Programming a Pearl!!

[ace]

Hi Guys,

 

I have landed myself in a position where I need to be able to operate a pearl next week and being a theatre boy I am used to desks more like the Strand 500s etc! I am therefore looking for any hints and tips that you more experienced people can share with me!

 

I have been working throught the tutorial with the simulator and visualizer and it all looks fairly straight forward.. I just have a few questions:

 

When recording a state, how can you record just one attribute such as colour? I am trying to break up the recorded states into movements and colour, so that I can mix the two when busking next week, however even if I change the colour attributes without fading up the lantern it still records the lantern in a static position. This means that obviously when I bring the colour state up the lantern stops moving!!!

 

Also can you advice me on the practicallities of the roller? (I have never actually got close to a real desk yet). Can you stick tape onto the roller and write on it, or is there some other cunnng way?

 

Any other tips?

 

Many thanks to you all!

 

Chris

[Mystic]

When recording a state, how can you record just one attribute such as colour? I am trying to break up the recorded states into movements and colour, so that I can mix the two when busking next week, however even if I change the colour attributes without fading up the lantern it still records the lantern in a static position. This means that obviously when I bring the colour state up the lantern stops moving!!!

You can either record scene either by fixture (all param) or by channels (only the ones in the programmer). The manual explain this very well. you can switch between the two in buy pressing the avo button and the right menu button (A I think).

Also can you advice me on the practicallities of the roller? (I have never actually got close to a real desk yet). Can you stick tape onto the roller and write on it, or is there some other cunnng way?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The roller is very very practical. try to know how to copy (link) a program as it is usefull to have the same thing on many sides. Yes you can stick paper tape on it, but you can also write with a velleda pen on it (non permanent) if you wipe it at the end of the show.

[ace]

Thanks for a quick reply!

 

I am having problems working out how to copy just a single attribute.. Avo button + A changes from Lantern to mimic mode? I have no idea what this is!!! :)

 

Also I notice that avolites have a PDF roller cover to download from there website. Does this somehow fix to the roller? I would use a wipe clean pen but the desk is going to be in use for 2 weeks!

 

Chris

[jimeee]

In order to record individual attributes at a time on the pearl you will need to go into the user settings (with the key turned as far counter clockwise as it will go) and change the record mode from record by fixture to record by channel. when in record by fixture mode (which is the default setting) every time you try to record a state it will record all the current levels of all the attributes of any selected fixtures; just like ronseal, does exactly what it says on the tin!

 

As for the roller it effectively gives you 450 playback faders of which you can use 15 at a time so you can have one roller page of cues for each scene if you like ( although I'm not entirely sure of the most efficient way to program for theatre as I don't do any theatre work, Rock n Roll all the way! :)

 

The standard practice is to lay tape onto the roller to mark it up, standard white insu will do but you can also get dedicated board marking tape that's a little bit wider than ( a standard roll of ) gaffa tape, and transparent which goes on a treat.

Hope This helps.

 

:Edit: D'oh! beaten to it. ah well, every bit helps...or so they say... ;)

[ace]

Hey!

 

Thanks for your help,

 

The thing that is bothering me is that the manual states that when recording a state it will only record the attributes that have changed. Ie if I only change colour attributes it will only record these.

 

What I am trying to achieve is several states where the lanterns are moving, and then to be able to add in a state which will change colour or iris etc. Is this the best way to go?

 

I will be busking a variety of bands etc, many of which I will not know anything about until they appear on stage.. This is NOT theatre! This IS Rock and roll, baby!

[gareth]

In order to record individual attributes at a time on the pearl you will need to go into the user settings (with the key turned as far counter clockwise as it will go) and change the record mode from record by fixture to record by channel. when in record by fixture mode (which is the default setting) every time you try to record a state it will record all the current levels of all the attributes of any selected fixtures; just like ronseal, does exactly what it says on the tin!

And don't forget that when you're recording memories you can flip between Fixture and Channel record modes 'on the fly' by hitting the relevant softkey (B, from memory) just before you record. This setting then 'sticks' until you change it again.

 

In reply to your question re. having a memory on stage and then putting colour, iris, etc. changes over the top of it .... you can either record some memories "by channel" which only contain the colour (or whatever) information for the fixtures and play these back over the top of whatever else is active ; or you can work in "Takeover Mode", where you can select fixtures in Run mode with the swop buttons and apply palettes to them or otherwise control them in the programmer exactly as you'd do in Program mode. Also, don't forget that you can apply timings to palettes by typing in the time (in seconds) immediately before hitting the palette button - so you can fade to a particular colour or sweep slowly to a new position 'on the fly'.

[jimeee]

If you have put the desk into record by channel mode and are still recording attributes that you didn't want recorded then the chances are you haven't cleared the programer from previous states so whilst you may not have changed that attribute in your most recent operation it might well have beey changed a little while ago, say perhaps to get the light pointing in a direction so that you can see what it's doing!

 

I find that the easiest way of making sure attributes aren't errantly recorded (especially if you have just found a great look and don't want to clear everything from the programmer ) is to use the "OFF" button to selectively turn off attributes ( or entire fixtures ). Any attribute that has been turned off will not be recorded unless you adjust that attribute after having turned it off.

