Pearl Programming

[ceecrb1]

Ok as most know I'm generally sound/video oriented..

 

However I can bash some basic things out of a pearl..

 

This weekend I was opping one for tiesto and David Guetta in barcelona.. Most of the programation was done by a "hired opp" but as it was 14 hour days opping we shared the workload..

I did record many of my own shapes and pallets etc for things I liked and it all came out good enough for whats basically a glorified mobile disco..

(the "pearl opp" even used mine for the rest of the show as "they were better!??? Maybe I'm in the wrong area of the industry!?)

 

SO programming questions I've "discovered" after using the pearl in anger both programming and opping for an "on the fly" type setup..

 

1. Say I wanted to use 3 submasters, one with each primiary colour.. How would I be able to record them so that the faders position is relative to the level of colour output.. AND so that all 3 can be mixed..

IE in 3 faders givemyself RGB..

 

2.If I record some shapes (eg pan saw etc) to a submaster.. IS there a way to quickly alter its speed while running..

Ie I can recall it any time and alter it to the "pace" of the specific song.

 

3. I cant remeber how to record one effect and one effect ONLY to a sub master... Ie... If I add..for example a strobe effect to a group of lights.. somehow yester day I messed it up and recorded possition, colour etc etc etc as well.. EVEN though I pressed clear and then only set the strobe and recorded the memory.. I seem to rember its a case of setting the desk to a diffferent mode or a different form of recording the submaster..

I know the same can be acchieved with pallets..... but I more mean for multiple fixtures and adding dimmers to the fader (my example Is yesterday I had set one fader to just be a full on everthing at the crowd in white.... robots and blinders etc.

 

Thats enough for today..

Thanks in advance..

[danjshelton]

1) Mode 2! Mode 2 is very much your friend when you are busking. To set a memory to mode 2 you need to hit "Edit Times" (one of the softkeys next to the screen) and at the bottom it says "Mode", by default it is at Mode 0, when you put in a time it changes to mode 1 and press it again to change to mode 2. What this means is that the height of the fader is proportional to the ouput, very much like a HTP channel, but with LTP.

 

The only thing to watch out for this is that sometimes the Pearl loses it's reference point. So in your example if open white is your reference point, and you mix in some red and blue, if you pull both faders down it should revert to open white, however sometimes (if a lot has happened on the desk in between) it does lose itself.

 

2) Mode 2! When you have recorded a shape to a fader, and still in the shapes menu, there is a softbutton for "Playback Parameters" (Softkey F off the top of my head), this will let you select Mode 2 as a playback option. This will mean the height of the fader is proportional to speed or size of both. Have a play around with the playback parameters menu and see where you get!

 

3) You need to be in "Record by Channel" mode, this can be changed when recording a memory, the top softkey (A) will give the option of "Record by Channel" or "Record by Fixture". Record by Channel only records the parameters that are in the programmer (e.g. just touch colour and it will only record colour, not Pan/Tilt or Beam stuff). Record by Fixture will record the fixture in it's entirity as it is when you record it.

 

I hope that this helps, any other questions then just ask!

 

Cheers

 

Dan

[dosxuk]

Q1 & 2 - store in memory mode 2 (press 2 on the keypad after you press memory and before you push the swop button for the playback). For shape gen, you can alter whether the fader position alters the speed and / or size of the shape through "Playback Parameters" available through the G (or F?) softkey in the Shape Gen menu.

 

Q3 - Make sure the desk is in record by channel, not record by fixture. The setting is in the User Preferences page under the Avo button.

[niclights]

Some additions:

 

 

When changing mode (or any other value) in edit times, you must press <enter> to finish, or the values are not stored.

 

Mode2 or 'fade by fader' will fade from an origin to the values stored. Therefore for RGB masters to work you must also set an origin of zero for each attribute first. This could be done manually, by a palette or from another playback.

 

The situation that causes values to become stuck is when two playbacks, both in mode2 and both containing the same fixtures/attributes, are fired at the same time. For example, playback 1 = Red 100% and Green 100% in mode2, playback 2 = Green 100% and Blue 100% in mode2. If you fade up pb1 then pb2 and subsequently kill both, the green channel will remain at 100%. This might also occur if you flash/swop a mode2 playback while the fader is raised (or vice-versa) - I can't remember.

 

Mode2 requires the attributes to be set to 'fading' to work. This is defined in the personality file but can be changed in the show via patch/patch utilities/set instant/fade. Ideally you need a VDU to see the current settings. Of course, colour mixing channels will always be fading by default.

[ceecrb1]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeexcelent..

tomorrow I have to unload the HGV ALONE but once I have everything stored I'll get the desk out and give it a bash..

 

many thanks all!

[Tumbleweed]

your other best friend on the Pearl is the 'off' button.

 

let's say you want to make a Mode 2 magenta cue... make the cue, then, before saving, hit 'off', then 'cyan', and the controller will only record a value for magenta.

 

Same with effetcs when recording a yellow mode 2 scene and/or palette (yes, the off button works on palettes!)

[niclights]

You only need to use OFF if you are in record by fixture mode and want to explicitly remove attributes, or if you want to remove attributes from a cue or palette by merging.