Avolites Sapphire 2000 Operator's Manual

Avolites Stock Number 8200-0600

*8200-

0600*

Sapphire 2000

Operator’s Manual

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Useful Avolites phone numbers:­Avolites England
Sales and service* (+44) (0) 181 965 8522
Service out of hours* (+44) (0) 831 17 8888
Fax (+44) (0) 181 965 0290
Email [e-mail]
Website http://www.avolites.com
Distribution of Avolites products in USA:-

Avolites America
Sales and service* ([phone]
Fax [phone]

*Before contacting Avolites for service enquiry please ensure that you have the
product serial number and the Software version. The serial number can be found
on the back of the desk and the software version can be found by turning the key
to “System” and pressing Softkey B, “Software ID”.

The latest version of this manual (in Microsoft Word 97) and Sapphire
Software can be downloaded by modem from the Internet.

The small print :
No Liability for Consequential Damages

Avolites has a policy of continuous product and documentation improvement. As such the
detail within this manual may not match the operation of the Sapphire 2000.

In no event shall Avolites be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or
consequential damages or loss whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of
profits, business interruption, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use or inability to
use the Sapphire 2000 even if Avolites Ltd. has been advised of the possibility of such
damages. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for
consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

Reprint and revision history:

First produced July 1999

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This manual was written by Tim Mitchell, Sabre Technology Ltd Tel: [phone]

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TUTORIAL CONTENTS

1. WELCOME TO THE SAPPHIRE 2000 1

2. PATCHING 5

3. CONTROLLING DIMMERS AND FIXTURES 11

4. USING SHAPES 15

5. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK MEMORIES 19

6. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK CHASES 25

7. THEATRE MODE 29

8. THE GRAPHICS TABLET 33

9. RUNNING YOUR SHOW 35

10. ADVANCED FEATURES 37

11. INTRODUCTION TO INTELLIGENT LIGHTING 39

12. THE SAPPHIRE 2000 FOR PEARL EXPERTS 41

REFERENCE MANUAL CONTENTS

1. SETTING UP THE CONSOLE 105

2. PATCHING 109

3. CONTROLLING DIMMERS AND FIXTURES 115

4. USING SHAPES 125

5. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK MEMORIES 129

6. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK CHASES 137

7. THEATRE MODE 145

8. USING THE GRAPHICS TABLET 149

9. RUNNING A SHOW AND AUTOMATED PLAYBACK 153

10. ADVANCED FEATURES 159

11. THE PERSONALITY FILE SYSTEM 165

12. CONTACTS FOR FIXTURE MANUFACTURERS 176

13. GLOSSARY OF TERMS 178

14. INDEX 184

Pages in the Tutorial section have numbers below 100. Pages in the
Reference manual have numbers above 100.

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INTRODUCTION

1. Welcome to the Sapphire 2000

This manual is designed to help you get the most out of your Sapphire
2000 console. We have divided it into two sections.

?? This first section is a tutorial which gives you a step by step guide of

how to carry out the most common functions of the Sapphire 2000.
This section is printed on coloured paper. If you are new to the
console, working through this part will give you a good introduction.

?? The second section is a reference manual which tells you everything

there is to know about the Sapphire 2000.

To help you move between the two sections, we have made the chapter
numbering the same, so if you are using the tutorial and you want more
information, just look for the same chapter number in the reference
manual.

At the back of the reference manual there is a Glossary, explaining some
of the technical terms used in the manual, and an Index which can be
used to find what you need in either section of the manual.

This manual does not apply to the original Sapphire console; however, to
make reading easier, we will refer to the “Sapphire 2000” simply as the
“Sapphire”.

1.1 Setting up the Sapphire 2000

Before you can use the Sapphire, you need to make a few connections to
it. Ensure the power is off while making these connections.

Important: Firstly check the voltage selector on the back of the console

(next to the power sockets) to make sure it matches your mains
power. You can set it to 230V or 120V.

If you plug in the power with the switch set wrongly, you will
probably blow up the power supply. This would be a bad thing to do a
few hours before a show.

Once the voltage selector is correctly set, connect the mains inlet to an AC
power supply.

Note: If your mains is in any way suspect, a power conditioner is a good

idea. A noisy or unreliable mains supply could possibly crash the
console.

If you are using the optional VGA display, power it from the mains outlet
on the rear of the console. Connect the VGA data lead to the VGA output
on the back of the console. You don’t have to use the VGA display but it
does show some additional information that is not shown on the console
displays.

Connect the DMX output(s) to your lighting fixtures or dimmers. The
Sapphire has four DMX output sockets. Chapter 1 in the reference manual
has more details on DMX connections.

Plug in the two desk lights to the sockets on the back edge of the console.
If you have a QWERTY keyboard, plug it into its socket.

Turn on the power. The console displays and VGA display (if you are using
one) should come alive.

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1.2 Finding your way about on the Sapphire 2000

The Sapphire might initially appear to have an alarming number of sliders
and buttons on it, but don’t be scared of it. The main controls are:

?? The Preset Faders are used to control individual dimmer channels and

fixture intensities. The 2 buttons below the faders are used to select
and flash fixtures. Each fader and buttons is called a “Handle”.

?? The Palette selection area is used to recall colours, positions and

other settings you have programmed. The displays show you what
each button will do. Shapes are also selected here.

?? The Master faders control the overall output of the various parts of

the console. You will normally have these set at Full.

?? The Playback faders and flash buttons are used to play back

memories you have programmed, when you are running a show. At the
right hand end of the playback faders are the Page Select buttons.

?? The Playback displays show the names you have set for the

playbacks, so you can see at a glance what each playback will do.

?? The Main display is the nerve centre of the console and shows you

what is going on. The display can show various screens of information.

?? The Control wheels are used to set control values on the fixtures.
?? The Menu softkeys (labelled A – G) are used to select control options.

The display next to the buttons shows what each one will do. The
options for each key change depending on what the console is doing.

100 Preset faders / handles

Palette selection

Main display

Master faders Attribute

select buttons

Playback faders
& flash buttons

Playback
displays

Control
wheels

Menu
softkeys

Command
buttons

Numeric
keypad and
controls

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?? The Numeric keypad and other control buttons are used to enter

values and change controls on the console. The fixture page buttons
are also here, which select 4 pages for the Preset Faders.

?? The Command buttons are used to carry out functions such as storing

memories, copying, saving to disk, etc. These buttons have lights on to
indicate when they are active.

?? The Attribute select buttons are used to select which attributes of a

fixture (e.g. colour, gobo, pan, focus) are going to be controlled using
the Control wheels. The buttons have lights on to show you which
attributes are active. The bottom (red) button allows you to reduce the
intensity of a fixture if it loses position during a show.

The VGA display shows more information than the on-board displays. It is
useful when setting up the console and programming shows. When
entering text or numbers, what you are typing is shown only on the VGA
display. Often you will not need it when you are running a show.

The main part of the display shows the output of the console for one of the
types of fixture you are using. The left-right arrow keys change the type of
fixture shown on the display, allowing you to view the intensity channel
outputs, and any fixture patched on the desk. If you have more than 10
fixtures of one type, the up-down arrow keys let you step through them.

When the fixtures are “selected” for manual control, the number at the top
of the column is dark blue. When you have changed one of the functions, it
turns light blue. The “a b” at the left side of the screen shows which

Today’s date and time

Function output values

Menu options
(select these
using the A-G
menu softkeys)

Function of

left wheel

Function of

right wheel

Current chase
information

Current type of fixture
being displayed

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functions are currently assigned to the control wheels.

1.3 What next?

The rest of this part of the manual is a tutorial. If you have never used an
Avolites console before, by working through the rest of the tutorial section
you should be able to get the Sapphire up and running, and be well on the
way to programming and running a show with it.

The tutorial is organised in the order you’ll need to do things to get the
console set up and working, so try to work through it in sequence.

If you are a seasoned Avolites user, you’ll find the Sapphire works much
like its brothers, just with a few extra features. You might find the tutorials
useful, and if there is anything specific you need to know, just look in the
appropriate part of the Reference Manual. The Reference section is in the
same order as the Tutorial section, to make it easier to move between the
two.

If you are new to intelligent lighting, or even new to lighting altogether,
you might like to read chapter 11, “Introduction to intelligent lighting”.
This explains the concepts behind digital control of lighting and will help
you to understand what we are going on about in the rest of the manual.
There is also a Glossary at the end of the Reference Manual which explains
some of the obscure lighting words we have used in the manual.

If you are used to the Avolites Pearl 2000 console, read chapter 12, “The
Sapphire 2000 for Pearl experts”, which gives you a quick rundown on the
differences between the two consoles.

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CHAPTER TWO

2. Patching

In this chapter: how to set up the Sapphire to control dimmers and
fixtures.

?? clearing the Sapphire
?? patching dimmers
?? patching moving light fixtures
?? setting addresses on the fixtures
?? backing up the Sapphire to disk

So, you have your fixtures and dimmers all connected up with DMX cables
and the Sapphire connected to the end of it. (If you have a big rig, you
might find it easier to learn the basics using a few dimmers and a few
moving lights, and leave the rest of it till you’re an expert).

First you need to allocate each fixture or dimmer to a preset fader on the
Sapphire, so that you can tell it which of the fixtures or dimmers you want
to control at any time.

The fader and the buttons below it (the
picture shows some) are called the
handle for the dimmer or fixture,
because you use it to take control of the
fixture. The fader will control the
intensity of the dimmer or fixture, the
“Swop” button is used when
programming to select the dimmer or
fixture. In Run mode the Add and Swop
buttons function as flash buttons.

You also need to tell the Sapphire what
type of fixture is allocated to each
handle. When you have entered this information, the Sapphire can tell you
what addresses to set on your fixtures and dimmers to match the settings
it is using.

This setup process is called Patching.
You can patch up to 400 fixtures and dimmer

channels on the Sapphire. There are 4 “pages” of
100 handles, selected using the “Pages of Fixtures”
buttons below the numeric keypad.

The Sapphire controls dimmers and fixtures slightly
differently, so we will look at each in turn. But first…

2.1 Clearing the Sapphire - Wipeall

Unless the Sapphire is brand new, it’s a good idea to clear the memory
before you start a new setup. This ensures that you won’t get confused by
any peculiar settings left by the previous user.

2.1.1 Clearing the Sapphire

? ? Turn the key to “System”
? ? Select option A “Service”

Fixture page
buttons

a “handle”

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? ? Select option F “Wipeall”.
? ? Press F again to confirm. The memory will be wiped.

The Sapphire is now pristine and new, and ready for you to start patching.
You will need to be in Program mode to do any patching, so turn the key
to Program.

2.2 Patching dimmers

Each dimmer channel you want to use has to be allocated to one of the
handles. Then, when you want to control the dimmer channel, you fade up
the slider, or press the Add button.

2.2.1 Patching dimmer channels

? ? Press Patch (one of the blue “command” buttons).
? ? Press Softkey A, “Dimmer”
? ? The Sapphire will start at DMX address 001 (shown on the

top line of the display). You can change this by typing in
the new address on the numeric keypad.

? ? Press the blue preset “Swop” button below preset fader

number 1. The fader and add/swop buttons will become
the “handle” used to control that dimmer channel.

? ? The Sapphire will update the DMX address to the next free

channel, so you can just press another button to patch the
next dimmer.

? ? Press Exit when you have finished patching.

You can now control the dimmer channel on handle 1 using the fader (the
buttons do not operate as flash buttons in Program mode, only in Run
mode).

If you have lots of dimmers to patch, there are some quicker ways. If you
just want to patch 10 dimmers in sequence on to handles 21-30, you can
do it this way:

2.2.2 Patching a range of dimmers to buttons

? ? Enter Dimmer Patch mode
? ? Enter the DMX channel you want the range to start at, if it’s different

to the one the Sapphire is displaying

? ? Hold down the Swop button of the first handle to be patched (handle

21)

? ? Press the last Swop button (handle 30)
? ? Release both buttons
? ? Each handle will be patched in order to a dimmer channel.
? ? Press Exit when you have finished patching.

You can also patch more than one dimmer channel on the same handle.
This can be useful when you have several lights on different dimmer
channels, but you always want to control them together. For example, if

Swop button

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you have lit an area with several spots and you just want to use one
handle to control all the lights on that area, this is a good way to do that.

2.2.3 Patching several dimmers to the same button

? ? Enter Dimmer Patch mode
? ? Using the numeric keypad, enter the DMX address of the first dimmer

channel to be patched

? ? Press the Swop button for the handle you want to use (this patches

the first dimmer)

? ? Using the numeric keypad, enter the DMX address of the next dimmer

channel to be patched (the Sapphire will have automatically increased
the address by 1)

? ? Press the Swop button again
? ? Press Exit when you have finished patching

You can repeat this procedure to patch as many dimmers as you like on to
one handle.

While you are in Patch mode, the VGA display shows a diagram to tell you
which channels you have patched so far and which are free.

2.3 Patching moving light fixtures

Moving light fixtures are controlled slightly differently to dimmers; a
dimmer only has one controllable attribute, intensity. But a moving light
fixture can have many attributes, such as pan, tilt, colour, gobo etc. When
you patch a fixture, you will see on the VGA display that it occupies a
block of DMX channels rather than just one. However, the principle is still
the same.

The Sapphire has personality files for most lighting fixtures in the known
universe, and these are stored internally in the console. If you want to use
a personality not available in the console, you can load it from a
personality disk.

Note: To use the internal personality files, make sure there is no disk in

the disk drive.

2.3.1 Patching a fixture

? ? Make sure there is no disk in the disk drive
? ? Press Patch
? ? Press Softkey B, “Choose a fixture”
? ? The display will show “Please select an instrument” on the top line.
? ? A list of known fixtures will appear next to the softkeys after a pause.
? ? Use Softkeys F and G to go up and down the list and find the correct

fixture, then press the Softkey next to the fixture to select it.

? ? The Sapphire will load the fixture information (this may take a few

seconds). The display shows information about the fixture.

? ? The Sapphire will ask “Automatically create preset focuses?”.
? ? Press Softkey A for Yes. (This is explained later)

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? ? The Sapphire will offer you the first free DMX address (on the top line

of the display). You can change this using the numeric keypad if you
want your first fixture at a different address.

? ? Press the Swop button on handle 1 to patch the fixture you have

selected to handle 1.

? ? The display will show the block of channels occupied by the fixture.
? ? Patch more fixtures, or press Exit when you have finished.

You can continue to patch this type of fixture at the next free DMX address
by pressing the next Swop button you want to use. You can also patch a
range of fixtures by holding down the first button in the range and
pressing the last button, as with dimmers.

If you want to patch a different type of fixtures, you can change the type
of fixture to be patched very easily.

2.3.2 To change the fixture type

? ? Press softkey A (“Select another fixture”)
? ? Choose the fixture type from the list on the softkeys
? ? Patch as before

Note: The “preset focuses” you can load contain a selection of position,

colour and gobo settings. You can call back settings from the
palette select buttons when programming rather than having to set
up your own, allowing you to select, for example, “Yellow” or “Blue”
instead of setting up the value using the wheels. You can’t load the
automatic palettes later (though you can define your own).

The Sapphire has four physical DMX output lines, identified as A, B, C, D.
You can patch onto any of the four lines using Softkey E, “Select a DMX
line”. However, to keep it simple, stick to line A while you are learning.

2.4 Addressing your fixtures to match the Sapphire

Once you have told the Sapphire where to allocate all your dimmers and
fixtures, you need to go round the actual lights and set the DMX address
to match the Sapphire.

The Sapphire can tell you the DMX address it is using for each fixture, and
in some cases can show you how to set the dip switches on the fixture. It’s
usually easiest to write down the addresses for all the fixtures, then go
and set them.

2.4.1 Displaying the DMX address for fixtures

? ? Press the View button (next to the numeric keys)
? ? Press Softkey D, “Fixture Patch”
? ? The display will show a list of the handles to which you have patched

fixtures or dimmers, with the DMX line and address (e.g. A24 is
address 24 on DMX line A).

? ? The top handle on the list has an arrow next to it. In the lower part of

the screen, more information is shown for this fixture.

? ? Use the Arrow keys to move the arrow up and down the list, and show

information for the other fixtures in the list.

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? ? You can also press View then select Softkey C, “DMX Patch” to display

a list of DMX channels and which fixture is patched at that address.

2.5 Changing what you have done

If you need to change the patching you have done, you can re-patch a
fixture to a different DMX address. You can also patch a fixture onto a
different handle, and delete a fixture from a handle, but this loses any
programming for the fixture. How to change the patching is described in
the reference manual.

2.6 Completing the patch

When you have patched all your dimmers and fixtures, press the Exit
button on the numeric keypad to go back to normal mode. You have now
completed the setting up of the lighting system, and it’s time to get to
work on programming a show. But there’s one important thing to do first…

2.7 Backing up the Sapphire to disk

The Sapphire has a built in disk drive which allows you to save everything
you have done. You should get into the habit of saving your show regularly
to guard against that unexpected moment when the worst happens.

It only takes a minute or so to save the contents of the Sapphire to disk.
You can then reload it if you mess up the show by accidentally changing
something, or if some helpful person steals the Sapphire you can load your
show into a replacement console.

2.7.1 Backing up the Sapphire to disk

? ? Press the Disk button in the bottom right hand corner of the Sapphire
? ? Insert a blank formatted 1.44M disk into the disk drive (anything on

the disk will be wiped).

? ? Select softkey B, “Save show to disk”.
? ? The Sapphire will ask for a filename for the show. Type this on the

QWERTY keyboard then press Enter.

? ? The Sapphire will save your current show onto the disk. The display

will tell you when the Sapphire has finished.

? ? If you need to reload the show, use softkey A, “Load show from disk”.

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CHAPTER THREE

3. Controlling dimmers and fixtures

In this chapter: how to control dimmers and fixtures manually.

?? controlling fixtures and dimmers
?? changing attributes
?? using and creating palettes
?? using and creating groups
?? viewing the console output

Having patched all the dimmers and fixtures you want to use, you are
ready to start operating them. This chapter explains how you do this.

To manually control fixtures and dimmers, you need to be in Program
mode, so ensure the key is set to Program. There’s also a special Run
mode which lets you “take over” fixtures, which is described later.

