How do you lay out your paperwork for moving lights? For example, if you are specing a VL3000, how do you format the paperwork to show what you want in the color wheel, and in what order, what gobos in the first gobo wheel, and the second, and so on. For a large rig of moving lights, it seems like that would get really confusing really fast. Same question for specing color scrollers. How do you format your paperwork so that everyone knows that Frame 11 is R26 and so on? I'm talking about the Shop Order, but also the Instrument Schedule and whatever other paperwork you generate that you would need (such as the Magic Sheet). Also, if you had any examples from shows you've done, that would be cool as well.
Paperwork for Moving Lights
- Thread starterrochem
- Start date
jmabray
Active Member
Well usually, in shows that I do, I don't have that many color wheels. What I mean is that I may have 50 VL1000's, but I use two color wheels in them. Same thing goes for Gobo Wheels or scrollers. I may have 70 fixtures with Scrollers, but 50 of them use one and the other 20 use the other one. I call the first one Color Scroll 1 or Warm Color Scroll or whatever, and just notate that the scroller gets that scroll. Then I define the scroll on another sheet of my paperwork and list out what each frame is there. I don't have to list it out 50 times, just the once.
Yeah, I assumed it would be something like that. But how do you translate this to other paperwork, such as a magic sheet? Do you just always refer to the page with the details on that unit, or is there another way of notating it? Do you have any examples from past shows you'd be willing to share?
When LightWright 5 comes out this summer you will be able to define all the attributes of moving lights and other devices right in the software. I don't know how it will print and all that god stuff, but from the screenshots and stuff that I have seen, it should be great and make life a lot easier.
For the most part, currently, LDs send me a second sheet/file with information like gel strings and gobos.
For the most part, currently, LDs send me a second sheet/file with information like gel strings and gobos.
Amiers
Renting to Corporate One Fixture at a Time.
Our Magic Sheet is set up simply in Excel I went through about 3 versions last year before I got it down pat I gives us an over view on certain moving fixtures that take some more then selecting them to operate. As far as the colors go you will see to the left the order of our colors and then on top of that how to operate the scrollers.
Lightwright 4 already has the ability to list the attributes to movers and scrollers. This is accomplished in the Maintenance - Instrument Type - Att List Add tab at the bottom of the window. Here you can select from LW's file of attribute lists to add a new mover or color mixing scroller. You can also build your own specific scroller and define the color list in the Purpose column, naming and saving the scroller in LW's attribute list.
Moving device are added to the Instrument Lists with point numbering of all the attributes, which makes it easy to assign DMX addresses in the assorted lists. LW also gives you the ability to view or not view the attributes in the assorted pages, or to print the assignments or not.
One thing LW 4 doesn't deal with is what specific gobo's are what and where on a particular gobo wheel, or which colors are in which slot of a color wheel. I would speculate that this is going to get better in LW 5
In my situation, I only once built up a hookup with my 5 Studio Spots, so as to assign specific console channels to the SS's in my Express/Emphasis system (LW created the ASCII patch export) . I was not changing any of the stock attributes (until recently when I swapped Gobo wheel 2, Gobo 2 to clouds), I essentially never deal with the SS's again in any of the paperwork, thus ignore and do not print the ML position details.
Steve B.
I use Attribute lists all the time. However, as you said, you can't really store information like what gobo is where on the wheel, and what colors are in your gel strings in an Att List. All of the info I have seen on LW5 shows that you will be able to include this kind of information, chances are in something similar to if not in the attribute lists. Then I have seen screen shots where you can pull up an image of the gobo wheel to see where everything is. Kinda cool, should make life much easier.
NevilleLighting
Active Member
A couple hints on dealing with rental shops...
I've had pretty good luck with asking a rental shop what gobos they have where and then specifying what changes I would like. In my experience most of then default back to factory specs which can be found on the manufacturer website.
In the event that I have multiple setups withing a particular fixture type I start designating "A", "B" and "C" versions. The rental shop just wants to know what fixtures to pull and how to set them up. Usually I just send them an e-mail stating "change gobo wheel two, frame to to such-and-such". Sometimes, if the situation is more complicated I will dive into Excel and create a worksheet.
Conversely, I have receieved many an inventory of color strings or ML gobos that are almost always expressed to me as an Excel file. I find it useful as a designer to have ready made forms like this.
Hope this helps...
I've had pretty good luck with asking a rental shop what gobos they have where and then specifying what changes I would like. In my experience most of then default back to factory specs which can be found on the manufacturer website.
In the event that I have multiple setups withing a particular fixture type I start designating "A", "B" and "C" versions. The rental shop just wants to know what fixtures to pull and how to set them up. Usually I just send them an e-mail stating "change gobo wheel two, frame to to such-and-such". Sometimes, if the situation is more complicated I will dive into Excel and create a worksheet.
Conversely, I have receieved many an inventory of color strings or ML gobos that are almost always expressed to me as an Excel file. I find it useful as a designer to have ready made forms like this.
Hope this helps...
TechnicalProjectDesign
Member
I usually put my gobo list / gel strings in my note column in Lightwright, or put together a instrument schedule / Shop Order and also what attribute mode to use it in to run appropriate DMX channelling before it comes to me at the gig.
