ISSUE 30 / MAY 2010 the Official Bi-Monthly Publication for Wysiwyg Members

ISSUE 30 / MAY 2010 The official bi-monthly publication for wysiwyg Members

IN THIS ISSUE: Paralympics Opening Ceremony

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paralympics Opening Ceremonies 2 wysiwyg: New Features – New Places – New Uses 5 wysiwyg g It just keeps getting better! 6 Sneak peek g wysiwyg at Eurovision 2010 9 wysiwyg hangs a perfect “10” at Wakestock in Abu Dhabi 10 Congratulations to these winners! 11 DTS new look courtesy of wysiwyg 12

Virtual theatre created with wysiwyg 13 wysiwyg designs a console? 14 wysiwyg on Architecture: 110 Tower, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 16 CAST’s BlackBox adds partners: Coolux, Magna BSP, Sand Network 18 The latest additions from the Library 20 Tips & Tricks • TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video 22 • TIP 2 - Using wysiwyg to facilitate Floor-Focusing Fixtures 28

www.wysiwygsuite.com

Pa r a l y m p i c s Op e n i n g Ce r e m o n i e s

Note from the Editor: I’ve been corresponding with Robert Sondergaard from Electric Aura in Port Moody, BC, Canada since mid-February about their extensive work during the Van- couver Olympics. I’ve crossed paths with them many times over the years and I’m always impressed with their work. But what they managed to achieve during the Olympics blew my socks off. I could easily have done an Olympic version of The Plan, as Electric Aura – and wysiwyg – were involved in some really amazing events! Since I couldn’t choose just one, I’ve decided to do a focus on the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies and then condense some of the others a bit in order to share all of the highlights. Hope you enjoy.

My personal thanks to Robert and the entire Electric Aura crew for sharing the details, photos and renders, as well as involving wysiwyg in such internationally renowned events. We’re proud to be a part!

March 12 saw the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver director/ head choreographer was Joecelyn Peden. Director of Paralympics, with Patrick Roberge as producer/artistic director production was Nik von Schulman and technical director was and lighting by Robert Sondergaard of Electric Aura. “The entire Michael Scriven. In addition to Robert Sondergaard and Jason BC Place was drawn in 3D in wysiwyg and we used it for daytime Bolger, the Electric Aura team included TV lighting director Jason programming,” says Robert, noting that the lighting for the cer- McKinnon and followspot director Alan Brodie. emonies was based on the initial plot created by Bob Dickinson of Full Flood for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games Partial Gear List: on 12 February in the same venue. “Jason Bolger was our lead 99 2 – Active Grand MA wysiwyg technician. He worked out the Paralympic patch and 99 2 – Backup Grand MA (all 4 consoles networked together) implemented it in wysiwyg prior to the programming team start- 99 64 – Universes of DMX Output ing,” adds Robert. 99 12373 – Parameters used in show file 99 Robert explained, “wysiwyg was used extensively to create 3D 1278 – fixtures in show file 9 wysiwyg renders in the creation process. We had 64 Universes of DMX 9 Whole system is drawn in 3D in and used for day- Output all fed into wysiwyg and over 460 Fixtures in our wysiwyg time programming file. wysiwyg Suite was used for pre-programming prior to load-in. 99 40 – Mac 2000 Performance It was also brought to the venue to program on during the day. 99 68 – Mac 2000 Wash Because the venue has a translucent roof we brought our pre- 99 124 – VL-3500 Spot visualization suite with us and networked it in as well - this allowed 99 68 – VL-3500 Wash us to build looks during the day and then we finessed them at 99 58 – VL-3000 Spot night when the sun went down.” 99 28 – VL-5 Arch 99 72 – VL2416 The X Paralympic Opening Ceremonies were produced by Patrick 99 8 – Syncrolite MX4 Roberge Productions, directed by Patrick Roberge. Associate 99 wysiwyg Perform

Rendering - Paralympics Opening Ceremonies Rendering - Paralympics Opening Ceremonies

Photo - Paralympics Opening Ceremonies Photo - Paralympics Opening Ceremonies

In addition to a stunning Paralympic opening, Electric Aura was each day of the Olympic competition. Robert explains, “Patrick’s also “charged” with other high-profile Olympic events including: vision was that this show had to be one of the top 10 things to see during the Olympics.” The lighting, as well as all of the special ef- Experience BC at Robson Square – “Ignite the Dream” fects, were designed to create a stunning 360-degree experience that would showcase British Columbia at its best. wysiwyg helped Electric Aura take a carbon-friendly footstep during the Olympic Games at one of the most unique installa- Robert describes the set up: “Two square city blocks of downtown tions found above Robson Square in Vancouver. Every night from Vancouver were modeled in 3D. We had 42 Syncrolites, 60+ mov- 12-28 February the skies overhead exploded with lights, pyrotech- ers & a few hundred LEDs in the wysiwyg file. wysiwyg suite was nics, lasers, projections and flying performers. moved to an office at Robson Square so we could program the The project, aptly named ”Ignite the Dream” was the creation of show prior to load-in. Senior members of the BC Secretariat were Partrick Roberge to be the signature show celebrating the end of brought to the wysiwyg Suite to preview the show prior to load-in.

They loved it. The show was triggered on an grandMA via timecode grandMA via timecode so they needed get the triggering informa- so we needed to get the triggering information in prior to load-in.” tion in prior to load-in. Jason McKinnon from Electric Aura was the A spectacular and innovative show, “Ignite the Dream” lit up the lead on this project, doing all of the wysiwyg drafting and program- Vancouver sky and downtown core twice each Olympic night, be- ming for it. coming a crowd favourite with more than half a million spectators during the show’s 17-day run. The Opening Ceremonies for the 122nd IOC Session

Experience BC at Robson Square – Meet the Mascots Ice Show Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were welcomed to the Opening Ceremony of the 122nd Session of the A fun, family show featuring the Vancouver 2010 mascots, Meet IOC. Staged at the newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Mascots on Ice took to the GE Ice Plaza three times daily. IOC members and special guests were treated to a true Canadian Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and all their friends skated, danced and sang youth welcome. in celebration of the Vancouver 2010 Games. With original music, choreography, lighting and costumes, this ice show entertained wysiwyg was used to create the pitch renders to the IOC and audiences of all ages. VANOC. The newly renovated QET and their house hung over 400 fixtures which were in the wysiwyg file. The Canadian Winter Sports Showcase – West Vancouver’s Live Site Mayor of the Host City of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson and Pre- mier of the Host Province of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell Twice nightly the Spirit Square was alive with this unique per- opened the show with a welcome to the IOC delegates, who came formance created specially for West Vancouver 2010. A cast of from around the world. Over 2000 guests were treated to featured 12 professional dancers performed in, around and on top of the entertainment that included the Olympic 2010 Dancers, Circus building in a celebration of Canada’s winter sports. The live perfor- West, Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Vancou- mance was complemented by a dynamic soundtrack, huge video ver Academy of Dance, and the Vancouver School Board 2010 screen and high tech lighting design. Youth Choir, among others.

Electric Aura used 40 Octostrips, 18 Movers, 72 Conventionals …..And that wasn’t even the whole list! Hopefully the team at and 100 LEDs in the wysiwyg file. The show was triggered on a Electric Aura enjoyed a well-earned break after the dust settled.

About Electric Aura

Since 2002 Electric Aura Projects Inc. has been making magic a reality for all of their clients. They bring extensive theatre, television broadcast, film, dance, corporate, theme park, and concert touring experience to each and every project they work on.

The technological advances in our industry are pushing beyond the demands of traditional lighting design. In order to meet those demands, Electric Aura offers an integrated production team for all projects which includes lighting, set and video designers; draftsper- sons; programmers; electricians; crew chiefs and production support staff. They also offer wysiwyg studio services in order to maximize the use of time on site and to help clients visualize their concepts. The key to continued success is the ability to work together to make the integration of all of the visual elements of each event seamless and to maintain the quality of design that clients have come to expect.