3.1 Controlling dimmer channels

Controlling dimmer channels is simple – you just push up the fader of the
handle where the dimmer is patched. Dimmers work just like a normal
“preset” lighting desk on the Sapphire. If you want to turn on lots of
dimmer channels at the same time, you can also “select” the dimmers and
use the Dimmer attribute button and control wheels as described below.

3.2 Controlling fixtures

Controlling fixtures is nearly as simple, except there are a few more
functions to control than just intensity.

The first thing you have to do is to “select” the fixtures that you want to
control. The Sapphire then knows that any changes you make are only to
be sent to these fixtures. You can select fixtures individually, or several at
once.

3.2.1 Selecting fixtures or dimmers

? ? Press the Swop buttons for the fixtures you want to control.
? ? The Swop button LEDs will light for the fixtures which are selected.

They are shown in dark blue on the VGA display.

? ? If you select a fixture you don't want, press its Swop button again to

deselect it.

? ? You can use the “Locate Fixture” function (Press the ML Menu button

then Softkey A) to position the selected fixtures at a “home” position
with the light on, so you can see where they are. Dimmer channels are
set to 50%.

? ? You can select a range of fixtures by holding down the Swop button for

the first fixture in the range, then pressing the Swop button for the
last fixture.

You can change the fixture page, if you need to, by pressing one of the
other Fixture Page buttons.

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3.3 Changing attributes of fixtures

Having selected the fixtures you want to control, you then need
to select the attributes (pan, tilt, colour etc.) of that fixture that
you want to change.

The attributes are selected using the buttons on the lower right
corner of the Sapphire. The attributes you can control will vary
depending on the type of fixture you are using. For dimmer
channels, you can only change the “Dimmer” attribute
(intensity). For scans, you can control the pan, tilt, colour, gobo
and other functions.

3.3.1 Controlling pan and tilt of a fixture

? ? Select some fixtures using the Swop buttons
? ? Use the Locate Fixture function (press ML Menu then

Softkey A) to position the fixtures at a central position with
the lamp on (you don’t have to do this, but it helps you see
what’s happening)

? ? Press the Pan/Tilt attribute button
? ? Control the tilt using the left hand wheel and the pan using

the right hand wheel. You should see the selected fixtures
move.

? ? The display area just above the wheels shows you which attribute is

being controlled by each wheel.

Note: If you need more accurate control of the position (and the fixture

you are controlling has 16-bit movement) you can set Pan/Tilt to
Fine (16-bit) mode by pressing the Pan/Tilt attribute button again.
The light flashes to show you that it is in Fine mode.

Any other attribute of the fixtures you selected can be controlled by
pressing the appropriate button and turning the wheels. The display will
show which functions the left and right wheels are going to control. If the
display doesn’t show a function when you select an attribute button, that
function is not available on the fixtures you selected.

You can use the Dimmer attribute to control the intensity channel of the
fixture, or you can use the fader of the handle. The effect is the same.

Note: Once you have changed any attributes, all the fixtures will be

automatically deselected the next time you press a fixture select
button.

3.4 Using palettes

When you are controlling attributes which are continuously variable such
as pan, tilt, and colour, it can speed things up if you can instantly call back
a position such as centre stage, or a particular colour like red, blue etc.

If you’ve got different types of fixtures, to get the same colour on each
fixture might mean setting different values for each type of fixture.

The Sapphire has pages of preset values, called “palettes”, which you can
use to store attribute settings which you use a lot. These are instantly

Attribute
select buttons

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accessible using the buttons and displays on the top right hand side of the
console.

The Sapphire loads 10 pre-programmed positions, 10 colours and 10
gobos each on a separate page when you patch a fixture (unless you tell it
not to).

This means that if for example you want all your fixtures
to go Red, you just have to select “Red” from the colour
page of the palette. The Sapphire knows the values to
send to each fixture to get red light out of it.

3.4.1 Using palettes

? ? Select the fixtures you want to control by pressing the

Swop buttons

? ? Select the page of palettes you want to use by

pressing one of the Palette select buttons

? ? The Palette displays will show you the contents of the

page.

? ? Press one of the Palette select buttons to use one of

the palette values. The value will be set to all the
fixtures which are selected.

? ? To go back to the list of pages, press the bottom

button (showing “Pages”).

You can also store your own palette values of positions,
colours and so on that you use regularly. The reference
manual gives more information on how to do this.

When you use a palette value, the Sapphire remembers
the palette entry you used rather than the actual values
you used. This can be very handy when you are touring a show, if you use
palette entries to program the show. When the venue is a different shape,
you only need to redefine a few standard palette positions rather than
having to reprogram the whole show. All the memories which used the
palette positions will then use the new positions.

Note: The Sapphire may sometimes call palettes “focuses” or “preset

focuses”. This is the term used for a palette on other Avolites
consoles. The meaning is the same.

3.5 Using groups

The Sapphire allows you to put fixtures or dimmer channels into groups.
This can speed up the process of selecting fixtures or dimmers. If you have
several different types of fixture, for example, you can make a group for
each type of fixture. You can then select all the fixtures just by typing the
group number. If you are using the graphics tablet you just press one
button.

3.5.1 Making a group

? ? Select the fixtures or dimmer channels you want to put into the group
? ? Press the ML Menu button, then softkey D, “Record Group”.
? ? Type the group number 1-200 on the numeric keypad and press Enter.

Palette select
buttons & displays

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Once you have created a group, you can then quickly select all the fixtures
in the group by entering the group number.

3.5.2 Selecting a group of fixtures

? ? Type the group number on the keypad
? ? Press softkey A, “Recall Group”.
? ? The fixtures in the group are selected.

If you are using the graphics tablet, you can save and recall groups with
one touch of the pen. This is described in more detail in the Graphics
Tablet chapter.

3.6 Viewing the output

The display shows you the output level of all the channels which are
turned on, but only channels 1-50 fit on the display. To show channels 51­100, press the Fixture Page button again (the light on it flashes).

You can select which attributes you are looking at by pressing one of the
attribute buttons.

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CHAPTER FOUR

4. Using shapes

In this chapter: how to use the shape generator

?? selecting a shape
?? positioning
?? setting size and speed
?? coarse and fine spread
?? also Fan mode

The Sapphire, in common with other Avolites consoles, has a shape
generator. This allows you to quickly create exciting light shows using lots
of movement and changes, with the minimum of programming.

There are a large number of pre-programmed shapes available, which can
be used on the position, colour, gobo, dimmer, or iris of a fixture. You can
control the size, speed and positioning of the shape, and how the shape is
allocated across a range of fixtures.

To understand how shapes work and how they can be spread across
multiple fixtures, it’s best to set up at least four fixtures next to each
other. Once you have mastered the basics, you can try some more
interesting arrangements.

4.1 How shapes work

A shape is a pre-programmed movement sequence which usually repeats
over and over again. Typical shapes are circles, spirals, squares, etc. There
are also random shapes, which do not repeat.

When you apply a shape, it works on the current settings of the fixture. So
if you apply a circle to the pan and tilt attributes of a fixture, the centre of
the circle will be at the current pan and tilt position. You can change the
size of the circle, and the speed of the circle. By moving the pan and tilt
position of the fixture, you can move the whole shape around the stage.

Shapes can be applied to other attributes of a fixture, not just pan and tilt.
You can use them to create colour changes, gobo changes, iris changes
and a variety of other attributes. Each shape is designed to modify one
particular attribute.

4.2 Selecting a shape

Selecting a shape is very similar to selecting a value from a palette. When
you choose a shape, it will be applied to all selected fixtures.

4.2.1 Selecting a shape

? ? Select the fixtures you want to apply the shape to by pressing the

Swop buttons

? ? Use Locate Fixtures (Press ML Menu then Softkey A) to turn on the

fixtures and move them to a central position

? ? Select the page of shapes you want to use by pressing one of the

Palette select buttons on the bottom display. The palette display will
change to show the contents of the page of shapes you selected.

? ? Press one of the palette select buttons to select a shape. The shape

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will be applied to all selected fixtures.

The shape will start based on the current setting of the attribute.

4.3 Changing the size and speed of a shape

It is easy to change the size and speed of a shape after it has first been
selected.

4.3.1 Changing the size and speed of a shape

? ? Enter the Shape Generator menu by pressing Softkey G.
? ? Press Softkey D, “Set wheels A=Size B=Speed”
? ? Control the size of the shape using the left hand wheel
? ? Control the speed of the shape using the right hand wheel
? ? The size and speed is shown above the wheels on the display.

The minimum size is zero. Obviously, you won’t see the shape, and the
fixture will resume its previous settings. The minimum speed is Stop.
Again, you will not see the shape, though it will offset the positioning of
the fixture.

4.4 Changing the positioning of a shape

A shape is based on the current settings of the fixture. For a pan/tilt
shape, this means that the movements will be centred around the current
position of the fixture.

4.4.1 Changing the positioning of a shape

? ? Select the fixtures you want to change
? ? Set the wheels to Size/Speed and reduce the shape size to 0 (it’s

difficult to see the position when everything is moving)

? ? Press the Pan/Tilt attribute button
? ? Set the position using the wheels.
? ? Set the wheels back to Size/Speed and change the size of the shape

back to where you want it.

For a colour shape, the colour changes will be centred round the current
colour of the fixture, so you would select the Colour attribute and change
that.

4.5 How a shape works across multiple fixtures

Shapes get more interesting (and look more impressive) when you apply
them to multiple fixtures. The Sapphire lets you set how a shape is spread
across several fixtures.

In the case of a circle, this can vary from all fixtures moving identically (a
spread of None), fixtures working in pairs (a spread of 1) through to all
fixtures being distributed evenly through the shape, so the first fixture is
just starting the shape as the last one finishes (an Even spread). This is
the same as the number of fixtures, so if you have 4 fixtures doing the
shape, a spread of 4 would be the same as an Even spread.

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You can also set the Fine Spread value, which introduces a slight offset
into the timing of the shape across each fixture.

4.5.1 Changing the spread of a shape

? ? In the Shape Generator menu, press Softkey C, “Set wheels to

Spread”

? ? Set the coarse spread using the right hand wheel. The minimum is

Even (the shape spread evenly across the fixtures), then Zero (all the
same), then 1, 2, etc.

? ? Set the fine spread using the left hand wheel.

To start with, you will find it easier to keep the Fine Spread set to zero,
and work with the Coarse Spread setting, or everything will get confusing.

Note: The order in which you select the fixtures determines how the

shapes are applied; the “first” fixture is the one you select first and
the “last” fixture is the one you select last.

4.6 Fan mode

Fan mode is not really anything to do with shapes, but we have put it in
this chapter because it works in a similar way.

Fan mode automatically spreads out a selected range of fixtures to
produce a fan of light beams. The first and last fixtures of the range are
affected most, and the central fixtures are affected least. The amount of
fan can be set using the wheels.

Note: As with shapes, the order in which you select the fixtures sets how

the fan effect works. The fixtures you select first and last will be the
ones which change most.

The fan effect, while normally used on pan or tilt attributes, can be applied
to any attribute.

4.6.1 Fanning out a range of fixtures

? ? Select the range of fixtures you want to fan
? ? Select the attribute to fan (pan, tilt, colour etc)
? ? Press the Fan button
? ? Set the amount of fan using the wheels
? ? The display shows which attribute is being controlled by each wheel

You will be able to see the effect of fan mode best if you have a row of at
least 4 fixtures. If you have an odd number of fixtures, the central fixture
will not move in fan mode.

Remember to turn off Fan mode when you have finished, or you will get
confused when the controls don’t do what you expect.

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CHAPTER FIVE

5. Recording and playing back memories

In this chapter: how to record memories into the playback faders

?? explanation of HTP and LTP channels
?? how the Sapphire works when programming
?? recording and playing back memories
?? playback pages
?? flash button modes
?? naming memories
?? setting fade times for memories
?? copying and clearing memories
?? the include function
?? editing memories
?? record by fixture or by channel

So, you now know how to control your dimmers and fixtures, and how to
use the shape generator. This chapter tells you how to record the
wonderful effects you have created so that you can recall them at the
touch of a button. The Sapphire has 20 playback faders across the bottom
of the desk, into which you can record your effects. There are 100 pages of
faders, allowing you to save 2000 playbacks in all!

Before we get onto the details of recording memories, there are a couple of
general things about how the Sapphire works. The first thing to
understand is what happens when you play back more than one memory
at a time, and the operation of HTP and LTP channels. It’s important to
understand this before going on.

5.1 What are HTP and LTP channels?

The Sapphire treats channels which control intensity differently from other
moving light control channels. If two or more memories are turned on
together, or if you fade out a memory, the Sapphire needs to know how to
output the levels from the memories.

Dimmer or intensity channels work on the principle of “highest takes
precedence” (HTP). This means that if the same HTP channel is turned on
in several memories, the highest level will be output. When you fade a
memory, the HTP channels fade out.

Moving light channels work on the principle of “latest takes precedence”
(LTP). This means that the latest change takes over from any other values,
so the most recent memory to be turned on is the one which is output.
When you fade in a memory, LTP channels do not fade, but come on at
their full values, and stay there until another value is set. This is
important, because when you fade a memory you normally just want the
intensity to fade, you don’t want the fixtures moving and changing colour.

The fixture personality file tells the Sapphire which channels of a fixture
are HTP and which are LTP. Normally, only dimmer attributes are HTP, and
everything else is LTP.

5.2 How the Sapphire works when programming

When you start setting dimmers and moving fixtures, the Sapphire

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remembers what you have changed. Fixtures and dimmers you have
changed are stored in “the programmer” which is a special area of
memory. When you record a memory, only the settings in the programmer
(i.e. the things you have changed) are stored in the memory.

When you press Clear, all fixtures are cleared from the programmer. You
should get into the habit of pressing Clear before you start to program a
memory, or you can end up recording fixtures you don’t want. You also
need to press Clear when you finish programming, because any functions
in the programmer will override playbacks.

Channels in the programmer are shown by an “m” (modified) on the
console Channel Output display, and are shown in light blue on the VGA
display.

Note: Turning on a memory does not place the values from the memory in

the programmer (the Include function lets you do this, see page

23). The Locate Fixture function does not place any values in the
programmer either.

5.3 Recording a memory

So now that is all out in the open, let’s record a memory. The Sapphire has
100 pages of 20 memories, which are controlled using the 20 faders across
the bottom of the console.

5.3.1 Recording a memory

? ? Press Clear to clear the programmer. This ensures that you

are starting with a clean slate.

? ? Set up a nice effect using the fixtures and dimmers. You

can include shapes in a memory if you want. Remember!
Only the fixtures/dimmers you have changed will be
recorded in the memory.

? ? Press Memory.
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback fader you want to

use.

? ? The display above the fader will change to show that you

have saved a memory there.

? ? Press Clear to clear the programmer.

5.4 Playing back a memory

Playing back a memory is very simple. Just raise the fader. (Make sure
there are no values in the programmer by pressing the Clear button,
because anything in the programmer will override the playback).

5.4.1 Playing back a memory

? ? Raise the playback fader.
? ? To stop the memory, lower the fader.

All the HTP (intensity) channels in the memory will fade up with the fader.
The LTP (movement) channels will be set as soon as the fader leaves the
zero position.

You can preload the LTP channels beforehand by pressing the Preload
button for the playback. This can be useful if you want to position the

Memory button

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fixtures in blackout and have them ready to turn on, rather than seeing
them snap into position if you put the fader up quickly.

5.5 Changing playback pages

You can change pages to select another 20 memories
simply by pressing one of the playback page up or down
buttons. You can also enter the page number by pressing
“Select Page” then typing the number, then pressing Enter.

If any playbacks are turned on when you change page, they
remain turned on. The display above the playback flashes
and shows you the name of the memory which is turned on.
The new memory for that playback on the new page is
displayed above the old one.

If you want to use the same playback fader on a new page,
you need to lower it to zero to turn off the first playback,
then raise it again to turn on the new playback on the new
page.

5.6 Flash button modes

The playback faders each have two flash buttons, an “add” and a “swop”.
The flash buttons only operate when the key is set to “Run” mode.
Pressing the “Add” button will turn on the playback in addition to any
other playbacks which are running. Pressing the “swop” button will
temporarily turn off all other playbacks and just run that one.

There are separate “Add” and “Swop” masters to control the overall level
of the Add and Swop buttons.

5.7 Naming a memory

The Sapphire allows you to name all the memories. This can be very
helpful when you are trying to remember where you put that amazing
effect you created yesterday.

The name of each memory is shown on the display above the playback
fader, so you can see at a glance what is stored in each fader.

5.7.1 Labelling a memory

? ? At the main menu press softkey D, “Input Legend”.
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback you want to label.
? ? Enter the label using the external QWERTY keyboard. The VGA display

shows you what you are typing.

? ? Press Enter to save the label.
? ? You can label another memory by pressing another Swop button, or

finish by pressing Exit.

You can also label the playback pages by pressing the Select Page button,
and the palette pages and select buttons by pressing the button next to
the display you want to set.

Note: If you don’t have a QWERTY keyboard connected, you can enter

letters using the Swop and Add buttons on Preset Faders 1-26. The
Swop buttons enter capitals and the Add buttons enter lower case
letters.

Playback
page buttons

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If you don’t have a VGA display, you can still enter names but you

can’t see what you have typed until you press Enter. You also need
to remember to press Exit when you have finished, to get out of
Input Legend mode.

5.8 Setting fade times for a memory

You can set a fade in and fade out time independently for every memory.
The fades only affect HTP (intensity) channels, and are set using softkey C
for fade in and D for fade out. There is also a separate LTP timer which
allows you to set movement times, set using softkey E.

5.8.1 Setting fade times for a memory

? ? Press softkey C, “Edit Times”.
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback you want to set times for
? ? The display shows you the times you can set.
? ? Press softkey C to set Fade In time, or Softkey D to set Fade Out time.
? ? Use the numeric keypad to enter the new time. Press Enter to save it.
? ? Press Enter when you have finished. If you press Exit, the changes you

have made will not be stored.

There are some other timing functions available as well, which you don’t
need to worry about at the moment. They are described in the reference
manual.

5.9 Copying a memory

Copying a memory is very fast and simple.

5.9.1 Copying a memory

? ? Hold down the Add button of the memory you want to copy.
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback you want to store it in
? ? You can change the playback page while you are holding down the Add

button, if you want to copy a memory to a different page.

The new memory will be a linked copy of the old one. If you change a
memory which is linked, all the other memories linked to it will change
too.

