TheProff

An update now the blinders are set up. Again, due to budget constraints, I used a couple of LEDj 7Q5's mounted on the front edge of the stage. They seem to be doing the job OK.

An update on progress. Due to budget constraints sub-woofers and the associated amps were ruled out. However I did hire a Crown XLS 2500 power amp that could drive the two 400W Jensen PA speakers. I set the low pass filter so that the pair only received the deep base, and as the hall is quite small it is doing what I want - the bass can be felt as well as heard! For information the sound system is being routed through a Behringer X2442 USB mixing desk, so I can just enable the bass speakers on subs 3 and 4 when I need them.

Just thought I would post this - my experiences so far having set up the show to run as above. The Dell Vostro 1000 laptop proved to struggle with video projection while running QLC+, Multiplay, the script and the pre-show presentation, both in LibreOffice. 2-sec fades were taking longer, and there were other delays and odd effects in the transitions between images and videos. However there was also another cause of this, to do with the laptop keyboard. Screen Monkey also responds to keyboard commands and a number of these are pre-programmed. The good news is that you can change these commands and they will be saved, though they seem to be saved to a particular PC rather than the data file. The problem with my laptop - I have been running it off a wireless keyboard for a few shows, ever since I spilt a fruit drink over the laptop's keyboard and it stopped working properly. However Screen Monkey was responding to spurious commands from the laptop keyboard as well as the wireless one! In particular the step back command! Deleting all the keyboard commands and driving Screen Monkey from a special Multiplay list of cues works fine. I also have a feeling that loading the USB with the DMX, the USB sound card (for a second audio feed), the VGA to HDMI converter/amplifier and the wireless keyboard (see below) was too much for the USB power supply. Luckily, thanks to a friend from college days, I have another couple of old Dell laptops that I use as a safety standby. The solution - split the tasks to let the Vostro run video while the other handles everything else. This seems to be working OK. I will pass on anything else I find as the show approaches. opening night is next Tuesday, 28th May.

I apologise for the following level of detail, but it is needed to give Gerry a fair reply. For those unfamiliar with PC Stage, the application is a free download, but in the unlicensed version media playback stopped after half an hour. To licence it you had to buy the PC Stage USB-DMX interface, which had your licence hard-coded into it. The Lite version allowed you to drive 30 DMX channels, the full version one universe of 512 channels. Gerry, you are right up to a point. I found the drivers that claimed to let PC Stage run on later versions of Windows, but I believe that only applied to the full interface. I tried everything the various forums suggested but I just couldn't get the Lite version to work. Initially I kept the Show laptop running XP, with W7 on my PC. However, I wasn't going to waste the 64-bit capability of my PC, especially as I was running AutoCAD in full 3D when working at home. I guess you are lucky to have the full version, but I never found anybody making new ones. The 30 channels weren't a limitation when I had only 16 dimmers and a couple of damper motors, driving a Strand Quartet as a home-built mover. Then a local theatre completely upgraded their lighting system and asked me if I could use 6 analogue-driven Strand Tempus dimmer packs - I nearly bit their hand off! Then LEDs came on the scene, using 4 or 5 channels per fixture, and I couldn't continue with the Lite version. Something else that people may not be aware of. Electronics have a limited life span. With mobile phones these days the next new technology comes along, or you drop your phone and break the screen (or drop it in the loo!) and change it long before that limit is reached. I started engineering control systems in 1985. 15 years later the controllers started falling over as the electronic components began to fail. With no new PC Stage interfaces how will you replace it? I have to say that I have grown to like the lighting capabilities of QLC+, despite a couple of quirks. I had to move to Multiplay to get the level of sound control I was used to, but I still couldn't get Screen Monkey to run. Then I found the series of posts referenced and it didn't just get Screen Monkey running, it gave me MIDI control over everything! So when I got it all running successfully a few days ago, on both the laptop and PC, I brought it all together in one post. Hope you find it useful! Dave **HOW TO UPDATE** I just found out that, once you have set up all your MIDI links in Screen Monkey, although you can save them as settings they don't reload. MIDI show control is only listed under the paid-for PRO version. You can just set up the MIDI commands for each performance, but it is not so intuitive. The workaround: Have all your clips in the right sequence, including black slides as blackouts Set up two MIDI cues under Dashboard on each show night - Clear All - a useful finishing cue which clears all layers - Go - triggers the Go button To run the show, in Screen Monkey click on the first clip, in my case a black background. Then in Multiplay just trigger the Go MIDI cue to step through all the other clips, which can be stills, text, videos etc. Another useful workaround if you want to show an automatic presentation sequence in the middle of the manual sequence: Just put a single Presentation Start slide in a spare clip after the manual sequence Further down the empty clips, or on another page, put your next slide as a clip Use Link to link the start clip to the second slide by name - click on the link details in the dialogue box and then edit it, and use a timed change if you want it Put the rest of your slides as clips following the second clip Link successive slides with a timed link so that they run automatically in sequence Add transitions if you want to fade in and out If you want the sequence to repeat just link the last slide back to the first by name To run during the show, go to Screen Monkey and click on the Start clip. Using this method it does mean that, for multiple presentations, you can have several start slides in a row next to each other, with the rest of the slides further down the page. You don't have to hunt for the start of each presentation. This does save OK. However, I did find that settings such as changes to the font size and colour for Text clips also didn't reload. If I come across anything else I will flag it up. Dave