Galleries of sample work can be viewed at www.electricaura.net.

wysiwyg : Ne w Fe a t u r e s – Ne w Pl a c e s – Ne w Us e s Letter from the editor, Joan Lyman, Manager, Communications

Dear Readers,

This issue of The Plan aims to take you to new places -- not only corners of the world, and much more. geographically, but in your imagination and creativity as well. With We never get tired of hearing your the enormous improvements found in R25, we want to encourage stories, so please continue to share our Members to get really creative with its uses. Think beyond live your work. Email [email protected]. You never know when one entertainment (although we still love that) and explore the unusual. article might spark the next big idea. After all, everything around us starts in the design phase, right? Enjoy! In the following pages, we’ll share some of our Member adven- Joan tures with new styles of design, new methods of teaching, new

Hey, have you been reading the CAST Blog? It’s live, it’s fresh, it’s awesome!! www.cast-soft.com/blog

Meet CAST also on

http://www.facebook.com/CASTsoftware http://www.youtube.com/user/CASTSoftware http://twitter.com/castsoftware

wysiwyg g It j u s t k e e p s g e t t i n g b e t t e r !

R25 i s h e r e !

R25 is here. Capitalizing on all the advances made in R22, R23, and R24, with other great features that enhance the robustness and outstanding performance of wysiwyg, R25 delivers the most new features of any Release – ever! No matter what the venue, regardless of the production, wysiwyg gives designers an interface with the intangible. Your work in wysiwyg looks exactly like your work in reality. We also have a proprietary library with over 20,000 fixtures, gobos, trusses, and other objects that you need to get it done right.

It’s really virtually real.

wysiwyg Design and Perform have the same list of features designers need to get the job and get it done, masterfully. Whether Design or Perform you can create realistic visual representations of your work, and even fade between looks in realtime. Conceptu- alize it, plot it, make the paperwork, create stunning visuals, and feel comfortable that you’ve done your best when you show up onsite. Both are a comprehensive lighting design package that gives you the confidence of managing your entire design in one software suite. No switching between software suites means no headaches, ensures better accuracy and saves you a lot of time. wysiwyg’s Shaded Views are so advanced and realistic that you don’t need to stop the creative process for a render. R22 gave If you need full console connectivity, then you need wysiwyg Per- the world a new way to look at pre-visualization, and R25 has form, if not then check out wysiwyg Design — the same all-in-one redefined what it is to create lighting offline. If you need the right wysiwyg package that the industry uses, just with no connecting to wywisyg tool for lighting design, you need Design or Perform. a lighting console. You’ll never need anything else.

It just keeps getting better! - continued

New features in wysiwyg R25

New CAD Mode Features: Enhancements to Layouts in LED Walls: 99 Send to Back/Bring to Front Presentation Mode: 99 New Display Video (Sources and Sub 99 Text Toolbar 99 Zoom Layouts & Content Windows sources) on LED Walls 99 Alignment Tools using the mouse wheel 99 Properties tab of LED Wall allows 99 Polygon Tool 99 Copy and Paste items within Layouts modification of image/video source 99 Convert Lines to Surfaces 99 Assign colours in Legends and intensity 99 Select Fixtures on Hang Structures 99 New alignment options in Worksheet 99 LED Walls are selectable in Design 99 Cycle Selection Item Properties Mode 99 Visual Indicators for Truss Assembly 99 Option to modify corners of Rounded 99 LED Walls are now up to 4x brighter 99 New/more descriptive right-click op- Rectangles in Shaded View tions for truss assembly 99 Easily create perfect circles, rect- 99 Font Styles for Dimensions angles and 45 degree angles And More: 99 Speed and stability optimizations for 99 Video can now be split into Sub New Design Mode Features: New Plots sources 99 Pan and Tilt Locking for the Focus 99 Delete Rows and Columns in Work- 99 Updated Application Options Designer Tool sheets 99 Generic Video Projectors Added to Library New Presentation Mode Features: New Camera Features: 99 All library items now appear 99 Locking Objects in Layouts 99 Locking smoothed 99 Text Toolbar (Layouts and New Plots) 99 Switching Hotkeys 99 Alignment Tools (Layouts and New Plots) 99 Save Shaded View as New Camera

Check out the new features gallery

It just keeps getting better! - continued

R25 and Synthe FX’s Luminair App LDs can use it for creating quick concepts to demonstrate their ideas. As wysiwyg deals with the stage, Vivien deals with the As if the new features in R25 listed above aren’t enough, one venue. Both wysiwyg and Vivien: particularly “handy” addition is the new 3rd party application ex- tension that uses Luminair 2.0, the next generation of the wireless 99Feature simplified CAD tools to plot or lay out floor spaces or multi-touch DMX control software for the iPhone and iPod touch, lighting plans developed by Synthe FX of Cincinnati, Ohio. Now you can down- 99Deliver photorealistic renderings of these drawings load fixture POV and the necessary DMX data from wysiwyg to a 99Contain 1000s of library objects designed for the industry handheld device so you can see the previz focus of one particular 99Share the same reliable, robust base code or each fixture’s adjust the fixture accordingly. Once that fixture 99Deliver eye-popping visuals is focused, you can turn that light off and the next one on from the 99Provide wizards for common tasks device. While this feature may interest only some of you today, it is particularly meaningful innovation as it will lead to download Vivien file version compatibility and trigger abilities for looks in a future Release. Due to the differing release schedules of Vivien and wysiwyg, Vi- Synthe FX founder and lead developer Ryan Hisey says: vien2010 is only directly compatible with wysiwyg R24. Therefore, “Never before have lighting professionals had the option of designing while you can open Vivien2010 files with wysiwyg R25, files drawn looks on a master console, recording snapshots, and building a sim- in R25 for use in Vivien2010 must first be saved as a Vivien2010 ple show that they can carry in their pocket. We are very excited to file (File > Save As). Note, it is highly recommended that wysiwyg be working with CAST Software, which is a highly respected industry users first save their work as an R25 file, and then save in the leader, on such a groundbreaking new feature for lighting pros.” Vivien 2010 format before opening the file in Vivien

Compatibility with Vivien-Virtual Event Designer Library Additions

Are you a Lighting Designer who manages venue layouts, produces Members will also be pleased with the Library Additions included events, or liaises with event planners/designers or service providers? with the R25 release. In fact, the wysiwyg Library is bigger than ever! See the Library article in this issue of the Plan for more wysiwyg is compatible with Vivien-Virtual Event Designer, CAST detail. Software’s award-winning special events planning and design software tool. You can create your shows in wysiwyg and then Releases are for Members ONLY open the files in Vivien to make use of its automated Wizards for adding event items, such as seating areas, tables, and chairs. Releases are free to current wysiwyg Members. In fact, being a Member is the only way to get a fully operational copy of the You can use Vivien–Virtual Event Designer to increase your plan- software. CAST has also developed a new wysiwyg DV which ning efficiency. Vivien is the sales, planning, design, and produc- includes 4 sample plots, so manufacturers can test and also dem- tion tool designed for the meeting and special events industry. onstrate their hardware using the best.

Sn e a k p e e k g wysiwyg a t Eu r o v i s i o n 2010 wysiwyg is once again taking part in one of the most-watched tele- Sorry, but because broadcast isn’t for a few weeks yet, light plots vision productions in the world – The Eurovision Song Contest, and equipment details are still top secret! But rest assured, we will this year live from Oslo, Norway. 39 countries will compete to be have a full report in the July 10 issue of The Plan. The design is crowned winner, chosen by televoting and a professional jury, to already revealed, check out the video http://nrk.no/programmer/tv/ see who will host the 2011 competition in their home country. melodi_grand_prix/1.7110709.

In our July 09 issue of The Plan, we gave you a look at the mas- sive beast that was Eurovision from Moscow. The show broke all production records from number of production days to roof load.

