Macro for master cue hold?

So we are doing a show next week for a band, and one of their songs has a spot about half way through where everything stops for a few beats before resuming. I would like to do the same with the lighting (essentially have about 4 effect cues running, then have them all pause at the same time, then resume).

I would like to know if anyone knows of a way I could have a button act as a sort of 'master effect cue pause'? I thought about blackout, but not only would that leave the stage in black, it would also take away from that 'paused' look im going for.


Im using an ETC express 48/96 console.

please help. thanks.

~Dan
 
I may be reading this wrong but couldnt you just write a "stop" cue? You could put a follow with a time on it so it would take the next cue in time.
So say you have a cue 4 with your effects running. Make a cue 5 with everything static. Record that with a follow time however long you want. Then copy cue 4 to cue 6. And there you have it.
Let me know. Maybe im missing what you describe.

Chris
 
thanks that is an awesome point! and I may resort to that, however I am running my show off of submasters that hold effect cues (since we dont have much rehearsal time to record a show in the system).

what i effectively want is a way to pause the effects that are being played when their specific submaster slider is up. ..if that makes sense..

sorry, this topic is just frustrating to explain :(
 
Nope. With the express you are either running the effect or you are not. You could record a cue or a sub that is the "hold" look. On that cue, you could link it to a macro that stops everything, brings up the "hold" look, and then hit go again and then it starts everything back up. However, there is no "pause" like there is on many moving light/live consoles.is

This is your second post on this subject. From the looks of things, you either need to ramp back the show or rent a console. The express is not meant to be a live console for busking. You can do it, my wife does it every day for large acts, but its not really meant for it. She has ways of getting around it... and none of them involve the effects editor. The effects editor on the express is nothing compared to what is out there now.
 
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okay, well thanks everyone! i have ETC Expression off-line on my laptop, so maybe I'll be able to record a show just for the one band that requires the 'hold' effect and ill use a series of cues in the A/B faders to do the effect like cfd701 said.

again, thanks!
~Dan
 
As has been said, there is no way to do exactly what you want on the Express. To do it you would have to use an effect cue, not an effect sub. You could easily run the effect on the C/D fader so as to not affect the rest of your cues. Then, when you want to pause simply press [Hold] and the effect will stop, then hit [Go] again to continue. However, because of only one cue stack on the Express, sometimes running a cue in C/D fader can be more trouble than it's worth. If you absolutely had to do it using subs this is what I would do:

1. Split the rig (namely what you are using for this band/song) into 2 parts. Maybe 1/2 and 1/2 or 1/3 and 2/3, whatever. Make this division evenly spread out (not SL vs SR or US vs DS).

2. Write the effect you want using one part of the rig.

Note: I am assuming here that if you are using moving lights that you have two subs to run this effect. One that is non-intensity parameters (effects sub), the other is just the intensity parameters (pile-on sub). This allows you to run the effect at full because Express does not differentiate between intensity and "other" parameters as far as levels are concerned. Then you can ride the intensity sub to the desired level.

3. Write another "static look" sub with the remaining part of the rig.

4. Have both of the non-intensity parameters subs triggered. The majority of the song you will have the intensity parameters sub for your moving portion on and the intensity parameters sub for your static portion off. When the moment comes, switch. Then switch right back.

This way the fixtures that are moving never actually stop moving. You are just turning their intensity off so that you don't see them move. You bump your static look up so that everyone can still see the band, and you have a very dramatic pause. Then just switch the intensity subs back and the moving lights are ready to go.

No, it's not exactly what you are looking for, but it could get your idea across. You've got to work with what you got. You are brave to even attempt to busk a show on an Express.

Good luck!
-Tim
 
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thanks very much!! i 100% agree with how much Express lacks soo much for live show stuff...im in high school and we are VERY limited. I feel like learning with the express and taking it to a new level is doing good for me, personally though.

anyway, thanks again! show is this thursday! ill check back in telling you how it went!!
 

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