ETC Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

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Unison Mosaic Designer

User Manual

v1.11

Production information and specifications subject to change.

Part Number: 7180M1240-1.11 Rev A.

Released 2013-12.

v1.11 11-12-2013 Custom

Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

ETC permits the reproduction of materials in this manual only for non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved by ETC.

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Contents

Contents 3 Welcome 20

Introduction 20 Platforms 20 Apple QuickTime 20 Help Overview 20 Help Help 20 Support 20

What's new in v1.11 21

Controllers 21

User Interface 22

Main toolbar 22 Mode tabs 22 Mode toolbar 22 Browser 22 Browser toolbar 23 Plan 23 Configuration area 23 Status bar 23

Keyboard shortcuts 24

Notes for Mac OS X users 25

Overview 26

Setup (F1) 26 Patch (F2) 26 DALI (F3) 26 Mover (F4) 26 Media (F5) 26 Program (F6) 26 Trigger (F7) 26 Simulate (F8) 27 Network (F9) 27 Report (F10) 27

Quick Start 28

Creating a project 28 Getting started: Adding Conventionals, LEDs and Moving Lights to the plan and patching them 28 Creating Media & Mover presets 28 Programming Timelines 29 Creating Triggers 29

Setup - Project properties 30

Project Identification 30 Plan 30

Size 30 Grid 30 Background image 31 Scale 31 Colour scheme 31

Location 31

City or Latitude/Longitude 31 Time zone 31

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Daylight Saving Time 31 Fixture Library 32 Fixture icons & scale 32 Populating the plan 33

To add a fixture: 33 To duplicate a fixture (create an array): 33 To copy a fixture or fixture selection: 34 To delete a fixture or fixture selection: 34 To see where a fixture is patched: 34

To highlight a fixture: 34 DALI fixtures 34 Audio visual (AV) fixtures 35 Import fixture plan 35 Export fixture plan 35

Fixture Identification 35

Name & number 35 Locked 35 Comments 35

Fixture Position 36

Grid 36 Nudge 36 Alignment 36

Fixture Configuration 36

Intensity 36 DALI 36 Moving lights 37 Gel colour 37 Reset to Defaults 37

Highlight Patched Status 37

Selecting fixtures 38

Browser 38 Plan 38

Select next/previous fixture 38 Select all fixtures 38

Groups 38

To create a group: 39

Setup - Fixture editor 40 Preferences 41

General 41

Intensity model 41 Colour model 41 Number of backups 41 Autosave interval 42 Show Launch dialog 42 Close Upload Dialog after successful Upload All 42 Saving Projects from Old Version 42

Patch 42

Channels per row 43

Timeline 43

New timeline properties 44 New preset properties 44 Background Colour 44

Triggers 44

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Contents

Short MIDI data format 45 Network 46 Advanced 47

Patch 48

Patch terminology 48 Patch window 49 Patch toolbar & protocol tabs 49 Patching DMX & eDMX fixtures 49

To patch a fixture: 49 To patch multiple fixtures: 50 To change a fixture's address: 50 To patch a multiple patch point fixture: 50 To unpatch a fixture or multiple fixtures: 50 To clear all patching from a universe: 50 To clone a universe (copy the patch): 51 To highlight a fixture: 51

To hide unused universes: 51 RDMdevice discovery 51 KiNet device discovery 52 Patching fixtures to a RIO 52 Patching DVI fixtures (MSC X) 53 Used channels 53 eDMX Pass-Thru 53 Art-Net output customisation 53

DALI 54

Overview 54 DALI interfaces 54 DALI addressing & grouping 54

Device commands 55

Find addressed ballasts 55

Address ballasts 55

Readdress all ballasts 55

Resolve clash 56

Identify emergency ballasts 56

To manually readdress a DALI ballast: 56

To highlight a ballast 56

Patching DALI fixtures 56 DALI groups 56

To add a DALI group: 56

To delete a DALI group: 57 DALI scenes 57

To create a DALI scene: 58

To delete a DALI scene: 58

To edit a DALI scene: 58

To remove a DALI fixture from a scene: 58 Emergency Ballasts 58 Upload configuration 59

Mover 60

Parameter kinds 60 Effects 61 Position 61 Creating a mover preset 61 Using Output Live 61

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Editing a mover preset 61 Deleting and copying a mover preset 62

Media 63

Pixel Matrices 63

To create Pixel Matrices automatically from the plan (recommended): 63

To create a Pixel Matrix manually: 63 Crop render window 64 Import pixel matrix 64

Media Presets 64 Media Slots 65 AVC Presets 65 Custom Presets 65

Program - Timeline Properties 67

Name 67 Number 67 Length 67 Priority 67 Time source 68 Working with timecode 68

Time Offset 68 Format 68 Auto release at end 68 Timecode Buses 68

Working with audio 69

Band 69 Audio Buses 69

Changing the timeline & preset defaults 70

Program - Preset types & properties 71

Group Presets 71

Fixed colour 71 Colour fan 72 Random colour 72 Rainbow effect 72 Strobe 72 Sparkle 73 Colour chase 73 Colour on colour 73 Intensity 74 Flicker 74 Hue Fade 74