You can create a completely separate copy of the memory using the
“Photocopy” function. Just press the Photocopy button (one of the blue
command buttons) before you start the copy. If you have named the
memory, the name will not be copied, indicating that it is a “new”
memory.

5.10 Clearing a memory

If you want to clear a memory so you can store something else in it:

5.10.1 Clearing a memory

? ? Press Delete (one of the blue command buttons)
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback you want to delete
? ? Press the Swop button again to confirm the delete.

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If the memory is linked to other memories, the others will not be affected.

5.11 The Include function

Sometimes it’s useful to be able to re-use some aspects of a memory you
have already created in another memory. If you’ve created a really nice
combination of colours, for example, you might want to use it again in
another memory with different gobos and positions.

Normally when you play back a memory, the information is not loaded into
the programmer, so you can’t use it to make another memory. The Include
function lets you load selected parts of a memory into the programmer.
You can then use these parts in a new memory.

The Include function loads selected attributes of selected fixtures into the
programmer. So, for example, if you have a memory which contains
position, colour and gobo information for 8 fixtures, you can use the
Include function to load only the colour information for 4 of the fixtures
into the programmer. You could then “include” position information from
another memory into the programmer, and build up a new memory using
information from several existing memories.

5.11.1 Using Include

? ? Press the Include button.
? ? Select the fixtures from which you want to take settings. If you don’t

select any fixtures, all fixtures will be used.

? ? Select the Attributes you want to include. The Dimmer attribute will

include all other attributes (the lights on the buttons show which
attributes will be loaded).

? ? Press the Swop button for the memory you want to include.
? ? The selected attributes of the selected fixtures will be loaded into the

programmer.

You can Include an entire memory by ensuring no fixtures are selected and
selecting the Dimmer attribute.

If the memory you are including contains shapes, the shapes and all the
fixtures they are applied to will be loaded, whether they are selected or
not.

Include is also useful when you are programming chases, which is
described in the next section.

5.12 Editing memories

You can edit any part of a memory you have already saved simply by
making the changes and saving the new information on top of the
memory.

5.12.1 Editing a memory

? ? Press Clear to empty the programmer.
? ? Turn on the memory you want to edit, so you can see what you are

doing.

? ? Select the fixtures you want to change, and make the changes.
? ? Press Memory.

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? ? Press the playback swop button for the memory you are editing to

save the changes.

The changes you have made are saved into the memory. None of the other
information in the memory is affected.

If you need to remove fixtures or individual attributes of fixtures from the
memory, you can use the “Off” function to do this. The “Off” function is
described in the reference manual.

5.13 “Record by fixture” and “record by channel” modes

Normally the Sapphire records all the attributes of any fixture you change.
However, the Sapphire also has a more selective mode of operation. You
can choose the mode by holding down the Avo button and pressing
Softkey C. The display shows the current setting of the option.

?? Record by fixture: This is the normal mode of the Sapphire. It means

that when you record a memory, all attributes of every fixture that you
have changed are recorded in the memory. So if you change only the
position of a fixture, the colour, gobo, intensity and all other attributes
of that fixture are recorded as well. This is useful because you know
that when you recall the memory, it will look exactly as it did when you
saved it. However, it can be slightly inflexible if you want to combine
memories.

?? Record by channel: This means that only attributes you have

changed are recorded in the memory. So if you change the position of
a fixture, only the position is recorded. When you recall the memory,
the colour, gobo etc will remain as they were last set. This means you
can use a memory to change the position of some fixtures while
leaving the colour set from a previous memory, allowing more variety
when you are running a show. It is a powerful feature but you can
easily get yourself into trouble with it, so you need to be sure which
attributes you need to record and which you want to “show through”.

5.14 Using shapes in memories

As you would expect, any shapes you have set up will be saved as part of
the memory. If you are using Record by Channel mode, there are some
interesting possibilities.

If you have changed the position of the fixture, then the new position will
be stored in the programmer. When you recall the memory, the fixture will
start the shape at the position you set in the memory.

If you have not changed the position of a fixture, when you recall the
memory the shape will run at whatever the current position of the fixture
is. This allows you to make a “shape only” memory which overlays shapes
on the current positioning of the fixtures.

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CHAPTER SIX

6. Recording and playing back chases

In this chapter: how to record chases

?? explanation of chases
?? programming a chase
?? running a chase
?? setting speed and crossfade
?? stacks and sequence control
?? editing a chase
?? sound activation of chases

As well as being used for recalling static memories, the playback faders on
the Sapphire can also be used for recalling chases.

6.1 What is a chase?

A chase is simply a sequence of static positions. Each position is known as
a “step”. It is normally used to flash lights in a sequence without you
having to keep pressing buttons, or to move fixtures around. Chases can
run automatically, or by pressing a “Go” button. If you are using the
Sapphire for theatrical lighting, you can use a chase to store cues for a
show. The Sapphire also has a dedicated theatrical lighting mode which
has a section of its own at the end of this chapter.

Don’t get shapes confused with chases. A shape simply moves one
attribute of the fixture around in a pattern. A chase allows you to define
the attributes of the fixture in a step-by-step controlled manner.

However, you will find that using shapes saves you a lot of work, and you
won’t have to program as many chases as you would on a conventional
lighting desk.

6.2 Programming a chase

To program a chase, you have to set up the lighting for each step of the
chase. You can either set all the fixtures and dimmers manually for each
step, or you can use Include to load in the information from memories you
have already recorded.

Note: You can’t use shapes in a chase.

6.2.1 Programming a chase

? ? Press the Chase button.
? ? Press the Swop button of the playback where you want to

store the chase.

? ? Set up the lighting for the first step, either manually or

by using “Include” on existing memories.

? ? The display shows the step number
? ? Press the playback Swop button or the Enter button to

record the step. The information from the programmer is
stored as Step 1 of the chase.

? ? Press Clear, set up the lighting for the second step, then

Chase button

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press Swop or Enter again to save step 2.

? ? When you have saved as many steps as you want, press Exit or

Softkey G to finish.

6.3 Running a chase

Running a chase is just like turning on a memory. Just raise the fader and
the chase will start to run.

The HTP (intensity) channels in the chase will be controlled by the position
of the fader. The other channels (LTP) will be set as soon as the fader
moves above zero. You can pre-position the LTP channels to the first step
by pressing the Preload button of the playback.

The chase normally starts at step 1, and runs forward.
You can pause the chase and change the direction of
the chase using the Sequence control buttons to the
right of the wheels.

There are lots of options you can set which let you do
fancy things with chases, such as Random, One-shot,
special timing, and manual step mode. The details are
in the reference manual.

6.4 Setting speed and crossfade

When you run a chase, the wheels are assigned to control the Speed and
Crossfade of the chase (crossfade is the “slope” between steps, from
instant switching to continuous fading).

You can save a speed with the chase, so that every time you play it back,
it runs at the same speed.

6.4.1 Saving chase speed

? ? Turn on the chase you want, and set the speed to the setting you

want.

? ? Press softkey A “Chase Menu”.
? ? Press softkey A again (this time it’s “Save Speed”)
? ? The display will show “Saved”.

You can also save the current direction of the chase by pressing softkey B.
If you are running several chases, the wheels are assigned to the most

recently selected chase. You can “connect” the wheels to one of the other
chases by pressing the Connect button to the right of the wheels, then the
playback Swop button for the chase you want to connect to.

6.5 Stacks and sequence control

The most common use of a chase is as an automatic continuous sequence.
However, the Sapphire lets you step chases manually using the Go button,
which allows you to use them for theatrical lighting cues or “One shot”
chases. When you use a chase like this, it is sometimes known as a
“Stack”.

The Sapphire has a dedicated theatrical lighting mode which is described
in detail in the next chapter.

Sequence
control buttons

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6.5.1 Creating a stack

? ? Save each cue state as a step in a chase.
? ? Press Softkey C, “Edit Times”
? ? Press the playback Swop button for the chase
? ? Press Softkey G to set LINKS = OFF for the whole chase
? ? Press Enter to save the setting.
? ? Raise the playback fader to activate the chase.
? ? Press the Go button to run each cue.

You can set the fade in and fade out times independently for each cue
using the Live Time button.

6.5.2 Setting cue times on a stack

? ? Start the chase by raising the fader.
? ? Press the Live Time button to set the times for the current cue.
? ? Use softkeys A-G to set the times you want
? ? Press Enter to save the settings or Exit to abandon them.
? ? Press the Go button to go on to the next cue.

You can also set a text label for each cue. The Sapphire will show you the
label for the current cue and the next one coming up. The reference
manual tells you more details about this.

6.6 Editing a chase using Unfold

The Sapphire has a powerful chase editing system. The Unfold button
places each step of a chase on one of the playback faders, allowing you to
examine and edit each step individually as if it was a normal memory.

If your chase has more than 15 steps, you can swap to the next 15 steps
using softkey F, or the previous 15 steps using softkey E.

6.6.1 Editing a chase using Unfold

? ? Press the Unfold button
? ? Press the playback Swop button of the chase to be edited
? ? The first 15 steps of the chase are loaded into playback faders 1-15
? ? Raise a playback fader to view the contents of the step
? ? The softkeys show a list of options which can be used for the step
? ? To edit the contents of the step, make the changes then use softkey A
? ? To change the times of the step, use softkey B.
? ? Press the Unfold button again to finish.

While the chase is unfolded you can press Softkey G, “Set Legends” to set
a label for each step.

You can also edit chase steps while you are running the chase, without
using unfold. The “Rec Step” button allows you to record the current
programmer settings directly into the current step of the chase. This is
described in more detail in the reference manual.

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6.7 Sound activation of chases

The Sapphire can use bass, mid or treble frequencies from its audio input
to trigger chases. Playback 1 is triggered from low frequencies (bass),
playback 2 from mid and playback 3 from high frequencies (treble).

Sound mode only works with the key turned to Run.

6.7.1 Sound activating chases

? ? Turn the key to Run mode.
? ? Press softkey E, “Enable Sound to light”
? ? Chases stored in playbacks 1,2,3 will step in time to the sound signal
? ? The Speed wheel controls the maximum speed of the chase
? ? Press softkey F, “Disable sound to light” to turn off sound activation.

Also while in Run mode you can set the chase speed manually by tapping
Softkey G in time with the music.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

7. Theatre mode

In this chapter: the Sapphire’s theatre mode

?? Setting theatre mode
?? Theatre controls
?? Plotting a cue
?? Naming a cue
?? Setting fade times for a cue
?? Jumping to a cue
?? Running the show

Theatre mode is a new addition to Avolites consoles. It makes the
Sapphire behave like a standard theatrical console, allowing you to
program your whole show as a sequence of cues, and play it back just by
pressing the Go button. Playback faders 17-20 become dedicated cue
masters. The rest of the console continues to operate as normal, so you
can run the main cues from the theatre mode, and spot effects from the
other playback faders.

7.1 Setting theatre mode

In program mode, select Softkey B “Theatre stack programming”, then
press Enter.

The display above playbacks 17-20 changes to show the theatre control
display.

Note: When theatre mode is enabled, you can’t access playbacks 17-20

on any page; if you intend to use Theatre mode it is advisable not
to program these playbacks. Any programs are kept and when you
turn off Theatre mode you will be able to access them again.

You can get out of the Theatre menu by pressing Softkey G, “Quit”. The
Exit button does not operate in this mode.

To turn off theatre mode completely, turn the key to System, press
Softkey C “User Settings” then Softkey D “Theatre Mode” so that the
display shows “Theatre Mode=OFF”.

Theatre mode programming is not deleted when theatre mode is turned
off.

7.2 Theatre controls

Fader 17 is the Master fader, controlling the overall intensity of all lights.
The Go button next to the wheels makes a cue start.
If you stop a fade part-way by pressing the Stop button, or one of the stop

buttons above the faders, then Fader 18 controls the Fade In of the next
step, fader 19 controls the Fade Out of the previous step, and fader 20
controls the LTP (movement) fade timer.

The buttons above 18, 19 and 20 are Reverse, Stop and Go buttons for
each of these functions.

7.3 Plotting a cue

You can set up the levels for a cue either by using the preset faders to set

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the levels you want, or by typing in the channel number and the level.

7.3.1 Entering dimmer levels

? ? Press Channel (at the top of the numeric keys)
? ? On the numeric keypad, enter the fader number of the dimmer

channel (not the DMX address of the channel)

? ? Press softkey G, “At %”
? ? Enter the value to be set as 0 – 9, or Softkey G for Full. You can enter

a decimal point and another number if you want more accurate level
control.

? ? The channel you entered will be set to the level you entered.
? ? Press the Channel button again to go back to the normal menu

The softkeys offer you a few more options such as up by 5%, down by 5%,
blackout.

Note: You can’t get out of Channel mode by pressing Exit. The only way

back to the normal menu is to press Channel again.

You can also set multiple channels to the same level using softkey F,
“through” button. Enter first channel, “through”, last channel, “at %”,
level.

7.3.2 Entering multiple dimmer levels

? ? Press Channel
? ? On the numeric keypad, enter the first dimmer channel number of the

range

? ? Press Softkey F, “Through”
? ? Enter the last dimmer channel number of the range
? ? Press Softkey G, “At %”
? ? Enter the value to be set as 0 – 9, or.Softkey G for Full.
? ? The channels you entered will all be set to the level you entered.

When you have set all the levels as you want them, type the cue number,
then press Softkey D, “Record”. You then need to press Softkey B, “Record
Stage” to record all the intensity channels that are currently turned on,
plus anything in the programmer, or Softkey D to record just the contents
of the programmer (i.e. what you have manually changed). The cue will be
saved.

7.4 Naming a cue

Type the step number to be named, then press Softkey E, “Set Legend”.
Enter the legend on the QWERTY keyboard. While you are typing, the input
is shown on the VGA display.

The name of the live cue and the next cue is displayed above the theatre
faders.

7.5 Setting fade times for a cue

You can set fade in, fade out and “wait” times for each cue. Press Softkey
C, “Set Times” to show the options. This will set the times for the current

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step. You can also press the Live Time button to set times for the current
step, and the Next Time button to set times for the next step. See page 22
for details of times.

7.6 Jumping to a cue

You can change the cue being edited by typing the cue number then
pressing Enter. If you want to output this cue, press Softkey F, “Cut to
Live” (fade times are ignored).

7.7 Running the show

If you have just been editing, you may need to type 1 then Softkey F to
set the console to cue 1.

The display above the Theatre faders shows the current cue, the next cue
(with names if you have set them), and the wait and fade times for fade
in, fade out and LTP. “WFG” means “Waiting for Go”, in other words the
cue will start when you press the Go button.

For automatic cues, you can simply press the Go button next to the
wheels. The console will carry out the fade with the times you
programmed.

If you want to manually control a fade, you can use the in, out and LTP
faders or Go/Stop buttons to operate the cue. The display shows the
percentage of fade left to go. The display shows “Stopped”. When Fade In,
Fade Out and LTP all show “Stopped”, the console moves on to the next
cue.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

8. The graphics tablet

In this chapter: using the graphics tablet with the Sapphire

?? Using the tablet
?? Functions available on the tablet

The graphics tablet is fitted in a cunningly concealed drawer at the left
hand side of the Sapphire. It allows you to use a pen to select fixtures,
groups, colours, and position the fixtures by simply drawing with the pen.
You will be amazed how much easier your programming and show
operating becomes when you use the graphics tablet.

8.1 Using the tablet

To use the tablet, you simply press the pen onto it. The button on the side
of the pen doesn’t do anything. A quick press is like pushing a button on
the Sapphire. You can also draw on the tablet by keeping the pen pressed
down while moving it. This is used to move fixtures or change attributes.

The Sapphire will behave as if you are pressing buttons on it in the normal
way, so the LEDs and the displays will change as you use the tablet. Many
of the functions of the Sapphire are quicker and easier using the tablet.
Sometimes you might find it easier to do part of the function on the tablet
and part on the console. The end result is the same.

The tablet has a paper overlay on it. You can write your fixture names,
group names, attributes, palette entries and even draw your stage layout
on the overlay so that you know what’s what. Spare overlays are available
from Avolites.

8.2 Functions available on the tablet

To select a fixture or a group, just press the pen onto the fixture button or
the group button. The first 60 fixtures are available on the tablet. Only the
first 30 groups are available on the tablet. The Swop button LEDs on the
handles will light up to show you which fixtures are selected, as if you had

Colour control

Position control

Attributes

Groups

Palettes

Fixtures

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pressed the actual console buttons.
You can control the position of the fixture by drawing on the Stage area of

the tablet.
You can “train” the Sapphire so that it knows how all the lights are set up.

Then when you point at the stage area of the tablet, all the lights will point
at the same place on the stage. This is called “Tracking mode”. The
Reference manual tells you how to do this and how to use tracking mode.

If you press on the Nudge button, when you draw on the tablet the fixture
will move relative to its current position. This can be useful if you want to
slightly reposition a fixture. Press on the Absolute button to turn off this
mode.

You can control the intensity of the selected fixtures by drawing on the
Dimmer area.

If the fixture can do colour mixing, you can set the colour by drawing in
the colour mix area of the tablet.

You can recall the first 60 palette entries by pressing the pen on the
Focuses buttons.

You can change individual attributes of selected fixtures by pressing the
pen on to the attribute button, then (without lifting the pen) drawing up
and down on the tablet. The attribute lights on the console will come on to
show you which attribute is selected.

On the right hand side of the tablet, some of the programmer functions are
available, such as Clear and Locate Fixtures. You can also record groups
and memories using the tablet exactly as if you were pressing buttons on
the console. The details are in the reference manual.

The “Fixtures or Mimics” button allows you to set whether the LEDs in the
Swop buttons show you which fixtures are selected, or the intensity of the
channel.

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CHAPTER NINE

9. Running your show

In this chapter: running your show with the Sapphire 2000

?? Showtime
?? Run modes
?? Master faders
?? Channel mimics
?? Manual control during a show

9.1 It’s showtime…

When you have finished programming (or not) and it’s showtime, the most
important thing is to back up the show to disk (see end of section 2 on
page 9 for instructions). Having done that, turn the key to Run. This
means you can’t accidentally change your programming when you get into
a button-pressing frenzy.

9.2 Run modes

When you are running a show, there are two modes available to you,
normal Run mode, which just allows you to play back memories, and
Takeover run mode, which allows you to play back memories and also take
manual control of fixtures. The mode also affects how the Swop and Add
buttons on the console operate.

