Intensity effects

[Guest Lufferov]

I have some SunStrips for an event, what's the quickest way to set up a random intensity effect for them?

[Edward Z88]

Hello,

The quickest way to do this is actually to patch each lamp in the SunStrips as a separate dimmer channel. For example if you have 4, 10 lamp SunStrips patch 40 dimmer channels. Then select all lamps of one SunStrip, tap EFFECT, and use one of the auto- generated Intensity effects. You can then use the encoders to adjust the speed, and if you are running the latest software (ZerOS 7.9.3) you can tap the “random offset” button at the top of the Effects window. Record this as your own Effect palette to easily recall later. 

Alternatively, if you want to keep them as individual sunstrip fixtures rather than dimmer channels, select them, tap Waveforms at the top of the Effect window, and apply a wave function to each lamp. Then give them each a random offset value, random size and speed, and your effect will begin to run. Again then Record this as an effect palette to use later. 

Hope that helps

Edward

[Guest Lufferov]

Thanks, I managed to get a few things in the desk. The effects engine is really bad on the FLX though. I ended up patching 80 dimmers, but it felt like a bit of a fudge.

Trying to busk the show with 14 moving lights was a bit of a handful, but overall it was fairly manageable with the groups and pallets. But I really hated working with effects, not at all intuitive. But I've said all that before. 

[Edward Z88]

Hello,

Sorry to hear you struggled with the Effects Engine on FLX. In a future software update, we're moving over to a new fixture library, which will allow the Effects engine to take advantage of multi-section fixtures such as SunStrips.

Edward

[Lufferov]

On 26/02/2018 at 9:33 AM, Edward- Z88 said:

Hello,

Sorry to hear you struggled with the Effects Engine on FLX. In ZerOS 7.9.5, we're moving over to a new fixture library, which will allow the Effects engine to take advantage of multi-section fixtures such as SunStrips.

Edward

That's great, you're finally moving over to the Carallon library? Unfortunately I don't think that's really going to help with the effects engine though, because it's just so overly complicated to use and nothing is particularly clear. Just getting a simple zoom effect to run is a nightmare, from tight to wide, and then getting an offset going. I find getting the speed and size to work is so hard. Then if you want something random...

I'm also not a fan of working within the menus for the effects, it's too easy to click the wrong thing or exit the menu and lose what you'd been working on. Also, it's hard to know what you will actually get by changing things, it's more a case of trial and error and hoping you eventually get lucky with something that is at least similar to what you were trying to achieve. In my experience the ETC Eos is a pretty poor desk to busk on, but at least I can work confidently with the effects and get EXACTLY what I want on almost my first attempt with just some minor tuning sometimes needed. Being able to put my palettes in the effects makes a huge difference, I feel in ZerOS I'm very restricted.

That may be partly because I'm not sure how the effects engine actually works, but that is then a failure on the software not being clear and the manual not really explaining it properly. How for instance would I create an effect that uses my colour palettes? And I'm not talking about creating chases that's not the same thing.

[van den abbeele Eric]

Maybe the solution is to have effects that are towards:
Chase (different effect)
Colors (changes or variation)
Projector movements
Gobo / prism

As we can be certain when entering a menu, we can act directly.

I do not have as much concern about the effects, but often I ask myself the question about an option, what will it play on ...

And I think that if the buttons
"Color",
"Beam"
"Shape"
"Pos"
we send on clear things,

The button "effect" sends us on things less clear ...

So it may be that by pressing on this bonton effect that we can have more certainty on what option will intervene.

Thanks for your help !