For those of you in Europe, Host Broadcaster NRK will deliver this spectacular show live, with broadcasts beginning at 21:00 CET. Unfortunately for those of us in North America and other non- Well, the multi-talented crew is at it again, bringing a fresh new European parts of the world, the show is not broadcast on televi- look for the lighting, video and staging that has never been seen sion. However, you can view a live stream on the Internet through on the Eurovision stage. The show will be broadcast live from eurovision.tv. Telenor Arena on 25, 27 and 29 May 2010.

This is the 55th year for The Eurovision Song Contest, the annual song competition between members of the European Broadcast Union. Most Europeans consider the annual program a tradition, having watched it since they were children. It’s only been in the last 10 years that the show has continually pushed the technical production limits to new heights. The result: a whole new crop of fans now watches to find out “What will they do next?” In fact, television viewers have been estimated somewhere around 200 million.

The team behind the 2010 production sees the return of many Eurovision alums, including Lighting Designer Al Gurdon and his team from Incandescent Design, Production Manager Ola Melzig, And for those of you curious to keep up with the technical behind- and the skilled crew from PRG UK and Germany (formerly Procon). the-scenes action leading up to the broadcast, be sure to book- Pre-production began early April at a studio in London, where mark the Eurovision Diary www.m-m-pr.com/index.php/eurovision- Gurdon and his team of programmers worked away preparing diary a daily blog kept by Melzig. lighting and video using wysiwyg R25 as one of their tools, and they have been kind enough to share exclusive photos with us. We will be sure to release full details and broadcast photos shortly wysiwyg has already enjoyed some of the more prestigious shows after the event. alongside Gurdon this year, including the Super Bowl 44 Halftime show and BRIT Awards. Stay tuned!

wysiwyg h a n g s a p e r f e c t “10” a t Wa k e s t o c k in Ab u Dh a b i

Wakestock in Abu Dhabi has long been considered one of the the basic stuff like colour stacks etc. It really helped me reduce coolest mash-ups of wakeboarding and music in the world, with the hours actually programming onsite. I only had to update my the Wakestock model exported to the Middle East for the first time positions a little as wysiwyg is so accurate. I have used it on a this year to Abu Dhabi, March 4 through 6 at Al Sahil Beach, Abu number of different shows now and I find for the bigger shows it is Dhabi Corniche. The event saw over 110,000 spectators over the a fantastic tool to maximize the best looks and layouts.” three-day weekend and marked the first stop on the World Wake- board Association’s 2010 World Wakeboard Series. Night one featured home-grown talent The Brownies playing a blend of jazz, acoustic rock and funky groove, followed by international DJ extraordinaire, Goldierocks. Lebanese superstar Carole Samaha headlined the first evening, followed by local DJ Danny Neville. The second evening showcased local favorite Nikotin, followed by Arabic rock star Fadi Andraos, preppy punk rockers Sandwash, internationally renowned post-punk rockers Maximo Park, and local DJ Da Funkt Live. Following an exciting final day of wakeboard competitions, the lineup on the last night featured local hip hop heroes The Recipe and the grand finale, alternative hip hop legends De La Soul, bringing the festival to an exciting climax.

“With a fine selection of awesome artists and the perfect setting on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, Wakestock Abu Dhabi 2010 was an un- Wakestock stage forgettable way to launch the event and start the 2010 Wakeboard Developed from a combination of waterskiing, snowboarding and World Series,” said Mark Durston, Wakestock Founder and CEO. surfing techniques, wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over water. The three-day Wakestock event mixed an array of riding, including pool gap, System 2.0 and boat comps, with performances from big-name music acts during the evenings.

The record crowd watched as the sport’s top 16 athletes compet- ed against each other for a share of a $50,000 prize and the title of Wakestock Abu Dhabi Champion 2010. The beachfront event was produced by Flash Entertainment and the City of Abu Dhabi.

Lighting Designer Andrew Strachan designed high-energy lighting using wysiwyg as his main tool. The design included 28 Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1200 HPE fixtures and 28 Alpha Wash 1200 fixtures in wysiwyg’s shaded view of Wakestock stage the 18-metre orbit main stage rig to compliment the diverse acts The WWA Wakeboard World Series is a global contest series that throughout the evenings. Lighting was controlled by Strachan with brings together the top athletes in the sport of wakeboarding to a grandMA full size console. The open-air stage design featured a battle it out for over $200,000 in total prize money throughout the series of curved truss acting as a canopy over the artists and the year. In 2010, the series will incorporate 6 different events and fixtures were placed to allow maximum visibility to the thousands will visit 6 countries on 4 continents. Being the first in the series, of spectators. Lighting was supplied by Gearhouse Staging Con- Wakestock Abu Dhabi set the bar high for the rest of world, with nections in Dubai. the next event scheduled for Brazil.

Strachan said, “wysiwyg really helped me mainly for the show ANDREW STRACHAN set up on the grandMA, it gave me the chance to programme all [email protected]

Co n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o t h e s e w i n n e r s

As you know, our beta testing program aims to uphold the high a drawing. Chosen at random, the prizes for the R25 Beta Test level of dependability and robustness for which wysiwyg is Team included a free one-year Membership renewal and five free renown, by enlisting typical Members to test drive it in the field Luminair Apps (more on that in a moment.) under real conditions. We carefully monitor the Testers and ensure a reasonable cross-section of uses in order to optimize the So without further adieu, we’d like to congratulate Vincent Criu- usefulness of the feedback. lanscy, Vice Director at Eclalux in France as the winner of a free one-year Membership renewal. Our Luminair winners are Daniele Peroni, John Ervin, Anders Helgor, Joshua Koffman, and Chris Newkirk. Thanks for your valuable feedback!

The Luminair App, new to R25, is the 3rd party application exten- sion to work with Luminair 2.0, the next generation of the wireless multi-touch DMX control software for the iPhone and iPod touch, developed by Synthe FX of Cincinnati, Ohio. wysiwyg can download fixture POV and the necessary DMX data to these handheld devices so users are able to see what a specific fixture’s focus should be and adjust the fixture accordingly. Once that fixture is focused the user can turn that light off and the next one on from the remote location viewer, leading to download and trigger abilities for looks.

Dino Mazza, Product Manager and Bruce Freeman, CAST’s Chairman If you would like to be considered for future beta testing, email draw the winner of our Beta Test Incentive Dino Mazza: [email protected]. As an incentive to collect feedback in a timely manner, we entered all respondents who completed testing by the cut-off date into Congratulations winners!

Teaching Good Practice

Vincent Criulanscy Vice Director, Eclalux

“After teaching wysiwyg for more than 10 years, it has been a great pleasure to have a look on the latest Beta R25. When you spend a great deal of time on training, your concern is to feel your job could get boring day after day. This will never happen with wysiwyg! Every new version brings so many new features, and some of them take time to digest. I have the challenge of being observed by many different people for these trainings.

“The requests of my class are related to their differences. I do not show and explain the same things to TV people, theatre guys, or LD’s. They each have their own requirements.

“The funny thing is that they have all (by many ways...) tried wysiwyg on their own, and for some of them, for a while. But after a couple of hours of training, starting from scratch, they all discover how easy it can be to perform complex actions. ‘How long did I take to do that!’ is the chorus. For sure, it’s always a great feeling to see people looking at you like ‘The guy with the keys’. And there are a lot of keys!

“Moreover, I often notice that they have all the same habits, such as working all the time with the mouse, instead of placing objects with co- ordinates, through command line, because it looks easier to go straight (I know some of you out there are smiling reading that!). Well, it can be tedious to go slowly, step by step, but there is no discussion, that’s the way to do it. After a while, method and process will reward your efforts. wysiwyg is not hard to learn, but good practice will pay off handsomely.”

Vincent is an Authorized wysiwyg Trainer for both schools and/or final users at Eclalux in Paris, France. They offer a flexible training schedules for rental companies, freelancers and even one-on-one training for individuals.