You can select the mode by pressing Softkey A, “Toggle mode”. The mode
is shown on the top line of the display.

?? What’s not affected: The playback faders work the same in either

mode. The Preset Faders work as handles to control the intensity of the
device they are patched to.

?? Normal Run mode: the Add and Swop buttons on the handles and

playbacks work as flash buttons. The “Add” button adds the function
into anything else which is on. The “Swop” button turns on the
function, but turns off everything else while the button is held down.
The programmer is cleared and you can’t manually control any LTP
channels.

?? Takeover run mode: the Swop buttons on the handles allow you to

select dimmers or fixtures for manual control. This lets you add to or
change your programming in real time during the show. The faders still
control the intensity of the dimmers and fixtures. The Add and Swop
buttons on the playbacks are disabled.

9.3 Master faders

In the bottom left hand corner of the console are the Master Faders. These
allow overall intensity control of the whole console.

?? The Add and Swop masters control the intensity of the Add and Swop

buttons on the playbacks.

?? The Preset Master controls the overall intensity of any channels turned

on in the Preset faders.

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?? The Grand Master controls the intensity of all output from the console.
If you are in Program mode, the contents of the programmer are not

affected by the Grand Master.

9.4 Channel mimics

If you are in normal Run mode, the LEDs on each handle mimic the
intensity of the fixture or dimmer controlled by that handle (i.e. they are
lit if it is turned on).

If you are in Takeover Run mode (or Program mode), you can choose
between “Mimic” mode or “Fixture” mode, where the LEDs show you which
fixtures are selected for manual control.

You select the mode by holding down the Avo button and pressing Softkey
A. The button shows “Preset LEDs = Fixtures” (or mimics) depending on
the mode. You can also change this mode using the Graphics Tablet.

9.5 Manual control during a show

If you have not had as much programming time as you would have liked,
you might need to make up some additional effects during the show. You
can create instant variations by recalling palette values to modify your
existing programs.

You need to be in Takeover Run mode to do any of this.

9.5.1 Using palettes over time in Run mode

? ? Select some fixtures which are already in use on stage
? ? Press “2” on the numeric keypad
? ? Press Softkey B, “Recall Focus”
? ? Recall a different colour from the Colour palette
? ? The selected fixtures will change to the new colour over a time of 2

seconds.

You can also change the position of fixtures; the easiest way to do this is
to use “Nudge” on the graphics tablet. This allows you to sweep selected
fixtures around their programmed position by drawing with the pen, so
you can alter the height of a chase or shape in real time.

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CHAPTER TEN

10. Advanced features

Hopefully, by working through this tutorial manual, you now know how to
set up the Sapphire, control fixtures with it, save memories and chases
and use them in a show.

We have tried to stick to the basics, but the Sapphire can do many more
things than we have told you so far. The reference manual expands on all
the information in the previous chapters. There’s also some subjects we
have not touched on yet, and these are described in the reference manual.
Just so you know, they are:

?? User Preferences - Some console options you can change
?? Setting the real time clock
?? Disk functions
?? Tracking - You can train the Sapphire so it knows how the fixtures are

positioned relative to the stage. You can then point all the fixtures at
one part of the stage by clicking on the graphics tablet. Training is
described in Chapter 3.10 of the reference manual and use of the
graphics tablet in tracking mode is described in Chapter 8.

?? MIDI - The Sapphire has a very comprehensive MIDI control system
?? Script files - You can tell the Sapphire how to run a show from a list of

instructions which you can enter or record in real time. This is
described in chapter 9 of the reference manual.

?? Changing the operating system - From time to time Avolites release a

new version of operating software, which you can load into the
Sapphire

?? Personality files - if the Sapphire doesn’t have a personality file for

your fixture you can write your own. These are described in chapter 11
of the reference manual.

?? Devious hardware tricks for wiping the console

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

11. Introduction to intelligent lighting

This section is for those who have not used intelligent lighting much
before, who are put off by dip switches, lights that move unexpectedly and
strange digital control systems that fly down microphone cables.

11.1 Ordinary lighting

Standard lighting consists of a variety of light bulbs connected to dimmers.
The lights may be anything from par cans to theatrical lanterns, and the
dimmer controls the intensity of the light. A typical controller for standard
lighting has a set of sliders, and each slider controls the intensity of one
dimmer using a low-voltage control signal of 0 to 10 volts. The standard
way to link the sliders to the dimmers is by using a multicore cable with
one core for each dimmer channel.

11.2 So what is intelligent lighting?

Intelligent lighting usually contains more functions than just intensity; a
typical intelligent light, often called a “fixture”, can also change colour,
project different patterns (called “gobos”) and direct the light beam in any
direction using a movable mirror or by motorised control of the light unit
itself. The fixtures are called “intelligent” because they contain a small
computer which controls the movement of the internal motors in response
to the control signals. Most fixtures can also listen to music and produce
their own light show, sometimes synchronising themselves with other
intelligent fixtures. However they are actually not all that intelligent and
usually need a user to make them do something interesting.

11.3 How do you control it?

Each function of an intelligent fixture requires its own control signal, so the
user can select the colour, position, gobo etc. You can use 0 to 10 volt
control signals on some fixtures, but the cable carrying the control signals
again has to be a multicore with one core for each function, so each fixture
might need 8 or more cores in the control cable. Some of the more
complicated fixtures use 20 channels.

When several fixtures are used, the number of cores needed in the control
cable soon becomes large. The cable also has to split at each fixture. It all
gets a bit complicated.

11.4 The DMX control system

Fortunately, there is an easy to use system for controlling intelligent
lighting and dimmers. It is called DMX-512, which stands for Digital
MultipleX, and it sends up to 512 control signals down a 2-core screened
cable. The cable can be simply daisy-chained from each fixture to the next.
Microphone-style XLR connectors are usually used, sometimes 3-pin and
sometimes 5-pin.

The DMX system sends out the level for channel 1, followed by the level
for channel 2, then 3, then 4 and so on, all the way up to a maximum of
512 (though not all DMX systems send out all the channels). It then goes
back to channel 1 again. All the units connected to the DMX receive all the
channels, and you tell them which channels to respond to by setting the
“base channel” or “DMX address” on each unit. The computer inside the

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fixture waits for the correct channels to come up, then reads in the levels
for those channels.

Dimmers can also understand DMX; some dimmers can read it directly,
others use a demultiplexer or “demux” to convert the DMX into the normal
0 to 10 volt analogue signals they are used to.

11.5 Moving light control desks

Sliders are ideal for controlling dimmers. More complicated dimmer control
desks have memories to record the level of all the dimmers, so you can
recall a setting without having to set all the sliders again during a show.

However, once you start controlling lights that move and change colour,
sliders become less ideal, because it is the movement rather than the end
level which is important. Dedicated moving light desks such as the
Sapphire include many helpful functions which makes the programming of
intelligent lighting much easier, such as palettes of pre-programmed
colours and positions, and a shape generator to create movements.

11.6 A few cautions about using DMX

DMX is a robust system which normally works very well, but sometimes it
can be problematic. Here are a few tips for making DMX work well.

?? DMX cabling should be twisted-pair data cable. Microphone cable is not

recommended because it doesn’t transmit the signal as well. You will
probably get away with it, but equally you might have problems.

?? Always connect a terminator plug on the last fixture. This has a 120

ohm resistor across the DMX line and prevents data interference on the
line. It might work without but…

?? Don’t split the DMX cable. Loop it from one unit to the next. If you

have to split it, use a proper active splitter unit.

?? Don’t try to run more than 16 fixtures from one DMX line unless the

fixtures are buffered. Either use several DMX lines (the Sapphire has
four) or use a DMX repeater unit. Again, you will probably get away
with using more if you have to, but the DMX signal will be weaker than
it should be.

?? Don’t run your DMX lines near high voltage cables or neon. They may

pick up interference which will stop the system working, or worse, blow
up the receiver electronics in the fixtures (this really does happen).

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CHAPTER TWELVE

12. The Sapphire 2000 for Pearl experts

If you are used to using the Avolites Pearl 2000 console, this section gives
you a quick rundown of the differences between the Pearl 2000 you know
and love and the Sapphire 2000. There are not that many differences.

12.1 The handles

Whereas the Pearl only allows you to use the bottom bank of preset faders
as handles (giving you 30 in total), the Sapphire allows you to use all 100
faders as handles. Each fader has its own Swop button for selection
purposes.

12.2 The palette section

You will have noticed the direct access palette (preset focus) buttons on
the top right hand corner of the Sapphire. These allow you to select palette
pages and palette entries very quickly. The display next to the buttons
shows the contents of the palette. There are 10 pages of 20 palette
entries, and 10 pages of 20 shapes. The palettes on the top screen are
numbers 1-10 and on the bottom screen are 101-110, for the first page.

You can also use the Add buttons on the preset faders in the time­honoured Pearl fashion, if you prefer, but the bottom 10 entries in each
page can only be selected using the palette buttons or numeric entry.

On the Sapphire, focuses and preset focuses are normally (but not always)
referred to as palettes.

12.3 The playbacks

The Roller is no more, the playbacks now have a display above each slider
which tells you what’s in it. You set the playback names by pressing Set
Legend (Softkey E), then the Swop key of the playback, then typing the
name on the external QWERTY keyboard (you can also use the 1-26 Add
and Swop buttons as letters). The roller itself is replaced by Page Select
buttons.

If you change pages with playbacks active, the top part of the display
shows you the name of the active playback, while the bottom part shows
you the name of the new playback.

The page select buttons consist of a Next Page, a Previous Page and a
Select Page button. The Select Page button allows you to enter the page
number on the keypad.

There is a new “Preload” button for each playback which allows you to pre­position the LTP channels in the playback before you raise the fader (if you
have set LTP fade times they will still apply).

There is an entirely new “Theatre mode” which provides a dedicated
Theatre Stack. It uses playback faders 17-20. While enabled, the rest of
the console can be used as normal, except Chase Autoconnect is disabled.

12.4 The programmer

When you are saving memories, both LTP and HTP channels will only be
saved if they are in the programmer. (On the Pearl, HTP channels were
saved as seen whether or not they were in the programmer.) You can use

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the Record Stage function to record the active HTP output channels as well
as the programmer contents.

12.5 Record by fixture / by channel

The Sapphire only works in Record by Fixture mode when saving a new
memory, or adding a fixture not currently used in an existing memory. If
editing channels on a fixture already recorded in a memory, then only the
changed channels are recorded.

12.6 Stage View

The main VGA output has been changed to show the output of the console
in a more useful way. The display shows the output channels for each type
of fixture patched on the console. You can choose which type of fixture to
view using the left-right arrow keys. If you have more than ten fixtures of
one type, the up-down arrow keys allow you to scroll through them. You
can also select Intensity, which shows you the output of all the HTP
(intensity) channels.

Avolites Stock Number 8200-0600

*8200-

0600*

Sapphire 2000

Reference Manual

Avolites Stock Number 8200-0600

*8200-

0600*

Avolites Stock Number 8200-0600

*8200-

0600*

REFERENCE MANUAL CONTENTS

1. SETTING UP THE CONSOLE 105

2. PATCHING 109

3. CONTROLLING DIMMERS AND FIXTURES 115

4. USING SHAPES 125

5. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK MEMORIES 129

6. RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK CHASES 137

7. THEATRE MODE 145

8. USING THE GRAPHICS TABLET 149

9. RUNNING A SHOW AND AUTOMATED PLAYBACK 153

10. ADVANCED FEATURES 159

11. THE PERSONALITY FILE SYSTEM 165

12. CONTACTS FOR FIXTURE MANUFACTURERS 176

13. GLOSSARY OF TERMS 178

14. INDEX 184

Avolites Stock Number 8200-0600

*8200-

0600*

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CHAPTER ONE

1. Setting up the console

This chapter contains: Connecting mains power; connecting DMX lines;
connecting MIDI devices; connecting audio; the disk drive; other back
panel connections and controls; desk modes.

1.1 Connecting mains power

Important! Before connecting the mains power to the Sapphire you must

ensure the voltage selector switch next to the mains socket is set to match
your mains supply. It can be set to 120V or 220V.

If you connect mains power with the switch set incorrectly, you will
probably blow up the power supply unit. If this happens you will need to
shamefacedly return the console to Avolites for repair.

1.2 Connecting DMX lines

The Sapphire can output DMX down 4 separate lines. When you patch a
dimmer or fixture you can tell the Sapphire which DMX line it is on. The
lines are identified by the letters A,B,C,D. Normally A comes out of output
1, B comes from 2, C from 3, and D from 4, but just to add to the fun you
can swap this round if you want (see Patching, section 2).

The 4 DMX outputs come out of the 5 pin XLR sockets on the back of the
console. They are wired like this:

DMX line Pin numbers Socket
1 (normally A) 2=Data -

3=Data +

1

2 (normally B) 2=Data -

3=Data +

2

3 (normally C) 2=Data -

3=Data +

3

4 (normally D) 2=Data -

3=Data +

4

1.3 Connecting MIDI devices

The Sapphire has the usual MIDI IN and OUT connections. It can read MIDI
information and use it to trigger a show, and it can output MIDI
information in response to user actions on the controls. This means you
can record a show straight into a MIDI sequencer by operating the show
yourself using the buttons and sliders. The MIDI operation of the console is
described in section 10 on page 161.

1.4 Connecting audio

The Sapphire has a left and right audio input socket, which are used for
sound to light functions.

There is an internal link on the PCB to set the overall sensitivity of the
audio inputs. It is located near the audio connectors and is labelled “Preset
Gain Links”. It can be set to 0dB, 20dB or 40dB by bridging one of the
pairs of jumpers. The link should normally be set to 0dB for a line level

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input, and 20 or 40dB for a microphone level input.

1.5 The disk drive

The Sapphire has a 1.44M floppy disk drive which is used to load and save
shows, personality files and system software. The standard PC disk format
is used, so you can transfer data to and from your PC. You can use the
smaller 720K disks, but large shows may not fit!

You should get into the habit of backing up your show to disk regularly to
guard against that moment when something goes wrong. It doesn’t take
long.

1> Press the Disk button in the bottom right hand corner of the

Sapphire
2> Insert a blank formatted 1.44M disk into the disk drive.
3> Press softkey B, “Save show to disk”. Enter a name on the

QWERTY keyboard. The Sapphire will save the show.
4> To reload the show, use softkey A, “Load show from disk”.

Other disk drive functions are available when you have pressed the Disk
button. The disk drive functions are described in section 10 on page 161.

1.6 Other back panel connections and controls

Also on the back panel are the following:
The QWERTY socket is for connecting a standard PC keyboard. This is used

for entering legends to name memories, chases and palettes. You should
connect the keyboard before you turn the power on.

The VDU socket is for connecting a VGA display. Any standard VGA display
will be OK. You do not have to connect the VGA display as most
information is shown on the console’s on-board displays, but some extra
displays are available on the VGA display which are useful when
programming or operating a complex show.

The Desk Lamp sockets on the top edge of the console are for the
gooseneck lights.

The Reset button on the back right hand corner of the console allows you
to restart the Sapphire if something funny happens to it. The Sapphire will
come back to the same place it was in when you pressed Reset, but all
playbacks will be turned off. The memory is not affected.

1.7 Operating modes

The Sapphire has a key-operated switch next to the main display which
allows you to select the operating mode of the console.

When running a show, you normally select Run mode. You can run
playbacks and (in Takeover run mode) manually control fixtures (see page

153). You cannot change any programming. This is the best mode if others
are operating the console and you want to make sure they can’t mess up
your programming. Just take the key with you!!

When programming, you need to be in Program mode, which you access
by turning the key to Program. This manual assumes you are in program
mode.

System mode allows you to clear the console using softkey F, “Wipeall”,
and to access AVO mode. This allows you to do anything to the console,

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including Wipeall, various diagnostics and loading a new operating system.
There are more details about AVO mode in Section 10 on page 163.

1.8 The front panel controls

If you need a quick guide to what all the controls do on the front panel
(and boy, are there a lot of them) there is a quick rundown in section 1.2
on page 2 of the Tutorial guide.

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CHAPTER TWO

2. Patching

This chapter contains: Fixture handles; patching dimmers; patching
moving light fixtures; checking the patching; changing the DMX address;
moving a fixture to a different handle; deleting a patched fixture; patching
options.

Patching is the process where you tell the Sapphire

?? What type of lighting units you have connected to it
?? What DMX addresses they are operating at
?? Which DMX output line each unit is connected to (there are 4)
?? Which “handles” (control sliders) you want to use to access them

You can either patch the DMX channels on your console to match your
lighting rig, or set up the console first and then set the lighting rig to
match.

The Sapphire must be in Program mode before you can patch.

2.1 Fixture handles

The Sapphire can control up to 400 intelligent
fixtures or dimmer channels. To do this it has 4
pages of 100 control “handles”. The handles
are located in 2 rows of 50 along the top of the
console. Each handle consists of a slider, used
to set the intensity of the fixture or dimmer
patched to the handle, a “Swop” flash button
which is used in program mode to select the
fixture, and an “Add” flash button.

The fixture page buttons are located just to the
right of the wheels. Fixtures 1-100 are on page 0--, Fixtures 101-200 on
page 1--, 201-300 on page 2—and 301-400 on page 3--. You can change
the fixture page at any time.

The Sapphire also allows you to allocate fixtures and dimmers to Groups,
which can be useful if you usually select the same set of fixtures together.
Groups are described in the next chapter.

2.2 Patching dimmers

Each dimmer channel is allocated to one handle. If you want to link
dimmers together, you can allocate several to the same handle.

1> Press Patch, then Softkey A “Dimmer”
2> On the top line of the display, the Sapphire shows the DMX

address it is going to patch at. You can change this using the

numeric keypad. You can also use softkey C “Select a DMX line” to

patch onto one of the other 3 DMX output lines.
3> To patch a single dimmer, press a handle Swop button. To patch a

range of dimmers, hold down the Swop button for the first dimmer

in the range, then press the last Swop button in the range. The

range of dimmers will be patched to sequential DMX addresses.

Handles (Preset faders)

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4> To patch another dimmer to the same handle, enter the new DMX

channel and press the Swop button again
5> Repeat from step 2 for other dimmers.

