Considering switching to ShowExpress from DMXis
Posted: 13 December 2012, 23:27
I am looking to upgrade my lighting control software from DMXis. I am running into its limitations more and more and have come to the conclusion after many years that it just isn't powerful enough.
I run lights for:
1) Busking for bands in small clubs and bars
2) For my band
I have read the manual, and have read many posts in this forum. It is easy to see that ShowExpress would be much better for #1, I am not sure about #2. I play guitar in my band, so I need to be able to control the light show with my feet, and because it is live and I am multi-tasking, I need controls that are easy and consistent.
Currently, I create a "Bank" for each song. The Banks are arranged to match the set order (which changes every show). In each bank, I put "scenes" that correspond to cues.
For example, I would have a Bank labeled "Song 1". In Song 1, I would have scenes called:
Intro
Verse1
Chorus
...etc.
Using a midi foot controller, I hit a button for "next bank" to get to the next song we are going to play. Then as I come to the proper spot in the song, I step on a different button for "next scene". So once in Song 1, I will step on "next scene" to "Intro" when the song begins. Then right as we jump into the verse, I step on "next scene" and go to Verse1. Then when the chorus begins, I step on "next scene" again to go to Chorus1... And so on... Once that song ends, I step on "next bank" to go to the next song, and on it goes. (I also have buttons for "Previous Bank" and "Previous Scene".
So my question is: Is there a way to do this in ShowExpress? I see I can organize scenes on Pages in Live. Would I be able to create more than 40 pages (each page = 1 song, each show is about 40 songs) with upwards of 20 scenes apiece? Could I change to the next page with midi control? Is there a "next" function to allow me to step through the scenes on cue via midi?
Is there a different workflow that would allow me to be able to control a show with my feet, and would allow me to organize scenes by song so that I can re-arrange the order from show to show?
Have I asked enough questions?
Thanks
I run lights for:
1) Busking for bands in small clubs and bars
2) For my band
I have read the manual, and have read many posts in this forum. It is easy to see that ShowExpress would be much better for #1, I am not sure about #2. I play guitar in my band, so I need to be able to control the light show with my feet, and because it is live and I am multi-tasking, I need controls that are easy and consistent.
Currently, I create a "Bank" for each song. The Banks are arranged to match the set order (which changes every show). In each bank, I put "scenes" that correspond to cues.
For example, I would have a Bank labeled "Song 1". In Song 1, I would have scenes called:
Intro
Verse1
Chorus
...etc.
Using a midi foot controller, I hit a button for "next bank" to get to the next song we are going to play. Then as I come to the proper spot in the song, I step on a different button for "next scene". So once in Song 1, I will step on "next scene" to "Intro" when the song begins. Then right as we jump into the verse, I step on "next scene" and go to Verse1. Then when the chorus begins, I step on "next scene" again to go to Chorus1... And so on... Once that song ends, I step on "next bank" to go to the next song, and on it goes. (I also have buttons for "Previous Bank" and "Previous Scene".
So my question is: Is there a way to do this in ShowExpress? I see I can organize scenes on Pages in Live. Would I be able to create more than 40 pages (each page = 1 song, each show is about 40 songs) with upwards of 20 scenes apiece? Could I change to the next page with midi control? Is there a "next" function to allow me to step through the scenes on cue via midi?
Is there a different workflow that would allow me to be able to control a show with my feet, and would allow me to organize scenes by song so that I can re-arrange the order from show to show?
Have I asked enough questions?
Thanks