As I am sure you know, the cue for a blinder is a quick flash, much like the pre-flash of a camera, to make the pupils contract. I was referring to the time it takes for the pupil to dilate again, not the duration of the blinder cue!

This makes a change. An answer and a how-to rather than a question! This part describes the general principles, but feel free to skip down to the next section, which covers the How-To. Finally, after years of waiting and the odd trials and tests, I feel I have got back the functionality I had with PC Stage. PC Stage, a very competent lighting control application which included full sound control cues - start, pause and play tracks, fade up and down, pan, run multiple sound channels together to play one-shot sound effects over ambient sounds. I can't remember if it could play video as well, but basically one cue list to run a whole show. Nothing else (cheap or free) has yet come close. The only downsides - you had to buy their DMX interface and the Lite version was limited to 30 DMX channels, and, sadly, the developer lost his life in a car accident, so there was no development to allow PC Stage Lite to work beyond Windows XP. Thanks to several posts here and on the QLC+ website, I have finally achieved a single cue list running all sound, lighting and video cues for a show. Multiplay is an old but very competent, and free, sound cue application. It can do all the fades, pans and automatic sequences you could want and can drive up to four different channels through different sound cards and amps. It can play video, but if the duration is unknown and you try to stop the video cue early, although you can still trigger other cues all the other buttons are locked out, including Save and Exit. It can't play stills. But Multiplay can send a whole range of MIDI commands, amongst others. It does need a set of ac3filter codecs installed to produce sound under Windows 7 and Windows 10. QLC+ is a very competent, and free, lighting application. It can play sound, but playing multiple layered effects is risky. It can play video, but has an annoying habit of briefly showing a Windows frame as the cues step from one to the next. It can receive and send MIDI commands, and link them to many of its functions. Screen Monkey is a very competent, simple and free audio and video cueing application, where you can click on each clip in turn to run it. It can display audio, video and stills, with automatic steps, fades and sequences. Under the hood it can also receive MIDI commands and looks like it can link them to almost all of its functions. it does need the K-Lite Codec Mega pack to display in Windows 7 and 10, and must have the default codecs set to FFDShow. See the next post for details. This isn't a perfect solution. QLC+ still needs its own cue list for the lighting cues, and Multiplay will need a MIDI cue to step them forward every time. But put the three applications together and you only have to operate the cue list in Multiplay for full sound, light and video control! Tests so far are very reliable. I am putting a show together now, and will report back on how well this works during the final rehearsals. A worthy successor to PC Stage Multiplay, QLC+ and Screen Monkey working together – in Windows! Systems Development machine Personal PC – self-built, running Windows 10 64-bit v1803 build 17134.706 Show machine Dell Vostro 1000 laptop, running Windows 7 DMX interface – ENTTEC OpenDMX USB Installed applications and codecs Multiplay version 2.5.5.0 QLC+ 4.10.5b Screen Monkey v4.0(31) LoopMIDI 1.0.13.24 K-Lite Codec Pack v1490 – Mega ac3filter 2.6.0b I am not saying that later versions won’t work, just that this is what I have and it does! Installation • Install the first three apps • Install LoopMIDI ◦ On your show machine allow it to run on start-up, otherwise you must run it manually before