?? The VGA display will show the channels which have been patched. You

can patch multiple dimmers onto the same handle by simply pressing
the Swop button again when you get to the DMX address for the
appropriate dimmer.

?? When in Dimmer Patch mode you can set options for dimmer channels

which you are going to patch. You can set the “Full on” level to less
than 100% using option A, and select a different dimmer response
curve using option B. To use the “User curve” setting you need to load
in a user curve, see page 161. These settings affect all dimmer
channels you patch afterwards, until you change the settings again.
Channels you have already patched are not affected.

2.3 Patching moving light fixtures

Moving light fixtures are more complicated to patch than dimmers because
they have more attributes to control, such as pan, tilt, colour etc., where a
dimmer channel just has intensity. When you patch a fixture, you will see
on the display that it occupies a block of DMX channels rather than just
one.

The Sapphire uses a “personality” system to control fixtures. There is a
personality file in the Sapphire for each fixture, which tells it what
attributes are available and how to control them. In the unlikely event that
there isn’t a personality for the fixture you are using, you can either create
one yourself (see chapter 11) or contact Avolites, who will be able to
create one for you.

Note: The Sapphire holds all the personalities in an internal “cache” file. If

the console memory gets wiped you might need to reload the file,
how to do it is described on page 160. You can also use a
Personality Disk in the disk drive.

If you are using the internal personality cache, ensure there is no disk in
the disk drive.

1> Press Patch, then Softkey B, “Choose a Fixture”.
2> The Sapphire will read the personality files, then display “Please

select an instrument”. A list of known fixtures will appear next to

the softkeys after a pause.
3> Use Softkey F (next) and Softkey G (Back) to go up and down the

list and find the correct fixture, then press the softkey next to the

fixture to select it.
4> The Sapphire loads the fixture information. The display shows

details of the fixture.
5> The Sapphire will ask “Automatically create focuses?”. Press

Softkey A for Yes. This loads a standard set of positions, colours

and gobos into the Palette pages which can be useful when

programming. If you say No now, you can’t load them later.
6> On the display, the Sapphire shows the DMX address it is going to

patch at. You can change this using the numeric keypad. You can

also use softkey C “Select a DMX line” to patch onto one of the

other 3 DMX output lines.
7> Press an unused handle Swop button to patch the fixture. The

display will show the block of channels occupied by the fixture. If

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you want to use a different fixture page, select the new page first.
8> Repeat from Step 7 to patch more of this type of fixture.
9> Press softkey A (“Select another fixture”) and repeat from Step 3

to patch a different type of fixture.

?? You can patch a range of fixtures by holding down the first and last

Swop buttons of the range, the same as for dimmers.

?? You cannot patch more than one fixture onto a handle. If the handle is

already used, the patch will fail. Use a different handle or delete the
fixture already on the handle if you don’t want it any more.

?? Some fixtures can only be patched at certain DMX addresses. This is

usually described in the fixture instruction manual. If this information
is included in the fixture personality, the Sapphire will not allow you to
patch the fixture at an illegal address, and will offer the next valid
address instead.

?? If you are patching a fixture which uses a separate dimmer channel

such as a VL5™, you can patch the dimmer channel onto the same
handle as the moving light part of the fixture, so you can control it all
together.

2.4 Checking the patching

Having set the Sapphire, you need to ensure that your lighting rig is set up
to match the Sapphire by going round your rig to set the DMX addresses.

You can display the DMX settings on the Sapphire like this.

1> Press the View button next to the numeric keys
2> Press Softkey D, “Fixture Patch”
3> The display shows a list of the handles to which you have patched

fixtures or dimmers, with the DMX line and address (e.g. A24 is

address 24 on DMX line A).
4> The top handle on the list has an arrow next to it. The lower part

of the display shows more information for this handle, including

dip switch settings if the fixture personality includes this

information.
5> Use the up-down cursor arrows to change the selected fixture. The

left-right cursor arrows will show you another page of handles.
6> Repeat from Step 4 to view other fixtures.

?? Press View, then Softkey C “DMX patch” to display a list of all DMX

channels, what they are allocated to and the current output. The cursor
arrows scroll through the list.

?? Press View then a handle Swop button to display the settings for the

fixture patched to that handle.

?? You do not need to be in patch mode to view this information, you can

do it at any time.

2.5 Changing the DMX address of a fixture

You can re-patch a fixture to a different DMX address or a different DMX
output line. All programming is kept.

1> Press Patch (if you’re not already in Patch mode).

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2> Press Softkey E “Repatch Fixtures”.
3> Use the numeric keypad to enter the new DMX address of the

fixture. If you want to change the DMX output line, press Softkey

E “Select a DMX line” and choose a new output line by pressing A

B C or D.
4> Press the handle swop button for the fixture to patch that fixture

at the new address.
5> Press Enter to confirm the change.
6> Repeat from step 3 if you want to change other fixtures.

?? If the new DMX address was already used by another handle, the

fixture or dimmer on that handle will be “parked”. All programming for
the handle is preserved, but you need to patch it to a new DMX
address using the above procedure before you can use it again. If you
view the fixture patch as described above, the display will show “park”.

2.6 Moving a fixture to a different handle

You can move a dimmer or fixture from one handle to another simply by
entering the DMX channel to match the address of the fixture, then
patching it again onto another handle. However, all programming is lost
for that dimmer channel or fixture.

2.7 Deleting a patched fixture

You can delete a fixture or dimmer from a handle if you patched it
accidentally or if you change your rig and want to use the handle for
something else.

1> Press Patch (if you’re not already in Patch mode).
2> Press Delete (the light will flash).
3> Press the Swop button of the handle you want to delete.
4> Press Enter to confirm.

You can delete individual DMX channels from a handle by typing the
channel number instead of pressing a Swop button. This is useful for
deleting dimmer channels from handles which have multiple channels
patched to them. Be careful not to delete individual channels out of
fixtures using this function.

2.8 Patching options

The Sapphire allows several options to be set for each fixture or dimmer
when it is being patched. The Patch Options menu is accessed by pressing
Softkey F “Patch Utilities” while you are in patch mode. Set the options
before you start programming, because memories will play back differently
when the options are on.

The options are:
A: Invert - Allows you to invert an attribute of a fixture, so when you set

zero the output will be full. You cannot invert some attributes.

1> Select the fixtures you want to invert
2> Select the attribute you want to invert by pressing the Attribute

Select button (some can’t be changed)
3> Press Softkey E or F to invert the attributes shown (the softkey

shows the current setting as NORMAL or INVERTED)

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4> Repeat from 2 if you want to invert more attributes, or 1 if you

want to change other fixtures.

B: Set/Reset Instant mode - When the Sapphire fades LTP (movement)
channels between two memories, the LTP values normally change
smoothly. You can set Instant mode to make the channel snap instantly to
the new value.

1> Select the fixtures you want to change
2> Select the attribute you want to change (some can’t be changed)
3> Press Softkey E or F to change the attributes shown (the display

shows INSTANT or FADE)
4> Repeat from 2 if you want to change more attributes, or 1 if you

want to change other fixtures.

C: Swap pan and tilt - If you have some fixtures mounted sideways, it
can be useful to swap the pan and tilt channels over.

1> Press the Pan/Tilt attribute button so you can see the setting
2> Press the Swop buttons of the fixtures you want to change
3> Repeat from 2 to change other fixtures.

D: Set DMX lines - The Sapphire has 4 DMX output lines, this option lets
you set which connectors they come out of. You can output the same DMX
line from more than one connector if you want to.

The console shows the current settings of the DMX outputs on the VGA
display. You need the VGA display connected to set this option, as the
settings are not shown on the on-board display. Use the cursor arrows to
select the output you want to change. Press Softkeys A-D to select the
DMX line you want to come out of this output.

You can also use this option to set the highest DMX channel to transmit.
This will speed up the DMX refresh rate if you are not using all 512
channels. (This option can also be set from the User Preference menu).

E: Find fixture - This option lets you find “lost” fixtures (if you have set
the DMX address and forgotten what it was, or a fixture has gone off on its
own). You need the VGA display connected to use this option as the
settings are not shown on the on-board display.

1> Using the cursor arrows, select the type of fixture & press enter
2> Spin wheel A until the fixture responds (open white beam, central

position)
3> You can change the DMX output line using the A B C D softkeys or

directly enter a channel by pressing softkey G
4> Read the DMX address from the VGA display.
5> Press Exit when you have finished.

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CHAPTER THREE

3. Controlling dimmers and fixtures

This chapter contains: Selecting fixtures and dimmers for control;
changing attributes of the selected fixtures; using groups; selecting
fixtures one at a time; the align and flip buttons; killing off a fixture; using
palettes; entering levels as numbers; the ML menu and tracking; viewing
the output.

When you are programming a show, and sometimes when you are running
a show, you need to manually control the fixtures and dimmers to set the
intensity, position, colour, etc. To do this you first select the fixtures you
want to change, then you set the attributes of those fixtures.

3.1 Selecting fixtures and dimmers for control

To select the fixtures or dimmer channels that you want to control, you
use the handle Swop buttons. You can select fixtures or dimmers
individually, or several at once.

You can control dimmer channels and fixture intensity directly from the
fader control of the handle, or select the channels as described below and
use the Dimmer attribute.

1> Press the handle Swop buttons for the fixtures you want. The LED

in the Swop button comes on for selected fixtures (they are also

shown in dark blue on the VGA display)
2> To select a range of fixtures, hold down the Swop button for the

first fixture then press the Swop button for the last fixture.

Here are some other things to know:
?? Press ML Menu then Softkey A,“Locate Fixture” to position the selected

fixtures in open white at a central position (dimmer channels go to
50%). These values are not loaded into the programmer - you can’t
save them unless you modify them.

?? You can deselect a fixture by pressing the fixture select button again.
?? Once you have changed any attribute, pressing a handle Swop button

will deselect all fixtures and start the selection process again.

?? You can select fixtures on another page by pressing one of the “Pages

of Fixtures” buttons.

3.2 Changing attributes of the selected fixtures

“Attributes” are the functions of the
fixture, like pan, tilt, colour, dimmer, etc.
You select which attributes you want to
modify using the buttons on the right edge
of the console and set values using the
wheels at the bottom of the Sapphire. The
attributes available depend on the fixture
type. Dimmer channels only have a
dimmer attribute. The Sapphire can
control up to 40 attributes per fixture.

Each attribute button controls two

Attribute select buttons

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attributes, one on the left wheel and one on the right wheel.

1> Press the button for the attribute to be changed
2> Turn the wheels to set the attribute. The display above the wheels

shows which attributes are being controlled.
3> Repeat from 1 to change other attributes of the selected fixtures.

Some other things to know about attributes:

?? The Attribute buttons let you select the first 20 attributes. Another 20

attributes are available by pressing the “Attribute Banks 11-20”
button, to cater for the weird and wonderful DMX fixtures of the
future. The light on the button stays on when you are using the top 20
attributes.

?? If the display does not show the attribute when you press the button,

that attribute is not available on the selected fixtures.

?? You can directly control the dimmer function of the fixture (or

dimmer!) using the fader of the handle.

?? Fixtures which don’t have a Dimmer function usually use the Gobo

function to black out the fixture. Gobo channels are defined as HTP
channels in this case.

?? You can control pan and tilt in “fine” (16-bit) mode by pressing the

Pan/Tilt button twice (the LED will flash). Any fixtures capable of 16­bit movement will now be controlled more accurately.

3.3 Using groups

You can create groups of fixtures or dimmer channels, to make selecting
them faster. You can, for example, make a group for each type of fixture,
or group by left / right stage, etc. You can then select all the fixtures in
the group just by typing the group number and pressing Softkey A.

1> Select the fixtures/dimmers you want in the group (the order in

which you select them will also be stored in the group)
2> Press ML Menu, then softkey D, “Record Group”
3> Type the group number you want to store it as, and press Enter
4> Repeat from 1 to store other groups

Other useful things to know about groups:

?? Once you have created a group, you can then quickly select all the

fixtures/dimmers in the group simply by typing the group number,
then pressing Softkey A. All other fixtures and dimmers are
deselected.

?? The order in which you select the fixtures takes effect when you use

the last fixture – next fixture functions described in the next section,
and when you use Shapes and Fan mode.

3.4 Selecting fixtures one at a time

If you have selected a range of fixtures, or a group, the Sapphire has
functions to step through the selected fixtures one at a time. This can
make it easier to program a range of fixtures because you don’t have to
select each one manually.

This mode uses the “Sequence Control” buttons which are normally used
for controlling chases.

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1> Put the Sapphire into Fixture Select mode by holding down the

AVO button and pressing Softkey B until the option shows “Fixture

Control Enabled”
2> Select a range of fixtures or a group
3> The ? (Reverse) and ? (Forward)

buttons will select the fixtures in the

range one at a time
4> The ?? (Bounce) button will

highlight the output of the selected

fixture so you can see it on stage

(the button LED is lit when in

Highlight mode)
5> The Review button reselects the

whole range of fixtures.

?? The Sequence Control buttons stay in this mode until you change them

back by holding AVO and pressing Softkey B again. This means you
cannot use them for controlling chase direction. However Softkeys E,
F, G in the Chase Parameters menu give you the functions of the chase
direction buttons.

3.5 The Align and Flip functions

The Align function allows you to set the same level on a particular
attribute for a range of fixtures. This can be useful if you want to set a row
of scans to have the same tilt position, or if you want to set a colour from
one fixture onto other fixtures.

1> Press an attribute button to select the attribute you want to align.
2> Select the fixture to use as the reference
3> Select the other fixtures you want to align to the first one
4> Press ML Menu, then Softkey C, “Align <attribute name>”.
5> The attributes will be aligned on all the selected fixtures.

?? You can align all attributes of the fixtures using Softkey B, “Align

Fixtures” (it doesn’t matter which attribute is selected).

?? If you use a group to select the fixtures, the one you selected first

when you recorded the group will be the reference fixture.

?? If Tracking mode is on (see page 122), aligning the Pan/Tilt attribute

will cause all the fixtures to point at the same place on the stage rather
than copying the actual Pan/Tilt values.

The Flip function is used with moving head fixtures. This type of fixture
has two possible pan and tilt positions for each point on stage, and the Flip
button alternates between them. This allows you more freedom to make
movements without hitting the pan stop.

1> Select the fixtures to flip.
2> Press ML Menu twice (option A should be Flip)
3> Press softkey A, “Flip”.

?? On moving head fixtures capable of more than 360 degree rotation

such as the Martin MAC range, the Flip function will give a distorted
result.

?? The other functions on the ML menu are described at the end of the

chapter.

Sequence control buttons

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3.6 “Killing off” a fixture or dimmer

Sometimes during a show you might want to “kill” a fixture or dimmer
from the stage output. This may happen if a camera is having problems
with a light shining straight into it, if a lamp blows and you want to keep
the rig symmetrical or if a fixture loses position.

The “Reduce fixture intensity” button allows you to temporarily dim or turn
off any fixture or dimmer. Programming is not affected and you can later
restore it to normal operation. You can do this in program mode or run
mode.

1> Press “Reduce Fixture Intensity” (in the lower right corner).
2> Put the fader for the fixture/dimmer channel to be reduced up to

full (if it was already full, take it to zero then up to full).
3> Reduce the fader to the intensity level you want.
4> Repeat from 2 to reduce other fixtures.
5> Press Reduce Fixture Intensity to finish.

?? To restore the fixture, do the above but leave the fader at full. The

fixture will stay “reduced” until you restore it.

?? Make sure you turn off Reduce Fixture Intensity when you have

finished, otherwise you will end up reducing intensities when you don’t
want to, and wondering why none of your fixtures are coming on.

?? To cancel all reductions, press the Reduce Fixture Intensity button and

put all faders to full, then press the button again to end.

?? If the Swop buttons are in “mimic” mode (see page 153), they will

show the programmed output of the channel, not the reduced output.

3.7 Using palettes

When programming a show you will find that you frequently use certain
positions, colours, etc. Like an artist’s palette, the Sapphire lets you store
these settings so you can recall them at the touch of a button. There are
10 pages of 20 palette entries. You can name the palette values so that
you know what you’re getting, and the
Sapphire displays them on its built-in palette
control area.

Also, when you patch a fixture, the Sapphire
loads 10 preset positions, 10 colours and 10
gobos into the palette for that fixture. The
colours are the same for all fixtures, so you
know that if you select “Red” you are going to
get red on everything, even though the
Sapphire is sending out different values to
the different types of fixture.

Palette values stored as a reference

The most important thing about palettes is that when you use a palette
value in a memory, the Sapphire stores a reference to the palette, rather
than the actual value. This means that if you program your memories
using palettes, you can easily change all the positions just by
reprogramming a few palette entries rather than having to reprogram all
the memories. This is handy if you are touring a show and have to cope
with different stages or truss heights every show.

Shared and individual palettes

Palette select buttons

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Palette entries can be shared or individual.
?? Shared: If you only have one fixture selected when recording the

palette entry, then you can use that palette entry for all fixtures of the
same type. So you could save a value for “Red” on the first of your
Wackylites™, and then use that value for any of your other Wackylites.
This is a shared palette, useful for values which are the same for all the
fixtures of one type, such as colour, gobo, prism etc. The pre­programmed palettes are all shared.

?? Individual: If you select more than one fixture when recording the

palette entry, then the entry is unique for each fixture. So when you
save an entry with pan/tilt positions for your 4 central Wackylites,
those positions will only ever apply to those fixtures. You can later add
values for other fixtures; fixtures which have no values saved will not
change when the palette is recalled. This is an individual palette, useful
for values which vary for each fixture, like pan, tilt and focus.

Which attributes are stored in palettes

A palette entry can store any or all attributes of a fixture, so you could
store colour and gobo in the same palette entry. Only the attributes you
have changed will be recorded. You can also “mask out” some of the
attributes, when saving the palette entry.

To save all the changed attributes, select the Dimmer attribute when
saving the palette. All the attribute lights will come on to show you that
they are all going to be used. To save one individual attribute, press one of
the other attribute buttons (the Colour attribute also selects the Yellow /
Magenta / Cyan colour mix attributes). You can save other attributes later
if you need to.

This is how you save a palette value:

1> Press Clear to clear the programmer.
2> Select the fixtures for which you want to store palette values.