DTS n e w l oo k c o u r t e s y of wysiwyg

Shaded View Photo During ProLight + Sound, the CAST booth wasn’t the only place to arrived at the booth in Frankfurt we felt so familiar with the design, see wysiwyg in action. If you happened by Italian lighting manu- as if we’d been there for weeks. Imagine how much time this facturer D.T.S. Illuminazione srl (DTS) and liked what you saw, saves! I would never have expected to get so close to reality on a you can credit Lighting Designer George Tellos and his booth 30’’ computer screen, but with R24 it is closer than it’s ever been design done in wysiwyg. before! I look forward to upgrading to R25 which is very promising as I saw from the demo in Frankfurt!” DTS, with a 118,000 square foot (11,000 square metre) production facility located outside Rimini, Italy, manufactures just about every When we first got the images George sent us, we had trouble tell- kind of lighting product under the sun including moving heads, ing which was the photo and which was the render! The results were followspots, scanners, colour changers, effects, blinders, fog ma- exactly as planned and the design got rave reviews from both the cli- chines, controllers, dimmers, par cans and a wide a variety of pro- ent and the visitors to the booth. If you missed ProLight + Sound, you jectors. Their products are distributed to 75 countries around the can see the booth design during PLASA and LDI in the fall of 2010. world serving the stage, club, theatre and architectural markets. Another unique challenge solved with wysiwyg! The concept for the new booth design all started at ProLight & Sound last year (2009) where Franco Zaghini, Vice President of George would like to send special thanks to Silvano Latteo, Presi- Sales for DTS had asked George to redesign the booth for PLASA dent of DTS, for his cooperation. 2009. Because the timeframe was a bit short they decided to post- pone the redesign for ProLight + Sound 2010. George has a Render Suite at: www.georgetellos.com. Plotting by Panos Tsevrenis. The idea was to have a unique expo look and tour it for ProLight + Sound, then PLASA and LDI in 2010. The booth design originally came from Pierluigi Gasperoni and Andrea Piemonti at DTS. Dur- ing the process the design team exchanged several ideas in order to choose the final look. In February 2010, when George was visiting the DTS factory headquarters in Italy, the team agreed on George’s model, built 100% in wysiwyg. They used the top view as reference by importing it to the CAD view.

George explained, “Apart from the amazing plotting and connectivity options that wysiwyg offers, this time I’ve realized one more very interesting experience that helped us a lot in order to create the design. It was the feeling as I’m using Google Earth! I had the information of the place and the environment, way in advance before I had ever been there! I felt the space, the brightness and shadows, the colours, the shapes, everything. So the first time we

Vi r t u a l t h e a t r e c r e a t e d w i t h wysiwyg

can describe basic concepts, but to go deeper into design we need to employ modern measures. Too often, pictures are not sufficient enough to grasp the details and secrets of light. It is then necessary to resort to either the real or virtual world. And in our expanding global market, real is not always practical or even possible.” Theatrum Imaginarium is an educational and cultural idea of Light- ing Designer Emiliano Morgia for Accademia della Luce (the Ital- Emiliano’s first theatre is modelled after the Teatro Modena, an old ian Academy of Light), which aims to create an innovative learning Italian theatre in Genova built in the 1800s and refurbished in last environment for the modern study of the technology of lighting. decade of 1900. The virtual build began 8 April 2010. Through this project, he hopes to introduce a new approach to teaching that Emiliano has created a revolutionary system that uses stan- will be adopted worldwide. dard equipment in the virtual world to bridge the gap that exists between the theory and practice of lighting. Using wysiwyg, he CAST is a sponsor of this project. Further, CAST will permit the simulates the lighting techniques to levels which are really virtually free download and dongle-free use of Theatrum Imaginarium so real. He has constructed a virtual space of reference for teaching, anyone in the world will be able to download and use it. For more in an effort to share the techniques of lighting and staging. The information visit the Theatrum Imaginarium website at first of these virtual spaces – Theatrum Imaginarium – is a perfect www.theatrumimaginarium.com. replica of a traditional Italian style theatre with a high attention to architectural and technical detail to achieve an inspiring visual How the concept began - Emiliano Morgia environment for students and teachers of light.

“I’ve thought about this project for a very long time because I’ve had requests to do online tutorials about lighting programming, but I found it very difficult to explain the results of specific console actions and how they behave in the real world. I have friends that work in a theatre and they offered me the chance to do my video tutorials in a real theatre for free, but when I told them that I would need around 200 hours of work to create a video, it became unattainable financially, as keeping a theatre open has a cost. So the challenge was there – how do you have access to a real theatre with lights and flying bar video background open 24 hours, 7 days a week?

“I have always been a huge wysiwyg fan, so much that I instantly had the idea to just clone a theatre and bring it home with me. I’m well aware of how useful wysiwyg is, so I decided to share this concept Theatrum Imaginarium is not only a perfect replica of the building with the world. My hope is that one day many institutes and universi- and interior of an authentic Italian theatre, but it holds all of the ties will use wysiwyg and virtual spaces to teach lighting design, even characteristics of a virtual model of a real stage. The technical through the use of satellite classrooms anywhere in the world. With characteristics are replicated with extreme accuracy, including the wysiwyg, the results are as real as anything you would experience in flying grid, the counterweight bars for scenery and lighting and the real life. It simply makes learning more attainable. wide variety of lighting equipment from all brands of traditional and modern moving luminaires. “I’m always open to suggestions. And if anyone likes the idea and wants to contribute a scene set or video content for digital lighting, I’m happy to include these. I know I’m not the only one that believes that This perfect digital replica creates a fantastic reference environ- there is no limitation in the wysiwyg world.” ment for the education of light. Students today are able to interact much more easily with digital techniques than their predecessors. 35-year-old Emiliano is a Lighting Designer from Genova, Italy and has Theatrum Imaginarium is modelled on modern techniques to bring been a wysiwyg user since v1. For specific questions, Emiliano can be a real space into the hands of students in a virtual format. contacted at info@theatrumimaginarium. Emiliano explains, “In the education of light, well-written documents

wysiwyg d e s i g n s a c o n s o l e ?

We all know wysiwyg is a powerful design tool, but many people I have decided to have a go at something similar myself and was curious to see continue to think of it only in terms of designing within a certain if anyone else had come up with anything comparable? category – the world it was created for – concerts, theatre, architecture, etc. Richard explains, “As you’ve noticed I have been using wysiwyg as a CAD program for my “console” which has been very useful. But not the freelance lighting designer Richard Tayler. While he Currently I have the touch-screens & PC-Wing jury-rigged while I does use wysiwyg for his live entertainment projects, he is also play with the layout, and I have been updating the wysiwyg model using it for a very unique application -- to design his own console, to match. This is proving very handy and has helped to guide the using available parts from the industry. Richard shares his voyage process. I am pretty happy with my current model and am now on the project, along with some of his personal takes on R25. waiting for the project fund to replenish sufficiently to buy all the computer parts. The current version should be roomy enough to house everything but I won’t attempt to build a proper case until I have all the components.”

We first heard of this interesting adventure on Light Network. The following is the dialogue started by Richard.

It seems pretty common for people to be using the software versions of consoles with their respective “wing” hardware rather than the full console.

I guess some people do this as an addition to having the console as it is more portable, but in my case it’s because it’s a lot cheaper. I myself use “I am attempting to pack all of the hardware, that I would normally Chamsys MagicQ with a PC-Wing. setup on site, into a single enclosure. This is a considerable amount of equipment as it stands, and keeping the enclosure size My question is to anyone who has chosen this route due to the cost side like and weight to a minimum will be a real challenge. My resources myself; Have you considered trying to “package” your wing & PC to provide are quite limited so it is important to me that the first build be spot a console-like interface or perhaps even built one? on and with every component fitting first time.” Here is an example offered when I asked a similar question on another lighting forum (see photo, above right); In addition to portability, Richard feels he can build something for around £1500 to £2500 ($2200 to $3000) which would be considerably less than the cost of the equivalent console.

