So how does one distinguish a personality
profile made (by
ETC or end-user) from the
fixture manufacturer's
DMX chart; from one built by an external specialty company using an actual
fixture with real-world values (
Abstract Control Model)?
Ideally, you wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference as both should work properly. In reality, the differences show up in calibrated data. Fixtures that are generated from "an external specialty company using an actual
fixture" will generally have color calibration data (if color mixing is present on the
fixture) that shows as a gamut
line in the
color picker when the
fixture is selected. Those fixtures with
gobo parameters will also likely have the manufacturer's default
gobo selections pre-populated in the wheel. This is visible in the
gobo selection areas as images of the
pattern instead of just a name.
Wouldn't the latter be preferable? I understand it would take more time than the former, as a
fixture would need to be shipped to London for evaluation.
The preference of one versus the other can be debated in threads related to abstract control model. If you were intending on needing to change the
fixture from one type to another, the calibrated data from both would help to make sure that the data you had already programmed would be closer to the same look when you switched. (In practice, I have never found computer algorithms to be 1:1 substitute for a human eye making the judgement of color matching, but they can get close.) If you don't intend on changing the
fixture from one type to another, then you may prefer to skip the extra steps and time requirements of calibrated data in the
fixture profile and just
build one to get your show going quickly.
Can one convert a show based on the former to the latter, once the "good"
profile is obtained?
Yes, one can change a show's
fixture types and profiles at any time. The gotcha is, of course, that you may have data that was input (or omitted) in a previous version of the
profile that can cause the "good" version of the
profile to not behave as expected. The rule of thumb when switching
fixture profiles (or updating from older versions of the same
profile) is to always double check your actual output to make sure it matches what you intended to have happen. You may need to tweak the existing data to conform to the new
profile's expectations.
Sorry for the delay in response. I was on vacation and hadn't been able to monitor the interwebs.