Select one fixture only to record a shared palette entry.
3> Set the attributes you want in the palette entry. You can store any

or all attributes of a fixture in each palette entry. Only attributes

you have changed will be recorded.
4> Press the attribute button for the attributes you want to store (the

dimmer button will store all attributes). The buttons light up to

show you which attributes are going to be recorded.
5> Press Store Palette, (press the palette page you want to use if the

pages are displayed), then press one of the palette select buttons

to store the palette entry under that button.
6> Name the palette entry by pressing Softkey D, “Set Legend”, then

the palette select button, then enter the name using the external

Qwerty keyboard.

To recall a palette value, this is what you do:

1> Select the fixtures to be changed. Shared palettes can be set to

any fixture of the same type. Individual palettes will set individual

values to each fixture.
2> Select the attributes you want to recall from the palette. The

Dimmer attribute will recall everything (the LEDs on the buttons

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show you which attributes are active)
3> You can apply the palette values instantly, or fade to them by

typing a time on the keypad then pressing softkey B, “Recall

Focus”, before selecting the palette entry
4> Press the palette page you want if the pages are displayed, then

press the select button for the palette entry you want (the palette

display shows the contents of the page). The selected attributes of

the fixtures will be set to the palette values.

Other useful things to know about palettes:

?? The Sapphire sometimes calls palettes “Focuses”. This term is used on

other Avolites consoles. The meaning is the same.

?? You can edit a palette entry by recalling it, making the changes you

want, then saving the new information back on top of the existing
palette entry. Anything you haven’t changed will not be affected,
values you have changed or added will be amended. You can also use
the Edit Focus button, which automatically selects the fixtures used in
the palette.

?? You can delete a palette entry by pressing Delete, then the select

button for the palette entry to be removed

?? You can change the way the attributes are grouped when saving or

recalling palette entries by selecting the attribute button to change,
then pressing the Menu button below the Palette button, then option A
“Focus mask”. The buttons will light to show which attributes are
saved when that button is selected. You can press the buttons to
include or exclude attributes. Press Exit twice to finish. If you do
change these settings for any reason you should change them back
when you have finished, or major confusion will result.

?? You can recall selected attributes out of a palette entry using the

Focus button. Press Focus, then select the attributes you want to
recall, then enter the palette number.

?? Palette numbering: The 10 pages of palettes on the top screen are

numbered 1-10 (on page 1), 11 to 20 (on page 2) and so on. The 10
pages on the bottom screen are numbered 101-110 (on page 1), 111­120 (on page 2) and so on. You will only need to know the number of
the palette if you recall it using the Focus button or another numerical
method rather than just pressing the Palette select button.

3.8 Entering intensity levels as numbers

You can set levels using the numeric keypad as you would on a theatrical
lighting desk. If you are used to doing this, it can be faster when plotting
dimmer levels for a scene than using the select buttons and the wheels.

1> Press the Channel button
2> Type the dimmer or fixture handle number (not the DMX channel)

on the keypad.
3> Press Softkey G, “At %”.
4> Press 0 - 9 for the intensity, or Softkey G again for 100%
5> Press the decimal point key and another digit for more accurate

control
6> Press Channel again to get back to normal (the Exit button does

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not operate in this mode)

Other things you can do by numeric entry:

?? The softkey options are D:set to 100%, E:up by 5%, F:down by 5%.
?? You can set multiple dimmers to the same level using softkey F,

“Through”. Enter first dimmer number, “through”, last dimmer, “At %”,
level.

?? Softkey B, “Select new fixture type” lets you tell the desk the type of

fixture you are working with. It uses this when you select fixtures.
Normally it is set to “desk channel” and will select fixtures starting
from handle 1. If you set it to dimmer, it will only select dimmers,
starting at the first dimmer patched, so selecting 1 “through” 10 would
select the first 10 dimmers, wherever they are patched. You can set
the option to any fixture type you have patched on the console.

?? If you have more than one dimmer/fixture selected, Softkey C, “Odd or

Even”, allows you to select the odd and even numbered channels.
Softkey B selects Even channels and C selects Odd channels. Softkey A
selects all channels again after you have used this option.

?? Softkey E, “Select Group” allows you to recall a group by entering the

group number.

3.9 Controlling fixtures by entering values

You can also directly enter values for fixture attributes. This can be useful
for programming palette values from a fixture data sheet.

1> Select the fixtures to be set by pressing the Swop buttons
2> Select the attribute to be set using the Attribute buttons
3> Type the value to set.
4> Press Softkey E or F to set the A/B wheel attribute (displayed next

to the softkey).
5> Press Softkey G, “Set input to 0-255 / %” to change the entry

mode between 0-10 and 0-255.

?? You can change the attributes to be set by pressing another Attribute

button, but then you will need to enter the value again.

?? You can also recall groups of fixtures or dimmers (type group number,

then press softkey A, “Recall Group”).

?? You can recall palette entries (type palette entry number, then press

softkey B, “Recall Focus”)

3.10 The ML menu and Tracking

The “ML menu” (Moving Light menu) button allows access to some handy
features for moving lights.

If you press the ML Menu button again you will get a second set of options
Option A “Locate Fixture” positions selected fixtures at central position,

with light coming out of them. The settings are not placed in the
programmer, so you need to change the values if you want to save them.
The “locate fixture” settings for each type of fixture are defined in the
personality file.

Option B “Align Fixtures” is described in section 3.5 on page 117.

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Option E “Define the stage” lets you teach the Sapphire how your lights
are set up.

The Sapphire can learn the layout of the stage and lights rig you are using.
This enables it to calculate where it needs to point each light so that they
all hit the same place on the stage. This is called Tracking mode and it is a
very powerful feature of the Sapphire.

You need to mark a square on the stage, ideally the sides of the square
need to be half the depth of the stage but as long as it’s square and you
can point all the fixtures at the corners, the size is not that important.

1> Select all the fixtures you want to use for Tracking.
2> Point all the fixtures so they light someone standing at the back

left hand corner of the square (don’t light a circle on the floor, or

your lights will be pointing at peoples’ feet all the time).
3> Select option A “Top left”. This stores the positions.
4> Point them all so they light someone standing at the back right

hand corner, then select option B “Top right”.
5> Repeat for the front corners of the stage using options C and D to

store the positions.
6> Press Enter to complete the process.
7> The Sapphire will go away and do lots of calculations. The

message bar on the VGA display shows the progress. This can take

several minutes.

?? You can recall a position you have already set, if you want to edit it,

using option F “Recall” then A B C or D to recall one of the positions.

?? You need to make sure you are lighting a person rather than making a

spot on the stage, because otherwise the beams will cross over at the
wrong place. If you can’t find a handy spare person, use a plastic cup
or a light coloured item of clothing over the end of a mic stand at head
height.

?? If you are using moving head fixtures, you need to ensure the pan stop

is on the side away from the stage, or the fixtures will not be able to
track over the whole stage area. You also need to keep the Tilt value
less than 50%, or the heads may “flip” when you track into some
areas.

Option F allows you to turn Tracking mode off or on. You can also do this
from the graphics tablet (see page 149). When tracking mode is on, the
pan and tilt controls set the position on the stage rather than absolute
DMX values. Tracking mode is easiest to use from the Graphics Tablet, but
if you really want to you can do it from the wheels.

Option G is used to run “macros” which are used to strike lamps or reset
fixtures, etc. These features often require a sequence of levels to be sent
on different control channels, which the Sapphire can do automatically if
the macro is defined in the personality file for the fixture.

The display will show a list of available macros for the fixtures which are
currently selected. If no macros are available for those fixtures, the option
will not do anything. The Personality File section on page 165 contains
details.

On the second page of the ML menu… (press ML Menu again)
Option A “Flip” is described in section 3.5 on page 117.
Option B “Calculator” displays a screen on the VGA monitor allowing you

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to convert numbers from decimal to hex or to binary. This is useful for
working out dip switch settings. If you are not using a VGA monitor, this
option will apparently do nothing, but you will need to press Exit to get the
console back to normal mode.

Option C “Remove from programmer” allows you to remove from the
programmer fixtures which are selected. This can be useful if you have
changed a fixture you didn’t want to include in a memory – just select the
fixture, then use this option.

Option G “Load into programmer” loads the values of selected fixtures
into the programmer. This can be useful if you are in “Record by Channel”
mode but want to record all the fixture settings. If Palette values have
been used to set the fixture, the absolute values are stored rather than a
reference to the palette entry.

3.11 Viewing the console output

The on-board display shows you the output level of all the channels which
are turned on, but only channels 1-50 fit on the display. To show channels
51-100, press the Fixture Page button again (the light on it flashes).

You can select which attributes you are looking at by pressing one of the
attribute buttons.

The channels shown refer to the console channels (handle numbers), not
the DMX channel. So if you have a fixture patched on handle 10, you can
view the intensity of the fixture by pressing “Dimmer” and looking at the
output for channel 10, or the pan-tilt settings by pressing “Pan Tilt” and
looking at the output.

The VGA display shows a similar “stage view” screen, but shows all the
attributes for each type of fixture that is patched. You can select the
fixture type you are viewing using the left-right cursor arrows. The VGA
display shows the current type above the menu options. If you have more
than 10 of one type of fixture, the up-down cursor arrows let you page
through them.

You can also select “Intensity”, which shows the output intensity of each
fixture or dimmer.

An example display is shown on page 3 of the tutorial manual.

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CHAPTER FOUR

4. Using shapes

This chapter contains: Selecting a shape; changing the size and speed of a
shape; spreading a shape across multiple fixtures; editing shapes which
are running; fan mode.

The Sapphire, in common with other Avolites consoles, has a shape
generator. This allows you to quickly create exciting light shows using lots
of movement and changes, with the minimum of programming.

A shape is simply a sequence of values which can be applied to any
attribute of a fixture. A “circle” shape, for example, applied to the pan and
tilt attributes, would cause the fixture to move its beam around in a
circular pattern. You can set the centre point of the circle, the size of the
circle and the speed of the circle movement.

You could apply circle values to the colour mix attributes of a fixture and
create some interesting ever-changing colours. In addition to circles there
are a large number of other shapes available in the Sapphire. The shapes
are defined for a particular attribute and the VGA display tells you which
attribute they control.

When you use a shape with more than one fixture, you can choose to
either apply the shape identically to all the fixtures, or offset them so that
the shape runs along the fixtures creating “wave” or “ballyhoo” type
effects. This is called the spread of the shape.

4.1 Selecting a shape

Selecting a shape is very similar to selecting a value from a palette. When
you choose a shape, it will be applied to all selected fixtures.

1> Select the fixtures the shape is to be applied to.
2> Press one of the Shape Page selects on the bottom Palette screen.
3> Press a select button to apply a shape to the fixtures. The Palette

screens describe the shape for each button.

?? Position shapes are always based on the current position of the fixture.

Other types of shape are based on the current setting of the attribute
if they are described as “User” or “Usr”, otherwise they are based on a
fixed value.

?? If the shape description says “Even” or “Parallel”, this describes the

Spread of the shape. You can always change this later.

?? You can change the base value of a “user” or position shape (e.g. the

centre of a circle) by changing the attributes using the wheels in the
usual way. You can reduce the Size to zero (see next section) to help
you see what the base value actually is.

?? You can run more than one shape at a time by repeating the above

procedure. You can run several shapes on one fixture, but only if they
work on different attributes (e.g. you can have a pan/tilt shape and a
colour shape, but not two pan/tilt shapes.)

?? Press Softkey G, “Shape Generator”, then Softkey B, “Edit a shape” to

show what shapes are running.

?? If you apply the same shape to two different groups of fixtures, the

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shape will appear twice on the shape list. You can edit the two shapes
separately to give different directions, speeds etc (see later)

?? You can remove shapes from fixtures which are selected by pressing

Softkey G “Shape Generator”, then softkey E “Remove shapes from
selected fixtures”.

?? Each shape is designed to work on a particular attribute; the list on

the palette display shows you which attribute. Obviously if the fixtures
don’t have the attribute, you can’t use that shape on those fixtures.

4.2 Changing the size and speed of a shape

It is easy to change the size and speed of a shape after it has first been
selected.

1> Press Softkey G, “Shape Generator” (if you are not already in the

shape generator menu).
2> Press Softkey D, “Set wheels to Size/Speed”
3> The left hand wheel controls the Size. The right hand wheel

controls the Speed. The display shows the values.

Other things to know about size and speed of shapes:
?? If you have more than one shape running, the controls operate on the

most recent one. You can edit the parameters of any shape that’s
running using the Edit Shape function, see later in the chapter.

?? The minimum size is zero. This will “hide” the shape, and the fixture

will resume its previous settings. The shape is, however, still active.

?? The minimum speed is Stop. This will freeze the shape and will offset

the positioning of the fixture.

4.3 Spreading a shape across multiple fixtures

To get the maximum impact from a shape, apply it to several fixtures. The
Sapphire has some powerful “Spread” functions which determine how the
shape is spread out across the fixtures.

This can vary from all fixtures moving identically (Coarse spread = NONE),
fixtures working in pairs (Coarse spread = 1) through to all fixtures being
distributed evenly through the shape, so the first fixture is just starting the
shape as the last one finishes (Coarse spread = Even).

The “Fine” spread value introduces a smaller offset into the timing of the
shape across each fixture.

1> In Shape Generator menu, press softkey C, “Set wheels to

Spread”.
2> The left hand wheel controls the Fine Spread. The right hand

wheel controls the Coarse spread.
3> Keep the Fine Spread at zero while you adjust the Coarse spread

to the desired value, or the output can get confusing.

?? The order in which you selected the fixtures before assigning the shape

determines how the shapes are applied; the “first” fixture is the one
you select first and the “last” fixture is the one you select last.

?? If you select the fixtures using a group, the order in which you selected

the fixtures when recording the group is used.

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4.4 Editing shapes which are running

The Shape Generator menu allows you to edit shapes which are running.
Press Softkey G “Shape Generator” on the main menu.

Any changes you make to a shape will affect all fixtures which are running
that shape. If you applied the same shape several times to different
fixtures, you can change each copy of the shape independently.

The softkey options are:
A: Playback a shape - This is an alternative way to select a shape using

the menu softkeys rather than the palette select buttons. If you are used
to the Pearl 2000 console, you might find this method of selecting shapes
to be more familiar.

B: Edit a shape - This option lets you select which shape is the “Active
shape” (the one you can control the speed, size and spread of with the
wheels). You can’t edit shapes which are being played back from a
memory using this option, only shapes in the programmer.

1> Next to the softkeys is a list of shapes you can edit.
2> Press a softkey to make the shape active. Active shapes are

highlighted. You can make more than one shape active.
3> Press Enter when you have finished
4> The speed, size and spread controls will now affect all the shapes

you have set to be active.

Options C and D are described above.
E: Remove shapes for selected fixtures - This option is the only way to

turn off shapes for an individual fixture. Select the fixtures you want to
remove shapes from, then select this option. All shapes will be removed
from the selected fixtures.

F: Change direction - The direction of the Active shape(s) will be
reversed.

G: Playback parameters - This option lets you set parameters for a
shape stored in a playback / memory. When a memory fades in, you can
determine whether the shape should start at full size and speed instantly,
or whether the shape speed and/or size should fade in as well. If the
memory mode is set to 0, the settings are ignored.

1> Press the swop button of the playback you want to set the

parameters for
2> The Sapphire displays the current options.
3> Softkey A sets the Size to Static or Timed
4> Softkey B sets the Speed to Static or Timed
5> Softkey C sets the Shape Merge option on or off (if you run two

playbacks applying shapes to the same fixtures, this option allows

you to merge the shapes or override previous shapes with the

latest one)
6> Softkey D sets the current memory mode of the playback. This is

described in the next chapter.

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4.5 Fan mode

Fan mode is nothing to do with shapes, but the effect is similar to a static
shape.

Fan mode automatically spreads out the values on a selected range of
fixtures. If used on pan and tilt, the result is spreading out “rays” of light
beams. The first and last fixtures of the range are affected most, and the
central fixtures are affected least. The amount of fan can be set using the
wheels.

As with shapes, the order in which you select the fixtures sets how the fan
effect works. The fixtures you select first and last will be the ones which
change most. If you use a group to select the fixtures, the order is that in
which the fixtures in the group were selected when it was created.

The fan effect, while normally used on pan or tilt attributes, can be applied
to any attribute.

1> Select the fixtures you want to fan
2> Select the attribute to fan (pan/tilt, colour etc)
3> Press Fan
4> Set the amount of fan using the wheels
5> The display shows which attribute is being controlled by each

wheel

Fan mode needs to be used on at least 4 fixtures to give good effects. If
you have an odd number of fixtures, the central fixture will not move in
fan mode.

Press the Fan button again to leave Fan mode. Any effects you have set
will remain.

It’s fairly easy to accidentally leave Fan mode turned on and be very
confused about why the wheels aren’t working properly, so turn it off as
soon as you have completed the effect.

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CHAPTER FIVE

5. Recording and playing back memories

This chapter contains: HTP and LTP channels; how the Sapphire works
when programming; recording a memory; playing back a memory;
changing playback pages; setting fade times for a memory; copying and
deleting memories; the include function; editing memories; the “off”
button; blind mode; recording the stage using snapshots; using shapes in
memories.

The Sapphire has many functions for producing a complex light show, and
the most fundamental part is a Memory, in which you can store a “look”
you have created using your lights.

The Sapphire has 2000 playbacks, in 100 pages of 20, which can be used
to store memories or chases (sequences of
“looks”). Chases are covered in the next
chapter. The playbacks are controlled using
the sliders and flash buttons across the near
edge of the console. The displays above the
faders show the name of each playback.

The memory functions on the Sapphire are
very powerful; the first part of this section
explains the basics of how the Sapphire uses
memories.

5.1 HTP and LTP channels

The Sapphire can treat control channels in two ways:
?? Dimmer or intensity channels work on the principle of “highest takes

precedence” (HTP). If an HTP channel is turned on in several
memories, the highest level will be output. When you fade a memory,
the HTP channels fade out with it.

?? Moving light channels work on the principle of “latest takes

precedence” (LTP). The latest change takes over from any other values,
so the most recent memory to be turned on is the one which is output.
When you fade a memory, LTP channels do not normally fade (you can
make them if you want). They set their full values when the memory
starts to fade in, and stay there until another value is set. (You can set
the value this happens at using the User Preference menu).

