Using the Hog iPC

[scobrakid]

Hey everyone! First thread on CB! Woo hoo!

Anyways, my company lights various events and festivals around the city and we take out either our Avolites Pearl 2000 or 2004 or our Hog iPC. As the new L2 there, I'm still learning the consoles, especially when it comes to controlling our movers. I have yet to learn the Pearl (but I can't wait), but I'm a big fan of Hog 3 on the iPC. I know the software well; how to setup, patch, record and organize shows. After using the iPC and the Pearl, it seems like the iPC is better suited for touring or theatrical use.

What I'm trying to figure out is how to efficiently organize the masters and playbacks, using pages, cues, chases and scenes, in order to throw a variety of looks on the fly, using both conventional and movers. What makes this challenging is the limited number of faders, compared to other consoles such as the Pearl or the Hog1000.

Any advice for me in this regard? How do you guys use the iPC/Hog3? Should I use the Pearl for on-the-fly stuff? And feel free to throw in some advice for a budding programmer.

Thanks!

[derekleffew]

'kid:
Type "busking" into the search box. Most threads will be useful, some will not.
Also, see this post.
This article: The Ultimate Punt Page - PLSN by Nook Schoenfeld contains excellent information.
Don't try to master both consoles at the same time--the differences will drive you nuts.

[SteveB]

Also repost on the LightNetwork, lot's of experienced Hog users hang out there.

The LightNetwork

Steve B.

[scobrakid]

Thanks for the advice and the links! Those are some great articles. I'll be sure to post on that other forum as well.

As far as mastering both boards, I don't intend to master both of them. I like to think of myself as a "jack of all trades, master of one" kinda guy.

And the Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook: great book. I find myself referring back to it when I feel like honing my skills.

For anyone else reading, feel free to chime in with advice/suggestions!

Thanks!

[jxgriffi]

For busking, I generally end up with 2 pages on the touchscreens of the Cuelist directory. Turn off the "Guard" and you have 2 pages of virtual lists that you can trigger at the touch of a button.

On the left side, I have color bumps (2 cues each...1/2 rig one color and 1/2 rig alternate color...cue 2 reverses). This generally takes up 1 line for the cue list and 1 line for the "release x" list (releases the list above the button). Below this would be straight color list to be able to jump to a "full rig" color quickly.

On the lower half, I have beam effects (iris chase, iris strobe, gobo rolls, etc).

On the right screen, upper half is intensity effects (flicker, slow fades, Odd/Even, 3 cir. chases)

On the bottom right is anything special that I build for the event.

Now for faders, I have a master list that has multiple cues of varying complexity. Then I use a BUNCH of inhibitive subs to be able to pull things out and vary the looks very quickly.

Nook's Ultimate Punt Page is an incredible resource...read it, learn it, use it, live it. Makes so much sense once you lay it out.