Secrets to using Solution effects, effectively?

[Fireball40k]

I'm in the midst of using a Solution XL to programme a song and dance show where I need to create various colour chase, intensity chase, movements, etc. To achieve this I'm trying to use the Effects section of the desk as much as possible to cut down on programming colour/movement combinations manually. I am finding it tricky to reliably create (and re-create) modifications of the standard effects using the wheels in normal and shifted modes. To me it feels like sheer luck if you come across a combination of wheel settings that achieve anything close to what you're after. The manual offers scant detail on this front, so I wondered if anyone has come up with a best practice for adjusting the wheels. For instance, a shifted turn of the Speed wheel, seems to affect the spread of a chase across the selected fixtures. I haven't fully figured out what the other two actually achieve in shifted mode.

 

Also, I have, more than once, achieved a particular look (by luck) and as soon as I save that as a new Effect palette entry, it changes into something else. That has also occurred when saving to the Cue stack.

 

Has anyone mastered Effects?

[kgallen]

I'm on FLX and have the same problem. I've asked Jon to unlock the secrets with more detail in the FLX manual, but it seems like this is not an isolated usability weakness. Sorry I can't help you more other than to agree and sympathise! Kevin

[Jon Hole]

Hi Fireball40k,

 

What version of software are you running?

 

Shifted mode fans whatever is on the wheel. By default, this is "fan first". You can change this by holding SETUP and pressing EFFECT together (or any of the other attribute buttons - COLOUR, BEAM and POSITION). A window will open, which allows you to change the "shifted mode".

 

Fan First

First fixture doesn't change, the last fixture changes as you'd expect, everything else fans in between

Fan Last

Opposite of above, first fixture moves as you'd expect, last fixture doesn't change, everything else fans in between

Fan Middle

Middle fixture doesn't change, first fixture moves as you'd expect, last fixture moves in the opposite direction

Fan V

Middle fixture doesn't move, first and last fixture moves as you'd expect, everything else fans in between

 

So, if you have a line of moving lights on a truss, and select "vertical line", they'll all start a tilt effect, all doing the same thing at the same time. You can then "fan" the offset, so they're all at different parts of the movement. Using "fan v" would mean the middle one flies out into the audience, then the ones either side of it, then the ones either side of those, and so on and so on until the first and last fixture on the truss.

 

Alternatively, you could use something like "blue step on" which makes all the fixtures blue, and then flashes them to white. If you use "fan first", you can offset this so the white flash flies across the line of fixtures one by one rather than all at the same time.

 

Remember, the "first", "last", "middle" fixtures are related to the order you've selected the fixtures, not their fixture numbers.

 

Currently, the speed, size, offset and rotation affect all the currently running effects on the selected fixtures. This means you need to create your position effect, record it as a palette, create your colour effect, record it as a palette, and then select both those palettes to run them at the same time.

 

However, in the next release of software, you can alter the size, speed, offset and rotation of each effect individually when you have multiple running at the same time on the same fixture.

[Tim James]

Hello - I have a question abou the fan effect (I've just bought a Solution so I'm new to programing it) I will have 8 or 10 small moving heads on a truss and I wanted to know if it's easy to make the middle two act as the centre ones, rather than make just one the centre one? or do I need to have an odd number of fixtures and make one of the them the 'middle' one?

[Edward Z88]

Hi Tim,

If you run an Effect with a "Fan V" offset across an even number of fixtures, the console will automatically know that the middle pair should do the same effect.

To configure a Fan V fan mode, hold SETUP and tap the EFFECT button. Then hold SHIFT and choose "Fan V" from the options, release SHIFT, and click OK. Then select your fixtures, apply the effect you would like, and then hold SHIFT and dial the offset wheel.

Hope this helps,

Edward

[Tim James]

Thank you!