The fixture personality file tells the Sapphire which channels of a fixture
are HTP and which are LTP. Normally, only dimmer attributes are HTP, and
everything else is LTP. If a fixture does not have an intensity control
channel, the Gobo channel is defined as HTP to make sure the fixture
blacks out when a memory is turned off.

5.2 How the Sapphire works when programming

The Sapphire has a special internal memory called the “Programmer”.
Whenever you change a channel of a fixture, the changes are stored in the
Programmer. When you record a memory, the contents of the programmer
are stored in the memory. Nothing else from the console output is stored.

Note: On the Sapphire, unlike other Avolites consoles, both LTP and HTP

channels work through the programmer. HTP channels are not

Playback faders

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saved unless they are in the programmer. (The “Record Stage”
function, where available, records the active HTP channels and the
programmer).

The Sapphire has two programming modes, “Record by Fixture” (the
normal mode) and “Record by Channel”. The mode is selected by holding
the AVO button and pressing Softkey C. The differences are:

?? Record by Fixture - When you change any attribute of a fixture, all the

other attributes are placed in the Programmer as well. You will get
exactly the result you expected when you recall the memory, but you
can’t combine memories containing the same fixtures, because the new
memory will just override the old one.

?? Record by Channel - Only the attribute you change is placed in the

programmer. This means you can save memories which only contain
position information, then recall them with other memories to set
colours, gobos etc. This is much more flexible but requires more
programming initially, because you need several memories to get a
result. It also lays you open to problems if you don’t keep track of what
you are doing.

When you press Clear, all fixtures are cleared from the programmer. You
should get into the habit of pressing Clear before you start to program a
memory, or you can end up recording fixtures you don’t want. You also
need to press Clear when you finish programming, because any functions
in the programmer will override playbacks.

Attributes which are in the programmer are shown with a “m” (modified)
on the on-board output display, and with a light blue (cyan) background
on the VGA display.

Turning on a memory does not place the values from the memory in the
programmer (but the Include function lets you do this, see page 133). The
Locate Fixture function does not place any values in the programmer
either.

5.3 Recording a memory

The Sapphire has 100 pages of 20 memories (the page select buttons are
at the right hand end of the playbacks).

1> Press Clear to clear the programmer. This ensures that you are

starting with a clean slate.
2> Set up the stage effect using the fixtures. You can include shapes

in a memory. Remember that only the fixtures you have changed

will be included in the memory.
3> Press Memory.
4> Press the Swop button of a playback to record it. (Select a new

page first if you want to use a different page).
5> Press Clear to clear the programmer. Repeat from 2 to program

more memories

Other useful things to know about recording memories:
?? You can label the memory to help you remember what’s in it. The label

is shown on the display above the playback fader. Press Softkey E, “Set
Legends”, then the playback Swop button, then enter a name using an
external Qwerty keyboard. The text is shown on the VGA display. Press
Enter to store it, then Exit to finish.

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?? You can also label the current playback page this way, by pressing the

“Select Page” button instead of the playback Swop.

?? If you forgot to bring your Qwerty keyboard, you can use the Swop

buttons of Presets 1-26 for capital A-Z, and the Add buttons for lower
case a-z.

?? If you don’t have a VGA display, you can’t see what you are typing.

When you press Enter, the legend will appear on the on-board display.
You need to remember to press Exit to get the console back to normal
mode.

5.4 Playing back a memory

To play back a memory, raise the fader. (Make sure there are no values in
the programmer by pressing the Clear button, because anything in the
programmer will override the playback).

?? You can turn on more than one memory at once.
?? If you are using a fader, all the HTP (intensity) channels in the memory

will fade up with the fader. The LTP (movement) channels will be set as
soon as the fader leaves the zero position. You can set the point at
which this occurs on the User Preference menu. (If you have changed
the memory to be Mode 1 or 2, the LTP channels fade as well).

?? The Add and Swop flash buttons only operate in Normal Run mode.
?? In Run mode you can preset the LTP channels before raising the fader

by pressing the Preload button. This is useful if you want to avoid the
fixture “swinging” into position when you turn the playback on.

5.5 Changing playback pages

You can change pages to select another 20 memories simply by pressing
Next Page or Previous Page on the playback page buttons. You can also
enter a page number by pressing Select
Page, then typing the page number on
the keypad, then press Enter.

?? Playbacks which are turned on when

you change page remain active. The
display above the fader shows you
the name of the active memory in the
top row, and the name of the memory
from the new page in the bottom row.

?? If you want to turn on a playback

which is already on from a previous
page, lower the fader to zero then raise it again. The memory from the
previous page will turn off and the memory from the new page will turn
on.

?? You can label the playback pages by pressing softkey E, “Set Legends”,

then the Select Page button, then entering a label using the Qwerty
keyboard. The labels are shown across the top of the Playback
displays.

5.6 Setting fade times for a memory

You can set a fade in and fade out time independently for every memory.
The fades only affect HTP (intensity) channels. There is a separate LTP
timer which allows you to set movement times. LTP channels which are set

Playback page buttons

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to “instant” (see page 112) ignore LTP fade times.

1> Press Softkey C, “Edit Times”.
2> Press the Swop button of the playback you want to set times for
3> Press Softkey C to set the fade in time, Softkey D to set the fade

out time, or Softkey E to set the LTP fade time (Options A, B, and

F have no effect on memories and are only used on chases)
4> Type the new time using the numeric keypad and press Enter to

save it.
5> Softkey G sets the memory mode of the chase to 0, 1 or 2

(described below).
6> Press Enter to save the changes. If you press Exit, any times you

have set will be abandoned.

The times you enter are also affected by the memory mode:

?? Mode 0 - No timing information.
?? Mode 1 - Channels fade as set by the HTP and LTP fade times (except

Instant LTP channels). If you enter times for a Mode 0 memory, it will
automatically change to Mode 1.

?? Mode 2 - HTP channels fade as set by the HTP times. LTP channels are

controlled by the fader position (except Instant channels). Set the LTP
fade time to 0 to use this mode.

?? If the memory includes shapes, and you have set the shape size or

speed to “timed”, then the shape will change with the LTP channels.
The changes will be timed for a Mode 1 memory and controlled by the
fader position for a Mode 2 memory. This allows you to create a shape
which gets bigger or faster as you push up the fader.

5.7 Copying a memory

Copying a memory is very simple on the Sapphire. You can either create a
linked copy (if you change a linked memory, all others linked to it will
change too) or a “photocopy”, which is a completely new and independent
copy of the memory.

To create a linked copy:

1> Hold down the Add button of the playback you want to copy.
2> If you want to copy to a different page, use the page buttons to

set the new page.
3> Press the Swop button of the playback where you want to store

the copy. Release both buttons.

?? To create a Photocopy, press the blue Photocopy button before

pressing the playback Add button

?? If you have named the memory you copied, the linked memory will

have the same name. A photocopy will have a new name.

5.8 Deleting a memory

To delete a memory:

1> Press the Delete button.
2> Press the Swop button of the memory you want to delete.

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3> Press the Swop button again to confirm the delete.

?? If the deleted memory is linked to others, the linked memories are not

affected.

5.9 The Include function

The Include function lets you load selected parts of a memory back into
the programmer. (Normally, only manual changes to fixtures are put in the
programmer). You can then use this to make a new memory. This is useful
if you want to make a memory which is similar to one you already have.

When you use Include, you specify which attributes of which fixtures you
want to load into the programmer. So, for example, if you have a memory
which contains position, colour and gobo information for 8 fixtures, you
can use the include function to load only the colour information for 4 of the
fixtures into the programmer. You could then “Include” position
information from another memory into the programmer, and build up a
new memory using information from several existing memories.

1> Select the fixtures from which you want to take settings.
2> Press Include.
3> Select the Attributes you want to include. The Dimmer attribute

includes all other attributes (the buttons light up to show which

attributes will be included)
4> Press the playback Swop button for the memory you want to

include. Press Enter. The selected attributes of the selected

fixtures will be loaded into the programmer.
5> Repeat from 2 to include other attributes from the same fixtures,

or repeat from 1 to include other fixtures.

?? If you want to put the whole memory into the programmer, ensure no

fixtures are selected, then press Include, then the Playback Swop
button for the memory to include. Everything will be placed in the
programmer.

?? If the memory contains shapes, all the shapes and all the fixtures they

are applied to will be loaded into the programmer, even if the fixtures
and attributes are not selected. The shapes can then be edited, see
page 127.

?? If you really want to, you can edit the way the Attributes are grouped

(e.g. the colour function always selects the Yellow / Magenta / Cyan
functions too). This is called the “Focus Mask”. See Attribute Groups for
palettes on page 120.

5.10 Editing memories

You can edit any part of a memory you have already saved simply by
making the changes and saving the new information on top of the
memory.

1> Press Clear to empty the programmer.
2> Turn on the memory you want to edit, so you can see what you

are doing.
3> Select the fixtures you want to change, and make the changes.
4> Press Memory.

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5> Press the Swop button for the memory you are editing to save the

changes. Unchanged information is not affected.

?? If the memory contains shapes, and you have selected some new

shapes, the original shapes in the memory will be deleted (after a
warning). To get round this you need to use Include on the original
memory to load the shapes into the programmer. Ensure that the
playback fader for the memory is at zero (i.e. the shape is not active)
when Including the memory.

5.11 The “Off” button

The “Off” button allows you to remove an attribute which has been stored
in a memory, so that it is as if you never recorded it.

For example, suppose you recorded a memory which had scans at a
certain position, with the colour set to green. If you later decide that you
don’t want a colour recorded at all in the memory, so that the previous
colour setting of the scans will be used, you use the Off function to turn off
the colour in the memory. You can also use the Off function to remove
complete fixtures from a memory.

Using the Off button is not the same as recording an attribute at zero. It is
like not recording the attribute at all.

1> Turn on the memory you want to edit, so you can see what you

are doing.
2> Select the fixtures you want to change.
3> Press the OFF button to display the Off menu.
4> To switch off all attributes of the selected fixtures, press Softkey A

(this will remove the fixtures from the programmer).
5> To switch off selected attributes, press the appropriate attribute

button, then use Softkey B and C to set each attribute to Off (the

screen shows which attribute will be turned off for each button)
6> Repeat from 3 to turn off other attributes, or from 2 to turn off

other fixtures.
7> Press Memory.
8> Press the Swop button for the memory you are editing to save the

changes. Unchanged information is not affected.

?? Attributes which are Off are shown on the screen. The stage output will

not change until you save the memory.

?? Attributes or fixtures set to “Off” can be turned back on again by

selecting them in the usual way and changing them using the wheels.

?? You can also use this function to turn off fixtures or attributes in a

palette entry. Use the procedure above, but instead of editing and
recording a memory, edit and record a palette entry instead. See page
120 for how to do this.

5.12 Recording in Blind mode

The Sapphire has a useful function called “Blind mode”, which allows you
to program memories without altering the output of the console. The
contents of the Programmer are saved on entering Blind mode, and
restored when you leave Blind mode. Any playbacks turned on continue as
normal, and you can make any changes you like without affecting the
output.

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This is useful if for some reason you need to edit a memory in the middle
of a show without upsetting the current lighting state. Obviously, as you
can’t see the changes you are making, you will need to have a good idea
of what values to set.

1> Press Softkey F, “Press for Blind Mode”.
2> If you don’t want to use the contents of the programmer, press

Clear.
3> Make changes to your fixtures as usual. Use the screen or the

Graphics Tablet to help you set the right positions, colours etc.
4> Save your changes as usual.
5> To go back to normal, press Softkey F, “Press for Live Mode”. The

previous contents of the programmer will be restored (the

contents of the programmer from Blind mode will be lost).

?? If you have edited a playback which is already turned on, you will need

to turn it off then on again to load the new version.

5.13 Recording the stage using Snapshots

The Snapshot function allows you to instantly record the current output of
the console for later use. This can be useful if you suddenly create an
amazing effect on stage, but it’s a mixture of things you have changed and
things left over from the last memory.

When you take a Snapshot, any fixture which is lit up (has its dimmer
channel on), and any active dimmer channels are stored. You can later
retrieve the snapshots and copy them into memories.

The Sapphire can store up to 50 snapshots. They are listed by time and
date, so if you write down the time when you store one, you will be able to
identify them later.

1> At the main menu press Softkey D “Snapshot Menu”. The VGA

display shows “(x/50)” to tell you how many of the 50 snapshots

are used.
2> Press Softkey C “Take a snapshot of the stage” to record the

output to a snapshot.
3> Press Softkey A “Load a snapshot” to load a previous snapshot into

the programmer. The VGA display shows a list of stored

snapshots. Use the cursor keys or type the number of the one you

want on the numeric keypad, then press Enter. You can then save

the snapshot to a memory as usual.
4> Press Softkey B “Delete a snapshot” to dele te a snapshot from the

list. The VGA display shows a list of snapshots, select the one you

want as for the Load option above.

?? You need to ensure that the Sapphire’s internal clock is set correctly if

you are using Snapshots, or you will not be able to identify the
snapshots afterwards. See page 160 for how to set the clock.

5.14 Using shapes in memories

As you would expect, any shapes you have set up will be saved as part of
the memory.

If the base value of the shape is not in the programmer (e.g. the central
pan/tilt position, for a circle), and the shape is a “User” type, then the
memory will contain a “relative” shape. When you recall the memory, the

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shape will start based on the current position of the fixture. This allows
you to create lots of different effects by layering a few different memories

- one for the shape, one for the base position.
You can either use “Record by channel” mode, and not set the position, or

use the “Off” function to achieve this effect.

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CHAPTER SIX

6. Recording and playing back chases

This chapter contains: Programming a chase; running a chase; setting
speed, crossfade and direction; manually controlling the chase steps;
setting step times and unlinking; editing a chase using unfold; editing a
chase which is running; copying chases; sound activation of chases; chase
options.

As well as being used to store static memories, the playback buttons on
the Sapphire can also be used to store chases (sequences of static
memories).

6.1 Programming a chase

To program a chase, you have to set up the lighting for each step of the
chase, then save it. The contents of the programmer are recorded as a
step.

You can either set all the fixtures and dimmers manually for each step, or
you can use Include to load in the information from memories you have
already recorded.

1> Press the Chase button.
2> Press the Swop button of the playback where you want to store

the chase.
3> Set up the lighting for the first step, either manually or by using

“Include” on existing memories.
4> Press the Swop button of the playback or Enter to store the

programmer contents as Step 1 of the chase.
5> Press Clear, then repeat from step 3.
6> Press Chase to finish when you have stored all the steps you want.

?? You can’t record shapes in a chase. Any shapes which are active will be

ignored.

?? You can set a label for the chase by pressing Softkey E, “Set Legends”,

as with memories.

?? There is no limit to the number of steps in a chase provided there is

enough free memory in the Sapphire.

6.2 Running a chase

To run a chase, raise the fader of the playback. (You can also use the
Add/Swop buttons if you are in Normal Run mode). The chase will start to
run.

?? The HTP (intensity) channels in the chase will be controlled by the

fader. The other channels (LTP) will be set as soon as the fader moves
above zero according to the LTP fade times programmed in the chase.
You can set the point at which the LTP channels activate from the User
Preference menu.

?? The bottom part of the display shows the progress of the chase. The

Wait and Fade times are represented by black bars.

?? Press View then “5” to show details of the chase steps on the screen.

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There are many options you can set to determine the way the chase runs
and these are described in the rest of this chapter.

6.3 Setting speed, crossfade and direction

When you run a chase, the wheels are assigned to control the Speed and
Crossfade of the chase. The wheels are automatically “connected” to the
most recent chase.

You can save a speed with the chase, so that every time you play it back,
it runs at the same speed.

1> Press Softkey A, “Chase Parameters”.
2> Set the speed you want using the left hand wheel.
3> Press Softkey A “Save Speed”.

?? If you are in Run mode, you can also set the chase speed by tapping

Softkey G, “Tap twice to set speed” in time with the music.

?? You can change the speed display to BPM (beats per minute) rather

than seconds, from the User Preferences menu (see page 159).

?? If you are doing another operation using the wheels while running a

chase (e.g. manually positioning some fixtures), you can make the
wheels control speed and crossfade again by pressing the Connect
button next to the wheels, then the swop button for the chase.

?? You can set the chase back to its programmed speed by pressing

Connect, then Softkey A, “Clear temporary speed”.

?? You can “connect” the wheels to a different chase by pressing the

Connect button, then the swop button for the chase you want to
connect to.

?? You can turn off the “chase autoconnect” option in the User Preference

menu if you don’t want the wheels to connect to a chase when you
start it. You will have to use the Connect button to control the chase if
you do this.

The chase direction is controlled by the ? (backwards), ? (forwards) and
?? (Bounce) buttons. These buttons can also be assigned as Fixture
control buttons (see page 116). Hold down the Avo button and press
Softkey B so the display shows “Chase Control Enabled” to use the buttons
to control the chase direction.

?? You can save the current direction of the chase so it will always start in

that direction; Press softkey A, “Chase Parameters”, then softkey B,
“Save Direction”.

?? If you want to keep the buttons in Fixture control mode, you can also

set the chase direction by pressing Softkey A, “Chase Parameters”,
then softkeys E, F and G set the chase direction.

6.4 Manually controlling the chase steps

You can take manual control over the connected chase by pressing the
Stop button. If the chase is set to “Links Off”, it will do this automatically ­see the next section for details on Links.

?? Press the Go button to restart playback of the chase
?? Press the Stop button to jump to the next step (times and fades are

ignored)

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?? Press the Snap Back button to jump back a step (times and fades are

ignored)

?? To set the “next” step to be a particular step number, type the step

number on the numeric keypad then press Connect.

?? Turn the left hand wheel to manually control the HTP fades for this step

(this can be disabled using the chase parameters menu).

?? Turn the right hand wheel to manually control the LTP fades for this

step (this can be disabled using the chase parameters menu).

?? You can also use the ? and ? buttons to jump backwards and

forwards a step.

6.5 Setting step times and unlinking

You can set step times globally for the whole chase and individually for
each step. You can also unlink the steps, either for the whole chase or for
individual steps, so that the chase pauses and waits for you to press the
Go button. This can be useful if you are using the console for theatrical
lighting cues.

To set the global times for a chase:

1> Press Softkey C, “Edit Times”, then the playback button for the

chase.
2> Press Softkey A-F to select the time parameter to set (the times

are described below).
3> Type the new time value using the numeric keypad and press

Enter
4> Press Softkey G to set Link on or off for the whole chase. If link is

on the chase runs automatically. If off, you run each step

manually using the Go button (a chase like this is called a

“stack”).
5> Press Enter when you have finished. If you press Exit, any changes

you have made will be lost.