“wysiwyg has been an invaluable tool in this project,” he says, “It allows me to work with a model in which I build each of the components in 3D. As soon as I have the dimensions I can create the item in wysiwyg and begin testing various possible mounting options.

“There have already been numerous issues which were easy to spot using wysiwyg and that would have likely to go unnoticed if I

© 2010 The official bi-monthly publication forwysiwyg Members 14 ISSUE 30 /May 2010 wysiwyg designs a console? - continued were only working with 2D plans. Of course I could achieve similar Thoughts on R25 results in a dedicated CAD package but I have proven wysiwyg to By Richard Tayler be more than capable for my needs. I took part in the R25 beta and now have the pleasure of using this new release, and I must say that it is one of the best updates for me. Most of the events which I use wysiwyg for are conferences and I use it more for producing visuals than for pre-programming. I prefer to produce animated visuals rather than static images and this is an area where wysiwyg has recently come on by leaps and bounds.

Using PERFORM with my lighting console I can control the DMX camera to record walk-through’s of my designs and it helps the over-all effect to have live video showing on any screens within the design.

“Having the virtual components to juggle live onscreen makes it a Whilst this has been possible for sometime in wysiwyg, I have pleasure to experiment and will hopefully enable me to produce an er- found the video tools to be lacking for my needs; however in R25 gonomic design which is both as compact and lightweight as possible.” most of the things I have been asking for are available.

We will continue to follow Richard’s progress with this endeavor A particular favourite is the ability to apply video as a texture to and encourage others in the field searching for a similar solution surfaces and 3D objects; even spheres! A minor issue I had with to think outside the box. the old screen wizard was that the source video had to be the exact ratio; you could not stretch it to fill the screen. Now you can To see the project photos, visit http://richard-tayler.com/magicq- console-project.html. either crop the clip with the video splitter tool or simply apply the video to a surface which will stretch the video to fit.

About Richard Tayler In addition to this there are numerous tweaks to the interface which combine to improve the usability of wysiwyg considerably. Richard first joined the industry in 1989 when he began There are too many to cover them all but a few of favourites are working for a UK-based Audio Visual company as a techni- the Align tools, the Selection Cycle tool and the Truss Orientation cian. The company specialised in corporate events including conferences, product launches and exhibitions. His roles tool (no more hanging lamps on a truss structure only to find them there included all technical fields and even some set building pointing in every direction except the one I wanted…).” but lighting was always his major interest.

After gaining experience through a couple of competing companies, Richard went freelance in 2003.

While he still works as a technician and happily operates sound, video & graphics, lighting remains his predominant interest. He owns a Chamsys MagicQ PC lighting controller (as covered in the above project) and this is his control system of choice.

Richard has used wysiwyg since R18 when he bought DE- SIGN and later upgraded to PERFORM. He urges, “Anyone who hasn’t tried wysiwyg since then really needs to take another look!” Richard Tayler, Jessica and Vicky

wysiwyg o n Architecture : 110 To w e r , Fo r t La u d e r d a l e , Fl o r i d a

The idea of using wysiwyg for architectural applications has been Street has been a major part of that skyline since the mid-80’s but it used to around a while. But what John ”JD” DiDomenico, President of be lined in neon tubes until hurricane damage and new ownership combined MPS Light and Sound Inc. in Delray Beach, Florida has done to create an opportunity for innovation and a bit of artistic expression as well. recently caught our interest. He sent us links to some very cool animated wysiwyg videos of recent architectural projects that The remodeling forms a fantastic case study of not only how LED illumina- tion can improve dramatically on the neon tube concept, but how Enttec’s they’ve been working on. One project of particular interest is the signature DMX playback and recording solution, the E-Streamer, can really refurbishment of 110 Tower in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. open up possibilities that were previously unattainable, or only reached at the highest echelons of cost.

John “JD” DiDomenico, of MPS Light and Sound inc., is a real pro when it comes to envisioning what “architainment”-style lighting design can do for a client, and then showing it to them so they see exactly where their JD worked closely with Australian-based Enttec, with headquar- dollars will go, using state-of-the-art visualization software. He used CAST ters in Melbourne, which designs and manufactures new and ad- Software’s wysiwyg to generate a fully textured, 3-dimensional model of vanced lighting control systems in addition to other products such the 30-story building, showing the owners from Transwestern Management as wings and widgets. Enttec did a case study on 110 Tower and all kinds of variants that would be possible, for special times of day or of the was courteous enough to share their story with us. The following year, even sporting event-related themed color schemes. Using this kind of is an excerpt written by Jeremy Kumin from Enttec’s newsletter. advanced modeling also enabled them to determine the proper resolution for the LEDs on this project, which turned out to be 2-foot lengths for each Ft. Lauderdale has a thriving tourist economy due to its world famous controllable RGB “pixel”. This was not difficult to achieve using Philips Color beaches and the phenomenon that is Spring Break. (Remember “Where Kinetics’ Accent Powercore, and a setting of 2 feet for the resolution. the Boys Are” ?) But the locals are a pretty hip bunch, year-round, and they like their skyline to contain some creativity, not just sit there and reflect the To make sure that this would do the job, MPS installed 100 feet of product beautiful sunsets. 110 Tower, at the intersection of Andrews Ave and SW 6th for a period of 1 week as a demonstration. MPS was working as a subcon-

tractor for Advanced Power Technologies (APT), a commercial lighting and Hollywood Airport have remarked on this distinctive bit of colorful accent sign company with plenty of installation experience but less strength in the lighting. Transwestern Management, owners of 110 Tower have received area of DMX control and programming. many compliments on the new look, and the main contact for the installation team, Ellen Rivera, appears to be a very satisfied customer. Perhaps because they made the right call on the fixture, the job was awarded to them, and soon they were installing it as a joint project between APT and MPS. This included finding both electrical and structural (as in, “hurricane-resistant”) solutions to a unique problem. There was plenty of careful coordination between MPS, whose team also featured Stephen Ger- hart as Project Manager, and APT, especially with Tony Manganello, VP of Sales at the sign company. Installation occurred during August 2009, which included the removal of over 1100 feet of hurricane-damaged neon. Then JD got to start programming looks, a job he probably didn’t think of as much of a chore, given that he could sit a mile away in his car, or at a bistro, or in a park, to see the building from many different angles while this was occurring. It may have been challenging work requiring an advanced skill set, but the job conditions were such that most people would be envious. It was unveiled JD tells us that the entire project from wysiwyg to realization oc- by the Mayor of Ft. Lauderdale at a ceremony on September 24th. curred in only two years. Peter Debrecini, CAST’s Manager of Libraries, worked with JD during this time to create new library objects for the tubes so the result would look as realistic as possible. As you can see, the right fixture selection, in combination with the images shown to the client, led to getting the contract.

The wysiwyg video of 110 Tower can be seen at http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=SkrUOdsCQP0. In fact, MPS made several videos on You Tube of their architectural work, all done in wysiwyg. JD used Google SketchUp to get the dimensions and tex- tures for the building and Google Earth for the landscape. Search ”mpsinc” in You Tube to see some of these projects.

JD explains, “I have been using wysiwyg for our Production and Architectural lighting purposes since the DOS version (that makes me smile). R25’s capabilities, coupled with the fastest Alienware (I could afford) are just amazing. wysiwyg is our concept demo tool, our project design tool, and our show programming and visualization tool. The door has been opened into a new world of concept exploration and visualization.”

He concludes, “If you can think it and draw it, you can visualize it MPS programmed 49 special lighting scenes and shows to allow the build- for the customer. That’s the key to selling our creativity (which is ing to be an active participant in holidays, sporting events, and a unique Ft. our real commodity, not just the fixtures and cables) in the Produc- Lauderdale night time skyline element on a daily basis. For example, during tion and Architectural markets.” sporting events, building management can actually change the colors of the building in real time, based on who scores a goal or makes a point. Visit MPS at www.mps-inc.net.

