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Hi Folks, Today is the first night of the biggest ever theatre show I've run with my Lanbox LCX. The rig comprises 72 dimmer channels, 20 scrollers, 4 Vari*lite 2202s, 4 Mac Pro 518s and 4 Mac 600s. I am running this in a number of layers: Layer T - triggers ALL cues for the show Layer X - special effects and chases Layer G - all generic dimmer channels Layer S - all scrollers Layer M - Mac 600s Layer P - Martin Pro 518s Layer V - Vari*lite 2202s Everything is working just fine and although the use of layers and a 'trigger' layer increased the programming and setup time, it has been invaluable in terms of cue additions and tweaking after the main plotting session (which lasted a day and a half!). It also runs even the most complicated combination of cues with one press of the space bar - e.g. run cues on layers X thru V, wait 4 seconds until the stage is dark and then run cues on the scroller and moving light layers, to change colour and move position in preparation for the next fade up. There are just two things that are worrying me. It is always possible in a live show, to start a cue (or sequence of cues) at the wrong time. All theatre desks have the facility to stop a cue dead in its tracks, or if the cue has run, to press the 'back key' to go back to the previous cue. Look at this example: ... ... 54 hold for ever 55 go 100.45 in engine G 56 go 200.60 in engine S 57 go 300.30 in engine M 58 hold for ever 59 go 100.50 in engine G 60 go 300.35 in engine M 61 hold for ever ... ... Assume I am running this cue list in my trigger layer T with 'RUN X.54' in the control window display. When I hit the space bar, steps 55,56,57 will be executed, when step 58 is reached, the sequencer will stop and the display will read 'RUN X.58'. Now assume I hit the space bar for the next cue sequence too early. Steps 59 and 60 will run and the sequencer will stop with 'RUN X.61' in the display. If I hit the 'previous cue' button, what happens is that steps 60 and 59 will be executed and the sequencer will stop at step 58 with the display reading 'RUN X.58'. At this point, NOTHING on the stage will have changed. To actually reverse the cue, I need to hit the 'previous cue' button again to force an execution of steps 57,56 and 55. The sequencer will stop, displaying 'RUN X.54'. It is then necessary to hit the space bar one more time to rerun steps 55,56, and 57, with the sequencer finally coming to a halt at 'RUN X.58'. While this is not the easiest thing to do, it is also not that complicated if you have practised the technique before the show. However, the are two situations where this technique does not work. Look at the following sequence, it's similar to the one above, with one difference - the hold for 3 seconds cue: ... ... 54 hold for ever 55 go 100.45 in engine G 56 go 200.60 in engine S 57 go 300.30 in engine M 58 hold for ever 59 go 100.50 in engine G 60 hold for 3.0s 61 go 300.35 in engine M 62 hold for ever ... ... I use this type of sequence to move moving lights while they are dark, or to move scrollers while the instruments behind them are dark. In a forward direction everything works fine. But suppose I am sitting at 'RUN X.58' and I hit the space bar too early. The technique I described earlier does not work. On clicking the 'previous cue' button at 'RUN X.62' the sequencer executes step 61 - so far so good. But when it gets to step 60 (hold for 3.0s) the sequencer changes direction and you end up at 'RUN X.62' again. I have tried clicking the 'previous cue' button twice quickly in succession, to try to time the second click with the 3 second wait at step 60 but the results are unpredictable. Has anyone developed a different way of overcoming this problem. It's no good just selecting cue X.54 and running forward from that point because not all sequences contain every cue, so you do not always end up with the right cues in each layer. Another time this does not work is if you cross cue lists. Say for example I have the following: ... ... 2.70 hold for ever 2.71 go 100.50 in engine G 2.72 go 3.1 3.1 hold for ever 3.2 go 100.55 in engine G 3.3 hold for ever If I'm sitting at 3.1 and I hit the space bar too early, cue 100.55 will run and I will be left sitting at 3.3. If I now hit the 'previous cue' button, cue 100.55 will rerun and I will be left at 3.1. If I hit the 'previous cue' button again I will be sent to 3.0. So, unless I know the exact step number to enter in cue list 2 I cannot easily reverse the early cue. For those non theatrical folks out there, seconds count here. If the early cue is a total blackout, you need to get light on the stage within seconds, otherwise the performance is ruined! All theatre desks also have the ability to stop cue sequences in their tracks. Pressing either the GO button or the STOP button a second time (it depends on the desk) the cue sequence will then run to completion. This can be useful if you hit the GO button too early and you realise in time. Halting the cue (even if it is a blackout over 3 seconds) early enough and then completing it at the right time is generally preferable to reversing the cue and then running it again all the way through. It would be really useful on the Lanbox to have the ability to stop the sequencers for all layers with the press of one button. A second press would then continue until completion. Maybe this is possible and I've missed it! You're not going to believe the workaround I have developed for these problems. As the Lanbox is so cost effective, my show setup comprises two laptop computers (PowerBook and iBook) and two Lanbox LCXs. One set of equipment is live, the other is ready in case of a system or Lanbox crash. By running the standby system one cue behind the live system, I can simply pull the DMX cable from the live system and plug it into the standby system. This will then put me one cue back! OK, so it's not elegant but it works! Comments or ideas? Regards, John -- John Conry 'Requires Windows 95 or better.' No problem, I went out and bought an Apple Mac! E-mail: john@conry.net Web: http://www.conry.net
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