Help on ETC Express board - macros

[mvp1114]

We have a relatively new ETC Express board (I go back to "telephone exchange" plug systems) and I need to come up with a way to program a macro for a "disco" scene in a musical we are doing this year - basically flashing our colored lights in sequence.

Can someone run me through the procedure to record the macro as a cue? If you need more info, let me know.

Thank you.

Mike
[email protected]

 

[rochem]

I'm somewhat confused here. So you want to make a disco scene where the lights flash different colors over and over again? That's pretty easy on an Express. I'm kind of confused where you want the macro to come into play, however. You want to program a Macro to automatically begin this cue which will flash the lights? That's also pretty easy. Let me know if this is right and I can walk you through it.

 

[Clifford]

I'm not sure why you would/would be able to use a macro for this. I'd use an effects cue. If you want help setting it up, just ask, we use a 48/96 at school, so I'm pretty familiar with the process.

-Clifford

 

[mvp1114]

Michael -

WOW, that was a fast answer! Yes, that's what I mean. I haven't needed to do much programming before on this but have to do it now. I've been assuming that I would record a repeating macro, then set that up as a cue. Am I wrong?

Could you run me thru the process (think of me as a newbie)?

Thanks!

Mike

 

[rochem]

Alright, the easiest way to do this would be to program it as an Effect cue and then assign a macro to automatically start this cue whenever you select that macro. So here we go. If you have the ETC Express offline software (freely available from the ETC website), this will probably make more sense.

Anyways, first go to Blind mode. Then let's say you want this effect to be Cue 1. Press [CUE] [1] and then press [TYPE]. A prompt will come up asking you to choose the type of cue you want - press [3] to select Effect cue. An effect cue is built up of multiple steps that repeat themselves according to specific times that you set. So Step 1 will be our first step. Just type {STEP} (it's Softkey #1) [1] to select Step 1, then [ENTER]. Now you need to tell the computer what channels you want in step 1. For this example, we'll assume you want channels 50-55 to come up in this step. Just type in [5] [0] [THRU] [5] [5] and then {ADD CHANNELS} (Softkey 8). Hit the right arrow to move over to the TIME column. You can change this just by typing in whatever time you want, in seconds. This is the time interval between this Step and the beginning of the next Step, or in other words how long these lights will stay up before being replaced by the next ones. You can probably ignore the other columns as this should give you what you're looking for, but if not just ask and I can help you with the other columns.

So now you need to add another step. You simply have to repeat the whole process over again. Press the {STEP} softkey, but this time type [2] for step 2. Now add your channels for step 2, and if you want a different time from step 1 for some reason, go ahead and change that too. Add as many steps as you want to have. When you're done, hit [RECORD] [ENTER] or else all your work will be lost. Congratulations, you've just made your first Effect cue. I'll follow this up with another post on how to program the Macro.

 

[Clifford]

An effects cue will play the same looks in a loop until the next cue is selected. If you go with the effects cue, which I think is the easiest method, you'll need to work in Blind.
Hit Blind on the keypad. Then [Record] [Cue] [#], then press [Type] [3] [Enter].

This will open the effects cue editing window. Hit [S1] [1] to create the first step. Steps are the individual looks within an effects cue.

To add channels, select the channels you want then hit [S8] and they should appear in Step 1. Use [AT] to select the desired level. I've found that it doesn't accept FL, so you may have to substitute 99, depending on your look.

Move over to the Time column with the arrow keys if you wish to adjust the duration of each step. The default is 0.2, which is pretty quick, but you may want that for your disco look.

You can also move to the In, Dwell and Out columns. These affect how long the step takes to come up and fade out for the next one.

Pressing the down arrow key at any time will create the next Step in the cue. Add channels as before and edit to your liking.

To record an effects cue, press: [Record] [Cue] [#] [Enter]

This is what I do for these situations and they've always worked great. If you have any move questions, just ask and someone will be able to help you. Also, don't hesitate to look through the manual while you're programming.


EDIT: Beaten to it. Good job rochem.

I did want to add that by chaning the Random rates, you can have the Express generate random parameters for each step for the show.

 

[rochem]

To program this into a Macro is very easy as well. Up above the keypad, there's a button marked [LEARN]. Press [LEARN] and then press the [M1] key (I'm assuming you don't have any macros already programmed - if you do, just use whatever macro key you want to use). From this point on, the console watches every keystroke you make and records that into the Macro. So type the following keys: [CUE] [1] [GO] (on the A/B fader - two sliders marked A and B, and below them is a button simply marked GO - this is what you're looking for). That's all you need, so press the blinking button at the top called [MACRO ENTER] and the macro will be recorded. You'll see that a light lights up on the [M1] button to tell you that something is recorded there. From now on, whenever you press the [M1] key, Cue 1, which is an Effect cue, will automatically begin and will continue indefinitely until you clear the fader or advance to the next cue.

EDIT: hows that for service? 7 replies and two sets of instructions in less than 20 minutes. Also, the manual Clifford mentioned can be found here. It's pretty easy to understand, so take a look in there when you have some more time to get a better understanding of what you're doing.

 

[mvp1114]

Michael, Clifford -

Thank you! Your great answers should get me through this.

I'll give it a shot in the morning and let you know - it sounds like exactly what I wanted to do!

Mike

 

[xander]

Clifford and Rochem covered it all pretty well, I just have a few things to add.

Clifford stated that he used 99% because it wouldn't accept FL. FL is the default, if there is no level set under the CH number then it is at FL.

In Rochem's follow up about writing the Macro, he is correct in everything he said, however, I do not see any reason for this. There is no need for a Macro to trigger a Cue when you can just hit go.

Both posts explain how to create an Effects Cue, however, if you would like the effect to run through an entire scene or something and you would like to be able to take cues throughout, an FX Q will not work. With an FX Q as soon as you take the next cue the effect is going to stop. There are 2 ways around this. First, you can run the FX Q in the C/D fader (assuming the show is being run in A/B), however, I don't like this method because it messes up your cue list and then you need to do silly stuff like clear the fader or write a macro to clear the fader at some point in the future. The second, cleaner, method is to write your effect in a submaster and then macro link to trigger it on and off. With this method all of the hard work is done during programming and you can simply press GO through the whole show.

If you need to be able to take cues during the effect an FX Q is the wrong way to go. Let me know if you need any help, or read the manual. ETC manuals are incredibly easy to understand.

Good luck.
-Tim