any of the first three • Uninstall any previous K-Lite codec packs • Install the K-Lite Mega pack ◦ If asked to uninstall the ac3filter pack, click Yes ◦ During the install select the two default codecs as FFDShow instead of LAV ◦ If the option doesn’t appear cancel installation and re-install as Advanced instead • (Re)-install the ac3filter codecs ◦ Needed by Multiplay in Windows 10 at least, probably Windows 7 I found that only the K-Lite Mega pack gave the option to change the default codecs. This was grayed out in the other versions. Setup Now the fun starts! The default MS GS wavetable synth is just for playing MIDI encoded music, it can’t operate as a MIDI loopback. LoopMIDI • Run LoopMIDI before any of the other apps • On the Setup tab click + at the bottom ◦ You can give it a more meaningful name, but the default works OK Multiplay • Run Multiplay • In File/Production Properties ◦ If no patch is there click + Add ◦ Select Device as the LoopMIDI port • To drive a QLC+ cue list ◦ In Multiplay create a MIDI cue ◦ Set up two commands ▪ Command – Control Change; Channel - 1; Data 1 – 1; Data 2 – 127 ▪ Command – Control Change; Channel - 1; Data 1 – 1; Data 2 – 0 ◦ For more than one cue list, or other cue list commands, you can set up more MIDI cues and just increment the Data 1 entry • For MIDI commands to drive other apps, such as Screen Monkey, again copy the previous MIDI command and increment Data 1 ◦ Screen Monkey works with Control Change, but I think it also works with Program Change ◦ You only need the first command, with Data 2 as 127. You don’t need the second command. QLC+ • On the Inputs/Outputs, in a separate, unused universe to the DMX, check the LoopMIDI input and output ◦ Not sure if you need the output checked, but it works! • Create your cue list as a chaser as normal • In Virtual Console create a cue list widget • Right-click on the widget and select Widget Properties ◦ On the Cue List tab click the Connection button and select your cue list ◦ On the Next Cue tab click Auto Detect ◦ Immediately go back to Multiplay, select your QLC+ MIDI cue and click GO ◦ Go back to QLC+ where the input universe should be your MIDI universe and the input channel will be a number followed by :? ◦ Click OK • To test put QLC+ into Run mode • Go back to Multiplay, select the QLC+ MIDI cue and click GO ◦ The QLC+ cue list should step to the first cue • Repeat and the cue list should step to the next cue (assuming no automatic sequences) Screen Monkey • Go to Settings/MIDI (three dots at top right-hand side) • Click on the Options symbol next to the Save and Open symbols ◦ Check that the LoopMIDI port is showing ◦ The top right should say Last Trigger • To step to the next clip on a layer ◦ Go to Multiplay, select the Screen Monkey step MIDI cue and click GO ◦ Go back to Screen Monkey and Last Trigger should be replaced by the MIDI codes ◦ Go to, say, Layer 1 Playback and open the action list ◦ Double-click on Next Clip (Go) ▪ The MIDI codes should now be linked to the Next Clip action ◦ To step back to the Clear Layer clip ▪ Go to Multiplay and create a new Screen Monkey MIDI cue, incrementing Data 1 ▪ Select it and click GO ◦ Go back to Screen Monkey and Last Trigger should be replaced by the MIDI codes ◦ Go back to your Layer Playback and open the action list ◦ Double-click on Clear References A big thankyou to those who contributed to the following posts, because together they got me to this point. Video Issue – Screen Monkey https://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=64965&st=0&p=523881&hl=+screen%20+monkey&fromsearch=1entry523881 MIDI from Multiplay to Screen Monkey https://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=67214&st=0&p=538920&hl=+screen%20+monkey&fromsearch=1entry538920 MIDI to DMX http://www.qlcplus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9266

