Fixtures presets All Individual and Odds Evens work in a similar way with shapes as they do with Pan FX and Tilt FX patterns but it is the shape that will be traced in opposite directions e g If Shape FX Circle is chosen All will trace the circles on all the fixtures in the FX scene in a clockwise direction Individual will randomly pick the direction for each fixture
176. e accessed using the numbered buttons on the bottom Clicking on the middle Clr clear button will de select turned white all presets previously selected shown yellow for the scene generator Scene Generator Options A number of items are available on the Scene Generator dialogue box that can be used to determine how scenes are automatically generated Label Prefix As just described you can type in a prefix to the labels that will be applied to the set of scenes that are generated The prefix is put at the start of the label and the name for each preset Color 1 Color 2 etc as shown on the preset panel is added to the end of the label In this way the sets of scenes can be easily identified later Scene labels can of course be changed later in the usual way Group As described earlier an exclusivity group setting for the scenes being generated can be selected here and an optional sub group letter if a main group letter from A to Z is selected so that each scene is automatically set to that exclusivity group as it s default 72 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Fade In and Fade Out A fade in and fade out time in Minutes Seconds and Frames for the scenes being generated can be selected here Automatic Overwrite If this item is ticked then the scene generator will automatically overwrite any existing scene buttons as it runs down the scene buttons filling them with the new preset scenes If the item is un ticked then you w
177. e but it is triggered on the condition being off rather than on Default The Default setting is used in conjunction with the RD button on the action panel or the Action Panel gt Run Default Action Buttons item on the Options menu Any ShowMagic event assigned to an action button can be made to run automatically provided that no other action buttons in the same exclusive letter group see previous page are running If Default is set for an action button indicated by a green box in the top right of the button and the Action Panel gt Run Default Action Buttons item is ticked on the Options menu or the RD button is turned on shown red then the event assigned to that action button will run automatically if no other action buttons in the same exclusive letter group are on 184 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Example Here s an example application using an action button set to On Ex with another action button set to Default Let us assume that you have a room which requires default background lighting until someone enters the room and pushes a button to start a light and sound presentation The background lighting should fade out as the presentation starts The presentation lasts for say 2 minutes and we wish it to run the full 2 minutes without being interrupted or re triggered After the 2 minute presentation has finished the background lighting fades back in The background lighting remains on until someone else walks into the room pus
178. e panel whilst it is a standard scene not an FX scene If you wish to select Flash for an FX scene you must first turn off any Pan FX Tilt FX or Shape FX presets turn there buttons back to red by 74 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual clicking on them on the FX generator panel click on the Exit button to exit the FX generator panel change the Effect to Flash using the Edit Scene dialogue box and then click on the FX button to select the FX generator again and re select the Pan FX Tilt FX or Shape FX presets required FX scenes set to flash will run for the Hold period and then stop automatically If any FX preset buttons are highlighted the scene is automatically set to an FX scene and the Eff setting on the FX generator panel or the equivalent Effect setting on the standard scene panel cannot be changed In This can be set to Scene or Spd short for FX Speed If set to Scene then the pan and tilt functions and any other functions that are set to use the Default In time in that FX scene will fade in using the time set in the In option on the left of the details display If set to Spd then the pan and tilt functions in that FX scene will fade in using the value set for the pan FX speed in BPM see FX Speed below Out This can be set as above to select how the pan amp tilt functions and any other functions that are set to use the Default In time in that FX scene fades out If set to Scene then those functions
179. e time as you can program pre determine exactly what is on and what is off in any area at any time In Live mode you can use ShowMagic in a more on the fly manner using a similar logic to popular Live Performance lighting desks Put simply when a scene is run the DMX channels are adjusted accordingly as in Normal mode however when that scene is turned off the channels set to LTP remain in their last state because no Latest scene has been run to change them If you want to bring an LTP channel back down to 00 you must run a scene that includes that channel recorded at 00 However any channels set to HTP return to 00 as there is no scene left running that is pushing that channel higher than 00 Another way of explaining the difference between the Normal and Live modes is Normal mode what you get for each channel is the result of what scenes are currently running for those channels allowing of course for NTP LTP or HTP precedence Live mode what you get for each channel is the result of what scenes were last run that use the channels set to LTP precedence and the brightness level of any fixtures is dictated by any currently running scene s that set the highest brightness levels for those fixtures using HTP Live mode is selected by ticking the Live Mode gt On item in the Options gt General Settings menu Normal mode is selected by un ticking the Live Mode gt On item Summary of the Different Recording Mod
180. e available for determining what steps in a chase are activated next This can be set to Down Up Bounce or Random If set to Down then the chase runs down the steps in the sequence e g step 1 2 3 1 2 3 etc If set to Up then the chase runs up the sequence steps e g step 3 2 1 3 2 1 etc If set to Bounce then the chase runs down then back up the sequence steps e g step 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 etc If set to Random ShowMagic randomly picks the next step to activate Lock Timed sequences only If set to Int the default the timings of all the event steps in that sequence are synchronized to the internal clock If set to Audio Video or Step 01 to Step 10 all the steps are synchronized to the clocks of those events if those events should drift for any reason then the other sequence steps will remain in sync with them If set to Audio or Video and another of those types of event is run later in the sequence e g a second video event takes over from the first the steps in the sequence will sync to the most recently run event of that type in that sequence In Out Chase This determines whether the first and last scenes in the chase come on and go off instantly Instant or use the chase slope fader setting Slope In Out Snapshot This can be set to Normal or Chase These enable you to determine how the channels shared by multiple chases can be set to blend or jump refer to Snapshots p 129 for a full descrip
181. e clicking again on the button will stop the event dropping the button onto an action button will then enable you to schedule the event or trigger it externally using any of the usual action button triggering options the button can be dropped into a sequence and run from there and so on Controlling a PowerPoint File The way in which a PowerPoint slideshow would normally run is determined by how that file was set up and saved using PowerPoint a ppt slideshow s slide durations and transitions can be selected as either timed or manually operated by mouse click key press etc If all the slides in a ppt slideshow have been saved with automatically timed transitions and that slideshow is loaded into ShowMagic and run then the slides in that slideshow will run automatically to those times If all the slides in a ppt slideshow have been saved with manual transitions and that slideshow is loaded into ShowMagic and run then the first slide in that slideshow will appear and the next slide will only appear when you either press Spacebar or run a Next Slide system control event either manually or as a step s in a sequence Section 10 Device Control Panel 169 If a ppt slideshow has been saved that contains a mixture of manual slides and automatically timed slides then if run in ShowMagic Spacebar or a Next Slide system control event will be required to run the manual slides and the automatic timed slides will be run automatically
182. e currently selected color box along with the red green Color and frame options blue and white values for that color Frames Having selected Frame as the chase type the lower options display shows the following Frames This shows the number of frames in that chase when you create them initially shows Set Opt This shows the currently selected direction for that chase Down Up Bounce or Random These work in a similar way to the Chase sequence options e g if Down is selected and the ColorScene chase contains 3 frames then the frames will be run in the order 1 2 3 1 2 3 etc when that ColorScene chase is run Run This option can be set to Cont continuous or any value between 01 and 99 If Cont is selected then the ColorScene will run continuously until it is stopped If a value is selected then the ColorScene chase will repeat that number of times and then stop automatically The time display to the right of Run will also show the duration of that chase calculated automatically from the speed of the chase and the number of repetitions and if you also click on the Hold option to highlight it in bright yellow then the chase will run the specified number of times and then hold on the last frame until the ColorScene is stopped The Set Frame The first frame in a Frame chase is always a Set frame labelled as Sf in the frame display Because you can use ColorScene to create dimmer chases for fixed color single chan
183. e ignored enabling quicker testing of scenes Undo and Store Buttons A temporary store buffer provides a means of undoing any mistakes lt lt gt that may be made when performing lengthy scene programming Undo Store tasks For instance you might be creating a scene that uses dozens of intelligent fixtures with all their functions set differently Undo and store buttons Clicking on the Store button regularly such as after setting up a number of fixtures so far to your satisfaction would have stored the settings and state of all the faders changed up to that point in the temporary store buffer Now if a mistake is made clicking on the Undo button will recall the 66 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual changes stored in the buffer i e before the mistake occurred allowing you to start again from there The temporary store buffer is also updated automatically each time a scene is recorded with the settings for that scene Flashing a Scene Holding the right mouse button down with the pointer on the scene button will instantly Flash that scene ignoring any fade times etc and letting go of the right mouse button will turn the flash off This is very useful for quickly running through various non sequential scenes during programming to check them Flashing and Releasing a Scene Rather than dragging individual faders up and then locking or releasing each of them one by one so that beams etc can be vi
184. e on the external desk to output the values for the DMX channels used in that scene Click on a scene button on the scene panel to store that scene In most cases when copying scenes from an external desk into ShowMagic you will want to copy more than just one scene so to facilitate quicker operation of recording multiple scenes you will notice that the scene panel remains in record mode the Rec S button still flashes after a sniffed scene has been recorded This means you can then simply run a scene on the external desk click on a ShowMagic scene button to record it run another scene on the external desk click on the next ShowMagic scene button to record it and so on When you want to turn off record mode simply click again on the Rec S button Another feature has been included to further facilitate a quicker and easier way to record multiple scenes by sniffing DMX 1 2 Click on the DMX Settings item on the Options gt Other settings menu and a DMX Settings dialogue box will appear You can now use the Record Scene drop down menu in the DMX Input Device area of the dialogue box to select a spare DMX channel on the external lighting desk that can be used to tell ShowMagic when it is set to anything higher than 00 to record a scene on the ShowMagic scene panel This should be a DMX channel that is not used in any of the scenes that you are sniffing the DMX from Once you have selected the Record Scene DMX channel and
185. e turned on when the appropriate trigger is received or Spacebar is pressed when the action button is highlighted and the action panel is on the left of the screen However further receipts of the trigger or Spacebar presses will trigger the next step in that sequence and so on until it reaches the end of the sequence i e they will all act as the Go button for that Manual sequence On Ex All Trigger Inputs If On Ex is set indicated by a red box in the top right of the button and that action button is in an exclusive letter group then double clicking on the button using Spacebar or receipt of the appropriate trigger will turn the action button on However once it is turned on it cannot be turned off except by using the motor control stop button or the Clear button on the action panel and any other action button set to that letter group cannot be turned on either until the event has finished 1 e any trigger inputs for other buttons in that group are simply ignored until the running On Ex event has finished This option is provided so that action buttons can be set to run exclusively in that group and be allowed to finish It is only suitable for events that automatically stop after a period of time such as Timed Sequences sounds video events captured video with a selected To time scenes set to Flash Chases set to Once etc Off Ex All Trigger Inputs This option works in exactly the same way as the On Ex option described abov
186. e used for displaying video files captured video digital signage and PowerPoint presentations on secondary monitor outputs of a dual or multi head graphics card or interface the primary monitor output being used to display the standard Windows desktop and the ShowMagic virtual desk screen when ShowMagic is loaded Throughout this manual the secondary monitor outputs are referred to as Displays So if you are using a dual head system the first monitor output is used for Windows and ShowMagic and Display 1 is the second monitor output If using a quad head card then the first monitor output is used for ShowMagic and Display 1 Display 2 and Display 3 are the second third and fourth monitor outputs respectively Clicking on this menu option produces a dialogue box 210 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Display Window Settings Displays Virtual Windows 1 V 1280x 1024 T Ratio Virtual Window 01 2 V 1280x 1024 T Ratio Xpos Ypos Width Height 3 V 1280x 1024 Ratio r EIE ja F 3 Displays 7 Save settings with desk ie Cancel Display window settings dialogue box Displays At the bottom of the Displays area you can select how many displays you wish to use If you have displays physically attached to the PC monitors projectors etc then these along with the native full screen resolutions at which they are set will be
187. e video they can only remain in sync Example 2 Sample video wall application where 4 plasma screens are being used in a 2 x 2 array thus Plasma 1 Plasma 2 Plasma 3 Plasma 4 In this example we will assume that you are using a primary single head card along with a secondary quad head card that is seen by Windows as a single stretched monitor of width 2048 1024 x 2 and height 1536 768 x 2 Each physical output of the card provides an image of 1024 x 768 and physical output 1 is fed to plasma 1 output 2 to plasma 2 and so on By creating the following virtual windows in ShowMagic Vw 01 Xpos 00 Ypos 00 Width 2048 Height 1536 Fixed across all 4 Plasmas Vw 06 Xpos 00 Ypos 00 Width 1024 Height 768 virtual window for Plasma 1 Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 213 Vw 07 Xpos 1024 Ypos 00 Width 1024 Height 768 virtual window for Plasma 2 Vw 08 Xpos 00 Ypos 768 Width 1024 Height 768 virtual window for Plasma 3 Vw 09 Xpos 1024 Ypos 768 Width 1024 Height 768 virtual window for Plasma 4 You can then play video or digital signs on Plasma 1 2 3 or 4 by selecting Vw 06 07 08 or 09 respectively for that event or play videos or digital signs across all four Plasmas by selecting Vw 01 and ShowMagic will automatically resize the event to fit the appropriate virtual window Save settings with desk If this item is ticked then the display window settings will be saved
188. ecimal numbers separated by commas the first number being the number of the control command and the second being the value that goes with it e g X1 34 127 Most of the standard MIDI commands are supported with ShowMagic control codes as shown in the String Codes drop down menu Section 10 Device Control Panel 149 x Control Change X7 to X15 C MIDI Channel C7 to C76 P Program Change PO to P127 p Pan Control pO to p127 N MIDI Note On NO to N127 This must be preceded by a velocity value VO to V127 n MIDI Note Off nO to n127 V MIDI Velocity VO to V127 v Main Volume vO to v127 A All Notes Off A R Reset All Controllers R Please Note Commands are case sensitive Example Let s assume that the effects unit is set to receive MIDI commands on MIDI channel 8 the effects preset number 1 is no effect the effects preset number 2 is echo which are both selectable using the MIDI program change command and that the level of the echo effect is selectable from 0 to 100 by setting the velocity of note 0 to the required level 0 127 The following ShowMagic String Codes in the On box of the Enter Midi CTRL string dialogue would turn on the echo setting and set it at a level of 50 when the control event is turned on C8 P2 V63 NO The following ShowMagic String Codes in the Off box of the Enter Midi CTRL string dialogue would select the no effect setting when the control event is turn
189. ed The first lighting scene in step 002 immediately follows it Wait 00 00 and because it is set to a different sub group of L i e LI it does not turn off step 001 that is set to sub group La ShowMagic then waits for the next Go to trigger the next step step 003 e When step 003 is triggered the lighting chase is run and because it is set to main group letter C it does not affect any of the previous steps ShowMagic then waits for the next Go to trigger step 004 When step 004 is triggered the lighting scene set to main group L turns off any earlier steps set to main group L or any of its sub groups La to Lz Therefore step 001 is turned off set to LI step 002 is turned off set to La but step 003 is unaffected because it belongs to a different main group C It is also important to remember that an event step set to XT will ALWAYS turn off any earlier events of its own type irrespective of their main group or sub group settings Example Step 001 contains a lighting scene set to La Step 002 contains a lighting scene set to Lb 142 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Step 003 contains a lighting scene set to X Step 004 contains a lighting scene set to XT Step 002 does not affect step 001 different sub group Step 003 does not affect step 001 or step 002 different main group Step 004 turns off steps 001 002 and 003 set to XT eXclusive Type which turns off all other events of its type 1 e
190. ed the scene is not stopped and the desk is not cleared irrespective of the setting of the clear button on the lighting scene panel e The scene that is re recorded is always the last scene run by the sequence shown highlighted in the sequence panel s live display Ifthe Overwrite gt Recorded Channels Only option is ticked on the lighting scene Rec button then only the values for any channels originally stored in the last scene to be run from the sequence are re recorded to that scene All other channels are not recorded to that scene e Unless the Overwrite gt Recorded Channels Only option is ticked as described above if more than one scene is being run by the sequence or if other fixtures have been adjusted either manually or cued by a lighting scene run outside the sequence the channels that are recorded into the last scene are determined by the current mode setting of the record button as normal Adjusting Settings for Chase Event Steps If a sequence contains a lighting chase then the Speed and Slope settings for that chase within that sequence can be adjusted in the following way 1 Highlight the chase event in the sequence step details display 2 Whilst the Shift key is held down the 2 and 3 faders on the top right of the sequence panel will change into purple Speed and Slope faders 3 With the Shift key still held down adjust these faders to the desired settings Chase step faders Sect
191. ed All MiniMacs White the second preset name is Color 1 so scene button B002 is labelled All MiniMacs Color 1 and so on 10 Next press the F2 key to select group F2 on the fixture panel then right click on the buttons for fixture faders 13 then 15 to turn them red and include them in the group i e this group now contains the Odd fixtures 11 Now with either of the odd fixture faders 13 or 15 highlighted click on the Color function fader for that fixture to highlight it select the third page of scenes in bank B scenes B049 to B072 click on the Rec button on the scene panel hold down the Ctrl key whilst clicking on scene button B049 and the Scene Generator dialogue box will appear Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 71 12 This time type Odd MiniMacs in the Label Prefix box and click on the Generate button ShowMagic will then generate another 31 scenes on scene buttons B049 to B079 but these scenes will now contain color presets for the odd MiniMac fixtures fixture faders 13 and 15 the color functions for the MiniMacs on fixture faders 14 and 16 are not included in these scenes 13 Follow steps 10 to 12 above but use group F3 to group the even MiniMacs fixture faders 14 and 16 and record the generated scenes starting on scene button BO97 onwards So within literally seconds we have recorded all the possible color scenes for the MiniMacs in three combinations for all four fixtures for odd fixture
192. ed by highlighting that fader row and selecting File gt Save Fixture and later loaded in by highlighting the fader row that you wish to load it into and selecting File gt Load Fixture The Load Fixture function combined with the multiple assignment and patching commands can save a lot of time when it comes to setting up a new desk before creating a show For instance if you had used 4 fixture faders on the desk for a previous show to control 4 moving head fixtures each and you had saved one of those faders with all its fixture assignments you could do the following on a new desk for a larger show requiring a similar set up but for 8 fixture faders 1 Highlight a fixture fader row in the Fader display 2 Select the File gt Load Fixture menu item and choose the fader set up saved previously You now have a fader instantly set up with all its 4 fixture assignments and Function list settings for each fixture Min Max etc the DMX patch settings are not of course saved as these invariably have to be set each time for different venues Now for example simply pressing F12 1 8 Enter i e Copy Fdr 1 thru 8 creates eight fixture faders each with 4 fixtures assigned to them that s 32 fixtures set up and ready for DMX oa aa a i channel patching in just two simple steps Gl Password Po New Password Change Password cance Selecting the Options gt Change Password menu item on the patch screen al
193. ed by the Enter key i e 1 1 0 Enter This patches the first fixture for fader 1 at DMX channel 10 the key being used to represent at Fader 1 is highlighted as the active fader so after pressing the keys 1 1 0 the command Fdr 001 Fix 1 at 10 appears in the Command display which means that fixture 1 on fader 1 is being patched to DMX address 10 Pressing Enter confirms this command or alternatively you can press the Del key to delete and re enter the patch command before pressing Enter The Del key on the numeric keyboard is used only for deleting commands The Delete key above the cursor keys is used for many other purposes Please Note An alternative way to enter the start address of any fixture is to double click on its DMX Address row and a dialogue box will appear type in the address and confirm or click on Cancel 5 Highlight the line below the fixture in the Fixture list press Insert and this will add a fixture to that fader Do this twice more and you will end up with four fixtures assigned to Fdr 001 Highlighting any fixture and pressing Delete will delete that fixture assignment from that fader after confirmation 6 Press 2 1 2 Enter then 3 1 5 Enter then 4 1 7 Enter This patches the 2 3 and 4 fixtures of that fader to addresses 12 15 and 17 These are then shown in the Fixture list and 004 is shown under the Fixs title in the Fader li
194. ed off C8 P1 Any control event can be copied to another control event button in the normal way by dragging one button onto another The new control event can then be edited and renamed etc Using RS232 or IP Controllable Devices Please Note This section refers to IP control features that are currently EXPERIMENTAL 150 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual The RS232 port or IP settings must first be set up see Configure Comm Devices p 25 before the device control panel can be used to communicate with the device s To create an RS232 IP control event do the following 1 2 3 4 Click on a control event button to highlight it and then double click on the port select button containing the icon depicting a 9 pin serial port The details will then be shown in the details display Hold down Ctrl and then left right click on the number to the right of Dev to select the device you wish to use One of the following will then be shown to the right of Map depending on what the device is mapped to followed by the name of the device COMn where n is the com port number if it is an RS232 device IP if the device is connected to ShowMagic via IP SYS if using a system script This would be de highlighted as system devices are used for input only DLL if the device is a data acquisition card etc that uses a dll dynamic link library for communication with ShowMagic This may be de highlighted if the device is use
195. ed on Example If you wanted a voice announcement a sound event assigned to action button A007 for instance to occur every 15 minutes between the hours of 9 00am and 5 30pm then drag action button A001 into the schedule details display select In or On for turning it on click on the first time digits and enter 90000 to set 09 00 00 keep right clicking on N A to select R15 then finally click on the time digits on the right and enter 173000 to set 17 30 00 as the time when that auto repeat ends When all the steps have been created for that day click on the next day button and repeat the steps above for that day and so on for each day or if each day has similar events use the copy functions described next Copying Schedule Days If most of the days in your schedule are going to be similar then creating the schedule steps for one day copying that day to the other days and then editing the other days to suit could be far quicker than creating each day s steps manually The copy day functions are provided for this purpose To copy the steps contained in a day to another day simply drag and drop the day s button that you are copying from onto the day s button that you wish to copy to You will then be prompted to confirm the copy Alternatively if you hold down the Ctrl key when letting go of the mouse button to drop the day the day s steps will be copied to all the days between the day you are copying from and the day yo
196. ed to that fixture fader The DMX output values for each channel of that fixture are shown under the appropriate channel offset number C01 C02 etc with a short title e g Pan Tit etc to indicate the function If the Options gt Monitor Panel gt Display DMX Percentage item is ticked then the DMX values will be shown as a percentage 0 FL rather than a DMX value 0 255 E Up to 8 channels can be viewed at any one time but if the fixture possesses more then these can be viewed by clicking on the previous and next buttons on the bottom left of the panel To view the next or previous page of fixture faders right click or left click respectively on the page up down buttons If you click on the Dmx button again the display will toggle to show the DMX input values arranged by simple DMX channels in rows of 8 i e The values are shown as raw channels rather than by fixture functions MIDI If you click on this button the MIDI in port channel number status e g Note On and values for the data bytes B1 amp B2 for any MIDI inputs can be viewed If the Options gt Monitor Panel gt Display Midi Note item is ticked then the first byte B1 will be displayed as a note and octave number rather than a value Up to 29 inputs can be viewed down the display and as more are received the topmost input details are scrolled lost off the top The last MIDI input received is shown in yellow Double clicking on the Clear button will
197. een see below The toggle button View Button This button appears when the master panel is on the right of the desk Left right clicking on this button toggles it between grey and red If set to red then the AV content video signage etc being played on the displays of a multi head graphics card or interface can be previewed in these preview windows see Display Window Settings p 210 If set to grey the preview windows are replaced with the normal schedule or sound to light display View The view button Notes on using the Preview windows e Preview windows for the number of displays being used are shown on the master panel in the aspect ratio selected and AV content can be sent to any of these display outputs and previewed in its respective preview window if there are not any physical displays set up on your PC This enables you to program shows etc offline edit when away from the main system on a laptop whilst travelling for instance e Digital signage can be previewed in the preview windows and sent to the display outputs at the same time e PowerPoint presentations cannot be previewed in any of the preview windows Video files and captured video cannot be previewed and sent to their display outputs at the same time If display outputs are connected then the video is played to its output and a green rectangle is displayed in the appropriate preview window in the relative size and aspect ratio to indi
198. een Options Menus 205 DMX Settings DMX Output Devices Enttec Settings Out1 No Device hd Refresh Rate 40 1to40 Break Time 9 9to 127 MaB 1 1 to 127 Set Default DMX Input Device Input No Device Im Off g F Merge Threshold 00 Flash 255 F Thru r F Record Scene F Action Trigger On Grand Master 0 Audio Master 00 DMX settings dialogue box Any devices that ShowMagic sees either physically or via Windows registry entries are listed with the number of those devices found and any relevant Comm port that they occupy in the DMX Output Devices drop down menus DMX Output Devices To set the first DMX output device simply select it from the Out1 drop down menu and do likewise for Out2 Out3 amp Out4 if appropriate Ifusing FTDI type USB to Serial interfaces you will need to select the correct interface from the drop down menu as it is not possible for ShowMagic to interrogate them to distinguish between them This is due to limitations of the devices ShowMagic can only detect that a USB to Serial Interface is assigned to a comm port it cannot tell what type it is so it lists all possible devices that could be occupying that port s and it is up to you select the correct one Art Net ExPERIMENTAL If you have installed Art Net on your PC and are using any Art Net interface s then these will also be displayed in the DMX Output Devices drop down m
199. effect using the FX Generator the four scanners would then all trace a circle in the centre of the dance floor when that FX scene was run Creating an FX scene To create an FX scene do the following 1 Move the pan and tilt for each of the fixtures so that their beams are in the desired positions 2 Record that setting to a scene button and change its label via the Edit Scene dialogue box to something like Scans Centred This can then be copied onto numerous empty scene buttons so that you can apply FX scenes to each of those new buttons without having to re record the positions again each time 3 Copy the Scans Centred scene button onto another empty scene button and change its label via the Edit Scene dialogue box to something like Scans Shape 1 Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 73 4 Click on the FX button and the normal scene panel will be replaced with an FX generator panel The FX generator panel consists of a details display the items of which can be changed by clicking anywhere in the display to produce the Edit Scene dialogue box an EXIT button for exiting the FX generator and returning to the normal scene panel a copy of the scene button five faders four of them having buttons below them an FX window and some FX preset buttons FX Generator Details Display settings on the left Wait You can set a delay time here for the FX scene to wait when it is run before any functions stored in that scene other than
200. el any command in the function display 50 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel The lighting scene panel provides a scene details display window and a page of 24 lighting scene buttons The scene buttons are shown grey when no FX CScn lighting scenes have been recorded onto them or they eect are shown in red when they contain a stored lighting E inde Gim ae alee eyay VY VV Vy yyy AD 5B G aie dee aie we all Using a similar system to the fixture panel page ATEI Wee buttons initially labelled with the number of the first VOOOOOOC scene on that page are provided for accessing any page Interior Scene Scene A009 Scene A017 Sunny Scene Scene A010 Scene A018 Bank selector buttons labelled A B etc are used for Night Scene SceneA011 Scene A019 selecting any bank of pages e g clicking on bank Forest Scene Scene A012 Scene A020 button A and then page button 1 will display scene Scene ADOS Scene A013 Scene A021 buttons A001 to A024 selecting the next page button Scene A006 Scene A014 Scene A022 25 shows buttons A025 to A048 and so on Bank and Scene A007 Scene A015 Scene A023 Page buttons turn dark grey if they contain any Scene ADDS Scene A016 Scene A024 recorded scenes medium grey indicates the Bank or Page is empty The lighting scene panel You can apply a short label 1 to 3 characters to any bank or page selector button by double right clicking on it and entering the labe
201. elected has no effect To change the fixed colors on the grid for generic fixtures the Set frame Sf must be selected and used Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 99 Section 8 Sound Panel This contains a page of 24 sound event buttons to which sound events can be assigned Page selector buttons allow access to pages of 24 bie oh gl buttons each A details display fader for adjusting ma Ga ye stereo balance volume fader mute button audio AT type selector buttons and motor control buttons ASIO are also provided Up to six types of sound events are available on a soundblaster compatible soundcard depending on the particular soundcard Digital audio files ac3 surround sound wav mp3 wma or aif Sind 003 Sp 011 Snd 019 files all these different standards are referred to Snd 004 Snd 012 Snd 020 simply as wave files in this manual MIDI files Snd 005 Snd 013 Snd 021 Audio CD tracks Digital input Line level input ARE ZERP ae and Microphone level input All these types of sound event can be played at the same time or overlapped with independent volume fade up fade down and stereo balance selectable for each UD 25 49 73 97 121 145 169 193 217 Hurricane Snd 009 Snd 017 Snd 002 Snd 010 Snd 018 Snd 007 Snd 015 Snd 023 Snd 008 Snd 016 Snd 024 Up to 16 wav files can be played on multiple The sound panel selectable outputs Up to 32 audio inputs can be routed and mixed to up to 32 multiple out
202. en off instantly A shape can also be applied to a lighting scene making it an FX scene that would then be displayed here using the FX generator described in FX Generator p 73 60 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Grp When scenes are dropped into sequences as described in Creating Sequences p 123 the group setting for that scene EX XA XT LA or group and sub group letters A Bc etc shown in blue will default to this setting BOM Blackout On Movement This can be set to Off the default or a value between 1 and 25 If set to a value of 1 to 25 frames When fading in that time value is added to the fade in time before the main dimming function dimmer shutter etc snaps on to the level recorded in that scene When fading out the dimming function will instantly snap to 000 when that scene starts to fade out This allows the pan tilt gobo color etc to reach its correct setting before the beam is turned on even if no fade times are used Please Note The main dimming function fader s on the fixture panel will appear to fade in out as normal but the actual DMX values being sent will follow the BOM settings as can be viewed on the Monitor panel with the DMX button selected The Type Effect Grp and BOM settings above can be changed by clicking anywhere in the details display and using the appropriate drop down menus on the Edit Scene dialogue box that appears The scene s label can also be edited by clic
