New equipment... yay... but the nerves about learning it...

This is Amanda... the tech director... and Yay! I can't wait till school starts (wow that's the only time I have EVER said that) Any way, I am kind of nervous that I am not going to know how to run the lights because I was gone on vacation when the light guy came and showed everyone (and when I say everyone I mean the 3 people besides the director who actually do stuff)... So since I wasnt there I am kinda nervous that I won't be able to do anything and I will have one of those "DUH" expressions on my face... So is it easy to pick up once youve seen how it works?
 
GV_hellion said:
This is Amanda... the tech director... and Yay! I can't wait till school starts (wow that's the only time I have EVER said that) Any way, I am kind of nervous that I am not going to know how to run the lights because I was gone on vacation when the light guy came and showed everyone (and when I say everyone I mean the 3 people besides the director who actually do stuff)... So since I wasnt there I am kinda nervous that I won't be able to do anything and I will have one of those "DUH" expressions on my face... So is it easy to pick up once youve seen how it works?

I wouldn't stress too much as I am sure you will pick it up very quickly. You can download the quick start card from Strand. You will see it is fairly easy to understand. Can Tenor_Singer let you into school the last week of the holidays? If so spend time just getting the feel of the board.

The things I would start with are :
How to start the desk ( Just like starting a PC)
Closing the desk down (Go through the Report menu and select EXIT)
Change a channel level
Save / Modify a SUB
Save / Modify a Cue
Loading Cues - Load
Running Cues - Go

Unless you have some intelligent lights the above will get you through nearly everything you need for a show.

I would spend time changing the fade in/ out times on cues so you are familar with the way Strand works. This is because you may need to change the fade time on the previous cue and the next cue to get the times on the current cue to look right.

Once you have mastered the basics you will find there are a lot of things to make life easy. For example you can put text with subs and cues. You still need to use numbers but the text makes it easier to find what you are looking for. Eg SUB 1 Cyc Blue, SUB 2 Cyc Red, Cue 1 Curtain Warmers

We have all plotted shows where the Director says "I want the lighting the same as scene X" Then you have to hunt for the right cue number. With text labeling of cues this makes it a lot quicker to find the correct cue.

One thing to note the Strand doesn't have a Grandmaster as a dedicated fader. You can turn a SUB fader into one. You have to go into the SUB Menu and select a SUB and change it's characteristic to Grandmaster.

There are enough of us on Control Board who have Strand Desks to help you. So you are bound to get an answer to any questions you want to ask.
 

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