Design Issues and Solutions -

[Corbettlight]

So I am looking to get a visualizer program to connect with my Element. I don't know what's out there, or the different options. The one in the demo video from USITT looked like it would suit my purposes - I don't need anything fancy. I'm also looking for something cheap, if possible.

Thanks, Jacy

[LightingPenguin]

If you're referring to this demo: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...-2009-a-4.html , the program is Capture (thank you for the correction Derek), however there are few options out there:

Wysiwyg R23, with R24 coming out soonish (if its not already out): wysiwyg & Vivien - Virtual Event Designer, industry standard tools for event professionals
I'm almost positive this can connect to the Element, as I know it connects to other consoles and is a large program. Its rather expensive though, and if you're looking for cheap this isn't it. With R24 coming out Wysiwyg is getting a whole lot better from what I've seen, and as an R22 user I like the program and its somewhat easy to pick up. From beam corrections and hotspots, Wysiwyg is a great visualizer

Light Jockey 2: Product - LightJockey 2™
Light Jockey is a free program from Martin, and while its not the same quality as other pre viz programs, it'll do fine. I'm not sure if you can hook up your Element into it though. If you can, I'd say this is probably your best bet other than GrandMA 3D

ESP Vision: ESP Vision: Welcome to ESP Vision
ESP Vision is, IMO, one of the best viz programs out there. The only thing is its rather expensive, and has a learning curve out the wazoo for the most part. This program expensive. Period. It's also designed for mostly concert lighting if I'm not mistaken, and I'm not sure how useful it would be if you're looking to render theatrical lighting but I'm sure it would do the job

GrandMA 3D MA Lighting: Control / grandMA 3D
GrandMA 3D is a free program from MA Lighting, as is a GREAT program IMO. It's free, and you can use grandMA PC to connect to it. I'm not sure if you can connect the element to it, and I'd probably say you can't because its designed for MA PC, but its worth a shot because its free. I've used GrandMA 3D before and its really easy to use with grandMA PC, so even if you can't get your Element to hook into it, its a great way to learn the MA system and its a good visualizer

Martin Show Designer: Product - Martin ShowDesigner™
I don't know much about this program other than the fact that it exists, but its worth looking into

Capture: Capture
Same thing goes for Capture along with Martin Show Designer, I know it exists but I don't know much about it.

Most of these programs have a free demo version, so try it out
If anyone would like to clarify on the connection statuses to consoles of these programs, feel free

[Corbettlight]

Great, thanks. I'll check those out!

[derekleffew]

FWIW, the one in the Element video is Capture. While the free ones allow connection to a console's offline editor, visualizers that take DMX in from a console start at around $1000.