203. ene Patch Mode This is the first default mode that you use in ColorScene Before you can apply any ColorScene effects to a group of LEDs or other colored fixtures you first need to soft patch those fixtures onto the grid you will notice that at this point the Chase Color and Run mode selector buttons are not selectable greyed out If we were using 16 ChromaPanels situated in a 4 x 4 grid we would need to make the ColorScene grid 4 x 4 to accommodate this You could do so by simply right clicking on the yellow X03 value to increment it to X04 and do likewise for the Y digits The grid would then change to 4 x 4 For this exercise however we will stick with the default 3 x 3 grid The next step is to soft patch the fixtures onto the grid and this can be done in one of a few ways Manual 1 Click on the first icon in the top selection area M the default highlighted option This selects manual soft patching and Patch 00 Manual is then shown in the display 2 Click on fader 001 the first ChromaPanel on the fixture panel to highlight it then double click on the first top left cell in the grid the fixture number and name of the fixture assigned to that cell will then appear in the display above the grid i e 001 ChromaPanel 3 The next fixture number is automatically incremented and highlighted ready for patching to the next cell If you don t want to patch this fixture to the next cell then highlight the fixture numb
204. enu DMX Input Device With a DMX input or input output interface you can connect an external lighting desk and transfer lighting scenes from that desk into ShowMagic lighting scenes by sniffing DMX see Recording Scenes by Sniffing DMX p 68 Additionally you can also use the external lighting desk sliders for playback purposes triggering and controlling ANY ShowMagic events that are contained on action buttons To set a DMX input device simply select it from the Input drop down menu Please Note Only the connectors on the DMX device that can be used as inputs are listed any connectors on that device that can only be used for DMX output are not shown 206 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual You can then select the appropriate settings below Off If this is ticked then the DMX values coming into the input port are not passed through to the first DMX output port The input values can only be used to trigger action buttons Merge All 512 DMX channel values are merged using the precedence described below with any DMxX output values being sent by ShowMagic itself to the first DMX output port The input values can also be used to trigger action buttons Thru All 512 DMX channels coming into the port are passed straight through to the first DMX output port The input values can however be used to trigger action buttons The Precedence settings determine how the DMX input values are combined with any DMX output v
205. ep trigger times Pausing Resuming Events within a Manual or Timed Sequence If you are playing an event in a sequence and you want to automatically pause that event later in that sequence simply insert a Null Step where you want the event to pause drag and drop the same event into that Null Step hold down Ctrl and right click 4 times on the Jn action setting to change it to Pa Pause To resume the playing of that event drag and drop the same event into a Null Step later in the sequence and right click 5 times on the action setting to select Re Resume This feature only applies to sound video digital signage or sequence events not lighting scenes or PowerPoint events Recording Event Trigger Times in Real Time Trigger times for each event in a timed sequence can be entered automatically for you using the Spacebar key if the sequence panel is on the left or clicking on the Play button as follows 1 Drag events into the Step Details display to create your sequence and then click on the Rec button to activate it it will flash off and on in red to indicate that the sequence is in record mode 2 Click on the Play button or press Spacebar to start the sequence and the timer will begin incrementing The first step is of course always set to 00 00 00 00 The second step will then wait until the Play button is clicked again or Spacebar is pressed the time at which you clicked on Play or pressed Spacebar will then
206. equence is chasing through those FX scenes instead of par can scenes Similarly if you created a lighting scene on scene button C008 that turned on blue par cans for instance and then dragged that button into a sequence when you run that sequence it will run scene button C008 which in turn will turn on blue par cans However if you later re recorded over scene button C008 with a setting that turned on red par cans when you run the sequence it will run scene button C008 that turns on red par cans Example 2 If you were to create a sound event on sound event button A007 such as loading a wave file called Songl wav into it and then drop this into a sequence when you run that sequence it will play the Song1 wav file If you later loaded a different wav file onto sound event button A001 such as Song8 wav when you run the sequence it will play Song8 wav not Song1 wav Another Very Important Point to Note Events Within Events It is not just the events stored in a sequence that you need to be aware of when using the same sequence in different desks it is also any events contained within the events stored in the sequence Section 9 Sequence Panel 145 Section 10 Device Control Panel Ctrl Communication Port Port Map Dev On Off 00 00 00 00 Mid de Be Ge E aer ED 25 49 73 97 View La y PowerPoint a 7 Projector On Show 1 Previous PP Slide PowerPoint i Show 2 Next PP Slide Projector Off Ctrl A003 Ctrl
207. equence panel is a sub master fader for that sequence and it is used to adjust the overall levels of all events in that sequence i e the brightness of lighting scenes and or the volume for sound video events It is an independent sub master automatically assigned to events in that sequence The level setting defaults to FL but it can be adjusted and then stored by right clicking on the Rec button The other two faders are used for chases as described below and for adjusting sound events as described in Adjusting Settings for Sound Event Steps p 133 Mute Button A mute button situated under the sequence sub master slider is used to turn sound off on if it is a sound or sound and light sequence In addition if Dim is set on Mas for that sequence then 0 will be sent to all dimmer channels used in that sequence If PT is set on Mas then 0 will be sent to the pan and tilt channels used in that sequence and so on Mute does not stop scenes or sound events from running it simply turns the audio or DMX output off It acts like a combined GM and AM button on the Master panel but it only affects events contained in that particular sequence Double clicking toggles the button on or off 124 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Chases The Speed and Slope faders next to the sequence sub master fader are normally turned off shown in black but if the currently highlighted sequence is set to Chase then they are made active shown in purple
208. er will be performed This is used in conjunction with the lt timer gt element described below so that different operations can be performed at different time periods from the time that the event is started The operations contained within the lt do gt markers will be performed automatically when the time given in the lt timer gt element has elapsed lt timer gt This is used in conjunction with the lt do gt element and it can contain a value for hours minutes seconds and frames in the format hh mm ss ff with the frames digits being optional so values of 01 01 01 00 and 01 01 01 are both valid for 1 hour 1 minute and 1 second This timer is referenced from the time the event is started it does not refer to the system time of day that is used by the scheduler Please Note Unlike other elements and instructions you cannot use spaces between the greater than and less than characters in a timer instruction i e lt timer gt 00 00 00 00 lt timer gt is valid but lt timer gt 00 00 00 00 lt timer gt is not Section 16 Appendix 245 volume This instruction requires a percentage value from 0 mute to 100 max volume and a fade time in seconds and or decimal fractions These values must be contained in square brackets and separated by a comma No spaces can be used between the volume instruction and the opening square bracket or within the square brackets themselves e g lt 01 gt volume 50 2 5 lt 01 gt
209. er that you do want 4 Double click on the next cell to patch it and so on until all cells are patched with the desired fixtures This manual system of soft patching is very useful if the fixture faders are not in an order that actually corresponds with the physical layout of the fixtures It is also a means by which you can have say 4 detached 3 by 3 matrices of LED fixtures 36 LED fixtures and soft patch them all onto the one ColorScene grid any effects patterns Chases can then be applied across those separate matrices to achieve a unified effect across different areas of a venue Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 87 Soft patch Presets Because we have assigned the ChromaPanels to the fixture faders in a linear manner on the patch screen and patched their DMX addresses accordingly we can make use of one of the preset soft patching options that are available namely the second icon option below the upper options display that is a soft patch from left to right top to bottom shown as Grid LR LR when the icon is selected To use this preset soft patch simply highlight fixture 001 on the fixture panel select this icon and then double click anywhere in the active grid all 9 cells in the active block will then be soft patched according to that soft patch preset The soft patch preset icons denote the order of patching using an arrowed line with the blue part of the line showing the first fixture Presets 2 to 5 have been provided
210. er the time that you have set for the fade In If you double click on the scene button again to turn it off you will see the function faders on the fixture panel fade down over the time that you have set for the fade Out Multi Part Scenes This facility enables you to a In Normal mode Set different Wait In Hold amp Out times for each function of each type of fixture that is recorded in a scene rather than them all using the same Default fade times b In Live mode Set different Wait and fade In times for each function of each type of fixture that is recorded in a scene Hold amp Out times are not applicable in Live mode All function faders default to using the Default time settings shown in the details display UNLESS they are edited independently on the Edit Scene dialogue box Most of the time most of the function faders will want to either snap on off instantly or fade in out together at the same rate when the scene is run However in some cases you may want to set particular function faders to fade in out at a different rate to the rest of the functions stored in that scene For this reason it is quicker and easier to use overall Default settings and then just change the times for any functions that need to have different times to the rest Example Let us say that we want to record a scene for the Stage Light 300 as above with Default fade In and fade Out times of 2 seconds for most of the functions but we want the gobo
211. erS If Windows Media Player can t play these files then ShowMagic AV can t either Mpeg2 Mpeg4 and DivX files can also be software decoded by ShowMagic AV and played out to virtual windows provided that the appropriate CODECS are installed on your PC Most modern laptops or desktop PCs are supplied with CODECS for playing mpeg DVD files If not you must install compatible CODECS to enable this functionality ShowMagic plays video files using the Microsoft v9 0 Video Mixing Renderer VMR9 and using any video codecs that you have installed on your PC Problems with Activemovie windows appearing If you are trying to play video files in ShowMagic virtual windows but they are appearing on a pop up Activemovie window instead then you need to disable the automatic Windows Activemovie feature This can usually be done by running Windows Media player selecting Options from its Tools menu clicking on the Performance tab clicking on the Advanced button ticking any Use video mixing renderer options and un ticking any Use overlays options Apply these settings close Media Player then re start the PC for the changes to take effect DISCLAIMERS e Processing Power software decoding of video files and digital signage can use a lot of a single processor PCs processing power PCs laptops with Core 2 Duo processors are therefore required for running multiple video files and signage in ShowMagic AV as they are far more eff
212. ereo Pan Button If you are playing any audio files on a stereo output then the stereo pan position can be set by clicking on the Pan button this will temporarily replace the volume faders with pan faders for each track these faders can then be used to adjust the pan position for that track Clicking on the Pan button again removes the pan faders replacing them with the volume faders 10 Finally right click anywhere in the lower area or click on the Exit button to return to the normal sound panel buttons display Playing and Routing wav Files To play and route a wav file to a specific output on a multiple output soundcard do the following 1 Highlight a sound event button by clicking on it 2 Double click on the wave type selector button A file selector appears 3 Select the appropriate file and click on Open the file details will then be shown in the details display 4 Right click to the right of Aud Wave to select the required stereo or mono output s Section 8 Sound Panel 113 If you have loaded a stereo wav file and you select one of the stereo outputs e g Stereo 1 amp 2 then output 7 will play the left stereo audio and output 2 will play the right stereo audio If however you select a single mono output e g Mono 1 then the left and right stereo audio will be automatically combined by ShowMagic and played out to mono output 7 Conversely if you have loaded a mono wav file and you select one of t
213. erfaces and then control all your ShowMagic events from that lighting desk You can also transfer existing lighting scenes stored on an external DMX hardware desk quickly and easily into ShowMagic then take the desk away The unique ShowMagic twin panel system enables you to quickly access any events stored on the desk Two panels are viewed at once one on the left and one on the right Panels are available for each type of event lighting scenes are stored on the lighting scene panel sound events are stored on the sound panel and so on Clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of one side of the desk selects that panel on that side of the desk Events are all stored on event buttons on their appropriate panels Clicking once on a button highlights it this is then shown brighter and the details of the event stored on that button are displayed in the details display at the top of the panel Double clicking on a button is the equivalent to pressing it and this will start the event if it is not currently running or stop the event if it is currently running i e double clicking on an event button toggles it on and off The main advantage of using this button system is that you can label each button with a descriptive name and the function of each button is then instantly recognisable at any time Each type of event is also color coded so you also know at a glance what type of event is stored on that button Motor control buttons are used on t
214. es Before we move on to the other scene panel items and the process of recording and playing back lighting scenes it is a good idea to re cap and summarise the different types of recording modes because a proper understanding of them is required to make the most of ShowMagic s features and achieve the desired results There are four main scene recording modes in ShowMagic a Record Moved the default shown as Rec M on the scene panel s record button In this mode the settings of all lighting fixture faders that have been physically moved or Cued by a running scene are stored in a scene when it is recorded b Record Tagged shown as Rec T on the scene panel s record button In this mode only the settings of lighting fixture faders that have been tagged are stored in a scene when it is recorded irrespective of what faders have actually been moved c Record Fixture shown as Rec F on the scene panel s record button In this mode the settings of ALL the function faders for selected fixtures are stored in a scene when it is recorded even if those function faders are at 00 or have not been moved d Record by Sniffing DMX shown as Rec S on the scene panel s record button In this mode the DMX values for the grouped fixtures are recorded from the incoming DMX signal via DMX input 58 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual A recording mode is selected by Right clicking on the scene panel s record button and selecting
215. espectively in the same way as clicking on that action button SEL button This will start stop the currently highlighted action button using any fade in fade out times in the same way as double clicking on that action button Pause button This will pause the currently highlighted action button if it is running If the action button contains a sound event this can be used to cue the sound event ready for hot starting using the SEL or Resume buttons Resume button This will resume the playing of the currently highlighted action button if it is paused or start the action if it is stopped The SEL button can also be used to resume an action Stop button This will instantly stop the currently highlighted action button if it is running ignoring any fade out times Left amp Right Cursor buttons These can be used to adjust the level of the action button s sub master fader down amp up respectively in increments of 2 Section 12 Action Panel 195 Up and Down Cursor buttons If the action button contains a manual sequence these can be used to go back a step go forward a step respectively Vol Vol and MUTE buttons These can be used to increase decrease the level of the audio master AM fader on the master panel in increments of 2 Pressing the MUTE button will mute the audio master and pressing it again will take mute off User Screen Hide If this item is ticked then that action butt
216. etween frames 04 to 06 Double right clicking on frame 04 will set that frame to be the repeat loop point and achieve this effect Duplicating and Adjusting ColorScene Chases ColorScenes are palette based with each ColorScene having its own definable palette This can be very useful if you want to create a few ColorScene chases that use the same animations such as having a colored block running along a length of LED fixtures but you want each ColorScene to use a different color The quickest and easiest way to do this is as follows 1 Create the first ColorScene chase in red for instance on Scene button A007 2 Exit the ColorScene panel to return to the normal Scene panel 3 Ifyou want to replicate the red ColorScene to provide the same animation in green amp then blue then simply drag the red ColorScene button A007 onto the next two empty scene buttons A002 amp A003 to create two copies 4 Highlight scene button A002 and click on the button labelled CScn to produce the ColorScene panel 5 Now simply click on the color box containing red in the palette and replace it with green If you run that ColorScene you will then see the same animation but now running in green 6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 using scene button A003 and the color blue 94 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Using Dimmers in ColorScene We will re create the above ColorScene chase but this time we will use fixtures with R G B and dimmer functions so tha
217. eusiens 148 Using RS232 or IP Controllable Devices sisi vcsscccswevctdes tony oie dia 150 Using Multiple Monitor OPUS a 154 MIG CONE VCS enian ar re e e E a AE ER a a a wae lial 155 My l ple Fle Vdeo EVO S e RANE AMET e E a iaeoa i aa 157 Video Playlist lidia 157 Captured VICO a a e a a 159 Digital SIA o 160 O A A a cee E a a se cues Othe ac 160 Digital Signage Blocks di a iaa 161 Block Transitional aii rd ins 162 Creatina Text Bloc A A OA di beads 162 Mim Eines of TEXt ene a N ch davielicedute E e e Sout euuketonedoe cee 164 Digital Signage Special Codes ida A AAA E SA 164 Ordering of BIOCKS siceg odes nara aa Ea raaa a Eas Ea a carmela ited a Oak 167 Mixing Videos and Digital Signs on the Same Display OutputS ocononnconoccnoconccnonanononanononacinnnons 167 PowerPoints lides HOWE VES A A AA E a ah 168 Loading a PowerPoint ppt Ple dat 169 Running a PowerPoint Ple ii A E A OS 169 Controlling a PowerPoint Ple aci 169 TASAS yaa As Bence dso sata E voice e ote A 170 Pre empting Timed Sls ta at its 170 Notes on the PowerPoint Viewer Running in ShowMaglC oooooncccnoccnooncooncconcconncnonocnnnonoconnnnnnns 170 System Control Pr dd 170 Run Default enoou recited nae p a prea Rereen N aha elt Nines Oa cet 171 RSC ECS Kes ois cdise cides vvua e echt eclant ongcan eon ia 171 DUI dc 171 Disa ple Action TA SATA des 172 A E 172 Previos Md A At 172 Deleting a Control Event ri OR 172 Copying A NA 172 Moving COTO LEE de orate AS AS td ed eliaa e
218. event will not stop automatically when it reaches the end System Control Events These can be used to assign system control events to control event buttons These system control events can then be run to perform certain functions They can also be used in sequences or dropped onto action buttons and then scheduled etc To select a system control event do the following System control 1 Click on an empty control event button to highlight it selector button 2 Double click on the System Control selector button shown above 170 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 3 Hold down Ctrl and left or right click to select one of the following types of system control settings Run Default This can be used to enable or disable the Run Defaults option that then runs or stops any action buttons set to Default Example You are running 4 rooms zones in a museum for instance have created background states for each room and have a presentation designed for each room You have used the exclusive letters A B C and D for rooms 1 to 4 respectively and have set each of the action buttons for each room to their respective letter The background states are run set to Default in each room until someone enters the room in which case an action button containing a timed presentation for that room is run turning the default state off When the presentation ends and its action button goes off the default button for that room is automatically
219. ewed when creating scenes for other functions a quicker alternative is available If temporary scenes are created and recorded in which just the lamps are turned on the scene can be flashed by holding down the right mouse button with the pointer on the scene button but in addition if the left button is clicked prior to letting go of the right mouse button the faders are left at that scene s settings but put into Released mode The pan and tilt settings can then be made and only those settings will be stored when the scene is recorded When recording multiple chase movement scenes etc other quick and easy means of leaving dimmers turned on without recording them are to a Record just the dimmers to a scene set it to a Safe scene and run it b Double click whilst holding down the Ctrl key on the Dimmer fader s to lock it Numerous scenes can then be set up and recorded but the Dimmer settings will not be stored in those scenes as they are in Locked mode and they will remain on until the safe scene is deliberately turned off or the fader is unlocked manually by double clicking on it again whilst holding down Ctrl Sliding a Scene Button You can slide a scene button up like a fader by holding down the Ctrl key when you drag it to bring that scene on Any up and down drag movements can be used to adjust the relative fader levels of all faders used in that scene the percentage level 00 to FL being shown on the left of the
220. faders have also been enabled The next step is to select the type of chase we want to apply to this ColorScene Click on the Chase button to select Chase mode and the upper options display will change to show the Chase details with a range of chase options displayed in the selector area below it 88 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Chase Mode ColorScene currently includes one type of chase effect Frame Using Frame a chase can be defined frame by frame within a single scene event This makes it very flexible because any type of effects can be created in this way The Frame chase provides a much quicker means of creating LED effects compared to creating multiple scenes using the fixture faders and then dropping these scenes into a chase sequence In addition you can also view on the grid the effects created and edit them graphically Frame With Frame a dynamic ColorScene effect can be created frame by frame in a similar way to how cartoon animations are created These frames can then be run at whatever speed and using whatever slope you have selected to produce the desired dynamic effect Once you have selected the type of Chase effect you require Frame the next step is to select the colors we want to use for that ColorScene and to do this you select Color mode by clicking on the Color mode selector button Color Mode A ColorScene lighting scene is based around a color palette and each ColorScene can possess its own palette of
221. fittings dip switch settings etc of the preset buttons below them they are not used to select anything they are there purely for reference To remove the presets panel simply take your finger off the Shift key The Trackball The Trackball on the right of the function buttons can be used to alter both the pan and tilt settings of fixtures by simply holding down the left mouse button when the cursor is situated over the ball and then dragging the cursor up down left and right Holding down the Ctrl key whilst dragging with the left mouse button on the Trackball or on any fader will alter the mouse movement sensitivity to enable finer adjustment If you want to move the pan and tilt The functions to their central positions 50 then simply double click on the trackball Trackball To clear the pan and tilt functions back to 00 double right click on the trackball If you want to move the pan and tilt functions to their central positions 50 and lock them in that position see The Fader States p 53 for a description of Locked mode then double click on the trackball whilst holding down the Ctrl key To clear the pan amp tilt functions back to 00 and unlock them if they are Locked simply double right click on the trackball 44 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Centre and Locate Buttons As the Centre and Locate buttons are used specifically when Centre recording scenes and knowledge of the various fader modes an
222. for multi track backing track or DIY surround sound type applications Section 8 Sound Panel 111 You can also route any of the inputs to any of the outputs as well as playing multiple wav sound events on up to 32 independent channels for audio zoning applications Here are some examples a Play route sound FX to various independent speakers located in different areas of a stage or auditorium b Play Music Announcements Sound FX independently on speakers located in different rooms c Create 3D audio effects using up to 32 speakers situated in the same room You can use a multiple output soundcard along with a normal SoundBlaster compatible soundcard in the same ShowMagic PC In this case the SoundBlaster compatible soundcard can be treated as the primary soundcard and the multiple output soundcard can be treated as a secondary soundcard In this case compressed audio files such as mp3 and wma files can only be played on any available DirectShow channels they cannot be played on the ASIO channels Uncompressed wav files can be played on both the DirectShow and the ASIO channels You can play multiple wav files at the same time on any of the ASIO channels You can also play multiple audio files in compressed and un compressed file formats on the default Directshow channels 1 and 2 but you can only play one audio file at once on any other DirectShow channels Multiple output soundcards tend to u
223. for the most common patching orders used If the fixtures you are using are not physically ordered in any of these consecutive patterns then the first icon the default manual system of soft patching can be used The sixth preset icon can be used if you have fixtures arranged in a loop For instance let us assume you have 12 ChromaPanels arranged around the edge of a dance floor thus 01 02 03 04 12 05 11 06 10 09 08 07 By setting the active grid size to X04 Y04 selecting fixture 001 clicking on the sixth soft patch preset icon and then double clicking on the first top left cell in the active block in the grid twelve ChromaPanels fixtures 001 to 012 will then be patched consecutively to the cells as shown above Soft Patching Dimmer Functions If you are using fixtures that possess a dimmer function as well as RGB or CMY functions you can also set dimmer levels in each frame of a ColorScene chase more on this later For now we will use a 3 x 3 grid patched left to right left to right etc so use the 2 soft patch preset E as described above Now the fixtures have been soft patched onto the grid we can start using the Chase amp Color programming modes you will notice that Chase amp Color buttons have now been enabled to indicate this and an RGB icon has been applied to the left of the scene button to indicate that this is now a ColorScene scene You will also notice that the speed amp slope
224. g on any blue items in the details display produces a dialogue box Used for Pop Up Menus Text and values shown in pink can be changed by right clicking on them This produces a pop up menu from which options can be selected Lighting Scenes A lighting scene is simply a desk setting or lighting state in which lighting fixture fader settings are stored along with settings for how that scene should occur when the scene is run using Wait fade In Hold and fade Out times These are in hours minutes seconds and 25 of a second frames and a maximum time of 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds and 25 frames can be set 23 59 59 24 00 to 24 25 frames Sound Events ShowMagic takes full advantage of a PC s ability to play MIDI and digital audio files from hard disk Add to this the ability to mix these PC audio sources with any external audio devices such as audio mixers microphones etc via any digital line level and microphone level input connectors on your PC soundcard interface and you have a very flexible sound system The quality of sound from ShowMagic is of course dependent on the soundcard s that you have installed in the PC Section 2 Events Digital audio files are the most useful source for sound as playback is virtually instant and they can all be stored on hard drive for easy access ShowMagic supports 2 different types of audio drivers DirectShow drivers and ASIO drivers Either or both of these drivers ma
225. ge 1 MIDI command selects setting 1 on the unit which is for example no effect and Program Change 2 selects setting 2 which is for example an echo effect To send these commands simply type P1 the ShowMagic String Code for the Program Change 1 MIDI command in the On box and click on the Enter button for one control event then type P2 in the On box for another control event and click on the Enter button Now if either of these buttons are run by double clicking on them dropping them into a sequence and running that sequence or dropping them onto action buttons which then get triggered in any of various ways the desired effect on the audio effects unit will selected 148 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual A list of the established General MIDI Instrument names can also be viewed in the Program Change GM Instrument drop down menu These drop down menus are there for reference only they do not perform any other function Numerous string codes can be typed into the On box on the Enter Midi CTRL string dialogue for each control event button and running that control event will output all of the MIDI commands for those codes but the rule is that each code must be a legal code as listed in the String Codes drop down menu and each code must be separated by either a space or a comma If the device is set to receive MIDI commands on any MIDI channel other than channel 1 e g channel 4 then the channel select code C4
226. ger device This is useful for running timed events that turn themselves off automatically When an action button set to On TRG is run then it will not be re triggered if the trigger device switches from off to on again 1 e if the event is already running any more on triggers received will have no effect until the event has stopped The running of another action button set to the same exclusive letter group will turn an action button set to On TRG off Off TRG Conversely if Off TRG is set then the action button will be run when a trigger device such as a physically latching switch is turned off Section 12 Action Panel 185 When any of the above settings are used ShowMagic will check for a change in the condition of the trigger then act on that change if appropriate at the time of the change The next four settings differ from the above in as much as the current condition of a trigger input is checked constantly CC On Checks whether the trigger is currently on and if so runs the action button CC Off Checks whether the trigger is currently off and if so runs the action button CC On Ex Checks whether the trigger is currently on and if it is the event is run and will not be turned off until it is finished in the same way as the On Ex setting CC Off Ex Checks whether the trigger is currently off and if it is the event is run and will not be turned off until it is finished in the same way as the On Ex
227. get involved with any of the intricacies of programming or using the main desk screen they can just quickly and easily start and stop the large action buttons displayed on the user screen x User screen access dialogue box This dialogue box has been provided to allow you to select what is available on the user screen Options are shown on the left buttons that can be displayed are shown in the middle and on the right is a page selector area where you can tick what pages of action buttons are accessible on the user screen and also label them Action Fader If ticked a sub master fader and mute button will appear on the user screen that enables the user to adjust the levels of the events in the currently selected action button on the user screen Display Details If ticked the details display will appear on the user screen as on the action panel that shows the details of the currently highlighted action button Display Schedule If ticked the schedule display will appear on the user screen Has no effect on SL Hide Mouse If ticked the mouse cursor will not be displayed For use with a touch screen monitor Load Desk If ticked the Load Desk option will be made available in the user screen File menu Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 215 Master Faders If ticked the Grand Master GM and Audio Master AM faders and their mute buttons will appear on the user screen One Touch On If ticked
228. ght click on this to select via a pop up menu a port if your PC has more than one see MIDI Port Settings p 209 for information on how to enable selected MIDI ports Clicking on the MD button with the Ctrl key held down toggles MIDI triggering on button shown red or off shown grey for the currently highlighted action button Right clicking on MD with Ctrl toggles MIDI triggering on or off for all action buttons on that page If the MD button is off then the action button will not be affected by any MIDI input If it is on then the MIDI note program change or control change number shown in the third display note C3 in the example above will trigger that action button The C setting tells ShowMagic to scan all MIDI channels for that note program change or control change number To set a specific MIDI channel right click on C and select a channel from the pop up menu The action button will then only be triggered if the note number shown is received on that specific MIDI channel Right clicking on the note in the third display produces a pop up menu on which you can select Trigger By Note Trigger By Program Change or Trigger By Control Change Trigger by Note For setting a MIDI note click on the button depicting a music keyboard to change the details display into a music keyboard graphic LELLE LELLE RE Click on one of the keys on the keyboard graphic will then set the trigger to that note The arrow ke
229. ghting scene Step 003 trigger time 00 01 00 00 group XT second lighting scene Step 004 trigger time 00 02 00 00 group XT a sound event of music lasting 2 minutes Step 005 trigger time 00 04 00 00 group XT a Null Step as the last step to stop the sequence If you were to highlight step 003 and then click on the Play From Mark button the sequence would be started 1 minute in trigger time of 00 01 00 00 and the following would happen a The lighting scene in step 003 would be run and because it is set to XT the previous scene in step 002 is automatically turned off b ShowMagic would not play the sound effect in step 001 however because we have started the sequence minute in step 001 would normally have been triggered at the very start of the sequence 00 00 00 00 and because it only has a duration of 6 seconds it would have finished by this point in the sequence ShowMagic can automatically calculate this and therefore won t play it The logic for manual sequences is different in that ShowMagic does not have any time references to use in determining which events should be running and which events shouldn t if you start or continue from a particular step in that sequence Because steps are triggered manually with the exception of any steps set to Wait or Filw it is not possible to know when the next steps were triggered after a step containing an event with a set time duration e g a piece of music Consi
230. ginner s Tutorial the more in depth features and functions described in this user manual become much easier to understand and use Experimental Features Certain features may have experimental status Experimental features are listed in the release notes for the ShowMagic product you are using and are also marked in this manual with the EXPERIMENTAL label Experimental features are features that require more feedback before full integration into ShowMagic They have passed through internal and beta test programs but due to their complexity or the vast variety of hardware that the feature supports require more usage before losing the experimental status and being incorporated as a standard feature In the majority of cases you will not notice any difference between an experimental and a standard feature However it is best to assume that experimental features may not be fully stable or always function as expected We do not recommend their use in a production environment without thorough testing The functionality or method of operation of expermental features is also more liable to change or to be removed in later versions Experimental features should not effect the standard features of ShowMagic if you decide not to use them xi Notes on using the User Manual It is assumed that the reader is at least familiar with DMX and their fixtures It is also assumed that the user is reasonably familiar with using menus dialogue boxes etc i