 

The easiest way of seeing which attributes are in the programer is to cycle through all the attributes looking at their values on the LCD screen. If there is a " - " before the value the information is not in the programer. if the value is " -OFF " the information is not in the programmer. If there is a " w " before the value then it IS in the programmer and WILL be saved, eg;

 

XX - 50 information not stored in programmer

XX - OFF information not stored in programmer

XX w 50 information IS in programmer

 

Where XX is the fixture's handle number.

 

It's also worth noting that if you are using a preset focus in a memory then any attributes set to a preset focus will have a p followed by the preset focus number instead of an output percentage or DMX value, eg;

 

XX p 23 attribute set to preset focus No. 23

 

Once again I hope this helps and isn't too confusing/misleading. But I must reiterate that the most important thing is to make sure that you have set the desk to record by channel mode.

 

:Edit: To carry on from what Gareth said, I personally preffer to busk in takeover mode as it gives you much more control over your fixtures. In fact I generally run all my shows in takeover mode. But at the end of the day it's each to their own, work with what feels comfortable for you.

[ace]

Ah - of course! Pallettes!

 

So let me get this right - if I set up a pallete with a colour attribute and set it to pallete 001, I can just tap the pallette1 button in run mode to change the color?

 

Also Am I right in thinking:

 

Normal mode - if two states are active they will be merged together

Takeover mode - the latest state will always be active?

 

 

Sorry if I sound daft but it is quite confusing before I actually get to the console!

 

Many Thanks Chris..

[gareth]

Ah - of course! Pallettes!

 

So let me get this right - if I set up a pallete with a colour attribute and set it to pallete 001, I can just tap the pallette1 button in run mode to change the color?

As long as you've got some fixtures selected in and you're in takeover mode, yes. I'll second Jimee's endorsement of Takeover mode for busked environments - it gives you a lot more hands-on busking ability.

 

Also Am I right in thinking:

 

Normal mode - if two states are active they will be merged together

Takeover mode - the latest state will always be active?

Not really. The difference between the two is that Normal mode just allows you to play bakc what you've already recorded into playbacks, while Takeover mode is a sort of 'halfway house' between normal run mode and programming mode in that you can select fixtures with the swap buttons, modify them in the programmer and apply palette information to them in the same way as you would in programming mode.

[paul the paranoid lampy]

as there are now a few minor software changes, find out what software it has ie 98, 2000, 2004,

I suggest downloading the manual for the software revision you have from www.avolites.com

as to the roller, just use white/grey pvc tape and a sharpie.

[andylights]

I would also like to add my 2 euro's......

 

Whilst I agree wholeheartedly about busking in RUN-TAKEOVER, one should not forget that if you toggle to RUN-NORMAL you can then use FLASH and SWAP buttons as normal. Cool to solo.... say a generic look and kill the movers( or vice versa). But don't forget you lose palettes in NORMAL, that's why you would have to toggle between NORMAL and TAKEOVER.

 

Regards,

 

Andy.

[bellamy]

I find that the easiest way of making sure attributes aren't errantly recorded (especially if you have just found a great look and don't want to clear everything from the programmer ) is to use the "OFF" button to selectively turn off attributes ( or entire fixtures ). Any attribute that has been turned off will not be recorded unless you adjust that attribute after having turned it off.

So you mean that you can only turn attributes off BEFORE you actually record the memory? Going through the manual, I got the impression that attributes could be turned off from an existing playback, and I was wondering why that didn't work for me :** laughs out loud **:

Well thanks for the pointer :)

[Olie]

You can turn channels OFF in an existing memory as well as before you record the memory. This allows you to take out a specific channel from a memory.

 

To turn a channel OFF in a memory you simply select OFF, select the fixtures and channels you wish to turn OFF and then re-record the memory. This time you will be asked if you want to Merge or Replace the memory. Just select Merge and the channels you turned OFF will be removed from the memory.

 

Also I notice that avolites have a PDF roller cover to download from there website. Does this somehow fix to the roller? I would use a wipe clean pen but the desk is going to be in use for 2 weeks!

 

This is designed for those who want to use a neater approach to labelling the roller. It can be attached to the roller using tape. I would recomend using electrical tape for labelling the roller, I prefer yellow but it comes in loads of different colours. You could even use different colours for each page :)

[foh_al]

You could even use different colours for each page :)

 

Like black LX tape with UV pen and a blacklight over the desk :** laughs out loud **: Really confuses guest operators when you switch the light off!

[danjshelton]

Hi Chris,

 

Only just picked up on this thread as been away with work for a few weeks. Also worth noting is that the Pearl training course is very cheap (£35 and includes lunch and bag/t-shirt) and is well worth doing, tho by know you may have got to grips with it.

 

If you do fancy the training course it's at the Avo offices, Hanger Lane (West London), the person to speak to is Lindsey Markham and the Avo phone number is 020 8965 8522 (Off the top of my head, might be worth double checking that!).

 

Cheers

 

Dan

 

EDIT: After re reading your post and thread, some things to think about are Shape Generator with Mode 2 memories (A great get out of jail/busking tip!), Times on palettes (Already mentioned), Groups (Depending on the size of rig), Quick Palettes (Latest software needed) and Mode 2 memories in general. Details on all can be found in the latest version of the manual (on web for download).