Control/Dimming A play date for Light Factory and ETC Expression 3

[JFR]

I have recently joined a company that purchased Light Factory to control their Elation Design Spot 250 Pros, which works. However they want to continue to use their ETC Expression 3 to program conventionals. I have been asked to somehow link together the ETC Expression 3 console and the Light Factory so that there is one GO button that would command both programs.

I have read the manuals, I have played around with Light Factory, and I have found no solutions. Customer support even said it's not possible. My boss insists that there is a hack out there. Well, is there?

 

[Lotos]

I have read the manuals, I have played around with Light Factory, and I have found no solutions. Customer support even said it's not possible. My boss insists that there is a hack out there. Well, is there?

The evil I carry inside wants to reply "Well, if your boss is convinced there's a solution, tell him to find it!"... But that's hardly helpful.

My advice is to look at MIDI Control to link the two... Provided your Expression 3 has a MIDI Interface... I'm not sure if they came factory standard on the Expression 3's or were an optional upgrade... Anyone?

I'm not promising it will work, I'm unfamiliar with Light Factory, and the last time I touched an Expression was 8+ years ago... But it's a direction to start looking in.

 

[metti]

You can definitely control both those via MIDI so you should be able to trigger them together via a show control program like QLab. I'm not sure if either of them can send MIDI but if one can, the other can listen which would eliminate the need for a third program/device to trigger them.

 

[meatpopsicle]

However they want to continue to use their ETC Expression 3 to program conventionals. I have been asked to somehow link together the ETC Expression 3 console and the Light Factory so that there is one GO button that would command both programs.

My boss insists that there is a hack out there. Well, is there?

I have used Light Factory and Expression 3 together. By bringing Light Factory into the DMX in. The caveat is that there won't be a single go. However you will be able to play the elations through the expression and have the expression control whethere they are on or not. I think. Its been awhile. I did it a few years ago on Rescue Me. We built fire effects in Light Factory and played them through our expression.

Patch Elations to where in the Exprssion you want to see them (eg channels) and set those channels for Focus Point Zero. RYM on DMX in.

 

[meatpopsicle]

However you will be able to play the elations through the expression and have the expression control whethere they are on or not. I think. Its been awhile. I did it a few years ago on Rescue Me. We built fire effects in Light Factory and played them through our expression.

Patch Elations to where in the Exprssion you want to see them (eg channels) and set those channels for Focus Point Zero. RYM on DMX in.

Well, now that I re-read the manual, not exactly. You would be able to play the elations through the Expression. If you are enterprising you could use light factory to build the cues and then copy them to the Expression using DMX in. this might be the most elegant. I don't know whether you would be able to control the dimmer channel on the elation by dimming down the corresponding channel on the expression.

 

[randerson]

Forget your expression and run everything from LF. LF is great with conventionals too.

Otherwise use midi if the expression takes it. LF can output midi signals at cues.

 

[meatpopsicle]

Forget your expression and run everything from LF. LF is great with conventionals too.

Otherwise use midi if the expression takes it. LF can output midi signals at cues.

Yea, I've done that...it sucks with out hard keys. Computer based lighting control, with only a laptop, is lame. It can be done, but its very mouse intensive and not fast.