The result is a landmark piece of real-time artwork that people all over Excerpt © 2010 the city can view. Even passengers on airplanes flying into Ft. Lauderdale Jeremy Kumin and Enttec Pty Ltd, used by permission.

CAST’s Bl a c k Bo x a dd s p a r t n e r s : Coo l u x , Ma g n a BSP, Sa n d Ne t w o r k Sy s t e m s

various devices, such as RFID, stereoscopic/thermal camera, SONAR, RADAR, about any/many moving objects, establishes the exact 7D positions of those objects, computes instructions in XYZ, plus yaw, pitch, roll and time terms, and shoots out moving positional information so moving lights, set pieces, spatial sound, media servers, robotic cameras, etc. are synchronized and tracking to the action of those moving objects, all at a minimum speed of 50 Hz.

The design is plug-and-play – the brilliance is that these devices have never before talked to each other – the speed is realtime!

We have been working with key industry leaders – each a respected innovator in its own field – to ensure BlackBox meets its technical objectives. In exchange, these companies are granted If you happened to miss ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt, March 24- a 12-month exclusive partnership to capitalize on the power and 27, you missed some exciting news from BlackBox. Not only was speed of BlackBox in the market once it is available for general this the premier of the first Alpha version of BlackBox, we also distribution, likely later this year. announced Coolux, Magna BSP and SAND Network Systems as the newest BlackBox partners. After a round of successful demonstrations and high-quality reviews following PLASA and LDI, we are proud to announce You have no doubt read about or seen preliminary demos on that Coolux, Magna BSP Ltd. and SAND Network Systems have BlackBox, the world’s first combination of hardware + positioning joined the ranks of the current BlackBox partner network. + interconnecting + communicating + speed for the entertainment production industry. But in just the past few months, the Coolux Media Systems, with production solution has grown by leaps and bounds. With these locations in the USA, Germany new partners, BlackBox has filled the categories of media server, and China is the producer of stereoscopic camera and network technology. the award-winning Pandora’s Box media and show control system, the solution for realtime video editing and image processing. If you don’t know about this revolution, a quick definition is in order. Pandora’s Box Media Servers and Players are a scalable network system with access to all common control protocols from within their Media Net platform.

Magna BSP of Israel is the producer of BiScopic Protection, a high performance stereoscopic vision sensory system for the detection of perimeter intrusion. BiScopic Protection (BSP) is based on a pair of electro-optic cameras - CCD and/or infrared thermal imagers - to achieve high probability of detection while maintaining a low false alarm rate (FAR). It operates 24/7 in all conditions and can detect a target as small as one pixel and even less. The unique stereoscopic vision feature of the system and its sophisticated software allows ac- Fuerza Bruta is an example of a production curate detection of objects and a precise estimation of their size, that could benefit from BlackBox distance, height above ground, azimuth and other critical charac- BlackBox uses a new wysiwyg.bbx proprietary “CAD-type” soft- teristics. The system can filter the detected objects according to a ware which defines the space (establishing “0”0”0”). BlackBox wide range of parameters. receives and converts live positional data received from input

BlackBox- continued

revolutionize our industry and, while doing so, each partner will (SandSys) with showcase their own technology to demonstrate the collaborative locations in California and Norway is dedicated to control and power and speed of BlackBox. Continuing our mission for univer- network technology, developing and manufacturing hardware and sality in the industry, which accounts for the substantial growth of software for Ethernet and USB, entertainment-specific technolo- wysiwyg’s developer programme, we think industry profession- gies like DMX, RDM, ACN, MIDI, wireless DMX, as well as a als should be able to pick and mix the equipment/manufacturers number of open and manufacturer proprietary protocols. that deliver the technology they need to get the results they want. Ongoing development will see BlackBox also become a universal These highly respected companies join the existing BlackBox solution for the benefit of the entire industry -- it will interface with partners including MA Lighting of Germany for lighting control; the input/output devices made by numerous manufacturers.” Niscon Inc. of Toronto Canada for motion control via its Raynok Mo- tion Control System Software; Out Board Electronics of London UK TiMax Audio Imaging delay matrix system for sound automation; and Ubisense, providing rapid response realtime location detection.

“Our industry continually strives for more impressive creative results to wow audiences by investing significant capital in technology, innovation, and robotization,” says Gil Densham, President of CAST Software. “Accomplishing the creative objectives means it is vital that each disparate technology communicate and work seamlessly together. BlackBox is designed to deliver these solutions.

Can you spot Tinkerbell who flies nightly over the Magic Kingdom? Alas, what a challenge for the follow-spot operators.

For the highly automated, high-tech entertainment industry in particular, using BlackBox means that formerly autonomous technologies can work together as one, live and realtime, in both dynamic and pre-programmed ways. It means a better coordination of a production, in addition to no more missed cues or potential colli- sions.

BlackBox will also deliver higher revenues (productions with more wow and spontaneity), substantial cost savings (reduced precuing and rehearsal times; labour efficiencies), and improved carbon footprint (previsualization and less setup/rehearsal time in venues).

The gains made possible by BlackBox make it truly revolutionary!

www.coolux.de www.magnabsp.com www.sandsys.com www.malighting.com “CAST’s BlackBox is a truly collaborative effort. We selected our www.nisconinc.com partners to help us ensure that BlackBox becomes the solution we www.outboard.co.uk envision. Together, we will develop a technology solution that may www.ubisense.net

Th e l a t e s t a dd i t i o n s f r o m t h e Li b r a r y with Peter Debrecini, CAST Software Manager of Libraries wysiwyg R25 includes loads of hot new fixtures and the truss, gobos Philips – LEDStrip II and accessories you need to do your show right! In the March issue of The Plan, we showed some of the new fixtures included with R25 Lamp: 48 Luxeon High Power LEDs including the Clay Paky Alpha 700 series, MAC 250 Beam, GLP Optics: 12° x 32° or 11° x 13° Impression range and more. Over 30 new fixtures, 130 Gobos and 30 Colours: RGB – 16.67 Million colours Truss pieces have been added. And it continues to grow every day! Power: 56W Effects: 8-Bit RGB Colour Mixing, Here’s a quick count overview of the new Additions that come with R25. Continuous Dimming 99 Automated Fixtures: 19 Dimensions: 70mm x 80.6mm x 1200mm 99 Conventional Fixtures: 11 Classification: -20°C to 40°C IP65 99 Fixtures Other: 2 Weight: 5.6 Kg 99 Truss: 32 99 Gobos: 133 99 Bulbs: 7 Color Kinetics – iColor Accent Powercore 99 Colour Filters (Gels): 9 Lamp: 190 LEDs per foot For those that keep track, including the above, the Library now com- Optics: 253° x 180° prises the following list. Colours: RGB – 16.67 Million colours 99 Automated Fixtures: 692 Power: 10W per foot 99 Conventional Fixtures: 2561 Effects: 8-Bit RGB Colour Mixing, Con- 99 Fixtures Other: 46 99 Truss: 4529 tinuous Dimming 99 Gobos: 4129 Dimensions: 70mm x 80.6mm x 1200mm 99 Bulbs: 1462 Classification: -20°C to 50°C IP66 99 Colour Filters (Gels): 2058 Weight: 1.025 Kg per foot

Here are the features of the latest Additons -- fixtures, LEDs and Focon - ELP30 Powerstick gobos, right down to the small details.

