Control/Dimming - ETC Express HTP Annoyances

[ajblanck]

I recently started volunteering at a local church, and yesterday, I got a chance to use the ETC Express that lives in the secondary auditorium. I'm sure that it's a good console to know, and it's my first experience with ETC. For some reason, programming on the Express seemed extremely cumbersome. I think that I've narrowed it down to two things.

First, I am not familiar with the channel plot, so I had to look up each channel in the paperwork (hooray for LightWright). Second, the HTP nature of the Express's channel faders really bothered me. I understand the point of having submasters as HTP, but the HTP default for the channel faders seems illogical. It is especially annoying when programming the pair of i-cues that are in the venue. Not being able to bring the values down from a cue's value without using the keypad is frusterating, and the same thing goes for channels that control dimmers.

Also, if you want to see a sequence of cues, you have to pull down all your faders and reset them later because the cues do not necessarily take precedence over the faders. Because of this, I had quite a time going back in the cuelist and presetting some of the color scrollers. I eventually just settled on doing that in blind. I believe that the express can be set to LTP, but why would HTP be preferred? I must not be seeing something that the engineers at ETC saw.

[soundlight]

Even when given channel faders on an Express, I almost never use them except when busking a show. I almost always program straight from the keypad, or from a few submasters of major systems which are easy to bring down quickly with one hand. If you simply learn to do everything on the keypad, which is essentially how things are done these days (most major consoles don't have channel faders), you won't have to worry about the faders and if you release things the cue will take effect.

Essentially, you just have to sit down with the console and learn how it thinks. The Express is one of the best-known consoles in the industry for theatres and other events. Most rental houses stock them. Many community and professional theatres use them. It's a standard, and can become easy with practice.

With the Color Scrollers, use the keypad when programming live - it will help.

[ajblanck]

Originally Posted by soundlight

Even when given channel faders on an Express, I almost never use them except when busking a show. I almost always program straight from the keypad, or from a few submasters of major systems which are easy to bring down quickly with one hand. If you simply learn to do everything on the keypad, which is essentially how things are done these days (most major consoles don't have channel faders), you won't have to worry about the faders and if you release things the cue will take effect.

So, how do you go about looking at different levels when using the keypad only? Do you use the + and - keys extensively, or can you usually pick the intensities of the channels fairly well the first time? I would imagine that it would be difficult to use something like color scrollers on the express by just using the keypad (a cheat sheet would be in order). I'm sure that something like an i-cue would be even more difficult to just guesstimate, but I assume that the express was never really made to control anything except for dimmers.

[marcusianl]

My Express 125/250 has a TrackPad which I use for on the fly level setting. I don't know how it works with moving lights, but might be worth a try?

[ajblanck]

Originally Posted by marcusianl

My Express 125/250 has a TrackPad which I use for on the fly level setting. I don't know how it works with moving lights, but might be worth a try?

I haven't used the trackpad. How does it work, and what are the two things that look like smaller trackpads just to the left of it?

[soundlight]

Originally Posted by ajblanck

So, how do you go about looking at different levels when using the keypad only? Do you use the + and - keys extensively, or can you usually pick the intensities of the channels fairly well the first time? I would imagine that it would be difficult to use something like color scrollers on the express by just using the keypad (a cheat sheet would be in order). I'm sure that something like an i-cue would be even more difficult to just guesstimate, but I assume that the express was never really made to control anything except for dimmers.

I often know what level I want the lights at just from experience. That innate feeling did not take long to grasp. Sometimes I need to add or drop by ten percent, but I'm so quick on the keypad that it doesn't take any time at all, really.

For scrollers, I have a table that sits next to me which has a box filled in with a color, and a percentage value next to it in order to snap right to the color. I prep these sheets before tech by going to the gel manufacturer's website and using their color swatches (I have a firefox add on that lets me grab RGB values in Firefox) to get the right color to fill in the blocks. Or if I know the colors well, I pick out a color with the color picker that best represents the gel color on paper. I often remember a lot of the values for colors after using the scrollers for a little while.

For I-Cues, I record Focus Points ahead of time and don't need to actually use the faders to program the I-Cues for cues - this also enables you to properly update things in cues if something changes.

[marcusianl]

Basically when you select a channel using the keypad, the trackpad can be used to alter the intensity value. Honestly it's easier just to type the value as soundlight detailed, but the trackpad makes it easier to see the changes gradually.

[icewolf08]

The trackpad on the Express can be used to control moving lights and I-Cues when they are patched using fixture patch. IIRC, the two smaller pads can be tapped multiple times to change the tracking "speed" of the tackpad, in that if you tap the the top one the trackpad will track faster. I could be totally wrong about his, it has been a while since I have really been on Express.

As for HTP faders, there are very few consoles outside of the most recent generation that have LTP faders by default. None of the ETC line pre Eos nor the Strand 300/500 lines had LTP faders by default. On the 300/500 series desks if you programmed attributes to subs they became LTP, but not for intensities. As has been mentioned, unless you are busking a show, it should be much faster to key things in (at least for intensities). You don't have to hunt for a fader or try to manipulate a group of faders.

Just my 2 cents.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by icewolf08

The trackpad on the Express can be used to control moving lights and I-Cues when they are patched using fixture patch. IIRC, the two smaller pads can be tapped multiple times to change the tracking "speed" of the tackpad, in that if you tap the the top one the trackpad will track faster. I could be totally wrong about his, it has been a while since I have really been on Express. ...

From the Express User Manual:

Sensitivity
To the left of the trackpad you will find two buttons that control trackpad
sensitivity. The top button has a rough texture. Press this to set the
trackpad for low sensitivity. The lower button has a smooth texture. Press
this to set the trackpad for high sensitivity. Use high sensitivity for precise
level or rate adjustments. Use low sensitivity for faster, less precise
adjustments.

For intensity parameters, the trackpad also functions as a wheel, to allow adjusting without typing in a level while watching the stage.

[Grog12]

aj, at the risk of sounding a little snarky...the Express wasn't meant for scrollers or a basic moving light like the IQ. I assume you're more familiar with something a bit more modern. Being unfamilar with the channel plot is hardly a board limitation.

I tend to program most consoles as a mix between subs and 10-keying. Namely because I type like a maniac, and "wheeling it in" just annoys the crap out of me.

Also feel free to set focus points for scrollers it helps a lot for on the fly color changes.

This still young and bugeoning CA http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/c...c-express.html might have a few helpful hints in it for you as well.