231. gs Device a Up to 20 different types of external devices can sal Cancel be set up Device 01 to Device 20 and these __ q 27 can be selected using this top drop down menu The Configure Comm Devices dialogue box The second box down is used to select the type of data you wish to send receive or to select a device script String In Out If you want to simply output string data directly to an RS232 or IP device or read command strings from an RS232 not IP device then this item can be left at the default String In Out setting If you want to read command strings from IP Outstation devices then you must first configure the outstation as described in Configure Outstations p 28 Section 3 Patch Screen 25 User Defined If the device expects a mixture of string and number data decimal or hexadecimal then User Defined should be selected here After selecting String In Out or User Defined the appropriate com port baud rate parity data bits and stop bits should then be manually selected Alternatively if using an IP device you can click on the IP selector button and enter the IP address of the device See Using RS232 or IP Controllable Devices p 150 for more information on how to enter the commands for String In Out and User Defined devices Script Device If you possess a ShowMagic device script for a device then Script Device can be selected from this drop down menu and the Script
232. h of the file so you can make the To time greater than the Len to compensate for this It is recommended that audio be encoded with a video file even if it is silent as this enhances the video s time accuracy Option Right clicking on this item brings up a pop up menu on which the following can be selected Loop On If this is ticked the video file will repeat continuously in a loop until the event is turned off Pause on End If this is ticked the video will pause on the last frame at the end of the video file or at the To time until it is turned off Keep Aspect Ratio If this is ticked the video will maintain its native aspect ratio and be centred with black borders within the virtual window If un ticked the video will be stretched either by width or height to fit the aspect ratio and size of the virtual window in which it is being played Keep Graph Open When a video is played ShowMagic creates a Windows graph with which to play it If this is ticked the graph in which the video is played is kept open so that it will start the playback more quickly each time it is run as it doesn t have to create a new graph each time Please note this option should only be used if you are repeating the same video event s using the same video files each time otherwise graphs will build up for all the other video events that you run Aud Audio fade in and fade out times for the video file can be set here in seconds
233. h to create some scenes in which all the par cans are set to the same level some other scenes in which alternate par cans 1 and 3 are the same and scenes in which alternate par cans 2 and 4 are set to the same This can be done very easily by using group keys F1 F2 and F3 in the following way Section 6 Fixture Panel 45 1 Select the first page of fixtures 1 12 on the fixture panel Press F1 to select group F1 and you will see the on off buttons for all the fixtures displayed in red this is the default for group F1 on each page of fixtures until it is changed We are only interested in grouping fixtures 1 to 4 so right click on the on off buttons for the other fixtures to remove them from the group their buttons will then revert back to blue 2 Now whilst the F1 group is turned on a large F1 is displayed moving any one of the function faders of the fixtures in that group will cause the other same function faders in the group to move also to that value 3 Press F2 to select group F2 which is where we will store the alternate 1 and 3 fixture group then right click on the on off buttons for fixtures 1 and 3 and this will turn them red 4 Press F3 to select group F3 which is where we will store the alternate 2 and 4 fixture group then right click on the on off buttons for fixtures 2 and 4 and this will turn them red 5 Finally press the F3 key to turn that group off We have now set up three groups f
234. hat snapshot will use their normal fade In and Out times if In is selected for that event step in the snapshots step details display If On is selected for that event step then that event will come on instantly when that snapshot is started and go off instantly when that snapshot is stopped and any In and Out settings for that event are ignored Please Note The sequence sub master fader In and Out times for that snapshot if set to anything other than 00 00 00 will be used when the snapshot is started and stopped If any In and Out settings are made for event steps within that snapshot then these will be used AS WELL AS the sequence sub master fader In and Out times The sequence sub master fader In and Out times have the highest priority however and it is important to know how this affects events within that snapshot particularly when the snapshot is turned off To help explain what happens to events in that snapshot take the following simple example Example A snapshot containing a lighting scene has its sub master fader In and Out times both set to 1 second Section 9 Sequence Panel 129 The lighting scene event in that snapshot has it s own fade In and Out times set to 2 seconds on the scene panel That lighting scene event step is set to Jn in the snapshots step details display Now what happens when the snapshot is turned on The sequence sub master fader takes 1 second to fade up to full by this time the scene is at 50
235. hat the schedule has been paused When the schedule is paused all the currently running events will continue to run but no The pause new events contained in the schedule will be started or running events stopped edite by the auto scheduler Double clicking again on this button will take schedule button pause off the auto schedule button above it will stop flashing and the auto scheduler will catch up and trigger any events that should be running at that point Auto Save Button Double clicking on this button toggles auto save On or Off When On the com button is displayed in red and the current desk is saved automatically every 5 10 or 15 minutes depending on which duration is ticked on the Options gt Auto gt Save menu Auto Save can also be turned On or Off from this menu Up to ANO 10 Auto Save d desk files are saved in the Desk folder as Auto_01 dsk to Save Bution Auto_10 dsk and their numbers wrap round as 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 etc This allows you to revert back through up to ten Auto Save d files Sound To Light Input Selector Button The levels at which each audio channel is fed to the sound to light section is a adjustable by double clicking on the audio input selector button labelled In situated on the bottom left of the Master panel The In button is then displayed in red and the normal orange audio output sub master faders on the master The input screen are temporarily replaced by red sound to
236. he ShowMagic desk that are similar to controls on an audio or video player For example the Play or Go button runs the event assigned to the currently highlighted button on that panel the Pause button pauses the event and so on The motor controls available for an event varies depending on the type of event stored on that button Most shows or presentations are simply a series of events so ShowMagic lets you put these events together in a ShowMagic sequence Each sequence is divided into steps step 001 step 002 etc up to a maximum of 999 steps per sequence and any events can be dropped into a sequence step When the sequence is run the first event shown as step 001 is activated followed by the second event shown as step 002 and so on to the end of the sequence A sequence is stored on a button on the sequence panel and when sequences have been created they can themselves be treated as events that can be dropped into other sequences This makes it extremely powerful yet simple to use The range of slider movement on the ShowMagic virtual desk faders is 128 screen pixels but the actual resolution of the fader value adjustment is 256 steps It was not possible to use a 256 pixel fader strip as the screen resolution is not high enough so a single pixel movement of a fader on the screen is equal to 2 steps This does not pose a problem however as normally this resolution will be adequate but where single step adjustment
237. he Vertical Y position of the currently selected block is shown here The default setting is Ctr as above but right clicking once on this will select BJ which will bottom justify the block The pixel position in increments of 10 from the top of the digital sign can be decremented incremented by left right clicking on this value To set a value other than Ctr or BJ right click or hold the right mouse button down on the value to select 010 020 030 etc To select Ctr again either hold down the left mouse button on the value until it decrements back to Ctr or hold down Shift and left click on the value The foreground color drop shadow color font style amp size of the text can be selected using the following Color To change the color of the block of text click on the box to the right of this label and a standard Windows Color dialogue box will appear Jum There are 48 pre defined Basic Colors to choose e from and clicking on one of these colors will put that e l x e color in the Color Solid box Alternatively you can H a t J0 reen 255 create your own colors in the following way A Cok pum AO Bue F Add to Custom Colors 1 Click on one of the 16 Custom colors boxes to highlight it Color dialogue box 2 Click in the color spectrum box to select the desired color 3 Click in the brightness column or drag its pointer to select the brightness of that color 4 Click on the Add to Custom Colors butt
238. he log as Sort y Log Use shown 7 Click again on the Log button to turn it off and return to the schedule step display then click on the Use button to set the schedule log working 8 Finally click on the Options gt Main The schedule log Screen menu item to go back to the main screen and then save the desk because the schedule log itself and a flag to indicate if it should be running or not i e Use button on or off is saved with the desk file Now if the Load Desk and Run Schedule items are both ticked on the Options gt Auto menu on the main desk screen ShowMagic on start up will load the desk examine the schedule log and load and run whatever schedule is appropriate in the schedule log for that hour date month and year From then on ShowMagic continues to check the schedule log every hour to see if it should load and run a different schedule for the current hour date month and year If no schedule change is listed it continues running the currently loaded schedule Options gt Main Screen Selecting this menu item on the schedule screen will take you back to the main desk screen Section 14 Schedule Screen 225 Section 15 User Screen The user screen has been designed as a simple user interface for controlling a ShowMagic desk It is a full size screen and it utilises action buttons but these buttons are 50 bigger on the user screen to make it more suitable for use with touch screens Example To
239. he sign Section 10 Device Control Panel 161 Block Transitions Each block can appear on the sign using a selection of transition effects and these are accessed by right clicking on the pink item to the right of the Text box the default setting of which is On The speed of the transition is also selectable in increments of a quarter of a second To set the speed simply left right click on the seconds and fractions digits on the right of the transition setting to decrement increment the values E g 02 50 is two and a half seconds The speed determines how long it takes the block to reach its set position from wherever it is appearing from or in the case of a scrolling transition how long it takes to travel across the sign The block transition options are On No transition is used it just comes straight on Flash On Off This makes the block appear and disappear at the speed set i e 02 00 would make it appear for 2 seconds then disappear for 2 seconds and so on Horizontal Scroll This scrolls the block horizontally from the right across the sign continuously in a loop Letter Type On For revealing blocks of text letter by letter Slide Horizontal Slides the block from the right to reach its selected position Slide Vertical Slides the block from the bottom upwards to reach its selected position Vertical Scroll This scrolls the block vertically from the bottom upwards continuously in a loop D A delay time in
240. he stereo outputs e g Stereo 1 amp 2 then outputs 7 and 2 will both play the same mono audio If however you select a mono output e g Mono 1 then the mono audio will be played out to Mono 1 You can play more than one wav file out on the same ASIO output channels or the DirectShow default channels at the same time and this can be very useful if you wish to mix background music with for instance a voiceover Playing Multiple Playlists Different audio Playlists can be sent to different outputs This would be useful if you wanted to play different music in different areas of a venue To do this create the playlist in the usual way and then right click to the right of Aud Wave to select the required output s Routing Audio Inputs to Audio Outputs Using ASIO you can route audio from any of the inputs on the multi I O card s to any outputs on the card s and mix these with any other sound events being played to those outputs Depending on the soundcard you can also use multiple soundcards in the same ShowMagic PC For instance with four M Audio Delta 1010 cards installed you can have access to 32 analogue input channels and 32 analogue output channels as well as digital inputs amp outputs To create a sound event that routes an audio input to one or more audio outputs do the following 1 Highlight an empty sound event button and double right click on the ASIO selector t 2 The sound event buttons will then be repla
241. hem Type Run Opt In Out A Load button a Save button and sequence motor control buttons are also provided below the display Bank buttons A B etc and the page buttons for each bank provide access to any one of the pages Save 00 00 00 00 49 73 97 121 145 169 Shf T Edit containing 24 sequence buttons each Sasiihasass Seq A009 San 017 Cue List Seq A010 Seq A018 The bottom of the panel is switchable By clicking on Timer Sequence AA Sag AD13 the Edit button you can view either the sequence Sree So a2 Sag A020 buttons or a Live display middle and a Step Details mas BAN Sec display bottom By selecting to view the sequence Sen Ans Sea Bills man Afi buttons the running condition of groups of 24 e een hls aaa Adz sequences can be seen Highlighting a particular sequence button and then clicking on the Edit button opens it up and it shows the details for that sequence in the step details display Alternatively right clicking The sequence panel on a sequence button will toggle between showing the live amp step details displays for that sequence or the button display Seq A008 Seq A016 Seq A024 Sequence Settings The top settings display shows the following for each sequence Label The number for that sequence A007 etc and a label which can be edited in the same way as described previously for fixture fader and lighting scene labels In A fade In time for the sequence sub master fader can be se
242. hen the function fader is down and 0 when it is fully up Clicking or right clicking on the Ind and Inv Y or N flags with the Ctrl key held down toggles them between Y and N 20 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Profile Different makes of lamps and dimmer packs have certain level characteristics i e DMX values of 25 and 50 may not produce corresponding brightness levels of 25 and 50 Some dimmers may reach an actual 25 brightness level with a DMX value of 35 and at a DMX value of 75 the brightness level could be 73 and so on These non linear curve characteristics are referred to as profiles and an appropriate profile can be selected by left right clicking on this item whilst holding down Ctrl If Full 1 10 20 30 40 or 50 are selected any value equal to or higher than that percentage on that fader will produce 100 output This can be used to make a channel on a dimmer pack a switching channel rather than a dimming channel ideal if you are using a channel to supply mains power to physically turn fixtures on or off or to control motors Notes on Matching Fixture Fader Numbers to DMX Channels When patching single channel fixtures connected to switching dimmer packs to fixture faders it is a good idea to assign those fixtures to faders that correspond to the DMX channels E g If you are using a 24 channel dimmer pack set to DMX address 007 the fixtures connected to that pack should be assigned to fixture
243. hes the button and triggers the presentation again and so on Here is how it can be done 1 Create a lighting scene for the background lighting with fade In and fade Out times of 2 seconds 2 Drag that lighting scene onto action button A007 and set that action button to Default and Grp A 3 Create a Timed sequence for the 2 minute presentation 4 Drag the Timed sequence onto action button A002 and set it to On Ex and Grp A 5 Set the trigger TG for the action button containing the Timed sequence to an appropriate trigger 6 Tick the Action Panel gt Run Default Action Buttons item on the Options menu or click on the RD button to turn it on then shown red Now action button A007 the lighting scene will run automatically set to Default until someone pushes the switch to trigger action button A002 the Timed sequence at which time action button A001 will go off the lighting scene fades out and the presentation begins During the running of the 2 minute presentation further presses of the switch will have no effect because the button is set to On Ex When the presentation finishes the default lighting scene fades back in again until the next person presses the switch and so on By using different sets of action buttons set to different letter groups you can achieve the above for multiple independent rooms On TRG If set to On TRG then the action button will be run when an on state is detected from its selected trig
244. ht of the fade times is a bpm Beats Per Minute setting see Beats Per Minute Counter p 110 e The Plist setting above the motor controls can be used to play a folder full of wave files as a playlist Let s assume you have jazz rock and classical music tracks stored on disk as wav files and you wish to create 3 playlists one for each style of music 1 Create a file folder called Jazz and copy the jazz tracks Set Audio Playlist into this folder Do the same for the rock and classical tracks Playlist Random Playlist copying them into folders called Track Length TrackLength gt 6 E 6 z El Rock and Classical l XFade On respectively You now have 3 folders containing the 3 different styles of music tracks Random Sequence A001 Adverts Every 15 Minutes 2 Highlight any empty sound event button and double click on Set Cancel the wave file selector button a file selector appears Select a file in the Jazz folder and click on Set audio playlist dialogue box 104 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Open the file details will then be shown in the details display 3 Hold down Ctrl and click on Off to the right of Plist a Set Audio Playlist dialogue box will then appear 4 Playlist Select Linear Playlist if you want the tracks to play in the same linear order or select Random Playlist if you want the tracks to be played in a random order each time
245. ic Link Library if the Inclusive Tech T Switch script is loaded then these devices emulate key presses etc so communication is by means of the Windows System if the OptiMusic OptiLamp script is loaded then ShowMagic communicates with the device via a USB port etc Configure Outstations Please Note This section contains references to IP features that are currently in ExPERIMENTAL status If you wish to control various elements of ShowMagic using an external IP Outstation device such as an application running on an iPhone iPad etc then this menu item can be used to set the IP address and port number for the device Any command string messages received from this device IP address and port will be acted upon but any command string messages received over IP from devices with different IP addresses amp ports will be ignored See RS232 IP Command String Protocol p 255 for a list of command strings that can be used 28 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual System Menu This menu can be used to check that you have the appropriate sound resources etc correctly installed You don t need to tick any items on the System menu they are there just to show you what resources are available If any sound resources are not available then check that your soundcard should possess them and if so use the Windows control panel to set them up correctly or re install the latest soundcard drivers Direct Capture Selecting the System gt Direct C
246. icient The video codecs that you are using on your PC also determine how efficiently video files are played e Poorly Encoded Files If there are decoding problems with video files that you are trying to Section 2 Events 9 play this can hang up the PC when you try to play them If a windows exception occurs when you are trying to play a software decoded video file in ShowMagic then there is a problem with that particular file at the software codec level this is not a problem within the ShowMagic software itself Sequences Sequences can be used to group and run multiple events for a wide variety of purposes For example a series of lighting scenes can be run to simulate flashes of lightning whilst at the same time thunder sound effects can be played in exact synchronization to complete the effect Alternatively particular sections of a show or even an entire show can be created as a sequence The way in which shows and presentations are run can vary enormously so there are 5 different sequence types available in ShowMagic to allow for this They are a Chase b Manual c Timed d Random e Snapshot Chase Unlike single lighting scenes that occur only once each time they are run a lighting chase is a Sequence containing two or more lighting scenes When the chase is run the first scene in the chase is executed followed by the second etc and a chase defaults to run continuously in a loop until it is stopped If a sound event is
247. ient mode AYUDO Click on the Done button and the card will then be ready for use in ShowMagic ESI WaveTerminal Console If you wish to use all the Waveterminal 192 M v 3 80 Console output channel pairs File Config DirectWIRE separately then click on the a eE Waveterminal 192 M conso e GEJ Mix button in the HW VOL SAMPLE Wingy yao 1 aaa wx NOL MME SW VOL section to disable it then Talc tale abe babe labels LPFRILIRILIRILIRILER shown dark red eS 48 Click on 44 1 for the sample 5 22 rate and click on the Auto 16 sa WWW US ii Lock 4 00 4 00 0 400 100 100 100 100 100 button below it to change it to Lock 4 00 lawon Make sure the Clock is set to INTERNAL select Exit from the File menu and the card is now ready for use in ShowMagic Section 16 Appendix 233 Appendix B Using LED Fixtures and Controllers with ShowMagic Mtf LEDdance The Mtf LEDdance dancefloor panels that incorporate triangular sections are supported in ShowMagic from v11 1 onwards These panels have 3 operating modes 4 channel 13 channel or 25 channel Using the LEDdance Panels with ColorScene In 4 channel mode each dancefloor panel occupies 1 ColorScene cell In 13 channel mode each panel occupies 16 ColorScene cells 4 across by 4 down and each quarter of the panel can be coloured independently In 25 channel mode each panel occupies 16 ColorScene cells 4 across by 4 do
248. iles The utility is available for download free from the Microsoft website After you install PowerPoint viewer and run it a license agreement for using the viewer appears and you must read the agreement and consent to the agreement in order to use it Loading a PowerPoint ppt File 1 Highlight an empty control event button 2 Double click on the PPT slideshow selector button 3 Select the ppt file that you want to load using the file selector dialogue box PPT selector button The ppt file will then be loaded onto the control event button its filename will be used as the initial label for that event and its details will be shown in the details display The event s label can of course be edited in the usual way You can then select which of the virtual windows on a display output of a multi head graphics card you want to output the PowerPoint slideshow to default 01 by right clicking to the right of Vw to select 01 to 20 from the pop up menu Note Only one PowerPoint File can be run at any one time irrespective of how many display outputs are available e g if a PowerPoint slideshow is being run in a virtual window on Display 1 and another is then run in a virtual window on Display 2 this will automatically turn off the slideshow on Display 1 Running a PowerPoint File With the ppt file loaded onto a control event button the event can be run in any of the usual ways double clicking on the button will start the event doubl
249. ill be prompted to confirm each overwrite and if you click on the Cancel button at any time the scene generation operation will be aborted at that point FX Generator Pan and tilt movements can be created by recording pan and tilt position scenes dropping them into a lighting chase and then setting the speed and slope for that chase 3 bil Scans Shape 1 This is ideal if you want the beams to go from one specific position move to another specific position and so on perhaps to highlight particular points in a room Shapes such as a circle or ellipse however are difficult to create using this method you would need to record a lot of position scenes in order for the beam to trace an accurate circle and there will be a lot of times when you may want to make a scanner or group of scanners move in a wave pattern or have their beams crossing over each rs Se Straight Circle All other etc This is where the FX Generator comes into Random Elipse individual play Odds Evens Straight The FX generator is applied to a lighting scene event and Random the pan amp tilt positions for each fixture recorded in the scene act as the central reference point when a shape e g a circle is selected using the FX generator If you had four scanners round a dance floor one in each corner The FX generator panel positioned all their beams to the centre of the dance floor recorded that as a scene and then applied a circle shape as the
250. ill then start A ll pause and stop action button A007 respectively If the action button Po has been paused using PAUSE01 then receipt of another PLAYO1 o T Acknowledge Master the string defined for PLAY will resume it 9 Ifyou tick the Acknowledge Action item then ShowMagic will send cose an acknowledgement string back to confirm receipt of a command string e g if PLAY12 13 is received ShowMagic will send back the string A120K 13 Similarly if you tick the Acknowledge Master item ShowMagic will return an appropriate string to acknowledge any command strings received to adjust the level settings on the master panel e g GMOK 13 will be returned when the string GMUP10 13 is received 190 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Comm Device Triggering ShowMagic can use various data acquisition input devices for the triggering control of action buttons if a device script is available for it see Using Data Acquisition Devices p 28 Below is a description of some of these ADAM Modules ADAM digital input modules such as the 4053 are a robust reliable and low cost means by which dry contacts and push button switches PIRs etc can be used to trigger action buttons When initially configuring the EEPROM on any ADAM modules refer to the documentation supplied with the module for information on how to do this it is recommended that you set them to at least 38 400 baud rate to ensure fast and smooth
251. im Desk Scree i A Oi a 31 Secti n 5 Master Pame enere a aee aea eaaa iadaaa a ed didada iat 33 iii Clear Buttons ci a oak a BTS Cah aaa ME a ind 33 View Button 2S ens eae os do s e Coote te cad ue ae 34 Sotind TosLicht Seca a AS ada o dat 34 Audio Output Sub master Padel asimila aid inde 36 Multiple ASIO Audio Output Sub master FaderS ooooocnnoccnocnconnconnnnonccononconnconccconocononcnn conocio nannnnos 36 E E nda a a a 37 Adjusting the Master Panel Faders via RS232 IP or DMX IdpUt coooonnccnocinocinccnoncnanconcnoncnnnonnanancnos 37 Hold Baton A SR 37 BACCUE BUON 37 A O O 37 Pause Schedule Bitar ie li 38 AUTOS AS DUI a A A A A a 38 Sound To Light Input Selector Bat An 38 Multiple ASIO Audio Input Sub master FaderS oooocnncnioccconnconccnonaconcconnncnnncnnnn corno n cn conan cc cinncno 38 Section 6 Fixture Panel cion le ecens aeea paranan sia esaea sedea dan sstoeeeteoraartes 41 Fixture Pad A A A A dt 41 PUMCHON SECO it diras 42 A A A A 42 Function Buttons e A A O 43 Selecting Adj stinge a PON tan 43 S lecting Funcion PES NA A os datas A A enue eeeealetiaay 43 Using Key Activated Presets on the Fixture Panel valieieresanies 43 Lee and Rosco Color Filters Presets for RGB CMY FunctiONS coooocooccnonononccccononcncnnnnnccnnnnnoos 44 The Trackball Arci nna ea r E Aap uh wt sk e E venetian ani OE EA e a Havel A Ta 44 Centre and Locate Buttons visors tay a A aa 45 Color BOXs smere a N an E a a A nen N aa a or en rae
252. in the process of coming on or going off a half bright LED on an orange action button would indicate that the sound event volume is fading up or fading down and so on If the event has been paused the LED will flash on and off to indicate this Similarly with the red LED feature if a scene is assigned to an action button and a sequence containing that scene is also assigned to another action button the LED on the action button for the sequence will turn green when it is run and when the scene is run as a step in that sequence the LED on its action button will turn red to indicate that it has been run indirectly by another event Assigning Events to Action Buttons To assign a ShowMagic event scene sound event etc to an action button simply 180 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 1 Select the appropriate panel on one side of the desk for the type of event you wish to assign to the button 2 Select the action panel on the other side of the desk 3 Drag and drop the scene sound event control event or sequence button onto the desired action button That action button now has that event assigned to it Dropping the event elsewhere such as back in its own list display will cancel the operation Clicking on an action button highlights it and its details are shown in the top details display Double clicking on an action button runs the event assigned to it and any Wait fade In settings etc will be used Double clicking on an action
253. inadvertently overwritten or deleted then you can revert to the other Floppy disk CD Rom or USB memory stick back ups are also strongly recommended and we have implemented optimised load and save routines that keep the size of desk dsk files to a minimum enabling even desk set ups for large shows to be saved to a single floppy disk or low capacity memory stick ShowMagic files can be loaded from or saved to anywhere on your hard disk s but they default to their own folders within the program folder the default being C AVSS ShowMagjic Model where Model is the name of the ShowMagic model you are using ShowMagic desk capacities Lighting Scenes Sequences Sounds Action Buttons Control Events 2304 1536 960 960 960 The term DMX used throughout this manual is a general reference to the type of lighting control output you are using If you have selected Art Net ExPERIMENTAL PMX or MIDI for lighting control output then treat the term DMX as a reference to that Section 1 Overview 3 When the desk is running scenes chases sound events or sequences the DMX and sound output take priority over what is displayed on the PC screen In extreme cases unavoidable due to the possible use of very old slow PC graphics cards etc the updating of faders time displays etc on the screen may lag behind or jump slightly but the actual output of audio video or DMX will be consistent and correct Where possible and appropriate
254. indows can be selected This is useful if you are using say two 3x2 matrix panel arrays you can set up the first array to use an area of 48x32 pixels at the top left of the second head output and set up the second array to use a 48x 32 area at an X offset position of 48 to the immediate right of it Virtual window 01 can be set in ShowMagic to Display 1 Xpos 0 Ypos 0 Width 48 Height 32 Virtual window 02 can be set in ShowMagic to Display 1 Xpos 48 Ypos 0 Width 48 Height 32 Now anything that you want to play to the first LED matrix array can be set to use virtual window 01 and anything for the second LED matrix array can be set to use virtual window 02 Section 16 Appendix 239 If you are using a multi head graphics card or interface then you could use the second head output to set up virtual windows for your LED matrix array s and the other head outputs can be used to play video digital signs etc at full size to plasma screens projectors etc Please Note PowerPoint presentations in ShowMagic cannot be re sized they are always played at the native resolution set for the primary monitor output i e the monitor that the ShowMagic virtual desk is running on If you want to play a PowerPoint presentation on a virtual window you must ensure that the size of the virtual window is the same as the primary monitor ShowMagic s Digital Signage events can however be re sized and used on any size of virtu
255. ings are used with ShowMagic events these timings are in the following format Hours Minutes Seconds and Frames shown thus HH MM SS FF a frame being 1 25 of a second shown from 00 to 24 e g 12 frames equals half a second Where HH are the hours MM are the minutes SS are the seconds and FF are the frames e g 09 08 07 06 9 hours 8 minutes 7 seconds and 6 frames Where hours or hours and minutes are not appropriate the timings MM SS FF and SS FF respectively are used xiii Section 1 Overview The ShowMagic range of products enables you to control from a single PC literally all the technical aspects of any show or presentation that uses e Lighting e Audio playback e Audio input output routing e Effects equipment e RS232 MIDI or IP controllable devices IP device support is EXPERIMENTAL e Multiple digital signs pictures text and FX PowerPoint multiple video file playback and live video capture In other words in the case of ShowMagic AV it is a software equivalent to a e Lighting desk Sound playback device and audio mixer router e Device controller e Digital signage content creator player and PowerPoint slideshow player e Video file player and live video router Models of ShowMagic are available in two sizes to suit the maximum number of DMX channels that you need to control 512 on standard models and 2048 on the Plus models There are 3 ranges of ShowMagic SL Sound output
256. int 13 Assigning Physical Fixtures to the ShowMagic Virtual Desk cee eeeeseeseeseeeeeeteeeseeeneeeeneeeees 14 Quick Patch and Copy Pate ys 0 067 aan A lone Caauneaawseneteaiees 15 Clearing an ES A de Nef ita Aiea clad auido Meg hier a dala is as 16 Fader Listoner ina tus A tai 16 EMT o 17 Patch and Copy Command ui ds ads 17 Multiple Assignment and Patching Command5s ceceeccceecceesecesseeeseeeeeeeseceseeeeaeeeseeesseeneeeneneees 19 Encontrado ai e 19 Notes on Matching Fixture Fader Numbers to DMX Chaninels c eecceseeceeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneees 21 Notes on Overwriting DMX Addresses Already in US8 ooooooconocccioccnococoncnoonncnnnononoconcnonnncccnancncnnns 21 Deleting Fader and Fixture ASMA a 21 The Load Patch and Save Patch Encalada ai is ra 22 Making Fixtures tess oann san 22 The Fest Buttons Fdr and DMX akties NA A RT Es 23 Load Fixture and Save Fixture FUnctions cscccsccccecsssscssecssccseccssscesaccsesccseccsessesacssnsccssenees 23 Change Password posecen e pi O A TS AE A cd 24 Auto Patch PIU sa act ocin searvvenasa sous eatwuatasnes 25 COMM BUCS ComM DEVICES A A iadaaa dase aiana naait 25 Using TCV ICS Scripts erranei eRe Ate E RE reac ake RE teh Ray ROS Lal Aa R 27 Using Data Acquisition DeviE Sia e cid 28 Configure Cit cis A A AR AT la DR 28 SE MM a ea od 29 AA A A A e nee 29 Section 4 Main Desk Screen ccccccccccssseseseeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeseeeeeeeeeeeseeesesceeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeees 31 Ma
257. io channels is also available via the desk The start and stop playback positions of digital audio and MIDI files are also selectable For instance you can start playing a wave file from any point to the nearest 25 of a second into the sound file 8 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Control Events Control commands can be sent and received via IP ExPERIMENTAL using the network port via RS232 using serial port s and MIDI via MIDI port s which enables ShowMagic to control external IP and RS232 controllable devices such as projectors audio video switchers etc and MIDI controllable devices such as audio effects units audio mixing desks etc Video files live captured video digital signage containing pictures and text and PowerPoint Slideshows can also be stored and played as control events Video Events With a Windows Direct Capture compatible video capture device installed in the PC ShowMagic AV can play live captured video in any Virtual Window on any selected monitor output s of a multi head card or interface Video files can also be played off hard disk by ShowMagic AV to any virtual window If you are running ShowMagic AV on Windows XP Vista or Windows avi and wmv files can be software decoded and also played out to any virtual window Please Note Windows Media Player has to be correctly set up to play software decode avi and wmv files this initialises the software CODECS COders DECod
258. ion 9 Sequence Panel 135 4 Release the Shift key and the normal sequence faders will again be shown You can also make any adjustments described above for that chase step whilst it is running and the original settings for that chase s button on the sequence panel remain unaffected i e a single chase on the sequence panel can be used in any number of other sequences each with their own independent Speed and Slope settings Adjusting Volume Settings for Video File Event Steps If a sequence contains a video file event then the volume and fade in settings for that video event step can be adjusted in the following way 1 Highlight the video file event in the sequence step details display 2 Hold down the Shift key and the 1 and 3 faders on the top right of the sequence panel will change into orange colored volume and fade time faders 3 With the Shift key still held down adjust these faders to the desired settings 4 Release the Shift key and the normal sequence faders will again be shown Creating a Sound Event Volume or Pan Change Step If you had a sound event in a sequence background music for instance and you wished to change just the volume setting for that music later in that sequence you can do so in the following way 1 Let us assume that you have a timed sequence such as the one supplied on the demonstration desk in which step 001 brings In a midi file event and steps 2 to 5 are scene event steps 2