Lamp: 30 LEDs Varilite – VLX Wash Optics: 12°, 30°, 50° or 50° x 12° Colours: RGB – 16.67 Million colours Lamp: 7 120W RGBW LEDs Power: 75W Pan Range: 540° Tilt Range: 270° Effects: 8-Bit RGB Colour Mixing, Continuous Optics: 23° to 58° Zoom Colours: 16-Bit RGBW Mixing Dimming, Strobe/Chase Effects: Zoom, Strobe, Pulse Dimensions: 85mm x 83mm x 500mm Dimensions: 443mm x 436mm x 700mm Classification: -10°C to 35°C IP Weight: 28 Kg Weight: 2.5 Kg

New Gobos:

Manufacturer: PR Lighting Manufacturer: High End Manufacturer: Showtec Manufacturer: Coemar Name: 90070219 Name: Amber Stony Name: MKIIE 01-120 Name: GC 196

The latest additions from the Library - continued

And sometimes it’s the small things…

R25’s Library adds more than just the hottest new fixtures and ac- was a direct request from a long-time user so if there are others cessories. Sometimes it’s the smallest additions and updates that that you would like to see added to the Library, don’t hesitate to can affect you the most. Here are some of the simple changes and contact us. new items you might never have known you needed. Until now… New Plan Symbols for Blinders and Large Fixtures New Followspot Stand! Over 90 Blinders and Film Fixtures have been given new symbols Followspots are unique in wysiwyg’s fixture library because they that better represent their true dimensions in all views. Before you hang upright by default. Until now you had to choose between could only see the top edge as if they were tilted 90°. Now all of hanging them on Floorfloats, which flip them upside down, and their faces are shown, helping you lay out your fixtures with ease drawing a small pipe in mid-air. Neither way is ideal so in R25 we and clarity. added a dedicated Followspot Stand to our Truss Library. But that’s not all… It allows you to quickly hang a Followspot in the proper Orienta- Over 40 existing fixtures have been updated in one way or an- tion, representing a more accurate picture for your clients. It also other. Be sure to check the list inside the R25 Release Notes and counts in your Truss Reports! Search for it in the Truss Library by find what from your inventory has been improved! name and take it for a spin! Remember to keep your Membership current. It’s the only way to Rigging Point Symbol get all of the Library updates. You can’t afford to fall behind the Added to our Symbol Library, this 1ft (0.3048m) diameter circle competition! with hatching can help clarify your Truss layout and show the Rig gers exactly where your hanging points need to be. This symbol The wysiwyg Library – Membership has it’s privileges!

Available now for Members Only!

wysiwyg Ti p s & Tr i c k s

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video by Dany Tancou Release 25 introduced two major new features to wysiwyg: 99 The ability to display video on an LED wall, and 99 the ability to split a Video Source into multiple Subsources, which can be applied individually to LED walls, Screens, or 3D Primitives. The value of being able to display video on an LED wall is quite obvious, but the ability to split Video Sources may not be so. The best way to conceptualize this feature is to think about the array of screens that many large home electronics stores display at the back of the store: the array usually comprises 20 or 24 screens in a 5x4 or 6x4 grid. Sometimes the same image is displayed on every screen, while at other times, the store’s logo or promotions are displayed in giant letters across all the screens, with each screen holding a small part of the overall image.

Since creating such relatively simple arrays of LED Walls in wysiwyg is quite straight forward, the tip below will explore how to create more complex “video structures”. And while these examples may not necessarily relate to something you have to create for an actual show, hopefully they will be a useful starting point for video structures that you might have to create in the future such as:

99 A hexagonal “centre hub” (comprising six LED panels). 99 A three-video panel display, with gaps between the panels and video playing correctly across those panels. 99 A curved LED wall.

We’ll look at the first scenario in detail below, and then explore the other two in the next newsletter.

The Hexagonal Centre Hub

In this example, the video panels have to be mounted in an equilateral hexagonal fashion, with each panel tilting ‘down’ slightly, at a 30º angle; the panels touch each other at the bottom corners. The video panels available for this project are 60x40 pixels, with 5mm LEDs on a 20mm pitch.

In the steps below, you’ll manually create one of these panels, and then use the Polar array function to auto-create the other five. Since the measurements given are in Metric units, it is recommended that you change your file to Metric on the Draw Defaults tab of the User Options window.

To create the first panel

1. From the Draw menu, select LED Wizard. 2. In step 2 of the Wizard, enter 5mm as the size of the round LEDs, and then click Next. 3. In step 3 of the Wizard, enter the following values: • Number of rows: 60 • Number of columns: 40 • Distance between rows: 20mm • Distance between columns: 20mm 4. Click Next. 5. In step 4 of the Wizard, simply choose to display a colour on this panel. 6. Click Finish to close the LED Wizard. 7. To make building this model easier, insert this panel at the origin. Simply type 0,0,0 and press ENTER. Result: The LED panel appears with its bottom-left corner at the origin. Note: When building complex object models in wysiwyg, regardless of what they are (i.e., video structures or otherwise), it is always a good idea to create them in a separate file, and then save and merge that file into your main .wyg show file.This practice makes it easier to manage more complex models, which can then be merged into multiple files, of course.

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video - continued

Next, you’ll use a riser to create a backing for this panel. A backing ensures that the video panel is not “see-through”, and provides a more realistic model.

1. From the Draw menu, select Riser. 2. Type the following values, and then click OK: • Width: 800mm (40 columns, 20mm apart) • Depth: 50mm (or any other thickness you need for the panel) • Height: 1200mm (60 columns, 20mm apart) 3. Type 0,0,0 and press ENTER to insert the riser at the origin, just like the LED panel. Result: The riser appears, and its front shares the same space as the LED panel. 4. In order to avoid Z-fighting between the backing and the LED wall, move the riser 1cm back from the LED Wall using a Relative Move, as follows: • Select the riser. • From the Edit menu, choose Move. • Type @0,1cm,0. • Press ENTER. Result: The riser moves back 1cm. 5. Select the riser, right-click and choose Properties. 6. On the Appearance tab, choose the colour black or off-black for all of the Riser elements.

You should now be looking at something like the following image:

Due to the way in which the LED Wizard creates/draws LED walls, you’ll note that the newly created panel is not properly centered on the backing riser. To center the panel, move it 7.5mm on the X and Z axes as follows:

1. Select the LED panel—take care not to select the backing riser as well! 2. From the Edit menu, choose Move. 3. Type @7.5mm,0,7.5mm. 4. Press ENTER.

Result: The LED panel now appears centered within the backing. To double-check this, switch to Front View or look at the Front View pane if working in Quad.

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video - continued

Note: The 7.5mm value is obtained by subtracting the width of an LED pixel (5mm) from the distance between pixels (20mm), and then dividing the result by 2. The same calculation applies in all such scenarios, regardless of the size of the LED pixel or the pitch.

To make it easier to handle these objects, group them by selecting the LED Wall and the backing riser and pressing CTRL+G.

Before arraying this grouped object to create the hexagonal video structure, first rotate/tilt it down as per the requirement above. If you don’t perform this step now, it will be difficult to rotate the panels later.

1. Switch to Left View. 2. Select the grouped objects. 3. From the Edit menu, choose Rotate. 4. Type the base point of the move, 0,0,0., or enable End Point Snap and select the base point by snapping to the back-bottom-left corner of the riser. 5. Type the rotation angle, -30. 6. Press ENTER. Result: The group tilts down 30º, as required

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video - continued

Before performing the polar array, you need to define a center point. The new Polygon tool in Release 25 comes in very handy here, because it allows you to draw the equilateral hexagon pattern that the panels will eventually end up in. Once you define the hexagonal outline, you can easily find its center point--it’s the center point of the Polar Array.

To draw and position the hexagon

1. Switch back to Isometric View. 2. From the Draw menu, choose Polygon. 3. Enter the Number of Edges, 6. 4. Enter the Length of an Edge, 80cm (the same as the width of the backing riser). 5. Set the object type to Closed Line. Note: If you need to create an actual supporting structure for these panels, you can set the object type to Surface and even define the required Height for it. 6. Click OK. 7. Enable End Point Snap. 8. Insert the Polygon by snapping to the bottom-back-left corner of the backing riser. Result: The hexagon appears.

To easily find the hexagon’s center point, draw a line between two diagonally opposite points of the hexagon. The center point is the middle of this line.

