Virtual Light Show on PC

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Virtual Light Show on PC

Postby jayjaymusician » 11 September 2022, 12:46

Hi all.
I’ve probably titled this topic badly, as I’m unsure of exactly what to call it.
Anyway, my situation and question is this......
I play in a band with backing tracks. I currently send midi triggers from the tracks to my effects board so I’m well versed in midi commands. As a band we don’t own our own lights, and use either one of two different sound guys who supply lights. We want to automate the lights to our tracks. Both sound/lights guys have USB to DMX converters, so this won’t be a difficult task, although one guy uses ShowXpress with the Chauvet converter, and the other uses Showbuddy with the Enttec converter. Again, no big deal as I can write for either and assign them to different channels.
So here’s the dilemma and question...
It’s not practical for either them or me to spend hours together writing and testing everything. Is it possible for me to create virtual light shows on either of those platforms and test them on my PC at home without the external hardware or real lights plugged in?
Cheers in advance!
jayjaymusician
 
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Joined: 11 September 2022, 12:23

Re: Virtual Light Show on PC

Postby SeekLighting » 11 September 2022, 21:00

Hey mate,

Yep with ShowXpress it sure is :). You can patch in all your fixtures and build your stage in the a virtual 3d environment. From there you can program individual cues, record them into a Sequential List, and send midi commands to scroll through your sequential list. You can also send other midi commands to trigger cues recorded as individual bumps (like strobe hits, or flashes in time with a rhythm).

It does require a fair bit of learning, and it can get quite deep, but the software definitely can allow you to fully pre program your show
SeekLighting
 
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Re: Virtual Light Show on PC

Postby livetechproductions » 12 September 2022, 14:16

I have programmed our light show completely using the 3D viewer, consisting of about 20 fixtures of all types. Also new tracks are build using the viewer. Works like a charm!
However it is advisable to have at least one of each fixture type available to test with. Colors can be slightly different comparing between the viewer and the real fixture. Also going from a movement pattern to another movement pattern with moving heads can be different because of the speed of the motors to reach a different position. In the viewer it could look all fine but in real-life you could see wrong-ish transitions.

However once you know the characteristics of the fixtures you can program using the viewer only.
livetechproductions
 
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Re: Virtual Light Show on PC

Postby jayjaymusician » 15 September 2022, 13:14

Thanks so much for the replies guys. Very much appreciated!
jayjaymusician
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 11 September 2022, 12:23


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