259. ion button is a Manual sequence and the action button is set to Go Play then the flash button will act as the Go button so each press of the flash button will trigger the next step in that Manual sequence If Flash Play and Master are both ticked then the flash button on the external desk can be used to start and stop the action button and the slider on the lighting desk can be used to set and adjust the overall audio dimming levels of the events Please Note The slider can control levels between the threshold value and the flash value slider values received at or beyond the flash value are treated as a flash as if you had pressed the flash button 194 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual IR Remote Control Triggering You can use the Infrared remote control that is supplied with the REALmagic Xcard to trigger and control any events assigned to action buttons It can also be used to control the audio master AM fader and mute button on the Master panel in the following ways The IR receiver unit should be plugged into a free COM port and set up using the Comm gt Configure Comm Ports dialogue box on the patch screen If the Remote Control item is ticked on the Set Action Trigger REALmagic remote control dialogue box for each action button that you want to control then the following buttons on the remote control can be used as follows Number buttons 1 to 9 These can be used to highlight an action button from A007 to A009 r
260. ions to save time click on the Rec button to turn record mode on The fifth step will then wait until the Go button is clicked again or Spacebar The time within the sequence at that moment will then be recorded as its trigger time and so on for the other steps When recording timer settings in real time using the Rec button if you continue clicking the Go button or pressing Spacebar then Null Steps will be added to the end of the sequence until Stop is used In this way you can continue logging times and adding Null Steps and events can be dropped into these steps later A Null Step is automatically inserted at the end labelled End and set to 23 59 59 24 this can be deleted later or the correct time at which you wish to end the sequence can be typed in for that End step in the usual way If you wish to insert a Null Step between event steps when recording in real time press Insert instead of either clicking on the Go button or pressing Spacebar If when recording timed sequences the steps become out of sequence time wise then clicking on the Shf Shuffle button will shuffle the sequence steps Shf into the correct time order The shuffle Random Sequences button A sequence set to Random is suited to applications that require ever changing scenes that don t need to run in any predetermined order By creating different lighting scenes or chases and dropping them into a random sequence you can quickly produce an ever
261. ious event i e the two events will occur at the same time c Fllw This determines how soon after the previous event if it is a lighting scene or chase has finished fading in that this event will wait before following on If the time 00 00 then it will occur immediately on the previous event finishing its fade in If the previous event is a sound timed sequence or video event this determines how soon after the event has finished playing that this event will wait before following on A sequence timer is shown above the motor control buttons When any sequence is started the timer begins at 00 00 00 00 and increments in hours minutes seconds and frames throughout the playing of that sequence Using a Pause Resume Step in a Manual Sequence All the events sound sequence video etc in a manual sequence that are currently running can be paused and then resumed with the Go button To do this insert a Null Step where you want the events to be paused then double click on the words Null Step The words Pause Resume will then be displayed in white for that step When that step is triggered using the Go button or Spacebar any running events in that manual sequence will be paused The next click on Go or Spacebar will then take the pause off and the running events will resume from the point at which they were paused The next Go received will then trigger the next step as normal To change a Pause Resume step b
262. is needed this can be set in one of two ways 2 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual a Hold down the Ctrl key whilst moving the fader this will select finer fader adjustment and decrement increment the value in single steps b Move the fader to the approximate value that is required and then left right click on the value below the fader to decrement increment the value in single steps Load Desk and Save Desk The complete set up of a desk can be saved using Save Desk and later loaded in again using Load Desk both available from the File menu on the main desk screen A single desk set up programmed for just a few lighting scenes a show or even numerous shows can be saved and loaded at any time The File gt New Desk option will clear the desk set up after confirmation and a copy of the current desk is automatically saved as a file called Backup dsk Normally when ShowMagic is initially run all the lighting scene sound control event and sequence buttons are empty Each can then be selected and programmed or alternatively a desk set up that was previously programmed can be loaded in using Load Desk and then adapted to create a new one VERY IMPORTANT We recommend that you should save your work regularly An auto save feature is provided to do this automatically for you It is also a good idea to save an important desk set up file twice under two different names e g MyShow dsk and MyShow Backup dsk should one of the files get
263. isplays and virtual windows settings can be saved within the ShowMagic desk file as well as automatically to a separate system file if the Save Settings with Desk item is ticked This enables you to create a different virtual windows set up for each desk If a desk file is loaded that contains virtual window settings then the settings in the default virtual windows system file are bypassed Virtual Windows The first drop down menu selects the virtual window number 07 to 20 Note on AV Plus virtual windows 01 to 05 are fixed settings 1 e they are fixed at the full screen resolution of displays 1 to 5 and cannot be redefined On the AV model virtual windows to 3 are used for the fixed settings as above Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 211 If you are using a multi head graphics card or interface on which all the outputs are displayed as one large stretched monitor on the Windows Display Properties Settings dialogue box then virtual window 01 will be fixed at the combined width height of the outputs Virtual windows 04 or 06 to 20 however are editable settings that can be set to whatever resolution you require The size of any virtual windows that you set for each display output can be in excess of the full resolution of that display but if this is the case then the bottom and right of the content will be lost off the screen If you select a virtual window between 04 or 06 and 20 and tick the Ac
264. it has been run is shown to the right of this title If set to 00 00 00 00 then the fade up starts immediately on running the scene In The time that it takes for the faders to reach that scene s settings If 00 00 00 00 is set then the faders reach the values set for that scene instantly Hold The time that the scene settings are held before fading out when the scene is de activated If set to 00 00 00 00 the scene will start to fade out or go off if no Out time is selected immediately Out The time taken for the faders to fade out If 00 00 00 00 is set then the faders change instantly Type Ascene can be set to Normal or Safe If set to Safe its button will be shown in blue with a red border and it will not be affected by the use of any Clear or Black buttons it can only be turned off by double clicking on its button again This allows any essential scenes for background lights etc to be protected from being turned off inadvertently The GM button on the master panel however will always set every channel to 0 off during the time it is activated though the scenes themselves may still be left running Effect This effect setting can be toggled between Off or Flash If set to Off then the scene will come on and will stay on until it is turned off manually or in a sequence If set to Flash then the scene will remain on for the period set for Hold if any then it will go off If Hold is set to 00 00 00 00 then it will still flash on th
265. ixture Panel Menu Display Fixture Name if this is ticked then the labels for fixtures are displayed down the left of the main fader columns on the fixture panel 214 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Monitor Panel Menu Display DMX Percentage by ticking this item the DMX outputs on the monitor panel will be shown as a percentage 0 FL rather than a DMX value of 0 255 Display Midi Note by ticking this item the first byte B7 on the MIDI Monitor display will be shown as a note and not as a value User Screen Access Menu Selecting this item brings up a User Screen Access dialogue box F Clear Seqs Button and then provide your client with a I Clear Snds Button Realtime Edit F Clear Ctrls Button F Action Fader Blackout Button K F Display Details Hold Button The user screen described in User F Display Schedule Motor Buttons r F Hide Mouse F Main User Screen Button Screen p 227 has been designed so Load Desk I One Touch Button F Master Faders F Recall Button r that you can program all the necessary T One Touch On D Reset Button s gt Save Desk Prompt on Quit Schedule Button ShowMagic events for a show or F Spacebar Play F Use Fader Buttons r F Quit Program venue assign them to action buttons I Clear Scenes Button I E 2 4 simple to use screen from which they can select pre programmed sequences lighting scenes etc In other words the end user need not
266. king within the Label window on the dialogue box Recording Scenes To record a scene do the following 1 Select the fixture panel on the left side of the desk and the scene panel on the right 2 Set up all the faders that you wish to record as a scene In the example below we have recorded a scene for the Stage Light 300 fixture on the demo desk 3 Use the bank and page buttons on the scene panel to select the page containing the scene button scene number that you wish to record the settings to 4 Activate the Rec button by clicking on it it will flash then click on the desired scene button the scene will then be recorded to that scene number and the Rec button will be de activated If the scene number already contains a recorded scene then you will be prompted to confirm the overwrite Click OK to overwrite the scene or Cancel to cancel the operation both options de activate the Rec button Setting Fade Times for a Scene With a scene recorded to a scene button the button is shown in red to indicate that a scene has been recorded to it you can now set the fade times for that scene Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 61 1 Click on the scene button to highlight it in a light red its details are then shown in the details display at the top of the scene panel 2 Click anywhere in the details display and an Edit Scene dialogue box will appear 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0 00 00 00 0 In Hold Out
267. l Applying Icons To Bank and Page Selector Buttons If you wish to order your scenes into banks and pages then graphics can be selected for any of the boxes provided above the bank and page selector buttons for easy recognition When you have created possibly hundreds of scenes for various fixtures a quick way of finding them is desirable For instance you could use bank A for storing scenes related to scanners and you can apply a scanner graphic to that bank button to denote Scanner scenes You could then subdivide bank A into different function scenes for the scanners bank A page 7 A001 to A024 could be used for storing scanner gobo scenes and bank A page 2 A025 to A048 for scanner color scenes A gobo graphic can be applied to the page 7 selector button and a color graphic to the page 2 button Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 51 o OHOO Bank and page selector icons To apply a graphic to the box above a bank or page button simply double click on the square button above the bank or page button and the scene buttons will be replaced with a selection of graphics Click on the graphic you require and this will be applied to the box above the button If you want to blank out the graphic simply select a blank button from the graphics display Clicking on the white right facing arrow at the bottom right will take you to another page of icons clicking on the left facing arrow will take you to the previous page of icon
268. l brightness We will now modify this ColorScene chase using the dimmer function so that each of the colored columns will grow brighter as they move from left to right across the grid When the color first appears on the left of the grid it will appear at 50 brightness when it moves to the centre column it will increase to 75 and when it moves to the right column it will be at 100 1 Right click on the Color button to change it to Dim the color palette will then change into a dimmer palette and the two faders at the top will change into a sub master fader that controls the overall dimmer levels and a slope fader that controls the slope for dimmer channels 2 Click on the third box in the dimmer palette in a similar way to the color palette the first and second boxes are fixed at 000 off and 255 full brightness respectively Dimmer levels for each box in the dimmer palette can be set by moving the dimmer function fader on the fixture panel for any of the fixtures used on the grid to the desired level or selecting a preset using the presets panel and double clicking in the box to store it For this example store 75 in the Dim 01 box and 50 in the Dim 02 box 3 Select the frame 02 box click on the Dim 02 box and draw down the first red column This will set the level of that red column to 50 Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 95 4 5 6 7 Select the frame 03 box and draw down the left green column to set it
269. l MIDI sequencer then the button goes off DMX the action button will be turned on by holding down a flash button or holding a slider up past the Flash value on an external DMX desk If the flash button is released or the slider is brought down to 00 on the external desk the action button goes off Digital Input or Joystick Button holding down the appropriate joystick button or a appropriate switch button connected to an ADAM digital input channel will turn on the action button If the button is released the action button goes off Section 12 Action Panel 183 Spacebar Hitting Spacebar when the action button is highlighted and the action panel is on the left of the screen will turn it on Hitting Spacebar again will turn it off UNLESS the event assigned to the action button is a Manual sequence in which case subsequent presses on the Spacebar will trigger the next step in that sequence 1 e it will act as the Go button for that Manual sequence Go PI This option has been specifically included so that the steps in any Manual sequences that are assigned to action buttons can be triggered using Spacebar or various inputs If the event assigned to the action button is not a Manual sequence then Go PI works in exactly the same way as the On Off setting described above However if the event is a Manual sequence then Spacebar DMX amp MIDI Input Joystick Button Digital amp Analogue Input the action button will b
270. ld and label each file in the format MMDDHH bmp where MM is the number of the month DD is the date in that month and HH is the hour in that day e g 081213 bmp for August 12 1 00pm then ShowMagic will automatically load in and continuously crossfade alpha blend between each appropriately labelled hourly image To set this up do the following 1 Create the images as described above and store them in the same folder 2 Add a dummy bmp file with the label DDMMHH bmp to the folder 3 Select a digital signage control event as normal and use the Load Image File special code for Blk 01 then select the MMDDHH bmp as the image file 4 Resize and position the image as required Now when you run that signage event the two appropriate images will be loaded in and ShowMagic will continuously calculate the alpha blend levels between each depending on the time between the hours E g if it is 30 minutes after 10 00 on 24 December when you run the event then ShowMagic will display an image that will initially be a 50 50 alpha blend between the image files 122410 bmp and 122411 bmp or if it is 15 minutes after 10 00 then the image displayed will initially be a 75 25 alpha blend between image files 122410 bmp and 122411 bmp respectively and so on The crossfading will then continue on from that point Please Note If any image files are missing or cannot be loaded for any reason then ShowMagic will simply
271. le on that device Play Rew Stop etc are listed in the Command drop down menu as a guide Click in the appropriate On or Off box click on the appropriate command in the Command drop down menu and edit it to suit if the command is editable If you need to output a command more than once e g to alter a projector s brightness in increments then simply select the number of repetitions in the drop down box to the left of the On or Off boxes The command will then be sent that number of times in succession Two examples are given on the next page one for a Sanyo PLC XU116 projector that uses non editable commands and one for a Kramer VS 808 AV switcher that uses editable commands 5 Finally click on the Enter button ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 01 On 01 Off Clear Cmd POWER ON Filter Show All y lt comment gt Sanyo PLC XU116 Projector Brightness 4500 ANSI Lumen Resolution XGA Contrast 1000 1 Command strings cannot be edited In this first example a script for a Sanyo PLC XU116 projector has been loaded You will see in the comments section that the commands cannot be edited for this device only selected Where there are a lot of commands available for a device you can use the Filter drop down menu to filter what specific groups of commands are listed in the Command drop down menu at any one time In this case the Sanyo commands are grouped into Audio Adjust Display Input and P
272. licking on this button turns the randomiser on shown blue or off shown grey The randomiser will randomly pick for each frame whether the slope setting is used or no slope is used for that frame f A fixture display initially empty that shows the fixture assigned to the currently highlighted cell in the grid and X and Y grid size selectors g The ColorScene grid initially showing 3 cells across by 3 cells down h A button marked Live If you want ColorScene to output dmx to the fixtures patched on the grid live as you are programming rather than just outputting DMX to those fixtures when the ColorScene scene is run then double clicking on this button will turn it red and enable the live dmx output Double clicking again on the button turns it off 1 A copy of the scene panel s Clear button j Four buttons labelled Patch Chase Color amp Run for selecting the 4 different modes 86 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual k Two options displays with selection areas below them Patch 00 paangat 1 These upper and lower options displays and selection areas change depending on what programming mode you are in m A duration window that displays the time duration of a ColorScene event when a ColorScene chase is The option displays selected to repeat a number of times or a series of chases are run in succession for that ColorScene event n Scroll buttons to the right side of the bottom selection area ColorSc
273. lier event steps that you don t want to be turned off by a scene event to say V for video events C for chase sequences etc Section 9 Sequence Panel 141 4 Set the later scene event that you want to turn off earlier sound events and lighting scenes to L For example we now have the following Step 001 trigger Go La a sound effect lasting 6 seconds Step 002 trigger Wait 00 00 LI first lighting scene which auto starts with the sound effect Step 003 trigger Go C a chase sequence Step 004 trigger Go L second lighting scene Step 005 trigger Go XT a sound event of music lasting 2 minutes Step 006 trigger Go XT a Null Step as the last step to stop the sequence When you now Play From Mark or Continue From Mark from step 004 above the following will happen The sound effect in step 001 is not played the L setting of step 004 turns off any other steps set to main group L or any of the L sub groups i e La to Lz e Step 002 the first lighting scene which would normally come on with step 001 will not be run because the L setting of step 004 turns it off due to it s sub group setting of LI e Step 003 will be run because it is set to a different main group letter C If the same sequence is run from the start using Go as normal the following happens The sound effect in step 001 set to La is play
274. light input level faders for any selector channels on the primary soundcard with orange buttons labelled Wv Md etc button that are available These faders can then be adjusted to alter the level of that channel being fed to the sound to light section Please Note The red STL Sound To Light input level faders do not affect the output volume of those channels they only affect the level of the audio going in to the sound to light section When these are adjusted you will hear no difference but the sound to light meters will react differently to that audio channel Double clicking on the red In button replaces the red in input level faders with the normal orange audio output sub OG WM master faders again Di Ln Mc The sub master faders with the input selector button activated 38 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Multiple ASIO Audio Input Sub master Faders If you are using one or more multi input output soundcards with ASIO drivers page selector buttons will appear below the audio input In selector button The page In this case when the In button is selected shown red clicking on the right selector arrow button enables you to scroll past the sound to light input level faders to buttons the ASIO input sub master faders for each of the input channels available on the multi input output soundcard s their buttons are colored red to denote input and are labelled 1 2 etc rather than Wv Md etc to denote AS
275. live spectrum analyser graphic effect that Banda 250nz z f oonz makes use of ShowMagic s sound to light features BandS 500hz 800hz Band 6 z 1Khz Band 7 Z 3Khz Band 8 IZ 6Khz Band 9 hz 10Khz If you want to use the spectrum analyser on one or more digital signs then clicking on this option produces a dialogue box that enables you to select the following Band 10 14Khz 16Khz options 10Band 16 Segment XGap1 y Decay 4 Band 1 to Band 10 The frequency range for each band up YGap1 y to 10 can be selected between 30hz and 16Khz using drop down menus Number of Bands The number of bands used in the Spectrum analyser settings spectrum analyser can be set from 6 to 10 Number of Segments The number of vertical segments used in the spectrum analyser from 10 to 16 X and Y Gaps An X Gap of 0 to 4 can be selected to separate horizontally the columns and a Y Gap of 0 to 4 can be selected to separate vertically the segments Please Note If you have loaded a picture as a background to a digital sign that contains the spectrum analyser graphic then the picture can be seen between the X and Y gaps i e the gaps are transparent Decay A decay time can be set between to 8 This determines how quickly the columns drop back down after being triggered Display Window Settings Virtual Windows ar
276. ll be played in the same order each time this is the order in which they are sorted in the folder Selecting Random Playlist will mean that the video files stored in the selected folder will be played in a random order each time until all of the files have been played once If the LP loop item is selected then after each file has been played once a new random order is picked and played until each file has been played once again and so on You can tick or un tick which video File Types you wish to include in the playlist using the appropriate boxes The Sequence Insert feature described for audio playlists in Wave File Playlist p 104 is also available for video file playlists and it works in exactly the same way When the playlist option has been selected for a video file event the information in the rk o Video Vw Aout Def SIF ir D s details display changes to show the following Len 01 26 59 Files 048 Aud Vid Label The control event number for that Plist 00 00 video file event A001 etc and a label that can be edited as usual Event details display Ctr Digital Video indicates the control event is video Vw The number of the virtual window to play the video file playlist on can be selected here by right clicking and selecting from the list on the pop up menu Aout You can route the audio for a video playlist to selectable stereo audio outputs using this pop up menu Dir The location of the
277. lows you to enter a password which can be used if you wish to lock Change Password dialogue box out access to the programming of the desk as described in System Locked p 218 Initially the password is blank and anyone can lock and unlock the desk using the Options gt System Locked menu item on the main desk screen but once you have entered a password containing alpha numeric characters not case sensitive this password must be provided whenever you attempt to lock or unlock the desk To create a password 1 Click in the Old Password box and type in the old password If the password is blank such as when this function is first used then ignore the Old Password box and leave it blank 2 Click in the New Password box type in the new password that you wish to use then click on the Enter button The new password will then be stored If no new password is entered i e it is left blank then the password will revert back to being blank when you click on the Enter button 24 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Auto Patch Fixtures If the DMX addresses for your physical fixtures are set consecutively and in the same order as the fixture fader assignments on the patch screen then these can be patched automatically by selecting Options gt Auto Patch Fixtures and confirming on the Auto Patch dialogue box Configure Comm Devices Please Note This section contains references to IP features that are currently in ExPERIMENT
278. lt of 0 is the IP port number that some devices require With the RS232 IP properly configured ShowMagic can send commands to the external devices using control events see Using RS232 or IP Controllable Devices p 150 Similarly any events can be assigned to action buttons and these action buttons can be triggered on receipt of command strings received from external RS232 devices see Triggering Action Buttons p 186 Using Device Scripts The commands for controllable devices are varied numerous and can be cryptic or lengthy so for speed and ease of programming ShowMagic device scripts include generic control codes for the most commonly used control commands e g Play Rew Stop etc In this way you don t have to keep referring to the command protocol for the device to find the correct string commands to enter for the most commonly used commands you simply use the Command drop down menu on the Enter Ctrl String dialogue to see what generic codes are available for that device and select one of the Plain English codes ShowMagic does the rest for you ShowMagic actually converts the generic control codes into the correct string commands numbers required by that device then sends those strings in the right order to the device ShowMagic scripts will be made available for more and more devices as time goes by but if you wish to have a particular device included then please get in touch with AVSS supplying the detail
279. ltiple Monitor Outputs p 154 Any video files captured video or digital signs are automatically re sized by ShowMagic to fit the size of the virtual window on which they are played Please Note PowerPoint slideshows however can only be played in a virtual window that is the same resolution as the primary monitor that ShowMagic is running on The panel contains control event buttons to which these events can be assigned Bank selector buttons labelled A B etc with page selector buttons for each bank provides access to the available control events A details display and port select buttons are provided A sub master fader with mute button timer display and motor control buttons are also included Section 10 Device Control Panel 147 Using MIDI Controllable Devices A typical MIDI device that you could control with ShowMagic would be a MIDI controllable audio effects unit For instance if you were a live performer using ShowMagic to play wave files as your backing click tracks with your lighting synchronized to each track via timed sequences for each song you could use MIDI control events to turn on off certain effects such as echo or reverb on an audio effects unit In this way the singers microphone could be fed into the effects unit and by dropping appropriate MIDI control events into the timed sequence echo or reverb etc could be applied to the vocals automatically at exactly the right moment in the song A MIDI cable must first
280. mark pans it to the right Motor Controls With output sound events clicking on the Play button plays the event from the From time position to the To time position In the case of input sound events however Play simply opens the channel and Stop closes it The From and To values can also be set in real time by pressing the Play button to play it and then clicking on any of the From digits whilst holding down Ctrl at the moment that you wish the event to start The time position within the sound event at that moment will then be stored as the From setting The To setting can also be set in the same way by clicking on any of the To digits with Ctrl held down at the moment within the playback of the event that you wish it to stop The From_ and To settings can later be tweaked in the normal way to the nearest 25 of a second by holding down the Ctrl key and then clicking or right clicking to decrement or increment the values at any time when the event is not actually playing Mixer Setting Events This type of sound event can be used for adjusting the volume of any or all of the audio output sub master faders on the Master panel Gs A typical application could be where you are using a fire alarm system The fire alarm could be rigged via a closed contact switch and an ADAM unit to trigger an action button described in Comm Device Triggering p 191 a The mixer Mixer Setting sound event could be assigned to this action
281. master GM blackout button sets ALL lighting channels to 0 Adjusting the Master Panel Faders via RS232 IP or DMX Input The grand master audio master and audio channel master faders on the master panel can also be adjusted using command strings received via RS232 or IP IP support is ExPERIMENTAL Refer to RS232 IP Command String Protocol p 255 for details The AM and GM faders can also be adjusted via DMX input channels as described in DMX Settings p 205 Hold Button Double clicking on this button will hold the current DMX lighting state This is useful if you want to load another Hold desk but keep the current lighting state running Black temporarily Similarly if you are programming lighting The hold scenes but need to maintain the current DMX output then button this button can be used to program blind The blackout button Blackout Button Double clicking on this button will set all lighting channels to their minimum settings as defined on the patch screen It does not affect audio Auto Schedule Button Double clicking on this button toggles the auto scheduler on or off When the schedule is running it is shown in red FO The auto schedule button Section 5 Master Panel 37 Pause Schedule Button Double clicking on this button will pause the schedule so that no scheduled Cr events will be triggered from that point The auto schedule button above it will flash on and off in red to indicate t
282. mented Rather than having to do this manually step by step an Auto Time function has been included to simplify this process This function uses start and end markers to mark the range of consecutive steps that are affected by the function Here s an example of how to use this function 1 Using the above Playlist sequence double click on the white step number of the step that you wish to mark as the end of the marked section 2 Scroll up and highlight the Till FX step in the step details display it will then be highlighted in red when using the Auto Time function the currently highlighted step in a sequence is treated as the start marker 138 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual a All the events between the start marker highlighted step in red and the end marker inclusive are then shown highlighted in blue b Ifyou wish to set the end marker as the last non empty step in the sequence as is required in this case then simply double clicking on the white step number of the start marker step highlighted in red will set the end marker as the last non empty step in the sequence step 005 3 Hold down both the Ctrl and Shift keys and then right click four times on the seconds digits for the Till FX events trigger time and you will notice that the trigger times for all the steps in the marked section below that start step are also incremented by 4 seconds Similarly clicking or right clicking on any of
283. mer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt do gt lt video gt b lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 00 lt timer gt lt 01 gt volume 100 0 lt 01 gt lt do gt lt video gt The Event Script Elements Instructions and Values On the following pages the term Scripted Action refers to the action button that the script has been attached to and action 1 action 2 etc refers to the action button s numbers whose state is being checked i e their current condition Please Note Action states are checked constantly lt runif gt Can be used to automatically run that Scripted Action if it is not already running depending on the current state of another action button or the current state of multiple action buttons e g lt runif gt lt action gt 1 on lt action gt lt runif gt this runs the Scripted Action if action button 1 is currently on lt stopif gt Conversely this can be used to automatically stop the Scripted Action if it is not already stopped depending on the current state of another action button s e g lt stopif gt lt action gt on lt action gt lt stopif gt this stops the Scripted Action if action 1 is on break An optional break instruction can be used with the above to check any single one of multiple conditions If any condition is true and a break follows that condition then no more conditions are checked and the
284. minimum and maximum times to create an ever changing show or effect 10 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Snapshot The current condition of a ShowMagic desk can be captured to create a snapshot All events that are running on the desk when a snapshot is recorded are automatically stored in that snapshot and running that single snapshot will turn all those events on at the same time Action Buttons One of the most powerful design features of ShowMagic is its action panel Rather than having to select each event s panel in order to access that event s button any type of event a lighting scene sound event sequence etc can be dropped onto an action button on the action panel By having a variety of events assigned to action buttons you are able to instantly control any elements of a show from a single panel by double clicking on the appropriate action button Action buttons can be turned on and off triggered automatically when ShowMagic receives selected MIDI notes program change or control change commands from any external MIDI keyboard or MIDI sequencer connected to the MIDI port on the PC A handheld RF media player remote control can be used to control the currently highlighted action button Action buttons can also be triggered and controlled when ShowMagic receives commands sent by External RS232 IP devices IP support is EXPERIMENTAL DMX signals received from an external DMX lighting desk e Switches connec
285. mmend testing your interface with our SL Free Edition software if you are unsure about compatibility ShowMagic v13 1 Compatible DMX Interfaces Manufacturer Interface Operating System Status Afterglow Magic USB DMX Cable Windows XP 32 bit Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Aurora 2 Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Aurora i Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified DMX4ALL USB DMX STAGE PROFI Windows XP 32 bit Certified Windows XP 64 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 64 bit Non Certified Enttec Open DMX USB Windows XP 32 bit Certified Windows XP 64 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 64 bit Certified DMX USB PRO Windows XP 32 bit Certified Windows XP 64 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 64 bit Certified GUS USB VL344 Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified JESE DMX TRI MK1 Windows XP 32 bit Certified Windows XP 64 bit Non Certified Windows 7 32 bit Non Certified Windows 7 64 bit Certified Soundlight USBDMX1 LC Windows XP 32 bit Certified Section 16 Appendix 259 1514PCI Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified 2514PCI Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified USBDMX2 Windows XP 32 bit Non Certified 260 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual
286. mple you would use the LED matrix system software to set a size of 48x32 at an X position of 1025 the first pixel on the x axis of the extended desktop and a Y position of 0 the topmost pixel on the extended desktop then anything displayed in the top left 48x32 area of the second head output will then be displayed on the LED matrix ShowMagic s virtual window features can be used to match the settings above width 48 Height 32 and any video or digital signage played by ShowMagic on that virtual window will automatically be resized to fit that area i e matching the resolution of the LED matrix panel Please Note ShowMagic automatically calculates where the top left pixel is situated on the second head 1 e if the ShowMagic screen on the first head is set to the minimum resolution of 1024x768 it knows that the top left pixel on the second head is situated at 1025 X and 0 Y on the extended desktop So setting virtual window 01 in ShowMagic on Display 1 of Xpos 0 Ypos 0 Width 48 and Height 32 defines an area 48 pixels wide by 32 pixels deep at a position of X 0 Y 0 on the second monitor output Similarly setting a virtual window 02 in ShowMagic to Display 1 with an Xpos 48 Ypos 0 Width 48 and Height 32 defines an area 48 pixels wide by 32 pixels deep immediately to the right of the first virtual window on the second monitor output Another advantage of ShowMagic s virtual window features is that multiple virtual w
287. must precede any other commands in the On box e g C4 P1 etc If no channel select code is entered it is sent on MIDI channel 1 the default You will need to refer to the manual supplied with your MIDI controllable device for the appropriate commands but most devices use a Program Change MIDI command with a number for selecting stored settings on the unit If you only enter a MIDI command in the On box then when that MIDI control event is run the LED on it s button will turn on momentarily to show that the command has been sent and then the button and therefore the control event will be turned off automatically If however you want to select an effect setting e g echo when the control event is turned on but you want the event to remain on and send a different MIDI command for another effect setting e g no effect when it is turned off then simply type in the appropriate codes in the On and Off boxes Example Let us assume that the effects unit you are using requires a Program Change 1 MIDI command to select setting 1 which is no effect and the Program Change 2 MIDI command selects setting 2 which is an echo effect By typing in the commands P2 in the On box and P1 in the Off box for that control event running the event will select echo on the device and turning off the event will select no effect To send a Control Change MIDI command type Xn where n is the channel number followed by two d
288. n Blue and White The white channel can be used on its own or in combination with the others to achieve pastel colors The Soundlight range of LED fixtures also have 16 bit capability If you wish to make use of this facility then select the Options gt Other Settings gt 16 Bit Settings menu on the main desk screen and tick the RGBW CMY and Enabled items Section 16 Appendix 235 Pulsar ChromaZone Each Pulsar ChromaZone controller unit can be used to control up to twelve 3 channel Chroma devices such as the ChromaDome ChromaPanel etc Like most LED fixtures each Chroma device uses 3 DMX channels for controlling the color mixing of Red Green and Blue The fixtures are connected to the ChromaZone controller unit and ShowMagic is connected to the controller via a normal DMX cable The ChromaZone controller unit can be set to run in one of 5 different modes 6 channel 9 channel 36 channel 42 channel or 46 channel Using 6 Channel Mode In this mode the ChromaZone unit only uses the following 6 channels 1 Red 2 Green 3 Blue 4 Chase 5 Speed amp 6 Dimmer intensity On the patch screen highlight an empty fader select Make Pulsar Model ChromaZone Option 6 Channel using the fixture Library button and set the start address Now by using the first 3 function faders you can set the red green and blue color mix Note all the Chroma fixtures connected to the unit will then display the same color The 4 function fader c
289. n 31 121 145 169 193 217 Where more than one bank of page buttons is available bank buttons labelled A B etc each containing a number of page buttons are provided and this bank and page system provides a very handy way for you to organise events into logical groups for easy access A short label of up to 3 characters however many will fit can be applied to a bank or page selector button by double right clicking on the button and entering the label Each of the panels will be described in the following sections 32 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Section 5 Master Panel AV Plus Clear Scns Clear Seqs O Snds The master panel Clear Buttons Clear Scns Clear Seqs Clear Snds Clear Ctris The Clear buttons Double clicking on the Clear Scns Clear Seqs Clear Snds or Clear Ctrls buttons will stop any lighting scenes sequences sound events or control events respectively that are running on the desk Holding down Ctrl and double clicking on any one of these buttons stops ALL events The button s LEDs are illuminated in green if any events of that type are running Section 5 Master Panel 33 The top half of the Master panel contains a sound to light section Double clicking on the button above the grand master GM fader toggles between showing the sound to light section and either a live schedule 5 display in which running scheduled events are shown The button also toggles a display s preview scr
290. n Trigger dialogue box Tick Input 1 Input 2 is included for future expansion this refers to the first input device selected using the DMX Settings dialogue box See DMX Settings p 205 for more information Click on the Channel selector drop down list and use the scroll bar to select the DMX channel from 001 to 512 that you wish to use to start stop and control the levels of that action button If the event on the action button is a manual sequence then different DMX channels can be selected for triggering the Next step Back a step and Pause functions when flashed Click on the Set Button Use the Options gt Other Settings gt DMX Settings dialogue box to select the device to use for DMX input check that the Action Trigger On item is ticked and set the Threshold Flash values to adjust the input sensitivity See DMX Settings p 205 for more information on using the DMX Settings dialogue box Any value equal to or greater than the threshold value received on that channel will now start that action button and control 1t depending on what you next select on the Set Action Trigger dialogue box Section 12 Action Panel 193 Master If this is ticked then any DMX values equal to or greater than the threshold value received on that channel will start the event and adjust the ShowMagic sub master fader for that event Pushing up the slider on the external desk will start the event and it will adjust the audio
291. n Windows Mouse Commands click Click the left mouse button right click Click the right mouse button double click Click the left button twice in quick succession double right click Click the right button twice in quick succession drag Press and hold down the left mouse button on an item e g a fader and slide the mouse up or down To drag and drop an item from one place to another press and hold down the left mouse button on the item you wish to drag move the item to where you wish to put it and then let go of the button to drop it Style Conventions The following style conventions are used throughout the manual Ctrl Keys to be pressed on the keyboard e g press the key marked Ctrl Normal Non ShowMagic items e g names of devices RS232 input strings etc Italics Editable commands values labels and filenames Bold Faders buttons menu items and other non editable objects Bold Italic Non editable but selectable options Underline Fixed titles step numbers etc Where steps are given as part of an example they are shown 1 Step 1 2 Step 2 etc Similarly lists of the options or information available are shown xii a Option 1 b Option 2 etc The numeric keypad on the right of your keyboard can be used for setting channels and entering values for faders etc The Num Lock key should be used to ensure that Num Lock is kept on at all times Times Where tim
292. n run the sequence insert as soon as the currently playing track has finished b When a sequence insert is running from a playlist that playlist is paused When the sequence insert has finished the playlist is taken out of pause and continues with the next track in the playlist c A sequence insert must be either a Timed sequence or a Random sequence set to Type Rnd Sel and Run Once If the sequence is a Rnd Sel sequence it must only contain steps that are all events with a finite duration i e Timed sequences sound events video file events captured video with a selected To time digital signs with an Off duration set etc If ShowMagic finds any events that do not have a finite duration events set to loop for instance then ShowMagic will ignore them and not play them because that sequence insert once started would not stop and ShowMagic could not return to playing the playlist whilst the sequence insert was playing d If the sequence insert is a Rnd Sel sequence a different event will be played each time the sequence insert is run from the playlist To assign a sequence to a playlist as a sequence insert do the following i Drag the sequence button from the sequence panel and drop it into the Plist window If the sequence is not a Rnd Sel sequence or a Timed sequence then this action has no effect ii Hold down Ctrl and click to the right of Plist to call up the Set Audio Playlist dialogue box Section 8 S
293. n your soundcard Wv for wave file output Md for MIDI output Di for digital input Ln for line level input Me for microphone input and DV for digital video audio output The sub master audio faders Multiple ASIO Audio Output Sub master Faders If you are using one or more multi input output soundcards with ASIO drivers page selector buttons will appear below the audio input In selector button The page selector These buttons can be used to select the sub master faders for the multiple en uttons ASIO output channels The ASIO channel sub master faders are shown in red to denote ASIO channels with orange buttons to denote output labelled 1 to 8 The page selector buttons can be used to select sub masters for all the available ASIO output channels These faders can be adjusted to determine the overall volume of the ASIO outputs and their orange buttons can be used to mute un mute the outputs by double The sub master audio faders clicking on them 36 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Master Output Faders An Audio Master fader orange is provided for controlling the master volume of all audio channels and double clicking on the audio master AM button toggles mute on and off on all audio channels as with all mute buttons it does not stop audio from playing it simply turns off the output volume A Grand Master fader is provided for controlling the master levels of lighting and double clicking on the grand
294. nd Locate buttons on the fixture panel offer even more features to assist in creating scenes Please Note The Rec F feature described in Record Button The Different Recording Modes p 55 offers an easier alternative to using the Locate button described below The Rec T feature described in Record Button The Different Recording Modes p 55 offers an easier alternative to using the Flashing and Releasing a Scene method described below The Locate button and Flash and Release features have been retained to be backwards compatible with the original record moved Rec M system to suit users who are used to using it Centre By double clicking on this button the pan and tilt functions on the currently highlighted fixture or group of fixtures are centred at 50 and any functions needed to open the beam dimmer shutter etc are set to their open position These faders are also all set to moved mode ready for recording using Rec M Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 65 If you are recording scenes for gobo color etc and you wish to centre and open the fixtures so you can see the beams but you do not want these functions recorded into the scenes using Rec M then you can lock these functions by holding down Ctrl whilst double clicking on the Centre button Double right clicking on the Centre button unlocks those function faders moves them back down to 00 and puts them in the Released state Loc
295. ndary stretched monitor output b Setting a virtual window on Display 1 to Xpos 1024 will make that window appear on the leftmost pixel of the second physical monitor output centre third of the secondary stretched monitor output c Setting a virtual window on Display 1 to Xpos 2048 will make that window appear on the leftmost pixel of the third physical monitor output right third of the secondary stretched monitor output Example 1 Sample 3D cinema application where two video projectors are used to superimpose two stereoscopic films one left image and one right image onto a screen Rather than having to play two separate stereoscopic video files film left amp film right this would require both video files to be played frame synchronized using specialist mpeg decoder hardware if a single video file is encoded to be 2 screens wide with the film left content on the left of the video file and film right content on the right then the video file can be played by ShowMagic to a virtual window of Width 2048 and Height 768 on the secondary stretched monitor If an Xpos 00 and Ypos 00 are used for that virtual window then the first left physical output from the interface can be fed to one projector and the second centre output can be fed to the other projector In this way each projector receives its correct stereoscopic film and because they are both being played in the sam
296. ndles attached to the Range Limiter box are used to set the minimum and maximum pan and tilt range limits for the FX scene with the box acting as a graphic indicator of these range limits When an FX preset is first selected the top handle defaults to the extreme top left of the window minimum pan 000 minimum tilt 000 and the bottom handle defaults to the extreme bottom right of the window maximum pan 255 maximum tilt 255 If you select Straight presets for both Pan FX and Tilt FX and run the FX scene as before all the pan and tilt channels used in the scene will scan between DMX values of 000 and 255 Setting the Range Limits With the FX scene still running drag the bottom handle half way across to the left so that the right hand side of the box lines up with the vertical dotted line You will notice that the pan channels for all the fixtures stored in that FX scene will now only scan between the values of 000 and 127 you have limited the pan channels to the half of their range The vertical edges of the box represent the pan limits Similarly if you now drag the bottom handle up so that the bottom of the box lines up with the horizontal dotted line You will notice that the tilt channels will only scan between the values of 000 and 127 you have now also limited the tilt channels to half of their range The horizontal edges of the box represent the tilt limits Moving the Range Limits As well as being able to set
297. nel generic fixtures e g par cans with different colored gels the set frame is provided as a means of assigning fixed colors to cells on the grid so that when you run a dimming chase on the grid you can see the effect of those colors dimming 90 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual By selecting the Sf frame a color in the palette can be applied to the cells containing single channel fixtures see Notes on Mixing Generic and RGB CMY Fixtures on the Same Grid p 99 for more detailed instructions Creating Frames To create the first frame in a Frame chase simply double click on Set to the right of Frames The options will then be selectable shown in bright blue the number of frames will be displayed as 01 and the 2 box in the lower selection area will change to show 01 This box now contains the first frame You will also notice that the active cells in the grid have been colored black the default color i e they are empty You can now color the active grid cells by first clicking on the desired color in the color palette to select it and then doing any of the following a Left click on any cell to change it to the selected palette color or right click to change it to the selected background color b Drag the mouse pointer over the cells to draw the palette color into those cells c Hold down Ctrl and double left click on a cell of a particular color to change all cells of that color to the selected palette col
298. nels such as fine pan fine tilt fine focus etc F Ena Audio ASIO Settings 16 bit settings dialogue box Selecting this item produces an Audio ASIO Settings dialogue box on which you can select what ASIO drivers to use with ShowMagic 204 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Any drivers found by ShowMagic audio ASIO Settings are listed and are selectable from the drop down menu Once the ASIO Settings a Driver Creative ASIO drivers are selected they are stored Outputs User Label and they will be remembered by a ShowMagic each time you run it Mono Wave Inputs User Label r Analog Mix R There is an option to apply user labels to the DirectShow and ASIO DirectShow Settings audio input and output channels This Outputs User Label makes it easier to identify the Stereo SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio B000 Stereo Out E A x channels when using audio routing events etc To apply a label to each Comcel channel simply select the channel from the drop down menu and enter the label in the box to the right of it Audio ASIO settings dialogue box If user labels have been applied to channels then those labels will replace the default labels as used by Windows The labels are also shown running down the side of the faders for each channel on the ASIO Input Output Router display Action Sub Group Settings Exclusive letter groups for action buttons as described in Latch
299. ngs from 2 Press F12 once to select Copy Function the name of the highlighted function that you are about to copy will be shown in the function display 3 Press 1 to select fixture fader 001 the fixture you are copying that function setting from 4 Press then 4 followed by Enter to copy that function setting from fixture 1 through to fixture 4 b To copy one of the function settings to just fixture 3 1 First highlight the particular function that you wish to copy the settings from 2 Press F12 the name of the function in question will be shown in the function display 3 Press 1 to select fixture fader 001 the fixture you are copying that function setting from 4 Press at then 3 followed by Enter to copy that function setting from fixture 1 to fixture 3 That function on fixtures 2 and 4 will not be affected c To copy one of the functions to fixtures 2 and 4 but not 3 48 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 1 First highlight the particular function fader that you wish to copy the settings from 2 Press F12 the name of the function in question will be shown in the function display 3 Press 1 to select fixture fader 001 the fixture you are copying that function setting from 4 Press 4 8 followed by Enter to copy that function setting from fixture 1 to fixtures 2 amp 4 but not fixture 3 as the key inputs 3 excluded fixture 3 from the copy command d To copy
300. ntrol event and labelling it as something like Enable PIR Events this event can then be used to enable or disable other action buttons as follows 1 Drag the Enable PIR Events button onto an empty action button e g action A019 Section 10 Device Control Panel 171 2 Using the schedule screen schedule action A019 to come In at 09 00 00 and go Out at 18 00 00 3 Use the Set Action Trigger dialogue box with each of the PIR action buttons to select Conditional gt Act On gt ActA19 Now those action buttons can only be turned on by the PIRs between the hours of 09 00 00 and 18 00 00 i e the hours when action button A079 is on If action button A079 is off they cannot be run Disable Action Triggers This can be used to turn on the Disable Triggers DT button on the action panel Next Slide If a PowerPoint ppt file is being played then running a Next Slide system control event will move the PowerPoint slideshow to the next slide Previous Slide If a PowerPoint ppt file is being played then running a Previous Slide system control event will move the PowerPoint slideshow back to the previous slide The Next Slide and Previous Slide system control events can be dragged and dropped into a sequence so that they can be synchronised to other events in that sequence Deleting a Control Event To delete a control event highlight its button and press Delete If the event is used in any sequences then a
301. nts of that sequence Put the first scene into the sequence by dragging the scene button into the bottom of the step details display the step where the event will be placed is highlighted as you move the dragged event over it Dropping it elsewhere such as back on the same scene button will cancel the operation If you wish to add the scene to the end of the sequence it can be dropped anywhere below the current last step To copy it to a particular step number simply drop it on that number s row Do likewise for scenes 2 to 4 Then highlight any of the blank steps below the current last step and press Insert to insert a step at the end the last empty step in a sequence is automatically labelled as End If you did not have an End step at the end the sequence will simply stop or fade out as soon as the last non empty step is triggered Double click on the sequences label in the top details display and enter your own label such as scene test then press Enter to enter it Dragging a Bank or Page of Lighting Scenes into a Sequence If you drag and drop a bank selector button marked A B C etc or a page selector button marked 1 25 49 etc from the scene panel into a sequence then that whole bank or page of scenes will be automatically dropped into that sequence in numerical order after confirmation Sequence Motor Control Buttons Go When the sequence step details display is shown the normal Go button bec
302. o the DMX channel The Grand Master blackout GM button however will always send zero values to ALL channels The setting of minimum values can be useful if you want to ensure that certain functions on fixtures are never allowed to go fully off such as the dimming level of fixtures that might be used for emergency lighting Mx The maximum value that will be output to that DMX channel The default Mn and Mx values are 00 and FL Full 100 respectively but these can be incremented or decremented by right left clicking on the values whilst holding down the Ctrl key When a fader is moved to its minimum or maximum level on the fixture panel it s value is shown enclosed in single quotes e g 10 90 etc The setting of maximum values can be useful if you wish to conserve lamp life a lamp that is regularly run at 100 brightness will not last as long as a lamp that is regularly run at 90 Ind A DMX channel can be made independent of the blackout Black button on the master panel on the ShowMagic main screen If set to Y then operating the Black button will not affect it If set to N then operating the Black button will set this channel to its minimum value e g if a fixture s pan and tilt channels are set to Y they will not be affected when the Black button is used In z This Y or N flag indicates whether this function has been inverted or not When a function is inverted the value becomes 100 w
303. o the Replace box and Foyer into the With box 4 Ifyou want to replace all occurrences of the label click on the Replace All button Alternatively click on the Replace button if you want to replace each label selectively you will then be prompted with a dialogue box to confirm each replacement 4 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Note The text that you type into the Replace box is case sensitive and must match the label being replaced Section 1 Overview 5 Section 2 Events Color coding is used on the ShowMagic desk for instant recognition of event types and item functions Red Orange Cyan Purple Green Blue Grey Light Blue Pink Event Button Lighting scene events Event Button Sound events Event Button Control events video files captured video digital signage and PowerPoint slideshow events Event Button Chase sequence Event Button Manual Timed or Random sequence Event Button Snapshot sequence Event Button Empty no event is currently stored on that button Text and values in yellow can be changed by double clicking on them to produce a dialogue box Text and values shown in light blue can also be changed but in most cases the Ctrl key must also be held down at the same time this is to prevent the accidental changing of more critical settings The requirement of the Ctrl key can however be disabled see General Settings Menu p 203 On the lighting scene panel clickin
304. ocononcnanonncnnncnncnononnncnncnnonns 84 COLES CEG A A AS 84 Creating a ColorScene Lighting Cena a ra ad 85 Color cone Pata MO O Nano 87 Chase Mods ri a lan 89 Color Mod A A Hand nome aaron eb ute a EE 89 o Re PRR Rane OER Aen RE OTERO Tarte ne ROE EME ee ee Aree me or Re ere Te eT ers 90 CACTUS a ar ee 91 Using Insert and Delta a ia 93 Setting a Loop Points seins rene a a douse Geesarnaded tuber aa S eia a ane aa Sa e int 94 Duplicating and Adjusting ColorScene Cnases is riiconcincni dial nia dd dt 94 Using Dimmers Col cmd 95 Using ColorScene with Colored Generic Lights ccccccccesssessceeseceseeeeeeeeseeeeesteeeeesteeeeseaees 96 Notes on Mixing Generic and RGB CMY Fixtures on the Same Grid ee eeeeeeeneeeeeneeees 99 Section 8 Sound Ph ca vec Ns ace oa es eae scenes eg sted nnana 101 DirectShow and A SIO Chal cscs scsschccs seseves sadessteaceacseccadaesanaseaases sade etveuvencadaaasarsguadeiudesdancserss 102 The Audio Type Selector Buttons 1 SN ct 102 Sound Motor Control Buttons i scessssasessceateasnnesaaviaveccanchnoceareseoeinasba saan cpusetandes deals ms eden 103 Creatina Sound Events ii ir ted 103 Wave Fale Pla A A ha ERE ARA 104 MIDI Eile matens ennonn ld tate 107 CD Tracks AA NT A EA E a T E gs 108 Digital Line and Microphone pta di eeu ents 109 Motor Controls nt Ann eR AGRA GBI IASI i Aenea 109 Mixer Setting E A Se 109 Beats Per Minute Cot aia 110 Deleting a QUIEN 111 COPY Sa Sound EVent sae coisa A A AAA
305. odes the settings of any faders that are Cued by a running scene or physically Moved by dragging will be recorded to that new scene In this way an existing scene or scenes can be run adjustments can be made manually to them and or other faders can be added and the combination of all those new fader settings can then be saved as a new scene Edited Out Fader If you wished to create a new scene which was the same as another previously recorded scene but with maybe one or more of its fader settings removed then running the original scene holding the Ctrl key down and double right clicking on the faders or anywhere in their columns will take those faders out and their values will be shown in dark blue to indicate they have been Edited Out The record button in Rec M mode can then be used to record the new scene to whatever scene button you wish and the settings of any Edited Out faders will not be recorded to that scene 54 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Record Button The Different Recording Modes This button is used to record the settings of selected fixture function faders to a selected scene event button There are up to four different recording Rec M modes available for the lighting scene record button Rec M Rec T Rec F and if any DMX input devices are selected in ShowMagic Rec S The record button These various recording modes are selected by right clicking on the record button and selecting one of the following f
306. old down the Shift key and then press the Esc key An Enter Password dialogue box will appear Enter the correct password and click on Enter and this password will return you to the main desk screen The main desk will still be locked so select the System Locked item and enter the password as normal to unlock it Quitting the Program To quit from ShowMagic select File gt Quit Program on the main desk screen or the user screen menu If a schedule or any events are running you will be prompted as a safeguard to turn them off or not You will also be prompted as to whether you wish to save the desk or not click on the buttons as appropriate The Close Window cross at the top right of the window is also disabled as a safeguard You can only quit ShowMagic via the File gt Quit Program menu items on the main desk or user screens 230 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Section 16 Appendix Section 16 Appendix 231 Appendix A Setting up Multi I O Soundcards If you are using a SoundBlaster as a primary soundcard on a Multimedia Properties KE Windows XP system then select this soundcard as the preferred 44 vass wiol coMusic Devices device in the Windows Control Panel Multimedia Properties dialogue box as shown Ey AD To select advanced options click Advanced Properties Multi output soundcards have a monitor facility that can be used to combine one or more of the output channel pairs in
307. omes split into two the top half of the button is a Play button the bottom half is a Play from Mark button The function of each half only differs when they are used to start sequences or to jump to sequence steps see Continue From Mark p 139 otherwise both halves act as a normal Go button Play will always play a sequence from the beginning first step and when a A Fo manual sequence is running clicking on this again will trigger the next step if its Section 9 Sequence Panel 123 trigger is set to Go Play from Mark will start the sequence from the step highlighted in the bottom Step Details display If testing the last part of a long sequence you may not want to play it right from the start each time Rew Clicking or holding down on this button rewinds back through a sequence to an earlier step Fwd Clicking or holding down on this button enables you to go forward through the sequence to a later step Stop This is used to stop a sequence if it is running If record mode is on this will turn it off To view the start of the sequence in the Live display simply double click the Stop button Pause Clicking on this button when a sequence is running pauses the sequence and the button illuminates Clicking on the Go button or Spacebar if the panel is on the left takes pause off and continues running the sequence from the position where it was paused GEESE Sequence Faders The grey fader on the s
308. on 1 is on then the following script will do just that lt runif gt lt action gt DT off lt action gt lt action gt TG on lt action gt lt action gt 1 on lt action gt lt runif gt Other variations include lt runif gt 244 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual lt action gt DT on lt action gt or lt stopif gt lt action gt DT off lt action gt or lt stopif gt lt action gt DT off lt action gt lt action gt TG off lt action gt etc lt video gt Can be used for video events This denotes the start of a script for a video event lt audio gt Can be used for audio and video events This denotes the start of a script for an audio event or if it is contained between any lt video gt and lt video gt element markers it refers to the audio connected with that video event lt nn gt This denotes what audio channel or video file is being acted upon If the element lt all gt is used then the instructions are applied to all audio channels or video files connected with that event Note the script for each audio video channel if any within each lt do gt and lt do gt marker is only checked once for each channel so any scripts for that audio video channel must all be contained within the same pair of lt nn gt and lt nn gt markers See samples below lt do gt Any elements contained between the lt do gt element start marker and the lt do gt element end mark
309. on to store the color seen in the Color Solid box to that Custom colors box Now once the desired color is highlighted in either the Basic colors or Custom colors boxes clicking on the OK button will set the block of text to that color and remove the dialogue box To set the color of the drop shadow see below click on the color box below the text color box and use the Windows Color dialogue box as above to select the color Font To change the font font style and size of the text on the currently selected block click to the right of this label and a standard Windows Font dialogue box will appear With this dialogue box you can set the Font Font style Size and Effects for the text in that block N B The Color selector is not used as the more versatile Color Font dialogue box dialogue box replaces it Section 10 Device Control Panel 163 Click on the OK button to apply your settings and remove the Font dialogue box The actual size of a block containing text is determined automatically by the amount of text used on each line and the font size and style Drop You can apply a drop shadow effect to the currently selected block of text This is useful for making the text stand out when using a picture background Simply click right click to the right of this label to decrease increase the depth in pixels of the drop shadow effect To set the color of the drop shadow effect default black simply click on the bo
310. on will not be displayed on the user screen there will just be an empty space where the button would normally be This option is useful if you want to deny the user access to the event stored on that action button irrespective of whatever page of action buttons it is stored on It is particularly useful however if used in conjunction with the Conditional settings described next Conditional The settings in this section enable you to quickly and easily apply conditional logic to the normal running or triggering of an action button This should eliminate the need to have to set up complex switches hardware logic by performing all the logic in software The idea of the Conditional settings is this an action button is only enabled allowed to be triggered depending on the condition of another action button i e it can only be triggered if the other action button is running OR if the other action button is not running This is different to exclusive groups using A B etc We will assume we are using action button numbers A001 and A002 and A002 is the currently highlighted button Off If this is ticked then conditional logic is not applied to this action button Prev OFF If this is ticked then the Previous action button A007 must be off for this button A002 to be enabled so that it can be run If action button A007 is running then A002 cannot be run it is disabled Prev ON 196 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If this is
311. one touch rather than two on a user screen button will run stop that button Save Desk Prompt on Quit If this is ticked the default then the user will be prompted to save the desk if quitting from ShowMagic on the user screen If not ticked no prompt will appear Spacebar Play If ticked Spacebar can be used to start stop the currently highlighted action button on the user screen Quit Program If ticked Quit Program will be made available on the user screen File menu Realtime Edit If ticked this will enable various edit functions to be enabled for action buttons when they are being viewed on the User Screen See Realtime Editing on the User Screen p 200 for more information Blackout Button If ticked a blackout button labelled Black will be accessible on the user screen Hold Button If ticked the DMX Hold button will be provided on the user screen Motor Buttons If ticked large motor control buttons Rewind Stop Pause Play will appear in the top left which will change depending on what action button is highlighted on the user screen at the time Please Note Only one of the Display Schedule or Motor Buttons items can be ticked as they share the same place on the user screen If one is ticked the other is automatically un ticked Main User Screen Button If ticked a Main button will be displayed on the user screen and a US button will appear on the action panel The user screen can then be acces
312. operation The ADAM input can be selected as the trigger device by ticking the appropriate Module and then ticking the appropriate Input on that module as the trigger As well as using a single ADAM input to control an action button these other multiple input options are also available Binary Mode if a value between and 240 is selected in the On Off drop down menu then the first eight inputs on the selected module will be used in binary fashion E g if inputs DO D1 and D2 are triggered together then this produces a value of 7 1 2 4 so if 7 is selected in the drop down menu then those three trigger inputs received together will trigger that action button Next Step if the event assigned to the action button is a manual sequence set to Go PI a different binary input number can be selected here to trigger the next step in that manual sequence Back if the event assigned to the action button is a manual sequence set to Go PI a different binary input number can be selected here to go back and run the previous step in that manual sequence Pause if the event assigned to the action button is a manual sequence set to Go PI a different binary input number can be selected here to pause that manual sequence System Triggers Up to 2 PC joysticks or Joypads can be connected to the joystick port on the PC and any one of up to 4 joystick buttons on each can be selected as the trigger by selecting the appropriate button Certain key presse
313. or d Hold down Ctrl and double right click on a cell of a particular color to change all cells of that color to the selected background color To create subsequent frames you can do one of the following a Double click to the right of Frames to add a blank frame to the next empty frame box b Drag an existing frame onto an empty frame box to copy that frame c Double click on an existing frame to copy that frame into the next empty frame box To delete a frame simply click on the frame box to highlight it press Delete and then confirm If you have created any frames then delete them now and we will create a new ColorScene frame chase from scratch Using the 9 ChromaPanels in a 3 x 3 grid let us create a simple ColorScene chase for Scene A001 that changes the panels from red to green to blue 1 Double click to the right of Frames to add the first blank frame 2 Click on the red color Color 01 in the palette to select it 3 Hold down Ctrl and double left click on any one of the black cells in the grid to change all the black cells to red Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 91 4 Double click on frame 01 to copy that frame into the next empty frame box Frame 02 is then automatically selected and highlighted 5 Click on the green color Color 02 in the palette hold down Ctrl and double left click on any one of the red cells to turn them all to green 6 Double click on frame 02 to copy that frame
