Control/Dimming transfer show to another console

[Jackalope]

So the good news is that our production is going to KC/ACTF this February. We haven't had to move a show to another venue and I am hoping to pick the brains of those of you have had this experience...in other words I'll be bugging the crap out of you for a couple of months.

My first question is about lighting consoles and transferring a show in strand palette VL to their console which I beleive is a Strand 520i

Should I export the file? and if so what format should I export as? I can't imagine there older console would open a file created in the newer one, but maybe???

Thanks!

 

[SteveB]

So the good news is that our production is going to KC/ACTF this February. We haven't had to move a show to another venue and I am hoping to pick the brains of those of you have had this experience...in other words I'll be bugging the crap out of you for a couple of months.

My first question is about lighting consoles and transferring a show in strand palette VL to their console which I beleive is a Strand 520i

Should I export the file? and if so what format should I export as? I can't imagine there older console would open a file created in the newer one, but maybe???

Thanks!

I *think* both the 520 as well as VL support the USITT ASCII cue format, so for a basic cue port-over, you should be able to export the VL cue file in ASCII format to a 520.

Typically all you get with the ASCII file is channel, level and cue timing. Some things don't transfer, multi-part cues as example, though possibly Strand to Strand will see a multi-part cue transfer (not Strand to ETC as example). Movers and the like is typically lost though.

Strand did have off-line editing software that might facilitate this though I can't find it anywhere on their website.

As well you can call Strand tech. support:

http://www.strandlighting.com/index...ort-Contacts&category=Service&submenu=Support

 

[tdeater]

I think a pallet VL can export into an older pallet file version to work with the 520. ASCII should work too from what I understand. I am not in front of our VL though to test it myself. I recall a show in our facility wanting the exported files when we where done, and I think we where able to export them in older strand versions, as well as ASCII and whatever other options we found in there. I think there where a few to choose from. This is all from memory though...

 

[Judge]

I have nothing to add except to say that this kind of thing must happen so often that I am surprised some enterprising individual or company has not figured out a way to do show transfers and sell it as a service. Alas I am too thick to consider it, but its only numbers really. I recentlly wanted to convert an Avolites Titan show file to MagicQ, and also an Ion file to Titan and could not do it. Of course these are very different systems, but still, just numbers. I guess the really interesting stuff happen when you start getting offset split timings across fixtures in multipart cues that are proprietary to the desk and for which there is no direct translation.

 

[SteveB]

I have nothing to add except to say that this kind of thing must happen so often that I am surprised some enterprising individual or company has not figured out a way to do show transfers and sell it as a service. Alas I am too thick to consider it, but its only numbers really. I recentlly wanted to convert an Avolites Titan show file to MagicQ, and also an Ion file to Titan and could not do it. Of course these are very different systems, but still, just numbers. I guess the really interesting stuff happen when you start getting offset split timings across fixtures in multipart cues that are proprietary to the desk and for which there is no direct translation.

http://www.westsidesystems.com/

Eric has been doing cue conversions for decades. Not sure how often his services are needed since the 2 major theatrical console manufacturers - ETC and Strand, provided for the USITT ACSII cue file export/import capability in their software.

ASCII only really works well with conventional fixtures on dimmers though. Once you start to deal with the various way the consoles manipulate and control ML's and LED's, the ASCII file method becomes obsolete.

 

[MikeJ]

You would not retain timings and delays, etc, but as long as you patch all your fixtures the same, you can use DMX out of one console and in on a console, and manually record each cue, and enter timings delays, links...That's really the only way I can think do do it if the consoles are different operating systems and file types.

This is only good for raw dmx values though. It would work okay with mostly dimmers, but effects, modulators, individual parameter timing/delay/MIB won't copy, then get into rebuilding presets/colors/positions/etc and you may as well just re-cue the show from scratch on the new desk.

For the OP I think that ASCII will get you most of the way there, If you can get the PC editor, you can at least see your original show to compare too, and step through cues one at a time on the new desk, to update timings links and whatnot. If you have many moving lights and effects, it might be best to try and get a rental console, or bring the one from your theater, and find a replacement of some kind for the time it is gone, if needed.

 

[Jackalope]

Thanks to all who gave advice. I am hoping to go to the theater later this week, I will bring a stick with the show file in different flavors (as recommended by all of you) and see what happens. If I can get a copy of their concert plot and make up a show using patching to their space...I might have an okay transisition--current show was in small black box all conventional instruments although I do have some split timed cues and a few independently timed channels in some cues--and thank god only one cue list for this one