The times are:
Wait In - Delay before the fade in starts

Wait Out - Delay before the fade out starts
Fade In - Time to fade in
Fade Out - Time to fade out
LTP Fade - Time for the LTP (movement) channels to fade over
LTP Wait - Delay before the LTP channels start to move

?? You can enter minutes as part of the time - press the decimal point

twice, a colon (:) will appear. e.g. to enter 20 mins 10.5 seconds, type

20..10.5 (the display will show 20:10.5).

?? You can set the fade in and fade out times independently for each

step/cue. Chase steps with individual times are called Complex steps, if
they use the global settings they are called Simple steps. To set
independent times you can either use Unfold (see next section) or Live
editing (the section after).

6.6 Editing a chase using Unfold

The Sapphire has a powerful chase editing system. The Unfold button
places each step of a chase on one of the playback faders as if each step

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was a memory, allowing you to turn on and edit each step individually.

1> Press Unfold, then the Swop button of the chase to be edited
2> The first 15 steps of the chase are loaded into playback faders 1-

15. The display shows details about the steps.

3> Raise a playback fader to output the contents of that step (fade

times will operate as programmed)
4> Various Unfold options are available, the details are below.
5> Press Unfold again to get out of unfold mode.

?? To edit the contents of a step: Press Clear to empty the programmer,

raise the fader to output the step, make the changes, press softkey A
“Record”, then the Swop button (1-15) for the step number.

?? To change the times for the step, press Softkey B, “Edit Times”, then

the flash button for the step, then set the times (see previous section)

?? To Insert a new step, set up the lights for the new step, press Softkey

C, “Insert”, then the Swop button where you want to insert the new
step. The new step will be allocated to the button you press with a step
number half way between the steps either side, and all other steps will
be shifted along one. (You cannot use the blue Insert button in Unfold
mode).

?? To Delete a step, press Softkey D then the Swop button for the step

you want to delete. (You cannot use the blue Delete button to do this).

?? You can copy a step by holding the Add button of the step to copy,

then pressing the Swop button of the step to copy it to.

?? You can renumber the chase to whole numbers by pressing Softkey C,

“Insert”, softkey A, ”Renumber”, then Enter to confirm.

?? If the chase has more than 15 steps, you can swap to the next 15

steps using softkey F, or the previous 10 steps using softkey E.

?? While the chase is unfolded you can press Softkey G, “Set Legends”,

followed by the Swop button for the step to set a label for the step.

6.7 Editing a chase which is running

You can also edit chase steps while you are running the chase, without
using Unfold. Make sure the step you are editing is not in the middle of a
fade, or you might get unexpected results next time you run the chase.

1> Start the chase by raising the fader. (if Links are On, press the

Stop button to pause the chase)
2> Keep pressing the Stop button to step on to the step you want, or

type the step number you want, press Connect then Stop.
3> Press Clear to make sure the pr ogrammer is empty.
4> Make the changes that you want to the current step.
5> Press Rec. Step, then Enter, to save the changes to the step.
6> Press the Stop button to jump on to the next step or the Snap

Back button to go back.

?? You can set individual times for each step using the Live Time button

as follows:

1> Stop the chase on the step you want to set, as above.

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2> Press the Live Time button to set the times for the current step, or

the Next Time button for the next step. The Live and Next step

numbers are shown on the display.
3> Use softkeys A-G to set the times you want (see above for

description of the times)
4> Press Enter to save the settings, Exit to abandon them, or the ML

Menu button to toggle the step mode between Simple/Complex

(Simple = use the global timings).
5> Press the Stop button to jump to the next step or the Snap Back

button to go back one.

?? The Review button shows you the step you have just edited, including

all the fades. When you press Review, the chase jumps back to the
step before the one you are on, then runs the step you have edited to
show you the overall result. The chase does not have to be stopped to
use Review.

?? To insert a new step at the current point in the chase: Set up the lights

how you want them for the new step, then press the blue Insert
button, then press Enter. (If you want to insert a different step
number, type it before pressing Enter). The Set Times menu is
displayed. Change the times if you want to, then press Enter to insert
the step.

?? You can delete a step from the connected chase by pressing the blue

Delete button, typing the step number to be deleted, pressing Enter
then Softkey A, “Yes”.

6.8 Copying chases

You can copy a chase exactly the same as a memory – hold down the Add
button of the chase you want to copy, then press the Swop button of the
playback you want to copy it to. The copied chase will be linked to the
original, and any changes made to either chase will affect both chases.

If you want an unlinked copy, press the Photocopy button before starting
the copy.

6.9 Sound activation of chases

The Sapphire can use bass, mid or treble frequencies from its audio input
to trigger chases. The chase in Playback 1 is stepped by low frequencies,
playback 2 by mid frequencies and playback 3 by high frequencies.

1> Save the chases you want to sound trigger in playbacks 1, 2 or 3.
2> In Run mode, press softkey E, “Enable sound to light”.
3> When playbacks 1,2,3 are turned on, chases stored in them will

step in time to the sound signal
4> Press softkey F, “Disable sound to light”, to turn off sound

activation.

?? Turn the chase links Off and set fade times to zero to get a true sound

to light chase.

?? You can make some linked steps and some unlinked steps to give a

chase which runs on a few steps for every audio pulse.

?? The sensitivity of the audio input can be set using an internal PCB

jumper to enable use of a microphone rather than line level audio. See
page 105.

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6.10 Previewing chase steps

You can preview the output of a chase step on the display. The chase does
not have to be connected or running.

1> Press View.
2> Press the Swop button of the chase to view.
3> Choose the attribute to view by pressing one of the Attribute

buttons.
4> Use softkeys F and G to step through the chase.

?? You can view the live output of a connected chase by pressing View

then Connect.

6.11 Chase options

Each chase has options which can be set to affect the way it runs. Press
softkey A, “Chase Parameters”. If you do not have a chase “connected”,
some options will not be available. The options you set are individual for
each chase.

The options are:
A: Save Speed - saves the current speed of the chase (set using the left

hand wheel)

B: Save Direction - save the direction of the chase (set using the

direction / bounce buttons or options, see below)

C: Normal / Random - turn on random mode (steps are executed in

random order) - press to change the mode. Turn off random mode
when editing a chase, or you won’t know which step you are going to
get next.

D: Stop on final step - makes the chase stop on the final step. If the final

step is a blackout, the chase will appear to turn itself off, so you can
just press Go whenever you want to make it happen again

E: Chase Left – The same as pressing the ? button, but useful if the

direction buttons are set to “Fixture control” mode (see page 116)

F: Chase Right – The same as pressing the ? button.
G: Chase Bounce - Allows you to create a bounce chase which runs

forward to the last step, then backwards to the first step, and so on.
The same as the ?? button.

More Chase Options can be set by pressing the ML Menu button while in
this menu.

A: Fader start options - (press the button to cycle through the options):

Fader will reload chase (every time you turn on the chase it starts

at step 1)

Fader stops, go to start chase (the chase will not run until you

have pressed Go after you turn on the chase)

Fader stops/starts chase (every time you turn on the chase it

continues from where it left off)

B: Skip times options – Allows you to skip the first wait and/or fade of a

chase. You often want to do this so the chase starts as soon as you
raise the fader. (Press the button to cycle through options)…

Skip first wait time (The wait time is missed when the chase is

first turned on)

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Skip first wait and fade time (Both wait and fade times are missed

when the chase is first turned on)

Wait and Fade for all steps

C: Manual mode allowed / disallowed – If set to Allowed, lets you

manually fade a paused step by turning the left hand wheel for the
HTP channels and the right hand wheel for the LTP channels.

D: Speed wheel allowed / disallowed - Lets you change the chase

speed using the left hand wheel. You might want to turn this off if you
don’t want the console operator to be able to change chase speeds at
playback time.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

7. Theatre mode

This chapter contains: Setting theatre mode; theatre controls; plotting a
cue; naming a cue; setting fade times; jumping to a cue; running a
theatrical show; advanced options.

Theatre mode is a new addition to Avolites consoles. It allows you to use
the Sapphire like a standard theatrical console, where you program your
show as a sequence of cues, then run the show just by pressing the Go
button at the appropriate moment. Playback faders 17-20 become
dedicated cue masters.

7.1 Setting theatre mode

In program mode, press Softkey B “Theatre stack programming”. The
Sapphire displays the theatre mode startup display. Press Enter to start.

The display above playbacks 17-20 changes to show the theatre control
display.

?? Press Softkey F, before pressing Enter, to bypass the Theatre Mode

startup display in future.

?? When theatre mode is enabled, you can’t access playbacks 17-20 on

any page; if you intend to use Theatre mode it is advisable not to
program these playbacks. Any programs are kept and when you turn
off Theatre mode you will be able to access them again. Chase
Autoconnect mode is also disabled when theatre mode is turned on.

?? To get out of the theatre menu, press Softkey G, “Quit”. The Exit

button is disabled in the theatre menu. This does not turn off theatre
mode, but allows you to use the rest of the console.

?? To turn off theatre mode completely, turn the key to System, press

Softkey C “User Settings” then Softkey D “Theatre Mode” so that the
display shows “Theatre Mode=OFF”.

?? Theatre mode programming is not deleted when theatre mode is

turned off.

7.2 Theatre controls

While theatre mode is turned on, Playback
faders 17-20 have special functions assigned
to them.

Fader 17 is the Master fader, controlling the
overall intensity of all lights.

The Go and Stop buttons above the master
fader (17) control all three timers and are the
same as the Go and Stop buttons next to the
wheels. The Reverse button above the master
fader snaps all uncompleted fades back to the
start.

Fader 18 controls the Fade In of the next step, when it is stopped.
Fader 19 controls the Fade Out of the previous step, when it is stopped.

Theatre mode faders

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Fader 20 controls the LTP fade timer, when it is stopped.
The buttons above 18, 19 and 20 are Reverse, Stop and Go buttons for

each of these functions. The Reverse button snaps back to the start of the
fade, but only when the fade has not completed.

7.3 Plotting a cue

Plotting a cue is very similar to saving a memory. You need to be in
Program mode to record cues.

1> If you are not already in “Theatre mode” press Softkey B, “Theatre

Stack Programming” at the main menu.
2> Press Clear to make sure the programmer is empty.
3> Set up the channel levels, either using the preset faders or typing

in the levels for each channel (see page 120).
4> If the current step number on the display is different to the one

you want to use, type the step (cue) number
5> Press softkey D, “Record”, then softkey B, “Record Stage” to

record the programmer contents and all HTP channels that are

turned on, or Softkey D, “Record programmer” to just record the

contents of the programmer
6> Press Clear.
7> Repeat from 3 to plot more cues.

?? You can edit a cue you have saved by typing the cue number then

pressing Softkey F, “Cut to live”. Make the changes you want using the
preset faders or by entering new levels, then press Softkey D,
“Record”, then Softkey D again, “Record programmer”. The cue will be
updated.

?? You can use an existing memory to form a cue by either using Include

(see page 133) or, if you only want dimmer levels, just turn the
memory on and use the “Record Stage” option.

7.4 Naming a cue

Type the cue number to be named, then press Softkey E, “Set Legend”
from the theatre menu. Enter the legend on the QWERTY keyboard. While
you are typing, the input is shown on the VGA display.

The name of the live cue and the next cue is displayed above the theatre
faders so you can see what’s coming next.

7.5 Setting fade times for a cue

You can set fade in, fade out and “wait” times for each cue. Press Softkey
C, “Set Times” to show the options. This will set the times for the current
step. You can also press the Live Time button to set times for the current
step, and the Next Time button to set times for the next step. See page
139 for a description of what the various times are.

7.6 Jumping to a cue

You can change the cue being edited by typing the cue number then
pressing Enter. If you want to output this cue, press Softkey F, “Cut to
Live” (fade times are ignored).

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7.7 Running a theatrical show

If you have just been editing, you may need to type 1 then Softkey F to
set the console to cue 1. You should also turn the key to “Run” to make
sure you can’t accidentally change anything.

The display shows the current cue, the next cue (with names if you have
set them), and the wait and fade times for fade in, fade out and LTP.
Above each slider is displayed “WFG”, meaning “Waiting for Go”, in other
words the cue will start when you press the Go button.

For automatic cues, you can simply press the Go button next to the
wheels. The console will carry out the fade with the times you
programmed.

If you want to manually control a fade, you can use the in, out and LTP
faders or Go/Stop buttons to operate the cue. The display shows the
percentage of fade left to go. When the fade is completed for that fader,
the display shows “Stopped”. When Fade In, Fade Out and LTP all show
“Stopped”, the console moves on to the next cue.

The “Reverse” button for the In, Out and HTP faders snaps the fade back to
the start, if it has not completed.

Once the display shows “Stopped” you cannot reverse the fade using the
fader or the Reverse button.

7.8 Advanced theatre options

Press softkey A, “Advanced” to display the Advanced theatre options
menu.

The options are:
A: Renumber – Renumbers all cues to whole numbers.
The other options apply to a cue. You select the cue by typing the cue

number and pressing Enter. The display shows the current cue number.
B: Assign a fade up autoload – Assigns a memory or chase which will be

automatically loaded and run when the fade-in for the cue starts. This
allows you to load a memory or chase with the step by only pressing
the Go button.

C: Assign a fade down autoload – Allows you to turn off a memory or

chase when the cue starts.
D: Delete autoload – Deletes the autoload memory from the current cue.
?? You can only have one autoload (either a fade up or a fade down) for

each cue.

?? The memory to load can be from any page, but it will be loaded into

the same playback number that it is saved in. If this playback is active
on the current page, it will be turned off and replaced by the autoload
memory.

?? If a cue has an autoload memory allocated to it, the name of the

memory is shown on the VGA display.

?? Fade times for Autoload memories only work to the nearest second.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

8. Using the graphics tablet

This chapter contains: Connecting the graphics tablet; using the tablet;
selecting fixtures on the tablet; changing the position of the fixtures;
changing colours and other attributes; storing palette entries; other
functions.

The graphics tablet is fitted in a drawer on the front left of the Sapphire. It
allows you to use a pen to select fixtures, groups, colours, and position the
fixtures by simply drawing with the pen. When you use the Sapphire’s
Tracking mode you can instantly make all your fixtures point at one place
on the stage just by pressing on the tablet.

The tablet makes programming and operating a show on the Sapphire
much more intuitive. If you don’t have a graphics tablet you’re missing
out!

8.1 Using the tablet

To use the tablet, press the pen onto it (the button on the side of the pen
doesn’t do anything). A quick press is like pushing a button on the
Sapphire. You can also draw on the tablet by keeping the pen pressed
down while moving it. This is used to move fixtures or change attributes.

The Sapphire will behave as if you are pressing buttons on it in the normal
way, so the LEDs and the display will change as you use the tablet. Many
of the functions of the Sapphire are quicker and easier using the tablet.
Sometimes you might find it easier to do part of the function on the tablet
and part on the console. The end result is the same.

The tablet has a paper overlay on it. You can write your fixture names,
group names, attributes, palette entries and even draw your stage layout
on the overlay so that you know what’s what. Spare overlays are available
from Avolites.

8.2 Selecting fixtures on the tablet

To select a fixture or a group, just press the pen
onto the fixture button or the group button. The first
60 fixtures which are patched are available on the
tablet. Only the first 30 groups are available on the
tablet.

You can select multiple fixtures by just pressing on
each fixture that you want. Once you change an
attribute this selection mode will end; the next time
you select a fixture all the other fixtures will be
deselected and you can start selecting multiple
fixtures again.

8.3 Changing the position of the fixtures

You can control the position of the selected fixture by drawing on the
Stage area of the tablet.

If you press on the Nudge button, when you draw on the tablet the fixture
will move relative to its current position. This can be useful if you want to

Fixture select

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slightly reposition a fixture or a group of fixtures.
Press on the Absolute button to turn off this mode.

If you have trained the Sapphire, which is
described on page 121, you can turn on Tracking
mode by pressing on the Track ON button. When
you point at the stage area of the tablet, all the
lights will point at the same place on the stage. If
you draw the stage layout on the tablet overlay,
you can instantly focus the fixtures on a specific
point on the stage just by pointing at the tablet.

8.4 Changing colours and other attributes

If the fixture can do colour mixing, you can set the colour by drawing in
the colour control area of the tablet. The Nudge button allows you to
change the colour slightly as for positions. The Absolute button lets you
set up a new colour. The Luminosity bar sets the brightness of the colour.

You can recall the first 60 palette entries by pressing the pen on the
Focuses buttons.

You can change individual attributes of selected
fixtures by pressing the pen on to the attribute
button, then (without lifting the pen) drawing up
and down on the tablet.

You can also use the fader bar to change
attributes, press on the attribute button you want
to change then draw up and down on the fader bar.

Press the Dimmer button above the fader bar to
allocate it to the dimmer attribute.

There is an Align button and a Flip button which
allow instant access to the functions on the console (see page 117).

8.5 Storing palette entries (focuses)

You can store palette entries from the graphics tablet. The tablet refers to
these as Focuses, which is what they are called on the Pearl and other
Avolites consoles.

The buttons above the stage area allow you to edit and save position
palettes. Press on Recall Focus, then a focus button to select all the
fixtures in that palette entry and set the values. You can move all the
fixtures together, or the Step to Next and Step to Last buttons will step
through the fixtures one at a time. When you have made the changes,
press on Store Pan/Tilt to store the changes back into the same palette
entry.

You can also change other attributes in a palette, but to store changes
other than pan/tilt you use the Store Focus button on the right hand side
of the tablet.

8.6 Other functions

The tablet has a selection of other functions down the right hand side,
including Locate Fixture, Flip, Select All, Clear (programmer), Off, Record
Memory etc. These have the same functions as pressing the appropriate
button on the Sapphire.

Attributes Colour select

Stage position area

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You can create a group using the tablet, just select the fixtures you want
in the group, press Record Group, then the group button to be used.

The Release Fixture button is similar to clear, but it only removes from the
programmer fixtures which are selected.

The DeLatch Fixtures button deselects a fixture but leaves any changes in
the programmer.

Other buttons in this area, and the Mouse Pad area above, are for future
expansion.

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