314. or colors in a different order e g Yellow Green Blue amp Red etc then simply make the fixture by dropping the functions in the correct order and select the appropriate fixture type RGB Control Led Cluster LED Strip LED Panel LED Par LED Spot LED Flood LED Panels Moving LED etc Lee and Rosco color filters presets are available on the presets panel and these can be used with any fixtures that contain Red Green amp Blue or Cyan Magenta amp Yellow channels in any order Section 16 Appendix 237 Appendix C Using ShowMagic AV with LED Matrix Panels Videowall Systems ShowMagic AV s virtual window features can be used to good effect in applications where LED matrix panels are being utilized With systems such as the MT LED matrix panel a PCI board is installed in the PC and the output from a secondary head is connected to this board using a DVI cable Software supplied with the system is then used to define an area and size on the secondary head output Each pixel in that area is then converted to RGB information that is sent to the corresponding RGB clusters on the matrix panel Example If you were using an array of 3 panels across by 2 down 6 panels then the resolution of that array would be 48 x 32 as each panel contains 16 x 16 clusters i e 3 across x 16 48 2 down x 16 32 Let us also assume that the first monitor used for the ShowMagic screen is set to the minimum 1024 x 768 resolution In this exa
315. or fixtures on the first fixture panel so now to record any scenes using fixtures 1 to 4 simply press F1 to select group F1 move one of the function faders in that group to the required level the other function faders will be set to the same record the scenes see Recording Scenes p 61 and then press F1 again to turn the group off To record scenes using alternate fixtures 1 and 3 press F2 to select group F2 and so on Fixture grouping affects all the functions of fixtures contained within the group so moving the Color Wheel function fader or selecting one of its preset buttons will select that function setting for all other fixtures in that group When initially setting up a desk and assigning fixtures via the patch screen it is a good idea to arrange the assignments to make use of fixture pages as the page group facility is specific to each page of fixtures Universal Groups There is also a separate grouping function available where function keys F1 to F8 can be used to store another eight universal groups which can affect ALL the fixtures on the desk not just the selected page To use one of these universal groups select a group F1 to F8 and then double click in the display above the trackball Universal group mode is then selected and F1 to F8 above the trackball will be shown in pink rather than white Double clicking in the display above the trackball again reverts back to page group mode and F1 to F8 will then
316. ord button is set to Rec T on the lighting scene panel irrespective of what faders have been moved on the desk When using the Rec M Record Moved recording mode there are five possible fader states that affect what fixture functions are recorded to new scenes a Locked the faders percentage values 00 to FL and DMX values 000 to 255 are shown in white b Cued treated as Moved but the values are shown in bright yellow c Released the values are shown in dark yellow Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 53 d Moved treated like Cued but the values are shown in bright blue e Edited Out the values are shown in dark blue Locked Fader Faders can be set to Locked mode by holding down Ctrl and double clicking on them or anywhere within their fader column the values below the fader will then change from their current color to white to show that that function fader is Locked Locked faders remain at that position and are not affected by any running scenes that try to move them The settings of Locked faders are also never recorded to a scene This is particularly useful if you want to record position scenes you may want to see the beam to position it but you don t want to record the dimmer channel s open state in those position scenes As an alternative to the above the Rec T recording mode can be used and the pan amp tilt functions tagged in this mode only the pan and tilt channels settings will
317. ound Panel 105 When the playlist option has been selected for a sound event the information in the details display changes to show the following Save ir DiWazzW 00 46 45 Files 013 106 9 iii Tick the On box to the left of the Sequence Insert name iv Type in the interval in minutes at which you want the sequence insert to run Any value can be used between 1 and 999 8 When you click on the Set button there will be a delay proportional to the number of tracks in the selected folder whilst ShowMagic examines all the audio files in the folder and calculates the overall duration of the playlist When the dialogue box disappears the playlist is ready to run Note if there are a large number of files in the folder this can take some time If you hold down Ctrl and click on LP LooP in the details display to highlight it in light blue the playlist will repeat continuously until it is stopped Note if the playlist is set to Random Playlist then each time the playlist is played it will pick the next track in the folder to play randomly but it only plays each track once until all the tracks in the folder have been played It then starts again with a new random track order a The first row shows the sound event number and its label as normal Out b The second row shows the type of sound event Wave and the channels it is set to play on shown in pink If you are playing playlists on the Default outputs
318. ove a scene from one scene button to another drag the scene button onto another empty scene button and hold down Ctrl before dropping it If the original scene button is used in any sequences those sequences will be updated with the new scene button number Recording Scenes by Sniffing DMX If a DMX INPUT device has been set up for use with ShowMagic the record button on the scene panel can be set to Rec M Rec T Rec F or Rec S To record ShowMagic scenes from scenes stored on an external DMX desk do the following 1 Make sure that you have the same type of fixtures and their mode settings assigned to fixture faders on the ShowMagic desk that have been used on the external DMX desk and that those fixtures are also patched to the same DMX addresses in ShowMagic as they are on the external DMX desk 2 With the fixture panel on the left and the scene panel on the right of the ShowMagic desk group the fixtures that you want to sniff DMX for on the fixture panel using one of the group keys F1 to F8 and click on one of the fixtures in that group to highlight it 3 Select the bank and page of scene buttons that you want to use to store the sniffed scenes 68 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 4 5 6 Set the record button on the scene panel to Rec S by right clicking on it and selecting Record Sniff DMX from the pop up menu then click on it to select record mode the button will flash in red Run the required scen
319. overall volume peak PK These work in a similar way to the meters on an audio graphic equalizer Bass and drum sounds tend to affect the LF and LM meters and other higher tone instruments tend to affect the HM and HF The overall volume peak meter PK is affected by all the frequencies The lowest and highest frequency for each frequency band can be selected between 30hz and 16Khz The sound to light meters can be used to activate scenes in a lighting chase as described in Sequence Settings p 117 FX scenes as described in FX Generator p 73 and Colorscene frames as described in ColorScene p 84 A blue LED in each meter will be triggered and will jump to the top of the meter when the volume shown as green LEDs in that frequency range reaches a threshold TH selectable between 10 and 90 of the volume This setting applies to all the meters Any settings displayed in blue such as the ones above can be adjusted by holding down the Ctrl key whilst left right clicking on them A response setting RP between 25 and 100 is also selectable for each meter independently and this determines how soon after a blue LED has been triggered that it can be triggered again 100 1 4 second 75 1 3 second 50 1 2 second 25 1 second When the blue LED has been triggered it falls back down at the selected response speed An auto gain function is also implemented wherein the overall volume of the audio is checked by ShowMagic at a selectable pe
320. ower If you want the Command drop down menu to list all of the commands available for that device then leave the filter set to Show All To clear commands from the On and Off boxes simply click on the Clear button 01 On unit 1 video input gt output audio input gt output 01 Off Cmd unit 1 video input gt output audio input gt output gt Filter Show All Y lt comment gt f The Kramer VS 808 is a 8 Input 8 Output Audio Video Matrix Switcher Multiple units may be connect to a single RS232 port See unit instruction below Make sure units have correct machine numbers set Command strings can be edited Selectable command strings are as follows unit 1 video input gt output 1IVideo Switching unit 1 audio input gt output II Audio Switching unit 1 video input gt output audio input gt output II Audio amp Video Switching unit unit instruction Cancel Section 10 Device Control Panel 153 In this next example a script for a Kramer VS 808 AV switcher has been loaded This device uses editable commands and the comments area describes how these commands are formatted When a command is selected from the command list the command is placed in the On or Off box whichever was clicked on before selecting the command and the necessary parameters can then be edited in the On or Off box Example If the unit 1 video input gt output audio input gt output command is selected and you wan
321. own through different colors as the chase fades out and this may not be what you require you may wish the color to remain constant until the chase has stopped To achieve this simply set the color scene event step in the appropriate snapshot to On Now when that chase fades out all the channels not being used by the next chase fading in will fade out but the color will remain on until the out going chase has finished fading out at which point it is instantly stopped Deleting a Sequence To delete a sequence highlight its button and press Delete If the sequence is used in any other sequences then a warning will be given If you confirm the deletion then that sequence will be removed from the other sequences that contain it Copying a Sequence To copy a sequence to another sequence button drag the sequence button you wish to copy onto the sequence button you wish to copy it to select two sequence panels on the desk if necessary An overwrite warning will be given if appropriate Moving a Sequence To move a sequence from one sequence button to another drag the button onto another empty button and hold down Ctrl before dropping it If the original sequence button is used in any sequences those sequences will be updated with the new sequence button number Deleting Sequence Steps To delete a step within a sequence click on it to highlight it in the step details display and then press Delete You will then be asked to confirm or
322. played in a random order each time j When the playlist is playing the blue value to the right of the Plist setting shows what track number is playing and the value in white to the right of that shows the current running time for that track MIDI File a The second row shows the type of event i e Aud Midi Right clicking on the pink description to the right of Midi produces a pop up menu on which you can select the output device for that MIDI file event e g soundcard synth output or MIDI output port etc b The third row contains the file details e g File C Windows Media Town mid c The length of that file in minutes seconds and frames and the From and To play times these are the time positions within the file that the event will play from and to These default to the start of the file and the end of the file but can be changed by holding down Ctrl and left right clicking on the time digits to decrement increment them d If LP is highlighted click on it with Ctrl held down to toggle it on off then that sound event Midi C WINDOWS Media town mid 01 19 00 To Out 00 00 00 00 IASI N 7 e M 25 49 73 97 121 145 169 193 217 Steel Gtr Muted Gtr Bass Accordian Fiddle Trumpet Brass Alto Sax Slap 2 Drums 1 Town MIDI track listing on the audio panel will repeat in a loop until the event is turned off e The fourth row contains the volume fade In and fade Ou
323. put output devices Section 11 Monitor Panel 177 Section 12 Action Panel A001 Spot Chase 001 A001 Left 002 A002 Left Centre MD C c3 Em TG 00 DT RD Grp 00 00 00 00 G 25 49 73 97 121 145 169 193 217 EVES Spot Chase Left CASH1 Cue List Left Centre Mood2 Timer Sequence Right Centre Act A19 Act A4 Right Act A20 Act A5 Act A13 Act A21 Act A6 Act A14 Act A22 Act A7 Act A15 Act A23 Act A8 Act A16 Act A24 The action panel The purpose of the action panel is to provide one panel that can contain a mixture of ShowMagic events any types of event can then be mixed together and controlled from that single panel Events that are to be controlled by external devices e g MIDI remote media controller etc need to be assigned to action buttons because there are playback and logic control features available that are specific to action buttons only For events to be scheduled they must also be assigned to an action button Section 12 Action Panel 179 The panel contains pages of 24 action buttons to which any lighting scenes sounds lighting chases or other events can be assigned Page selector buttons provide access to the other pages of action buttons If the Main User Screen Button item on the User Screen Access Menu see User Screen Access Menu p 215 is ticked then a button marked US User Screen can be used to go to the user screen as an alternative to using the Options gt User Screen menu item
324. puts see Using ASIO Drivers and Multiple Input Output Soundcards p 111 Mixer setting events are also available which allow you to store and recall the settings of the audio sub master faders on the Master panel A sound event can be set to do any one of the following if your soundcard supports it and is correctly set up in Windows on your PC e Play wave files off any of the PC s hard disks e Play a mid MIDI file off any of the PC s hard disks e Play tracks from a CD in the PC CDROM drive e Select digital audio input from the digital input socket e Select audio input from the line level socket e Select audio input from the microphone level socket e Adjust the levels of the audio faders on the Master panel Mute buttons under the faders on the Master panel can be used to toggle mute on and off for each channel independently this does not stop sound events from playing it simply turns off the output volume The type of audio for each mute button on the Master panel is shown as Wv for Wave Md for MIDI CD for CDROM Ln for line input and Mc for microphone input Section 8 Sound Panel 101 There will also be a DV digital video audio fader and mute button DirectShow and ASIO Channels ShowMagic supports 2 different types of audio drivers DirectShow drivers and ASIO drivers Either or both of these drivers may be available for one or more of the audio outputs on the soundcard depending on the audio
325. r in that size and in that position on the selected display the rest of the screen is displayed in black unless other digital signs are running there Please Note PowerPoint presentations can only be displayed in a virtual window that is the same resolution as the primary monitor that ShowMagic is being run on Xpos Ypos Width amp Height are thus ignored for them The last box is used for entering a label for that virtual window Store ShowMagic Position If you need to position the ShowMagic GUI window at a particular position on the screen then you can move the window and click on the Store ShowMagic Position button to store that position Now when ShowMagic is launched its window will appear at that screen position 212 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Using Stretched Monitor Configurations One of the advantages of using multi head cards or interfaces that use a stretched monitor configuration is that digital signs and video can be played in virtual windows that can span across multiple displays Let us assume that we have set up a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 on our primary monitor ShowMagic screen and we are using a triple head adaptor that is configured as a stretched monitor Display 1 with a resolution of 3072 wide 1024 x 3 by 768 high In this case a Setting a virtual window on Display 1 to Xpos 0 will make that window appear on the leftmost pixel of the first physical monitor output left third of the seco
326. ransitions between videos Sync All Channels tick this if you are using cross channel synchronization of video files across more than one 4 channel card i e synchronizing 5 or more videos 208 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Sync Each Board tick this or if you are using cross channel synchronization of 2 to 4 video files on each 4 channel card independently If you are running videos independently then do not tick either of the above Sync All Channels or Sync Each Board items MIDI Port Settings Midi Output Devices A list of the available MIDI ports that ShowMagic has found is given here Click on the ports that you wish to enable for MIDI output Midi Input Devices A list of the available MIDI ports that ShowMagic has found is given here Click on the ports that you wish to enable for MIDI input Threshold When using the Vol M and Vol T settings for starting stopping and controlling the level of an event on an action button the minimum threshold MIDI value that will trigger the event can be set here Action Trigger On If this box is ticked then any action buttons set to be controlled by MIDI volume levels will be enabled If it is not ticked then any MIDI volume inputs are ignored by the action buttons DMX to Midi If you are using a MIDI dimmer pack then you can select DMX to Midi On select the MIDI port to use for MIDI lighting control output from the drop down menu select the MIDI Channel Midi Ch 1 to
327. raw this color vertically down the first column of cells 5 Double click on the first frame box 01 to make a copy of that frame in the next empty frame box 02 is then shown in the second frame box Our current frame 6 With frame 02 highlighted right click once on the SX display short for Scroll on X axis and this will scroll the colors to the right 92 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 7 Click on the green color in the palette and draw this down the first column 8 Double click on the frame 02 box to make a copy of that frame in the next empty frame box 03 and with frame 03 highlighted right click on SX to scroll the colors to the right select blue and draw it down the first column 9 Double click on the frame 03 box to make a copy of that frame in the next empty frame box 04 and with frame 04 highlighted right click on SX to scroll the colors to the right You will notice that the first column now contains the red color that was scrolled off the right of the grid 10 For this chase we want the red green and blue columns to appear from the left scroll right across the grid and then disappear off the grid to the right So for frame 04 simply select black and draw down the first red column this will set that first column in that frame back to black 11 Double click on the frame 04 box to make a copy of that frame in the next empty frame box 05 and with frame 05 highlighted right click on SX to scroll the colors
328. reen If a valid password is entered the System Locked item will be locked or unlocked as appropriate If an invalid password is entered you are notified and the attempt to lock unlock the system will be cancelled The Notepad Menu System Notepad Selecting this menu item will produce a notepad that you can use to make notes on system specific items Only one system notepad is available and it is stored automatically along with other system specific settings such as the type of output you are using with ShowMagic and so on Desk Notepad Selecting this menu item will produce a notepad that you can use to make notes on desk specific items This notepad is saved along with the desk using the Save Desk and Save Desk As menu items so each time you load a desk file its notepad is loaded with it 218 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual To use a notepad simply select one of the above type in your notes and then click on the Enter button If it is the System Notepad the contents will then be saved automatically to disk If it is a Desk Notepad the contents are saved when you save the desk Start Up Notepad This is similar to the Desk Notepad The difference is that it is used to display messages or instructions on a notepad dialogue box when ShowMagic is started up Selecting Start Up Notepad Edit from the Notepad menu will produce a notepad dialogue box in which you can type messages If you then tick the Start Up Notepad gt Enabled item f
329. riod and the sensitivity of the meters is automatically adjusted to allow for consistency between loud and quiet pieces of music The auto gain period AG is selectable between 1 and 10 seconds Channel selectors Selecting the button above the audio master fader AM selects all audio channels what you hear to be used for triggering sound to light Double clicking on any other sound to light channel selector button situated above The channel selector button Section 5 Master Panel 35 an audio channel fader selects that audio channel only to be fed exclusively to the sound to light section This function doesn t usually work with on board sound on desktop PCs and laptops due to hardware limitations See the Audio Input Selector Button in Sound To Light Input Selector Button p 38 for details on adjusting sound to light input levels Audio Output Sub master Faders Up to eight orange sub master audio faders are available depending on the capability of your soundcard These can be used to control the overall volume for each of the different audio types independently Adjusting the first fader will affect the overall levels of all digital audio files that are playing adjusting the second fader affects MIDI file levels and so on The audio levels are shown under each fader with mute buttons below them and each mute button is labelled to denote what type of sound events are assigned to that sub master fader if available o
330. rk grey when that scene is fully off Red LEDs When an LED is shown in red it indicates that the scene is being run from another source e g a sequence is playing a lighting scene as one of its events This red LED indicator also applies to buttons on the other event panels The button LEDs provide an instant indication of the current running state of events on those buttons Recording and Playing Scenes Fundamental Principles Before we go on to describe the other scene panel items and the process of recording and playing back lighting scenes it is important to understand the following as they all affect how lighting scenes are recorded and then played back Recording Scenes e The different fixture fader States The setting of the lighting scene Rec record button recording mode e The setting of the Overwrite Recorded Channels Only flag accessed via the Rec button Playing Scenes How the system of desk precedence works e The difference between ShowMagic s two operating modes Normal mode and Live mode The Fader States The Rec T Record Tagged recording mode see next section introduced in ShowMagic version 11 greatly simplifies the logic for what fader settings are recorded into a lighting scene and what fader settings are not recorded Put simply only the settings of function faders for a fixture or group of fixtures that have been tagged will be recorded to a scene when the rec
331. rmines the duration that the captured video will play for before the event automatically stops If Pause On End is ticked then the video will be frozen at the end of the To duration until the event is manually stopped Section 10 Device Control Panel 159 If Keep Aspect Ratio is selected then the ratio of the captured video will be maintained and the rest of the virtual window will be shown in black If this item is not ticked the captured video will be stretched either vertically or horizontally to fill the whole area of the virtual window As with video file events fade in and fade out times can be selected for captured video and captured video can be overlaid on top of digital signage Digital Signage Events If you are using a multi head graphics card or interface you can create and play digital signage on Virtual Windows on any of the available display outputs A digital sign consists of a background picture or background color and up to 20 blocks that can each contain up to 10 lines of text including special codes for creating special effects or each block can contain a picture graphic that can be resized and positioned on the sign Transitions can be selected for both the whole sign and also each individual block on that sign To select a digital signage event click on an empty control event button and then double click on the D Sign selector button The following details will then be shown in the details displa
332. rom the Notepad menu this notepad will then automatically appear when ShowMagic is started Quit Notepad This works in a similar way to the Start Up Notepad but is used to display messages or instructions when quitting from ShowMagic Both the Start Up Notepad and the Quit Notepad are saved in the desk file so each desk that is loaded can have different Start Up and Quit notepad messages Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options Menus 219 Section 14 Schedule Screen File Options A001 Spot Chase 001 A001 Left 002 A002 Left Centre Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat MD c fr Sort e Log Use TG 00 DT RD Grp 00 00 00 00 GB 25 49 73 97 121 145 169193217 OQ SpotChase Left CASH1 Cue List Left Centre Mood Timer Sequence Right Centre Act A19 Act A4 Right Act A20 Act A5 Act A13 Act A21 Act A6 Act A14 Act A22 Act A7 Act A15 Act A23 Act A8 Act A16 Act A24 The schedule screen Clicking on the Options gt Schedule Screen menu item on the main desk screen will display the schedule screen that consists of a fully functional action panel section on the right of the screen and a schedule section on the left The schedule section shows the current day month date and time on the top left tab Below this is a live display that shows what events are running and due to run next when a schedule is turned on Below this display are 7 buttons labelled Sun Mon etc for the days of the week An Auto Schedule
333. rom the pop up menu Rec M Short for Record Moved the default mode When set to this recording mode all faders that are in a Cued or physically Moved state are recorded to a scene when the record button is used Rec T This is short for Record Tagged When set to this recording mode the background color of the function buttons in the centre of the fixture panel default to blue Right clicking on a function s button on the fixture panel will toggle that button between blue and red The state of any functions for any fixture or group of fixtures that have been tagged in red will be recorded to a scene when the record button is used set to Rec T even if they are at 000 The only exception to this is if a tagged function fader has been Locked either manually or by running a Safe scene see Scene Details Display p 60 All other un tagged functions are not recorded even if they have been moved manually or have been moved by a currently running lighting scene Cued state If you hold down Ctrl whilst double clicking on the scene panel s clear button labelled as Clr Y or Clr N then the desk is cleared down as normal but all tagged function buttons are also un tagged as well Rec F This is short for Record Fixture When set to this the state of ALL the function faders for a selected fixture or group of fixtures even if they are at 000 are recorded to a scene This recording setting is most commonly used with
334. round set the buttons to On Off and then create your schedule using these action buttons e g Early Background In at 19 00 00 Mid Background In at 21 00 00 and so on Please Note You only need to set an Out time for the last of these action buttons in each scheduled day because as a scheduled B group button comes on it automatically turns off the previous action button set to group B Create a lighting scene that dims the background lighting for when there is a stage show and drop this onto an action button Set its exclusive letter group to B and set the button to On Ex The On Ex setting means that when it is run before a stage show it turns off any other background scene and no background lighting scenes can then be run even if scheduled until the stage show is over and this scene is manually turned off Section 15 User Screen 227 3 Create some sound to light activated chase sequences and some lighting scenes for the par cans in the dance stage floor area drop them onto action buttons set their exclusive letter groups to D for dance floor and set the buttons to On Off The action buttons will then look something like this Act A1 Act A9 Act A17 Act A2 Act A10 Act A18 D B STL Show A Act A11 Early Evening 9 B B STL Show B Dim Background Mid Evening D B Artiste Setting Act A13 Late Evening Act A6 Act A14 Act A22 Act A7 Act A15 Act A23 Act A8 Act A16 Act A24 Action buttons You will notice th
335. round sound tracks or backing tracks for a band certain tracks can be sent to the drummers headphones and others can be played to foldback speakers for other members of the band etc 112 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual To load a multi track sound event onto a sound event button do the following 1 Highlight an empty sound event button 2 Double left click on the ASIO selector button ASIO The lower part of the sound event panel will then change to display 8 audio channel faders with their buttons labelled 01 to 08 Above these you will find File and Channel descriptions 3 The selected channel selector defaults to 01 Clicking on the File or Dir directory descriptions produces a Load Wavefile dialogue box 4 Select the wav file that you wish to play on Channel 01 5 Next except on the SL Free Edition model where the output channels are fixed you need to select which physical audio mono channel or stereo channel pair that file will be played on so right click to the right of Out and select the physical channel from the pop up menu 6 Click on the channel 02 fader to highlight it and repeat steps 3 to 5 above to load the appropriate wave files on to the other channels 7 Ifyou want to access channel faders 09 16 not available on the SL Free Edition model then use the page selector buttons in the bottom left 8 The levels for each channel can be adjusted by using their appropriate faders as normal 9 St
336. roup type EX XA XT LA or main group letter A to Z shown blue and Shift with left right clicking selects the sub group letter a to z shown yellow Mas This determines what DMX audio channels used in that sequence are affected by the In amp Out sequence sub master fader settings Holding down Ctrl and clicking on a dark blue description Dm PT Col Gb Msc or Snd turns it bright blue to show that it is set Dm selects DMX channels assigned to dimmers PT selects Pan and Tilt channels Col selects channels assigned to color functions Gb selects Gobo channels Msc selects all remaining lighting channels and Snd selects sound event audio channels Holding down Ctrl whilst clicking again on any of the above un sets it shown dark blue again the sub master sequence fader and In and Out settings will not affect those channels Type Holding down the Ctrl key whilst left right clicking on the description to the right of Type selects the sequence type for the currently highlighted sequence button A sequence can be one of the following types e Lighting Chase shown in purple see Chases p 125 e Manual sequence shown in green Manual Sequences p 125 e Timed sequence shown in green Timed Sequences p 126 e Random sequence also shown in green Random Sequences p 128 Snapshot shown in blue Snapshots p 129 Unlike the other types of sequence this cannot be changed to another type It is fixed as a Snapshot
337. rst be highlighted when patching addresses DMX universe selector buttons Clicking anywhere in a display selects it and it is shown with a red highlighting bar the highlighting bars in the other non selected displays are shown in green You can also scroll up and down through the currently selected display by using the Up and Down cursor keys With the demo desk loaded we will add a number of fixtures to the desk using the patch screen to see how the various patch functions work This can done by using the quick patch and copy feature by using patch and copy commands or a mixture of both Quick Patch and Copy Feature 1 Highlight Fdr 009 in the Fader list on the left of the patch screen by either clicking on it or using the Up and Down cursor keys to highlight it 2 Click on the Library button and a Fixture dialogue box will appear Select Generic Lamp from the Make drop down menu and then select Par Can from the Model drop down menu Par Can will then appear under the Label title and under the Fixture Type title The one function for that fixture Dimmer will also appear in the Function list on the bottom right of the patch screen 3 Double click on the address values currently shown in grey as 000 000 in _Enter DMX Address Cop the top right window under the title DMX Address and an Enter DMX Address Copy Copy Address dialogue box will appear Cancel 4 Type the value 50 into the Address box
338. rst empty scene of your choice on that page select record mode with the Rec S button and then you need not access the ShowMagic desk again to record as many sniffed scenes from the external lighting desk as you want all the scenes can be selected and recorded by just using the external desk Scene Generator Function Normally when creating scenes you would select a fixture or group of fixtures highlight a function fader such as Gobo Color etc by clicking on it hold down Shift to call up the Preset panel on the right click on the desired preset and the function fader for that fixture or for all the fixtures in that group would then be set to that preset You could then use the Rec button on the scene panel to record that setting to a scene button You would then repeat this process for creating other scenes for all or some of the other available presets However if there are a lot of presets available for each function on a fixture or group of fixtures the above could prove a laborious process as there could potentially be very many scenes to record one by one For this reason a scene generator function has been included in ShowMagic that can automatically generate all the possible scenes for each function using all the available presets for that function for any fixture or selected group of the same fixtures This eliminates the need for you to create each of these scenes manually Example Here s an example of how to
339. s of the device and we will do our best to make a script available for it Section 3 Patch Screen 27 Using Data Acquisition Devices Action buttons can be triggered controlled see Triggering Action Buttons p 186 using data acquisition input devices such as ADAM digital input modules and PISO813 analogue input cards Other trigger options include system devices such as joystick joypad buttons and key presses or any external devices that simulate these A script can be loaded as described above for these other input devices using the Configure Comm Devices dialogue box and if any of these devices do not use a com port then the com settings are not used The Device Polarity drop down menu is enabled if you are using digital input data acquisition devices such as ADAM modules The Device Threshold drop down menu is enabled if you are using analogue input data acquisition devices such as the PISO813 card This setting determines the minimum voltage that will trigger control an action button If an input device has been selected the state of the channels buttons etc for that device can be monitored on the Com page of the monitor panel see Com p 177 The three boxes below the script location box may illuminate to indicate the means by which ShowMagic communicates with data acquisition devices For instance if the PISO 813 script is loaded then ShowMagic communicates with this device by means of a DLL Dynam
340. s and clicking on the button labelled Exit or right clicking in the graphics display area removes the icons display and shows the scene buttons again The Up Down Left and Right cursor keys can be used to scroll through the scene buttons Pages and banks will automatically be scrolled through when boundaries are reached The Page Up and Page Down keys can scroll through the pages and the Home and End keys can be used for selecting the first scene on bank A page 1 and the last scene on the last page of the last bank respectively A Blackout scene scene 0000 shown in the display below the Rec M and Clear Y buttons can be dragged from here into any sequences etc This blackout scene can be used as part of a sequence and set to XT to clear any scenes used in that sequence see Sequence Panel p 117 Scene Button LEDs Each scene button has an LED that illuminates when that scene is running When a scene button that is off is double clicked to run it manually the LED will turn to half bright green to indicate that the scene is in the process of coming on if any Wait and or fade In times are set for it and then turn bright green when it is fully on 52 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual When a scene button that is on is double clicked to turn it off manually the LED will turn to half bright green to indicate that the scene is in the process of going off if any Hold and or fade Out times are set and then it will go da
341. s and for even fixtures You could have created groups for the outside fixtures fixture faders 13 and 16 and another group for the inside fixtures fixture faders 14 and 15 It all depends on the effect you are trying to achieve but in any case the scene generator will generate all the scenes for whatever groups you set up in the same way The choice of grouping and combinations is entirely up to you Other scene pages can be filled with scenes for the MiniMacs Shutter strobe Gobo and Gobo Rotate functions using the same quick scene generator function so within minutes you can generate a veritable Palette of scenes for all types of functions and fixture combinations from which your lighting chases and other sequences can then be easily created As scenes for Focus etc are determined by the physical area and distances in which you are using the lighting fixtures lots of presets for these functions haven t been provided in the ShowMagic fixture library as they aren t really of much use so these scenes will need to be created one by one in the normal way Don t forget to apply graphics to bank and page buttons as described in Applying Icons To Bank and Page Selector Buttons p 51 as this is a useful way to easily identify and locate where the scenes for different fixtures and functions are stored Lee and Rosco Presets because there are so many Lee Rosco presets they are spread across a number of pages that can b