Welcome to the forum. Once you have opened cue properties press the red * button, in the preview section, and add a sound track. Repeat this to build up your playlist. Then press the Green accept button when you have finished. Once you have built up your Playlist you can drag and drop the individual tracks to alter the play sequence. Cheers Gerry I was able to add the cue list to my sound plot, with your advice. Thanks for you help! Something I found with playlists- add the tracks in reverse order! Save time messing around with reshuffling them.

An update for you all. The speakers I have are 2 off Jensen JR 1300 PA speakers, 400W into 8 ohm, 12" bass speakers with reflex cabinet design. I'll also look into the others you have mentioned.

Thanks everybody, you have given me a lot to think about. If I interpret the directors intentions correctly, the impact of the whole show is based on suggestion rather than realism. The concept of a more idealised explosion could be the right route, though I will also keep in mind the comments about pyros. Both my wife and I, who will be the stage manager, are competent with pyros - I had several maroons go off for The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes, when Moriarty's ammunition store went up! Next time I am up at our theatre I will get the PA details, just to compare, but it looks like the way forward is the single sub-woofer, possibly with a hired dedicated amp. I get the impression that it will need a bit more than domestic speaker cable as well!

The aim is a classic blinder effect - literally blind the audience for a few seconds, partly to cover the crew setting the explosion aftermath. I am not looking for a lighting effect of an explosion. I like the idea of feeling the heat, though I suspect I haven't got the power available for that! Very good idea about the sound effect, I'll have a go at it.

Hi everyone, Ironic that there is a blinder post a couple before this one! I haven't used blinders before, and I would like some guidance on how best to use them. I am designing the lighting for The Barnbow Canaries, and I want them for the munitions factory explosion. The hall is 8.3m wide by 9.8m long and seats about 100. The stage is 800mm up from the hall floor, with a prosc 5.3m wide by 3.7m high and an apron that extends 1m beyond the prosc. Where should I mount the blinders, and how many would I need? I am thinking of hiring LED blinders, because of their faster response to full brightness. Saying that, could I achieve the same effect with just some standard LEDs mounted as blinders? I could then do something with the colours as they fade. Control is standard DMX driven off a laptop.

Hi everyone, I am putting together the sound (and lighting) design for an amateur production of The Barnbow Canaries, which of course includes the munitions factory blowing up. I have access to an old Behringer sound desk, so I can achieve 3 or 4 separate outputs to different amps. For the explosion I am planning to use all amps and speakers, but the Director has challenged me to produce enough bass that the audience feel it. Normally I would set up a test with the kit I have, but as mentioned in recent posts I have just had an op to repair a leg injury, which means that I have my leg in a full length splint which is staying on right up to the show at the end of May. So instead I am seeing if I can draw on your experience. I can see that hiring an actual sub woofer is an option, and one of my amps has a sub woofer output. The stage resident speakers are small and at high level, but I also have a couple of decent sized PA speakers, approx. 400mm wide by 700mm high by 350 deep, with bass speakers almost the width of the case. I'm sorry, I can't easily get to them to get the model numbers - I really should put together a list of what I've got! I know that, in basic terms, the bigger the actual speaker, the better bass it can give. From what I have described, do you think that I will get enough of a bass effect out of the PA speakers? As usual minimising the budget is key, as I will need to hire other items for the lighting such as a set of blinders!