1. Switch to Plan View. 2. Enable End Point Snap. 3. From the Draw menu, select Line. 4. Snap the first point of the line to one corner of the hexagon. 5. Snap the second point of the line to the diagonally opposite corner. 6. Right-click to finish drawing the line. 7. Disable End Point Snap.

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video - continued

Result: A diagonal line is drawn.

Next, you perform the array that will give you the required video structure:

1. Select the grouped objects (i.e., the panel + backing). 2. From the Tools menu, select Array > Array Polar. 3. Enable Mid-Point Snap. 4. Set the center point for the array to be the mid point of the line drawn above. 5. In the window that appears, enter the Number of Objects, 6, leave the Angle at the default 360, and ensure that the Rotate Objects option is selected. 6. Click OK. Result: Five new panels appear, following the hexagonal outline.

TIP 1 - Using the LED Wizard and Splitting Video - continued

To facilitate merging this object into other files, it’s a good idea to position it such that it’s perfectly centered around the origin, as follows:

1. Select everything in the model—grouped objects, hexagon outline, and diagonal line. 2. From the Edit menu, select Move. 3. Enable Mid Point Snap. 4. Snap the base point of the move to the middle of the diagonal line drawn above. 5. Type the end point of the move, 0,0,0. 6. Press ENTER. Result: The entire structure is now centered around the origin.

Since the hexagon outline and the diagonal line are no longer needed, you can delete them. Use the Cycle Selection feature introduced in Release 25 to select the hexagon outline, and then delete it. For information on using Cycle Selection, please consult the wysiwyg Reference Guide.

Now that the structure is created and the LED panels are in place, you can create a Video Source, split it into Subsources as needed, and assign it (or the Subsources) to the panels. For more information on creating Video Sources and Subsources, consult the wysiwyg Reference Guide.

In the next newsletter, we’ll outline how to create the other two video structures mentioned above: panels with gaps between them, on which video appears correctly, as well as curved LED walls.

TIP 2 - Using wysiwyg to facilitate Floor-Focusing Fixtures

Everyone knows what floor-focusing entails: you aim/zoom/shutter-cut the fixtures when the lighting pipes are flown in at 5’-6’ off the floor and, when the pipes are flown out, all the fixtures are focused correctly. This is common practice for travelling dance/ballet productions and also in rep theatres, where the quick turnaround times between multiple shows do not allow a “normal” focus.

99 The first requirement for a successful floor focus is to have the stage floor-marked with a focus grid. 99 The second requirement is to keep detailed notes and/or sketches about each fixture regarding where it’s supposed to point, how its shutters should be adjusted, and so on. This is the information that the electrician who is performing the focus would see when the pipe from which the fixture is hanging is at working height, and the fixture is turned on.The information must also be quite detailed in order to achieve correct focus.

Thankfully, using wysiwyg Release 25’s new ‘Export Fixture PoV’ (Point of View) feature, you can completely forego this detailed note- taking. Further, if you upload the PoV images to Luminair (using Release 25’s direct connection to the Luminair app), the electrician can simply walk out on the stage holding an iPhone or iPod Touch device, flip to the image corresponding to a fixture, and floor-focus it based on that image alone.

In this tip, you’ll learn how to set up a .wyg file with floor focusing in mind. Since the concepts involve rather basic wysiwyg functions, specific instructions/steps are only provided when necessary. The process is quite simple, and can be broken down into four main procedures:

1. Draw the focus grid. 2. Focus the fixtures as you would for any other show. 3. Lower the pipes down to working height. 4. Export the PoV images or upload them to Luminair.

Drawing the Focus Grid

Creating the focus grid involves using wysiwyg’s Array functions, which are described in the wysiwyg Reference Guide. Here are some pointers for drawing the focus grid:

99 Smaller spacing provides a more accurate focusing details, but it’s slightly harder to set up in wysiwyg and perhaps even harder on the actual stage. 99 A spacing of 2’ or 3’ is probably ideal, depending on the number of fixtures used in the show and the size of the stage. 99 It is strongly recommended that the focus grid be drawn in wysiwyg on its own layer, so you can easily hide it when not in use. 99 Ensure that it’s drawn one centimeter above the stage, or it will not be visible in Shaded View. 99 The focus grid should be drawn using lines rather than points. 99 To make the lines more visible in Shaded View, enable their Shade option as follows: 1. Select all the lines. 2. Right-click to access their Properties. 3. Click the Line tab. 4. Click to select the Shade checkbox. 5. Enter a diameter of 0’0”1/4. 6. Click OK.

99 It’s a good idea to colour-code the lines in a logical manner so that you can identify them easily in the Fixture PoV images. Natu- rally, the colours used in the .wyg file should be the same as the colours used on the stage. The best practice is to assign light emission (at 100%) to the lines, using the Quick Light Emission Tool. Please consult the wysiwyg Reference Guide for information about Light Emission and about using this Tool.

TIP 2 - Using wysiwyg to Facilitate Floor-Focusing Fixtures - continued

Note how the focus grid was drawn in the image below. The lines are drawn at 3’ intervals, and the colour coding ensures that the center and plaster lines have a unique colour, while the rest alternate between magenta and purple vertical lines and green and yellow horizontal lines.

Focusing the Fixtures

Focusing the fixtures is no different than for any other show. The key thing to remember is that the fixtures are (still) focused from the specified trim height (i.e., 18’, 20’, 24’, etc.) and not from the floor focus height.

Note that when you focus fixtures with floor focus purposes in mind, you cannot use Focus Positions.As you know, when a fixture is linked to a Focus Position, moving either the fixture or the Focus Position causes the Pan andTilt of the fixture to change automatically. Therefore, if a fixture is pointing down at a Focus Position that was inserted at 6’ off the floor, when you move the pipe down (next section), that fixture will no longer be pointing down to reach the Focus Position, but rather will be parallel to the floor.

To avoid this issue, focus the fixture to the Focus Position as needed. Then, access that fixture’s Properties, and on the Fixture tab > General subtab, select ‘None’ from the Focus Position drop-down box. The fixture will now retain its Pan and Tilt values, but is no longer linked to that Focus Position.

It is also important to point out that in order to achieve a usable Fixture PoV export, it is strongly recommended that you assign names to all the hang structures in the file and that you assign a unit number to all fixtures (or allow wysiwyg to do this, via the AutoUnit option).

Lowering the Pipes

Once you’ve completed the focus, you’re almost done! The best way to lower the pipes to working height (i.e., 5’ or 6’ off the stage floor) is to perform a Relative Move. You know the pipes’ normal trim height, so simply subtract the working height to get the Move value. For example, if the trim height was 22’, you would have to move the pipes @0,0,-16’.

Exporting the Fixture PoVs

Lastly, you’ll export the fixture PoVs to image files, or upload them to Luminair. You can do so by selecting the fixtures and then using the Shaded View (or the Shaded pane of Quad) to export the images.

TIP 2 - Using wysiwyg to Facilitate Floor-Focusing Fixtures - continued

The new fixture selection tools added to Release 25 enable you to easily select fixtures in a variety of ways. For example, if you right- click on a hang structure and choose Select All from the pop-up menu, a sub-menu appears with a Select on Selected Pipe/Truss option that enables you to select specific fixture types on the selected hang structure. Using this feature, if a pipe/truss in your show has both automated and conventional fixtures hanging from it, you can easily select only the conventionals.

Once the correct fixtures are selected, simply right-click in the Shaded iewV and choose Export Fixture PoVs. A dialog appears asking whether you want to export them to image files within a folder or upload them to the Luminair app. Note that if you choose to export to image files, the name of each file will contain the following information: 99 the name of the .wyg file 99 the name of the hang structure from which the fixture is hanging 99 the fixture’s unit number 99 the fixture type

For information about connecting to Luminair and uploading the image files to this app, consult the wysiwyg Reference Guide.

The following are some sample Fixture PoV images:

This is the PoV of a Fresnel fixture, complete This is the PoV of a PAR 64 fixture. with a barndoor cut.

This is the PoV of a Source 4 with a gobo inserted and one shutter cut.