342. s can also be selected for triggering action buttons There are a number of external devices available that simulate joystick buttons or key presses and these can be used in the same way Analogue Triggers Analogue inputs can be used to trigger and control action buttons using for instance a PISO813 analogue input card First select the Input channel number select the Min Voltage that will trigger that action select the Max Voltage that will be treated as 100 select a Percentage of that voltage range to be treated as an increment step and finally tick the Master option if you want the voltage level to control the level of the event on that action button rather than just triggering it Section 12 Action Panel 191 Example Let us assume you want to use 3 physical analogue sliders to control the levels of the CMY channels on a fixture Let us further assume that you want to use an analogue joystick to move the pan and tilt channels on that fixture Let us also say that the sliders produce a stable 0 to 10V but the potentiometers on the joystick produce different voltage ranges and the voltage levels also fluctuate jumping up and down by about 0 2V We need to compensate for this otherwise the pan and tilt will jitter as it receives fluctuating voltages 1 Create three independent scenes Cyan at Full Magenta at Full and Yellow at full then drag and drop those scenes onto three action buttons 2 Create a scene in which pan is re
343. s displayed 2 Use the scroll bar to scroll through this Function List and select the first function Dimmer Color Wheel etc for your new fixture by dragging the function from the Function List display down onto the Function display below it The dragged function will then be copied onto the first channel of the fixture Dropping it anywhere else will simply cancel the operation 3 Select and drag down the second function for that fixture This will then be copied onto the fixture s second channel Repeat the above for the rest of the functions for that fixture If you have copied a function to the wrong channel offset then drop the correct function onto the channel and overwrite the old one 4 When all of the functions have been copied to the new fixture maximum of 48 left right click on the description to the right of the Make button whilst holding down Ctrl to select a fixture description The icon for that type of fixture will then be shown on that fixture faders slider on the fixture panel Click the Make button again to de activate it The normal Fixture list will then be displayed 5 Set the DMX start address for the fixture then double click on its yellow label or fixture type label and you can now enter your own label and description for it if you wish If a dimmer has been copied as a function it will be set as the main dimming function for that fixture and its number is shown in yellow i e adjusting the fixture fa
344. s elements of ShowMagic Each command string should be terminated with a CR value 13 character example lt ACT_ ALL STOP gt 13 The command strings listed below are shown in italic and are case sensitive There are two command strings available for some functions one being the new extended protocol that uses lt and gt characters enclosing each string and the other being the legacy protocol The legacy protocol is currently supported for backwards compatibility but it may be phased out in the future so the new extended protocol should be used in preference Action Button Commands lt ACT_DT_ONOFF gt Toggles the disable trigger DT button on the action panel on off lt ACT_ALL_STOP gt Instantly stops all action buttons that are running STOPALLACT As above legacy lt ACT ALL FADE gt Turns off all action buttons using any fade times FADEALLACT As above legacy In the following command strings replace nnn with the 3 digit action button number between 001 and 960 and replace with a 3 digit level value between 000 and 255 lt ACT_nnn_ONOFF gt Toggles the action button On Off AnnnTG As above legacy lt ACT_nnn_PLAY gt Plays the action button AnnnPL As above legacy lt ACT_nnn_STOP gt Stops the action button AnnnST As above legacy lt ACT_nnn_PAUSE gt Pauses the action button Receipt of a lt ACT_nnn_PLAY gt command will resume playing Schedule Commands lt SCH_PLAY gt
345. s run whether the event button or action button is run directly or if that event is run from within a sequence If the text window of an Event Script dialogue box for an action button is empty then the ShowMagic script interpreter will ignore that action button Similarly if the text in the Event Script dialogue box for an action button is incorrect i e it does not follow the correct syntax as described above the ShowMagic script interpreter will ignore it For this reason it is very important to check the syntax carefully when writing event scripts 248 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Appendix E Quick Key Command Reference General on Main Desk Ctrl Hold down when clicking on light blue critical items to change them Hold down after dragging but before dropping an event button to move that event onto the new button Enter Completes the entry of labels and values Shift Esc Used to enter a password to unlock the User Panel Spacebar Equivalent to clicking on left hand side Play or Go buttons When labels are being typed this inserts a space Delete Deletes highlighted button or display item Tab Used to toggle between and highlight settings in the details display Backspace Deletes last character when typing in labels Home Selects the first fader page button or item in a display End Selects the last fader page button or item in a display Page Up Selects the previous page of faders buttons or
346. s to the desired settings Auto Playlist Function If you are creating a sequence which contains events of different time durations that need to simply run one after the other often referred to as a play list the features in this section can be used to automatically calculate the step trigger times in a timed sequence so that you don t have to work them out manually The auto playlist function can be used with timed sequences containing any types of events that have set time durations e g sound events timed sequences etc and the trigger times are automatically calculated for you You can also use events that don t have fixed time durations with this function but of course ShowMagic can t calculate the times for you Here s an example Section 9 Sequence Panel 137 1 Using the Demo desk open up an empty sequence button by right clicking on it or by highlighting it and clicking the Edit button 2 Drag and drop the Midi Funk and Till FX sound events from the sound panel into steps 001 and 002 respectively 3 Drag and drop the Spot Chase and Timed Sequence events from the sequence panel into steps 003 and 004 respectively 4 Highlight any blank sequence step at the bottom of the step details display and press Insert to insert a Null Step at the end This last Null Step will automatically be re labelled as End 5 Hold down Ctrl and click on the Shf button and an Auto Playlist Timer dialogue box will appear 6
347. se either a breakout cable adapter that consists of a bunch of cables with phono or jack sockets on the end or a breakout box containing a number of phono or jack sockets Using ShowMagic these outputs can be treated as stereo pairs e g outputs 1 and 2 are the first left and right stereo outputs outputs 3 and 4 are the second stereo left and right outputs and so on or each channel can be selected as a single mono output or in any combination at any time Please Note Channel pairs 1 2 are selectable on both primary and secondary soundcards So if you are using a SoundBlaster compatible primary soundcard with a single pair of outputs and a secondary soundcard with 4 pairs of analogue outputs you will be able to select from 5 pairs of outputs 1 2 on the primary soundcard and 1 2 3 4 5 6 or 7 8 on the secondary soundcard In order to use a multi output soundcard with ShowMagic you need to first set it up using the Control Panel Console utility that is supplied with the soundcard after the soundcard has been successfully installed in Windows See Setting up Multi I O Soundcards p 233 for some sample set up instructions Playing Multi Tracks Multiple Synchronized wav Files If you are using a multiple output soundcard that is supplied with ASIO drivers you can play up to 16 synchronized wav files on outputs 1 to 16 limited to 8 fixed outputs on the SL Free Edition model This can be useful if you are playing customized sur
348. seceeeeeeeeeseceeeeeeeeeeeeensaeeseneneees 65 Using the Fixture Pan l s Centre and Locate Buttons ici rasca idas ri 65 Play and Quick BUS a aiii 66 Undo aiid Store DUO A t 66 FElashing a Seenen A teas Ke daa nese cas ou E E O ve Nix alae Maes aulidaosiay chanced ink Uv inayat aade 67 Flashing and Releasing a O nicuedg tae dctcosbanndsn Medea dasnneamdeluuece deduce 67 SHIGA Scene BUM o 67 DISENO EA SEO ia 68 COPTI SCOOTER RA o 68 Mo ving a SCS 1 SS A A A sen a are ae 68 Recording Scenes by Sniffing DM ed isa 68 Scene Generator A A E vote stand 70 Scene Generator OPA A E E 72 EX Generatore A O A PIED CS a TEE Pe EO 73 Creatina AN FX Nr tn is 73 The Pan EX Pr Aa 75 A E ta 76 The EX Window and Range Limiter BO coocelvatuiu te bark ceusencedteveteeel evaebvaorceansss 77 TS ELM Pr E TAE ERE A EA 79 The Delay Offset Padron raid AE end a aae E NO coun EET ues 80 Triggering Pan FX and Tilt FX using Sound To Light oonoonconccnocinccnoccnonconnconcnoncnnncnncnnncnn conan 80 The Random Slop BUCO dat A ean aa aa a EE E ETE 81 TES Maps EX Pres A ia 81 Triggering a Shape FX using Sound To Light ooonoccnnnccnncnnnocaconcconncnoncconnccnnccnnnononoconccconccnnnonnnss 82 Using the Fixtures Presets with Shape FX Presets ccsscssscssscssssccseccsescessncccessccesseaccessanees 82 Clipping Shape FX using the Range Limiter BOX ccccoidnconisini cocida dia dedicas 82 Changing the Reference Positions in Existing FX SCeN8S oooconconncnoonn
349. sed from the action panel by clicking on the US button and conversely the main screen can be accessed from the user screen by clicking on the Main button for easier operation when using a touch screen One Touch Button If ticked then a button labelled One Touch will appear on the user screen that enables the user to switch between a single click being required to start or stop an action button One Touch button shown in red or whether a double click is required One Touch button shown in grey Recall Button If ticked a Recall button will appear on the user screen If the user double clicks on the Recall button to turn it on then shown red the current running state of any buttons including their fader levels on any pages that the user has access to on the user screen will be recalled when ShowMagic is restarted If the button is not on shown grey then the buttons will be set to their normal on off states when ShowMagic is re started Reset Button If ticked a Reset button will appear on the user screen If the user double clicks on this Reset button all events will be stopped and any fixture faders on the desk will be cleared down 216 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual The schedule will be re started after 3 seconds if Auto gt Run Schedule has been ticked on the Auto menu Schedule Button If ticked a schedule button will appear on the user screen that enables the user to turn the schedule on or off provided the Display S
350. shown set the com port to COM 3 Rename the device from its default PLC XU116 label to Room 1 Projector 26 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual 4 Select Edit 02 from the drop down menu and then set its com port to COM2 5 Rename the device from its default PLC XU116 label to Room 2 Projector Now when you are using the device control panel see Using RS232 or IP Controllable Devices p 150 the labels you have chosen will be displayed when selecting devices Reply Timeout this can be ticked if you require the device to send an acknowledgement reply when sending commands to it The maximum time in milliseconds for ShowMagic to wait for a reply before reporting an error is also selectable default is 500ms Send Delay This can be ticked if the device requires a minimum delay between commands being sent If a script has been loaded for a device then the script will set the Reply Timeout and Send Delay settings automatically These can however be changed manually if required Acknowledgements errors etc for devices can be viewed on the monitor panel with Com selected see Com p 177 This Sanyo projector can also be controlled via an IP connection so two buttons are enabled RS232 and IP If you are using an IP connection to the device then clicking on the IP button will change the RS232 IP Settings area enabling you to set how many of these units are connected and the IP addresses for each The last box set to the defau
351. sing the mouse to change items colored light blue Hold down amp double click on function number to make it the main dimming function number shown yellow F12 Copy fader used to copy a fader s assignments to the range of faders specified 252 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Del Delete Insert NM Home End Page Up Thru Used to specify a range of faders or fixtures At Used to specify a Dmx address Delete Command Deletes the command shown in the command display Delete Fader Assignment s Deletes assignments to the highlighted fader or range of faders Delete Fixture Deletes a fixture from a fader if the fixture is highlighted Insert Fixture Adds a fixture to a fader If used in a copy command it will add the specified number of fader assignments to the copy Scrolls through Faders Scrolls through and tests Dmx channels if Dmx test button is on or tests fader s dimmer channels if Fdr test button is on Displays the first page of faders in the list Displays the last page of faders in the list Displays the previous page of faders in the list Page Down Displays the next page of faders in the list Section 16 Appendix 253 Appendix F RS232 IP Command String Protocol Please Note This appendix refers to IP control features which currently have ExPERIMENTAL status Below is a list of command strings that can be received via RS232 or IP to control variou
352. so be 2 seconds Slide the Offset Delay fader up to FL and the delay will become 4 seconds Triggering Pan FX and Tilt FX using Sound To Light The buttons below the Pan FX and Tilt FX Speed faders can be used to select one of the sound to light frequency meters on the master panel to trigger the FX Right clicking on the button selects PK LF LM HM or HF respectively Left clicking goes back through the options i e HF HM LM LF PK or Off When the appropriate meter is triggered the pan or tilt moves at the speed selected with its Speed fader then it stops until it is triggered again Setting different frequency meters for the Pan FX and Tilt FX or setting one of them to sound to light and the other to a normal speed setting can produce interesting pan and tilt FX that follow the music 80 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual The Random Slope Buttons If you click on the buttons labelled R below the Pan FX and Tilt FX Slope faders it activates them turns them blue When activated ShowMagic will then randomly pick whether to use the selected slope setting or jump to the opposite FX position each time round This can be very effective especially when used in conjunction with the sound to light options above producing even more varied patterns that follow the music sometimes moving smoothly sometimes snapping The Shape FX Presets Combining the Pan FX and Tilt FX presets can produce many waveform type shapes but in order to crea
353. st to indicate that four fixtures are assigned to that fader 7 Highlight the Fdr 002 row GoldenScan and press 1 5 0 Enter Now because the fixture was selected using the Library button ShowMagic knows that the fixture requires 12 consecutive channels so it automatically patches the GoldenScan to 12 consecutive channels starting from the channel supplied i e channel 50 The channel range 050 067 is thus indicated under the Dmx Address title in the Fixture list as being patched to that fixture The four par cans are now assigned to fixture fader 1 and patched to channels 10 12 15 and 17 and a single GoldenScan is assigned to fixture fader 2 and patched to DMX channels 50 to 67 18 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Multiple Assignment and Patching Commands For speed and convenience ShowMagic offers features for assigning and or patching multiple fixtures with a single command by using other keys such as on the numeric keypad for Thru and function key F12 for Copy For instance if you were using 10 GoldenScan HPE fixtures and you wished to assign these to fixture faders 1 through 10 on the desk you could do the following 1 Click anywhere within the Fader list to select it The highlight bar will then be shown in red to indicate that the Fader list is now active for editing Press Delete 1 2 then Enter and you will be prompted to confirm the deleting of those two fader assignments 1 thr
354. t is highlighted and running on the left hand side of the desk If the lighting scene has been recorded with only values for the color function holding down C will enable you to change the color setting live as above but holding down G will have no effect because no values for the gobo function were recorded to that scene If you want to be able use this feature to change the color gobo dimmer etc using a single action button then you must record all those functions into the lighting scene that you create for that action button 198 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Please Note The Key Activated Presets item on the Options gt Action Panel menu must also be ticked in order for this feature to work on the action panel Setting Editable Events for the User Screen If the Options gt User Screen Access gt Realtime Edit item is ticked then a dark blue UE option will appear in the details displays for action buttons You will also notice that an Edit button will appear on the user screen If you highlight an action button hold down Ctrl and click on the UE option a User Screen Realtime Edit dialogue box will appear and this enables you to determine what can be edited directly from the user screen for the event on that action button depending on what type of event is loaded onto the action button The options are Realtime Edit Enable ticking this item enables realtime editting on the user screen for that specific action b
355. t here by holding down Ctrl and left or right clicking on a time value to decrement or increment that value respectively Any DMX and audio channels used by any events at the start of the sequence will then fade in over this duration if they have been set to do so as described under Mas below Out The fade Out time for the sequence sub master fader can be set here as above Aud Chase only Section 9 Sequence Panel 117 Five sound to light meters are available on the Master panel If the Sound To Light gt On item is ticked on the Options menu then holding down the Ctrl key whilst left right clicking on the description to the right of Aud will select which frequency band will trigger the scenes in that chase If Aud is Off sound to light is ignored for that chase and the speed setting in BPM is used If the last Go option is selected the steps in a chase are triggered by the Go button or Spacebar Grp If this sequence were to be dropped into another sequence as a step then the group setting for that step will default to the type selected here XT A B etc e g if this were a chase sequence using gobo scenes then the Grp could be set to G so as not to affect other steps containing color chase Pan and Tilt chase etc that were being run by the sequence The group setting for any steps in a sequence can of course be changed at any later time in the normal way As with the scene panel Ctrl with left right clicking selects the g
356. t step in that sequence Example If for example you had a wave file with a 2 second fade in selected for it on the sound panel and you then dropped it into a sequence a 2 second fade in would be stored in the sequence for that event step If you later changed the fade in time for that event on the sound panel to 4 seconds and then dropped it into another sequence then a 4 second fade in would be stored in that other sequence and so on Various settings for events can be changed in a sequence at any time using Shift with the faders on the sequence panel but for other settings you may need to set them on the event s panel and then drop the event into the sequence again in order to store those new settings 132 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Adjusting Settings for Sound Event Steps If a manual timed or random sequence contains a sound event then the volume pan and fade in out settings can be adjusted in the following way 1 Highlight the sound event in the sequence step details display 2 Hold down the Shift key and the three faders on the top right of the sequence panel will change into orange colored volume pan and fade time faders 3 With the Shift key still held down adjust these faders to the desired settings 4 Release the Shift key and the normal sequence faders will again be shown Sound event step faders Volume This is adjustable between 0 and 100 FL as normal Pan This fader is a
357. t times in seconds and frames The default is 00 00 for both but can be changed by holding down Ctrl and left right clicking on the time digits to decrement increment them f The playlist function is not available for MIDI files so Off is shown and cannot be changed Section 8 Sound Panel 107 If you right click on the MIDI sound event button the normal sound event buttons are removed and replaced with a MIDI track listing for the highlighted MIDI sound event thus The Beats Per Minute tempo setting for that MIDI file is shown in the window below the Ctrl button This BPM value can be changed by left right clicking on it and re starting the MIDI sound event Each track can be transposed by left right clicking on the digits below the BPM window to decrement increment them The symbol denotes a higher octave and the symbol denotes a lower octave Transposing is then applied to all the tracks that have the button on their right set to blue If you want to leave any tracks at their original pitch e g drum tracks then simply click on the button to toggle it from blue to grey Similarly left clicking on the left button for each track to turn it red will mute that track and right clicking on the left button for each track to turn it green will solo that track Any buttons on the left of the tracks shown in grey are un muted If you are sending the MIDI sound event to a MIDI port to control an external MIDI devi
358. t to route the audio and video from input to output 1 input 2 to output 2 and so on then the command should be edited to the following unit 1 video 1 2 3 4 gt 1 2 3 4 audio 1 2 3 4 gt 1 2 3 4 as described in the comment section of the dialogue box Using Multiple Monitor Outputs ShowMagic AV has been designed to make use of the variety of multi head graphics cards and interfaces available These cards can work in slightly different ways but all have been designed on the principle of extending the windows desktop area Some cards provide 2 or more monitor outputs where the physical monitor outputs relate to discreet monitors as seen by Windows Here is an example of a dual head card with two physical monitor outputs seen by Windows as 2 discreet monitors Other cards can be configured so that Windows sees them as two discreet monitors but the secondary monitor is extended to 2 3 or 4 times the width or height and the physical outputs from these cards output one part of the extended monitor each Here is an example of a triple head interface being used connected to the second head output of a laptop to provide 3 secondary outputs the first physical output on the interface CUBIS the left third of the extended desktop the second physical output on the interface a outputs the centre third of the extended desktop and the third physical output on the interface outputs the right third of the extended
359. t we can dim up each of the red green and blue columns as they are brought onto the grid 1 Copy the above ColorScene scene button onto another empty scene button select that new button and click on CScn to go to the ColorScene panel we have already created a color palette and seven frames so it is quicker to copy the ColorScene and then modify it 2 We need to create and patch 9 new fixtures that contain R G B and dimmer functions so select Options gt Patch Screen highlight fader 025 and select A gt Abstract gt AVR series gt LEDion from the Fixtures menu 3 Press F12 the copy fader function and type 25 8 Return to copy another 8 fixtures of the same type to fader numbers 026 to 033 4 Now that we have 9 fixtures that possess R G B and Dimmer functions we can soft patch these fixtures in ColorScene so select Options gt Main Screen to return to the main screen 5 With the ColorScene panel still shown select fixture 25 on the fixture panel and click on the Patch button on the ColorScene panel Select the Grid LR LR soft patch option and double click anywhere in the active grid to soft patch the fixtures to the grid If you now run that ColorScene you will notice that it will do the same chase as the ColorScene it was copied from but it is applied to fixtures 25 to 33 instead You will also notice that the dimmer functions for the fixtures are automatically set to full so that the LED colors can be seen at ful
360. tcuts primarily the Shift and Ctrl keys These can be used in various combinations with items on the screen to perform many different operations quickly and easily and a Quick Key Command Reference p 249 is provided at the end of this manual The end result is an application that will enable you to create your desired results with as little time and effort as possible This user manual is intended as a guide to all the functions and features of the ShowMagic products Each function is described in the relevant section of the manual and some examples are given for using those functions ShowMagic has developed over the years into a very versatile and powerful piece of software and if step by step instructions were given for using every function and feature then this manual would become a very large document indeed To avoid this many functions are simply described in brief as these should become clear with use and experimentation In order to understand the functions and features properly it is very important that you first read through the Beginner s Tutorial and practice the examples using the software first before using this manual The Beginner s Tutorial introduces you step by step to the basic operating principles patching lighting fixtures using those fixtures creating lighting scenes creating sound events using lighting and sound to create sequences etc Once you understand the basic operating procedures described in the Be
361. te geometric shapes such as circles and ellipses the pan and tilt values must be calculated and applied mathematically to achieve the desired shape The Shape FX presets are provided for this purpose n Scans Shape 1 The two most useful geometric shapes have been provided Circle and Ellipse The Pan FX and or Tilt FX presets can be used in conjunction with the Shape FX presets as described later For now de select any Pan FX and Tilt FX presets that FX generator for a circle may be highlighted Select the Shape FX Circle preset the faders and FX Window on the FX generator panel will change The first fader remains the Offset Delay fader the second fader changes to a Shape FX Speed fader with a sound to light selector button below it and the third fader becomes the Shape FX Slope fader The selected shape is also now shown in FX Window and the centre handle is used to change the size of the circle Dragging the centre handle to the right of centre increases the size dragging to the left of centre decreases the size When a Shape FX preset is first selected its default size is 50 Therefore when the FX scene is run the pan and tilt function faders will move in the range of 25 and 25 of the original pan amp tilt positions stored in that scene 1 e if both the pan and tilt fader values were stored in the scene as 127 then the faders will move between the DMX values of 064 and 191 when tracing the shape Please Not
362. te solution for any lighting desk or show control application Traditional theatre desks tend to use a program the scenes then manually trigger them from a set cue list method of operation Show Controllers use a program run and walk away automated method of operation and Live Performance desks use a program then play as I want on the fly method of operation Each of these applications has it s own disciplines methods of creation and methods of operation For this reason all types of scene creation have been supported all three precedences have been made available and two different types of logic for how scenes are run and how they are turned off are also available in ShowMagic using the Normal mode and the Live mode The Normal mode was devised as a system whereby scenes could be turned on and the DMX channels used in those scenes were adjusted accordingly When those scenes were turned off the DMX channels used in those scenes would then be brought back down to 00 assuming that no other scenes were still running that used those channels In this mode you could determine the state of the DMX channels solely by seeing what scenes were left running at any given time This Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 57 on is on and off is off approach makes it far easier to program automated or randomised lightshows This mode is also ideal for running automated lightshows in different areas at the sam
363. ted to external ADAM digital input modules e Analogue inputs connected to a PISO 813 analogue input PCI board e Buttons on a PC joystick In other words any lighting scenes lighting chases sound effects music or complete audio and visual presentations involving lighting sounds video and external devices video projectors effects units etc can be controlled a Automatically by MIDI sequencers or keyboards b Automatically by time and date see Auto Scheduler p 12 c Automatically by RS232 digital or analogue inputs or DMX devices d Manually by touchscreen RF remote control PC mouse or keyboard e Both automatically and manually using any of the above Section 2 Events 11 Auto Scheduler The desk can also be programmed to operate automatically so that any ShowMagic events that are put onto action buttons can be triggered at certain times of day and on different days by using an Auto Scheduler This gives you a versatile control and playback system that can also control itself In terms of flexibility the combination of auto scheduler control events and action buttons that can be activated in a variety of ways means that one or more shows sections of shows light and sound environments individual events and or external RS232 devices can be run by the clock by other RS232 IP ExPERIMENTAL DMX or MIDI Triggers by switches by analogue inputs operated manually or any combination of these
364. tem will un tick it and the dipswitch settings will be replaced with the fixture Name When assigning physical fixtures to fixture faders using the fixtures menu the necessary number of channels for that fixture is automatically patched once the start address is entered The figure shown in brackets is the DMX universe number 1 4 Patch and Copy Commands Another method of patching and copying fixtures is by using commands Patch and Copy commands are particularly useful if you are assigning and patching multiple fixtures that are not addressed consecutively to one fixture fader Let us assume that you are using 4 par cans whose individual dimmers are set to channels 10 12 15 and 17 and a GoldenScan HPE set to channel 50 and you wish to control the 4 par cans using a single fader The following is how you would patch those fixtures Section 3 Patch Screen 17 1 We will start with an empty desk so select the Options gt Main Screen menu item select File gt New Desk from the main screen and click OK to confirm then select Options gt Patch Screen to return to the patch screen 2 Using the Library button select Make Generic Lamp Model Par Can for Fdr 001 and Make Clay Paky Model GoldenScan HPE for Fdr 002 3 Highlight the Edr 001 row par can in the Fader list 4 With Num Lock on use the numeric keypad on the right of the keyboard and press the 1 key then the asterisk key then the 1 then 0 keys follow
365. the Hours Minutes Seconds or Frames digits for an event s trigger time will decrement increment those digits on all events highlighted in blue below that step When a marked section is active you can move an end marker to a step earlier or later in the sequence by simply double clicking on the desired step s white number When the desired times have been set the markers can then be removed in any of the following ways a Double click again on the white step number for the end step the last step highlighted in blue b Double click on the white step number for the start step the step highlighted in red c Click on any blank step below the last step in the sequence d Click on the Edit button to remove the step details display Continue From Mark When you use the bottom half of the Go button Play From Mark a manual or timed sequence can be started from the step currently highlighted in the step details display rather than starting from step 001 Sometimes in a live performance however you may need to skip sections of a pre programmed show or go back a few steps whilst the sequence is already running the Continue From Mark feature has been included to accommodate this At any time when a manual sequence is running rather than clicking Go or Spacebar to trigger the next step in the manual sequence as shown in the live display you can click on any step in the step details display to highlight it an
366. the desk when you record a scene You can change this setting by right clicking on the button and selecting one of the following from the pop up menu Clear on Record Yes When selected the desk is automatically cleared down each time you record a new scene This is useful if you are recording dissimilar scenes and you want to start with a clear desk each time Clear on Record No When this is selected the desk is not cleared down automatically each time you record a scene you need to double click on the Clr N button to clear the desk This is useful if you are recording similar scenes and you want to leave them at their last settings and then make fine adjustments to those settings when recording each new scene Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 59 Scene Details Display The scene details display When a scene is highlighted by clicking on its button its details are shown in the details display The unique scene number A001 B023 etc is shown at the top along with the label for the scene Unlike the other event panels the details in the details display for lighting scenes are changed by means of an Edit Scene dialogue box that is produced when you click on any of the blue items The following time values are shown in Hours Minutes Seconds and Frames i e hh mm ss ff and can be set to up to 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds and 24 frames 23 59 59 24 i e 1 day Wait The time that the scene will wait before fading in after
367. the playlist is run or looped 5 Track Length You can select Track Length which will play each track for its total length or set a maximum track length between 1 to 5 minutes to restrict the length of each track if required If a track is shorter than the maximum length then the next track is played as soon as the current track finishes with any cross fade settings taken into account 1 e there are no silent periods 6 If you tick XFade On cross fade the In and Out times set in the details display for that sound event will be used to cross fade between each track E g if the In and Out times are both set to 02 00 then 2 seconds before its end the current track will start to fade out over 2 seconds and the next track will start to fade in over 2 seconds 7 Sequence Insert Introduced in version 12 0 this option enables you to insert and play a sequence between tracks after an interval selectable in minutes up to 999 minutes This could be used for playing regular voice announcements adverts etc Because a sequence is used as an insert any ShowMagic events or combination of events can be played in the inserts e g a digital sign can be displayed whilst an audio announcement is made etc This makes it very versatile but simple to use Notes on using Sequence Inserts a When a playlist contains a Sequence Insert ShowMagic will check when the chosen interval has passed since the last insert was played and will the
368. the tracks in the folder can be a mixture of wav mp3 wma files etc Playlist details display c Different playlists can be played to different DirectShow or ASIO audio channels Please Note If you select ASIO channels the tracks being played must be in uncompressed wav file format compressed audio files such as mp3 wma etc are not supported on ASIO channels See Playing Multiple Playlists p 114 for more details d The third row displays Dir directory of the folder where the tracks are stored rather then the File filename of a single digital audio file e The fourth Len length row displays the total time duration of the playlist allowing for any cross fade timings rather than the length of a single digital audio file f Files nn This shows the number nn of tracks in the selected folder g The LP loop option if highlighted in light blue indicates that looping is set to on If shown dark blue then looping is set to off will play the playlist only once h The fifth row shows the In and Out times these are normally used to set the fade in and fade out times of single sound events but with the playlist selected these denote the cross fade times between tracks ShowMagic AV Series User Manual i The item to the right of Plist denotes the following Lin the tracks in the playlist folder will be played in a linear order each time Rnd the tracks in the playlist folder will be
369. the window showing String A2 to call up the Action Trigger dialogue box 4 Tick Enable User Strings on the Action Trigger dialogue box the Comm String boxes will then become active for that action button Drop down menus are available to the right of each of the 8 Comm String boxes and the options available in these menus are N A On Off Play Stop Pause Next and Back which will now be described N A The Comm String box is Not Applicable i e not used On OffThe string defined in this box will turn the action button on the first time it is recetved and turn it off the second time it is received 1 e it toggles the button on off Play The string defined in this box will just turn the action button on Stop The string defined in this box will just turn the action button off Pause The string defined in this box will pause the event assigned to the action button The On Off string above is used to resume the playing of the event Section 12 Action Panel 189 Next If the event assigned to the action button is a manual sequence receipt of the string defined in this box will move it on to the next step of the sequence just like the Go button on the action Panel Back If the event assigned to the action button is a manual or timed sequence receipt of the string defined in this box will move it back to the previous step in the sequence just like the rewind button on the action panel The strings that you enter in these boxes will
370. them together highlight the color function for one of the fixtures hold Shift and then click on a preset all the color function faders will jump to that preset value because the fixtures are grouped However you will find that the same fixture types as the selected fixture will display the color shown on the preset button but the other dissimilar fixtures may display a different color for that preset value Setting Faders using Commands In a similar way to assigning fixtures on the patch screen the key thru and the key at Using the numeric keypad you can enter commands to set a number of single channel fixtures such as par cans to a specific value E g typing 1 4 5 0 Enter would set fixtures 1 to 4 to 50 A function can also be set for a number of fixtures using the keypad e g if you had 4 GoldenScan HPEs assigned to fixtures 9 to 12 clicking on the Color Wheel 1 function fader for any one of those fixtures to highlight it and then typing 9 1 2 3 5 Enter will set all the Color Wheel 1 function values for fixtures 9 10 11 and 12 to 35 Color Blue You can also use the and keys to include or exclude fixtures when setting multiple faders using the keyboard Example Here are some examples assuming that you have patched 12 par cans to fixture faders 1 to 12 1 1 9 H 6 5 0 Enter would set fixtures 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 amp 9 to 50 1 4 19 H
371. ther EX for exclusive XT for exclusive type scene or control event or LA for latched When a scene is set to EX it will turn off any other scenes in that chase that might be running When a scene is set to LA then it will not affect any other events in that chase and it will remain on until another event set to EX or XT is run Chase speeds range from 1500 scenes per minute down to 1 scene every 10 minutes Manual Sequences A sequence with its Type set to Manual is the type most suited to Live applications where events need to be triggered manually A Manual sequence is similar to a cue list on popular theatre lighting desks Steps in a manual sequence can be triggered by clicking on Go buttons or pressing Spacebar when using the sequence or action panels on the left or set to follow other triggered steps after specific time delays Section 9 Sequence Panel 125 Go is always used to start a sequence but when a sequence is set to Manual one of the following trigger options can be selected for each step in the sequence a Go If this is selected you must click on the Go button on the sequence or action panels or press Spacebar if the panel is on the left to activate the event b Wait This selects how soon after the previous event has started that this event should wait before automatically activating If the Wait time 00 00 0 seconds and 0 frames then this event will activate at the same time as the prev
372. these fixtures The reason for copying the 12 x 3 channel fixtures onto the next page of fixture faders is that they are then all shown together on the same page of fixtures and therefore easier to access and group etc Using 46 Channel Mode In this mode the first 9 channels of the ChromaZone are used as in 9 channel mode above to control all 12 Chroma fixtures together i e 1 Red on all 2 Green on all 3 Blue on all 4 Chase 5 Speed amp 6 Dimmer intensity However the addition 10 channel is used as a master dimmer for the intensity of all fixtures and both chases The next 36 channels are used to control the Red Green amp Blue 3 channel settings independently for each fixture as usual Select Make Pulsar gt Model ChromaZone Option 10 Channel using the fixture Library button and create 12 Pulsar fixtures as described for 42 channel mode as above Other Makes of LED Fixtures Most other makes of LED fixture possess Red Green and Blue channels If a fixture possessing Red Green amp Blue channels is not in the ShowMagic fixtures library simply select Make Generic Colour Model RGB using the fixture Library button and re label it accordingly If a fixture possessing Red Green Blue amp White channels is not in the ShowMagic fixtures library simply select Make Generic Colour Model RGB W using the fixture Library button and re label it accordingly And so on If a fixture possesses any other color channels
373. tion Left right click on any of the above settings shown in blue whilst holding down the Ctrl key to change them Section 9 Sequence Panel 119 Live Display In Go In Go In Go The live display When the Edit button is used or you right click on a sequence button this display shows the current step position within a running sequence highlighted and below that the next two steps in the sequence due to run This display is live and it is constantly updated as the sequence is running It is therefore provided purely for information purposes as none of the details can be changed via this display Any changes to sequence steps are made on the Step Details display as described next Step Details Display Step Number Each event in a sequence is called a step and step numbers are shown in the first column Sequences can vary in size from a sequence containing 2 lighting scenes to a sequence containing hundreds of lighting scenes chases sound or control events A total of 50 000 steps are available with a limit of 999 steps per sequence but sequences are sized dynamically i e if the first sequence uses 100 steps there are then 49 900 steps remaining for use in other sequences See also Part Step Numbering p 143 The step details display Ref This shows where the event is stored e g scene A001 etc Label The event s label is shown in the third column Group Event steps can be set
374. tive box you can set the following for that virtual window Display Number On the AV model up to 3 displays are available on AV Plus up to 5 displays can be used The second drop down menu is used to select the display default Display 1 on which the virtual window will appear if using one dual head graphics card then this is restricted to Display 1 only If you are using a multi head graphics card s the outputs of which are displayed as separate monitors on the Windows Display Properties Settings dialogue box then you can select Display 1 to nn where nn is the number of displays available up to 5 If you are using one multi head graphics card or interface on which all the outputs are displayed as one large stretched monitor on the Windows Display Properties Settings dialogue box then you can only select Display 1 The size of any virtual windows that you set up for this stretched display output can then be anything from the full resolution of the stretched display spanning across all the physical display outputs or anything smaller Position and Size The next two boxes can be used to set the X position and Y position top left corner of the window in pixels of the virtual window on the selected display These values start from 0 The next two boxes are used to set the width and height in pixels of the virtual window Any video or digital signage events set to play in that virtual window will then appea
375. to enter a start address of 050 for that fixture If you wanted to assign another 3 par cans to the consecutive faders 010 011 amp 012 and patch them at consecutive DMX Enter DMX Address Copy dialogue box Section 3 Patch Screen 15 addresses 051 052 amp 053 then additionally type 3 in the Copy box before clicking on the Enter button 4 par cans will then be automatically assigned to fixture faders 009 through 012 and they will be automatically patched to DMX addresses 050 to 053 5 Highlight Fdr 013 in the list by either clicking on it or using the Down cursor key Then using the Library button select Make Clay Paky Model GoldenScan HPE The label GoldenScan HPE will then appear under the Label title and Scanner will appear under the Fixture Type title The 12 functions of the GoldenScan HPE will also appear automatically in the Function list 6 Double click on the DMX address for that fixture and an Enter DMX Address Copy dialogue box will appear Type a start address of 55 in the Address box and click on Enter button That fixture will then be patched to DMX addresses 055 066 as it is a multi channel fixture that uses 12 DMX channels Clearing an Address To delete a DMX address for a fixture do the above but enter 0 for the new address This will clear the address back to 000 000 Fader List The Fader list display shows the following information for each of the fixture faders Edr The
376. to EX XA XT LA or to one of 26 main group letters labelled A through to Z by left right clicking on them with Ctrl held down or by highlighting the step and then typing the group letter These determine which events are turned off automatically when the event occurs later in a sequence Only EX XT or LA can be set in chases 120 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual If set to EX then this event will be EXclusive in that sequence all previous events of any type scenes chases sounds etc are automatically turned off when this step is activated in the sequence If set to XA eXclusive Audio then this event will turn off all events of any type except audio events that are running in that sequence when it is activated If set to XT then this will be eXclusive to that Type of event in that sequence all previous events of that type of the same color will be automatically turned off when this step is activated in the sequence If set to LA then this event will be LAtched it doesn t turn off any other events and the same event must be turned off by using another step for that event set to Out or Off unless of course it is turned off automatically when any later event set to EX or the same type of event set to XT is activated The group letters A to Z can be used for exclusive grouping If any events are set to A group A then the latest activated step containing any type of event set to A will turn off any previous event of
377. to the values stored in a color box simply hold down Ctrl and double right click on that color box You can then adjust it and then store that new color in the palette by clicking on the next empty pallet box You can also store a background color so that when you are coloring cells a left click will paint that cell with the currently selected palette color and a right click will paint that cell with the background color To select the background color default black simply right click on a color in the palette The large box on the right of the palette will then show the background color Section 7 Lighting Scene Panel 89 Time saving tip If you are intending to create a number of ColorScene scenes that all use the same grid layout and colors then you should at this stage exit the ColorScene panel by clicking on the Exit button and drag and drop that ColorScene scene onto the required number of empty scene buttons Those ColorScene scenes will then have the grid and colors already set up ready for you to select whatever frames speeds etc you want to apply to them later Highlight the original ColorScene button Scene A007 and click on the CScn button to Color Bk R select the ColorScene panel for that scene and let us assume that the colors you have selected for this ColorScene are the first two fixed colors Black and White followed by Red Green Blue Cyan Magenta and Yellow The upper options display shows th
378. to the right You will notice that the first column now contains the green color that was scrolled off the right of the grid Drag down the first column with the mouse to make it black 12 Double click on the frame 05 box to make a copy of that frame in the next empty frame box 06 and drag down the last column with the mouse to make it black Now when you run that ColorScene the RGB columns will scroll into the grid from the left and out of the right You will notice that when you first run this ColorScene red appears in the first column instantly followed by green and then after the time determined by the ColorScene s speed setting blue follows after that and so on This is because the In and Out settings on the right of the top details display are both set to Scene and the scene fade In and Out times on the left of the details display are both set to 00 00 00 the default If you want the first frame to come in hold for the duration set by the speed fader followed by the second frame and so on then set both the In amp Out to Spd the initial In time when the ColorScene chase is first run and the last Out time when the ColorScene chase is told to go off will then be determined by the speed setting of that ColorScene chase Using Insert and Delete We should have had the first frame in the last chase we created set to black rather than the last frame so that when the chase is first run the grid begins in black then
379. trum analyser graphic effect that matches the sound to light section on the master panel When a block of text is selected containing a special code for one of the spectrum analyser effects the foreground and drop shadow color boxes are temporarily replaced with three new color boxes The top box is used to select the color for the topmost clipping graphic elements of the spectrum analyser e g red the middle box is for the mid color e g yellow and the bottom box is used for selecting the standard element color e g green To change any color simply double click on the appropriate box and use the color palette to select the color required The Drop and 3D items are also replaced by Size 5 Right clicking on the percentage value will increase the size of the graphic in steps of 5 The X _ and Y settings determine the position of the graphic on the sign as normal Spectrum Analyzer User This will produce a spectrum analyser graphic effect as above but a range of parameters no of bands frequency ranges etc are selectable using the Other Settings gt Spectrum Analyser Settings item available on the Options menu see Spectrum Analyser Settings p 210 Load Image File This can be used to select an image i e a picture in bmp jpg gif or tga format to load into that block In a similar way to the Spectrum Analyser graphic the Drop amp 3D_ items are replaced by Size 5 Right clicking on the percentage value will in
380. ttom color box to the left of Drop and use the palette to select the color 3D Holding down Ctrl and right clicking on this item will select a solid 3D drop down effect rather than a single drop shadow effect Mixing Lines of Text If you want to have multi colored lines of text this is possible for instance let us say that you want to display a company logo such as ACE in the centre of the digital sign where each letter is a different color and even maybe a different font or style To do this simply 1 Click to the right of Text and press A using the Edit Digital Signage dialogue box 2 Right click to the right of Blk to select block 02 then click to the right of Text and press C to enter a C on the first line of the Edit Digital Signage dialogue box 3 Right click to the right of Block to select 03 then click to the right of Text and press E to enter an E on the first line of the Edit Digital Signage dialogue box 4 Leave the Y setting for each block set to Ctr but use the X setting for each block to space the letters apart on the same line they can even overlap if you prefer Likewise the colors styles and sizes for each letter can be set to suit Digital Signage Special Codes Special codes can be entered as lines of text in blocks on digital signage events With these special codes you can produce a real time 24 hour clock display produce different types of spectrum analyser graphics effects
381. tton has been clicked producing the screenshot above Replacing an Event If you want to replace the Cue List sequence on that action button with another sequence then simply use the page and bank selector buttons to select the approriate page if required and then double click on the required sequence button The sequence assigned to that action button will then be replaced and you will be returned to the normal user screen display The same system applies for replacing other non sequence events and if the event is file based a sound event etc you can click on the file folder button above the bank selector buttons and load a different file onto that action button and subsequently into that event button on its panel Replacing Sequence Steps If the event on the action button is a Manual Chase Random or Snapshot sequence the individual steps can be replaced in a similar manner Simply use the left and right arrow keys to the right of the window labelled No Sequence Step Selected to select the sequence step number the page containing that event will then be displayed use the bank and page selector buttons to select another 200 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual event page if necessary containing the event you want to place on that step and double click on the event button to put that event into that step If the original event in the step is a file based event you can also use the file folder icon to load a different event into that
382. u 2 2 With the Fdr 001 row still highlighted select the Make Clay Paky Model GoldenScan HPE fixture using the Library button then press F12 1 10 This would display the command Copy Fdr 1 Thru 10 Pressing Enter to confirm this command would then assign copies of the fixture assigned to fader 1 GoldenScan HPE to faders 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 and 10 You now have 10 GoldenScans assigned to faders 1 to 10 but they are not patched to DMX channels the patching can be done for each fixture individually as previously described or if their addresses are all set to be consecutive they can all be patched with a single command 1 Let us say that you have physically set 10 GoldenScan 3 HPE fixtures to use consecutive start channels beginning with 1 i e 1 13 25 37 etc and you wished to assign these to faders 1 through 10 this can be done in the following way 2 Delete fader assignments 2 through 10 by pressing Delete 2 10 Enter and this will leave you with one GoldenScan on Fdr 001 3 Press F12 1 10 1 This will display the command Copy Fdr 1 Thru 10 at 1 Pressing Enter to execute this command would then assign the 10 fixtures to fixture faders 7 10 and also automatically patch them to their consecutive channels beginning at DMX channel 1 Alternatively pressing F12 1 9 1 Enter would add 9 more fixtures of the same type as Fdr 001 assign them to Faders 002 through 010
383. u are copying to e g dragging the Sun button onto the Sat button and holding down Ctrl when the button is dropped will copy Sunday s schedule steps to Monday through to Saturday after confirmation Inserting a Schedule Step Whenever action buttons are dragged and dropped into the bottom of the schedule details display the step is added to the end of that day s schedule list If you wish to insert a new step in between two existing steps then highlight the step you wish to insert the new step in front of by clicking on it and then press the Insert key A Null Step will then be inserted and the action button can be dragged and dropped onto that Null Step If you drag and drop an action button onto an existing step you will be prompted to confirm the overwriting of the original step with the new one Please Note Unlike sequence steps schedule steps don t need to be in chronological order ShowMagic works all that out but it is easier to follow a schedule if they are in chronological order Section 14 Schedule Screen 223 Deleting a Schedule Step To delete a schedule step simply highlight it and press Delete You will then be prompted to confirm the deletion Loading and Saving Schedules If a desk contains a schedule this schedule is automatically saved as part of the dsk file when that desk is saved The schedule however can also be saved independently as a sch file that could then be loaded into another desk set up
384. uble right click in the window to the right of the TG button Read Event Scripts p 241 for a full description of event scripts Quick Find Feature Double right clicking on an action button will put that event s panel and button on the other side of the desk Using Key Activated Presets on the Action Panel In a similar way to the fixture panel the Key Activated Presets feature see Using Key Activated Presets on the Fixture Panel p 43 can be used on the action panel If the action panel is on the left of the desk and an action button containing a lighting scene is running and highlighted pressing the keys D for Dimmer G for gobo etc enables you to select those presets on the fly providing you with full Live control of those functions without having to store different scenes for each setting on different action buttons Example Let s say you have recorded a scene containing the color functions for a group of fixtures set to red You then drag and drop that scene onto an action button By running that action button on the left hand side of the desk of course and highlighting it the fixtures will go to red as you would expect however you can now hold down the C key to call up the color presets panel on the right of the desk and by clicking on any color preset button set that group of fixtures to that color preset This feature works for any functions recorded into a lighting scene assigned to an action button tha
385. und Event To delete a sound event click on the button and press Delete You will be prompted to confirm or cancel If the sound event is used in any sequences you will be informed of this and if you confirm the deletion it will be removed from all sequences that contain it Copying a Sound Event To copy a sound event drag the button or its label from the details display onto the button that you wish to copy it to dropping the sound event elsewhere e g back onto the same button or back into the display will cancel the operation If the sound events are on different pages then select two sound event panels on the desk one on the left and the other on the right and copy from one to the other If the sound event button you are copying to already has a sound event stored in it you will be prompted to confirm or cancel the overwrite Moving a Sound Event To move a sound event from one button to another drag the button onto another empty sound event button and hold down Ctrl before dropping it If the original sound event button is used in any sequences those sequences will be updated with the new sound event button number Using ASIO Drivers and Multiple Input Output Soundcards ASIO ASIO Technology by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH ShowMagic includes ASIO driver support for multiple input output soundcards such as the M Audio Delta series You can play up to 16 synchronized wav sound events out to channels to 16
386. ut text descriptions are provided on the buttons rather than icons Buttons can also be dragged up and down to alter the value for that function in the same way as dragging its fader up and down Selecting Function Presets Over 1000 fixtures are available in the fixtures library and function presets for those fixtures are readily available If the fixture panel is on the left of the screen selecting a function and then holding down the Shift key will reveal a panel on the right containing preset buttons which provide instant access to all that function s presets For example if you load the Demo desk click on fixture fader 5 for the Stage Light 300 then click on the Color Wheel function button and hold down Shift you would see the colour wheel presets on the right Clicking on the button labelled Orange for instance would then select orange on the color wheel and you will notice that the function fader moves to the correct value for that preset The last preset selected for each function remains highlighted in blue with a red border until another is selected Using Key Activated Presets on the Fixture Panel If you want to select the presets panel for the more common fixture functions there is a quicker alternative to selecting a function on the fixture panel and then pressing Shift to call up the presets panel for that function as described above Special keys can be used when the fixture panel is on the left hand side of the desk and
387. utton Enable Bank Page Access If this item is not ticked then the user can only replace the event on this action button with another event of the same type and on the same page of events If this item is ticked it provides access to page and bank selector buttons enabling the user to replace this event with another event of the same type on any bank or page Enable File Replace ticking this item enables the user to replace any file based event with another file of the same type Enable Sequence Step Edit if the event on the action button is a Manual Chase Random or Snapshot sequence then ticking this item enables the user to replace a sequence step with another event of the same type Please Note This option is not available for Timer sequences Section 12 Action Panel 199 Realtime Editing on the User Screen ShowMagic AV Auto dsk File Options C No Sequence Step Selected AB G D E FE G A M 25 49 73 97 121 145 169 Spot Chase Seq A009 Seq A017 Cue List Seq A010 Seq A018 Timer Sequence Seq A011 Seq A019 Snapshot Seq A012 Seq A020 Seq A005 Seq A013 Seq A021 Seq A006 Seq A014 Seq A022 Seq A007 Seq A015 Seq A023 Seq A008 Seq A016 Seq A024 In the above example with the demo desk loaded all the realtime edit options described in the previous section have been selected for the Cue List sequence on the action panel The Cue List action button has then been highlighted on the user screen and the Edit bu
388. varying lighting atmosphere Chases in a random sequence using sound to light will produce an ever changing lightshow that follows the music Instead of activating steps sequentially as in a chase manual or timed sequence the next step to activate in a random sequence is chosen randomly from any one of the steps in that sequence and ShowMagic never picks the same step twice in succession Likewise the time between random steps being activated is also chosen randomly each time Min and Max these are selectable in minutes and seconds By setting the Min time to 2 seconds and the Max time to 10 seconds ShowMagic will pick a random time between each step being triggered that will be no less than 2 seconds and no more than 10 seconds If you want the random sequence to randomly pick the next step but you want it do so after a regular time interval say every 10 seconds then simply set both Min and Max to the same value e g 00 10 128 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Auto Timed Random Sequences If you set the Min time to 00 00 the Max time changes to a Once setting and the sequence Type changes to Rnd Sel meaning Randomly selected and run for the duration of the Selected event When that random sequence is triggered an event in that sequence is randomly selected which plays to the end of its duration and then the sequence stops If you hold down Ctrl and right click on Once to change it to Cont then the same thing happens but the sequence won
389. ver 1 and a half seconds and fade its brightness up from its current setting to 100 over 2 seconds If you wish to use the In and Out times set for an audio or video event as set in that event s details display on it s event panel then the fade values in the volume and alpha instructions can be replaced with in or out Example lt video gt lt do gt lt timer gt 00 00 10 00 lt timer gt Section 16 Appendix 247 lt 01 gt volume 0 out alpha 0 out lt 01 gt lt 02 gt volume 100 in alpha 100 in lt 02 gt lt do gt lt video gt Script Templates In order to make it easier for you to enter event scripts you can use the Sample Scripts drop down menu to select an appropriate script for what you are trying to achieve This will then fill in the script editing box with a sample script All you need do then is change any channel or timer values etc You can also use the standard Windows select cut copy and paste features for adding more script deleting unwanted script etc Using Scripts for Events Contained within Sequences You can apply a script to an event that is used within a sequence by dragging the event button onto an action button double right clicking in the window to the right of the TG button and entering the script in the Event Script dialogue box When an event has had a script attached to it on the action panel the script will be run whenever that event i
390. video file directory for the playlist is shown here m en The total length of all the video files in the playlist in hours minutes and seconds Files The total number of video files in the chosen playlist directory Option Right clicking on this item produces a pop up menu on which the following can be selected Loop On If this is ticked the video file playlist will repeat continuously in a loop until the event is turned off If set to Random Playlist then a new random order is created each time the playlist is looped Pause On End If this is ticked the video will pause on the last frame at the end of the last video in the playlist until the playlist it is turned off 158 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Please Note Only one of the above two options Loop On or Pause On End can be selected at any one time and if one is selected the other is de selected Keep Aspect Ratio If this is ticked the videos will maintain their native aspect ratio and be centred within the virtual window If not ticked they will be stretched either by width or height to fit the aspect ratio and size of the virtual window in which they are being played Keep Graph Open This item is not selectable on video playlists Aud Audio fade in and fade out times for the first and last video files in the playlist respectively can be set here in seconds and frames by holding down the Ctrl key and right or left clicking on the appropriate digits
391. vince aas 173 Section 11 Monitor Panel ccisai id 175 DVM O A to ai 176 MID A ni 176 A NN 176 A A da ae Dar ge eM pata a Cla ene SU ante taste a heat he 177 Section 12 Action Panel id 179 Action DUO das 180 Acton BOAL EDS A A A in da eave 180 Assigning Events to Action BUS A da 180 Deleting Action Button ASsieniments A acia 181 Action Motor Control Button dai da Sonar ander Cae 181 Action Panel Sub Master BADGE yal 5 5 adam E Gitea io 182 vil Mute BUON A Te Ps EES a id 182 Latch and Exclusive letter Gros A 182 Operation Options Sessien ea d 183 Triggering Acti n Button r iea aaea aa E a E EE E A 186 MIDI Input Trig geting seniri s A oe des Gees IA 186 Comm Strine Tigger A ES 188 COMMIS VIC STO CHINO nore LI AAA 191 Wireless Media Player Remote Controller ticinotass aaa eri 192 DMX Faye bia Dotersse 00 eae penn ay ary ae veer te Tce E EA E Oe Se e NER PRN 193 IR Remote Control roca A E E 194 Us cr cren s Hider aat r A teas samen E A a 196 Conditional ss moneto a EN 196 Event Scripts for Action Buttons A as 198 hie ee Toe A A E O A O 198 Using Key Activated Presets on the Action Panel ccsscosscasssccasvosdneseassdicasaedecsaasonceabeonalecabbevsaeses 198 Setting Editable Events for the User ers 199 Realtime Editing on the User SCRE E ot 200 Section 13 Main Desk Screen Options MenUS oococcoonnoccccccnnnnncnnnnnnannnnnnnnaaa co nonananonnnos 203 Patch Screen Mi A AA AS IAEA NI 203 Se edule Seres MEU lilas 203
392. wn and each of the eight triangular sections of the panel can be colored independently Soft Patching the LEDdance Panels in ColorScene Depending on the mode that the panels are set to you may need to increase the size of the grid in ColorScene to accommodate them E g if you are programming a dancefloor that consists of 5 panels across by 4 panels down 20 panels and they are set to either 13 or 25 channel mode then you will need to increase the ColorScene grid size to at least 20 across 5 x 4 cells by 16 down 4 x 4 cells The panels need to be soft patched manually in the following way 1 Highlight the fixture fader on the fixture panel for the first panel 2 Double click on the cell where you want the top left of the panel to be soft patched to That panel will then occupy a 4 by 4 cell block at that position and the next fixture fader on the fixture panel will then be automatically highlighted to speed up the patching process 3 Double click on the next cell where you want the top left of the next panel to be soft patched to and so on for the rest of the panels Coloring the Triangles 25 channel mode clicking in the approximate area of the right angle corner of a triangle will color that triangle 13 channel mode clicking in the approximate area of the right angle corner of either triangle in a quarter of that panel will color that quarter of the panel Soundlight LED Spot This fixture possesses 4 channels Red Gree
393. y Label The control event number for that event A001 etc and a label that can be edited as usual Ctrl Dig Signage indicates the control event is a digital sign Vw The Virtual Window number that you want to play the digital sign on This defaults to 01 Right click on the pink value to the right of Vw to select an alternative virtual window listed on the pop up menu See Display Window Settings p 210 Click on the View button and the event buttons will be replaced with a display where you can view the currently selected digital sign Clicking again on the View button will revert the display to showing the control event buttons Sign Transitions Tr Transitions for bringing on a digital sign are selectable here With the exception of the Fade options the speed of the transitions is fixed To select a transition for a sign simply right click on the pink setting shown to the right of Tr and select one of the following options from the pop up menu Ins Instant on no transition Rnd Randomly picks one of the transitions below each time the sign is run Wipe Right Left Down Up Horizontal Blind and Vertical Blind These wipe the new sign over the existing sign Slide Right Left Down Up Right Down Right Up Left Down Left Up Horizontal Blind and Vertical Blind These slide the new sign over the existing sign 160 ShowMagic AV Series User Manual Push Right Left Down Up Horizontal Blind
394. y be available for one or more of the audio outputs on the soundcard depending on the audio hardware you are using For instance with an M Audio Delta 1010 multiple input output soundcard there are DirectShow drivers available for analogue outputs 1 to 8 and ASIO drivers available for analogue outputs 1 to 8 Both these drivers share the same physical outputs on the card Where there are DirectShow drivers available for the physical audio outputs we refer to these herein as DirectShow channels Similarly where there are ASIO drivers available for the physical audio outputs we refer to these herein as ASIO channels Microsoft DirectShow Drivers Audio files in uncompressed wav file format and audio files in mp3 wma or aif compressed formats can all be played by ShowMagic using any available outputs with DirectShow drivers On the Default Directshow channels as selected on the Windows Sound and Audio Devices dialogue box multiple files of multiple types can be played at the same time Please Note On any other DirectShow channels other than the default only one audio file can be played at any one time If an audio file is started that uses the same channels as another audio file that is already playing on those channels the previous audio file is stopped This is also the case if you route the audio from a video file see Video Events p 155 to the same channels as currentl
395. y being used by an audio file i e running the video will stop that audio event ASIO Drivers ASIO drivers only support playback of un compressed wav files but the advantage of using ASIO outputs is that multiple uncompressed wave wav files can be played to any of the multiple audio outputs with up to 16 channels synchronized and on SLX and AV models audio inputs can also be mixed routed to any of the multiple outputs As described later in this manual any available DirectShow or ASIO channels that ShowMagic finds available are listed in a pop up menu and can be selected for routing your audio files Please Note Not all soundcards that have more than 2 audio outputs allow you to adjust the volume levels on the DirectShow channels using the ShowMagic volume faders This is dependent on the soundcard and its drivers PC MIDI files can be useful for some applications as these files are very much smaller than wave files 5 1 and 7 1 surround sound files can also be played using a suitable 5 1 7 1 soundcard interface On a standard Soundblaster compatible PC soundcard Digital line level microphone level inputs and MIDI files are all played through the same default DirectShow stereo outputs on the card the volume mixing of each of these can however be set independently via the ShowMagic desk Full control of volume fade in and fade out and stereo balance for each sound event each of the audio channels or the master volume for all aud
396. ys on the right are used to scroll through the octaves from CO through The MIDI keyboard display to B7 L Alternatively whilst the music keyboard graphic is shown pressing the actual note on the external keyboard will also set that note to trigger that action button if the Action Panel gt Midi Record Enabled item has been ticked on the Options menu The next action button is also automatically highlighted ready for you to press another MIDI key on the external keyboard useful if you wish to record MIDI notes for multiple sequential action buttons Trigger by Program Change or by Control Change If either of these is selected then you can set that trigger option by clicking on the dark pink Record item to the right of the keyboard graphic to highlight it and then push up or press the required fader or button pad on your external MIDI interface to select that trigger Alternatively you can click on the keyboard keys on the keyboard graphic to set the value without having a MIDI interface attached Finally click on Record item to turn it dark pink and disable the record function Clicking again on the button depicting a music keyboard will revert back to the action button details display Section 12 Action Panel 187 If you tick the Master Level Control item on the drop down menu then any control change values being received will be used to control the level of that action button rather than just starting and stopping it You can

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