Matrix Presets 75

Text 75 2D rainbow 75 Spiral rainbow 76 Gradient 76 Starfield 77 2D colour on colour 77 Live video 78 Perlin noise 78 Dynamic text 78

Media Presets 80

Preset (user named) 80

Media Slot Presets 80

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Contents

Mover Presets 80

Preset (user named) 80

DALI Presets 80

Set level 80

Scene (user named) 81 AVC Presets 81 Custom Presets 81

Preset (user named) 81

Program - Working with timelines 82

Creating a timeline 82 Timeline row categories 82

Groups and fixtures 82

Matrices 83

Movers 83

DALI 83

AVC 83 Timeline row priorities 83 Browser controls and feedback 83

Expand all 83

Expand all groups 84

Collapse all 84

Hide unused 84 Selecting timelines 84 Copying timelines 84 Deleting timelines 84 Maintaining indefinite output 84

Hold 84

Loop 84 Flags 85

Learn timing 85 Locking timelines 85

Program - Working with presets 86

Applying presets 86 Colour picker & user palette 86

Warm/Cold fixtures 87

Transparency 87 Mover presets 87 DALI presets 88 Copying presets 88 Linking presets 88 Deleting presets 88 Selecting multiple presets 88

Program - Working with the Audio Visual Controller 89

Overview 89

Schematic of AV routing 89 Timeline Rows 90

Main 90

Effect 90

Overlay 90

Audio Mixer 90 AVC Presets 90

Preset (user named) 90

Block 91

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Live input 91 Dynamic text 91 Fixed colour 92 Audio mixer 92

Timing & transitions 92

In 92 Out 92

Playback 92

Precedent 92 Players & limitations 93

Data storage 93

Timing, transitions & precedent 94

Timing 94 Transition timing 94

Fade 94 Release 94 Path 94

Transition skews - Group & Mover presets (1D) 94

Skew Type 94 Direction 95 Repeat 95 Buddy 95

Transition skews - Matrix & Media presets (2D) 95

Skew Type 95 % Fade 95

Angle 95 Specifying times 95 Precedent 96

Trigger - Overview 97

Creating a trigger 97

Configuring a trigger 97

Inhibiting a trigger 98

Incompletely defined triggers 98 Trigger order & matching 98

Changing the trigger order 98

Absorb on match 98 Conditions 98

Configuring a condition 98

Removing a condition 99

Changing the condition order 99 Actions 99

Configuring an action 99

Removing an action 99

Changing the action order 99 Copying a trigger 99 Deleting a trigger 99

Triggers - Basic 100

Basic trigger types 100

Startup 100

Timeline Started 100

Timeline Ended 100

Timeline Released 100

Timeline Flag 100

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Contents

Real Time 100 Astronomical 101 Lunar 102 Digital Input 102 Soft Trigger 102

Basic action types 102

Start Timeline 102 Release Timeline 102 Toggle Timeline 102 Pause Timeline 102 Pause All 103 Resume Timeline 103 Resume All 103 Release All Timelines 103 Set Intensity 103 Increase & Decrease Intensity 103 Set AVCMaster 104

Triggers - Advanced 105

Advanced trigger types 105

Analog Input 105 Serial Input 105 Ethernet Input 106 MIDI Input 106 DMX Input 107 Audio Input 107 DALI Ballast Error 108 DALI Input 108 DALI Bus Power 108 BPS Button 109 Paradigm Indicator 109 Remote Device Online 109 Remote Device Offline 109

Advanced action types 109

Set Timeline Rate 109 Set Timeline Position 109 Set Timecode 110 Set Fixture RGB 110 Clear Fixture RGB 110 Set DALI Level 110 Recall DALI Scene 110 DALICommand 110 Mark DALI Ballast Fixed 110 DALI Start Emergency Test 110 DALI Stop Emergency Test 110 Set Text Slot 111 Inject Trigger 111 Run Script 111 Digital Output 111 Serial Output 111 Ethernet Output 112 MIDI Output 112 Set BPS Button LED 113 Paradigm Action 113

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Disable Audio Input 113

Toggle eDMX Pass-Thru 113

Hardware Reset 113

Triggers - TPC triggers 114

TPC triggers 114

TPC Button 114

TPC Slider Move 114

TPC Colour Change 114

TPC Keypad Code 115

TPC Page Change 115

TPC Inactivity 115

Temperature 115 TPC actions 116

Set TPC Control Value 116

Set TPC Control State 116

Set TPC Control Caption 116

Set TPC Page 116

Disable TPC 117

Lock TPC 117

Set Screen Brightness 117

Triggers - Conditions 118

Condition types 118

Timeline running 118

Timeline onstage 118

Real Time 118

Astronomical 120

Lunar 120

Digital input 120

Digital word 120

Analog Input 121

DMX In 121

Script 121

BPS Button 121

Remote Device Online 121

DALI Ballast Error 122

DALI Bus Power 122

eDMX Pass-Thru Detected 122

Triggers - Variables 123

Triggers that capture variables 123

Timeline Started, Timeline Ended and Timeline Released 123

Digital Input 123

Analog Input 123

Serial and Ethernet Input 123

MIDI Input 124

DMX Input 124

Audio Input 124

DALI Input 125

DALI Ballast Error 125

BPS Button 125

Paradigm Indicator 125 Conditions that capture variables 125

Digital Word 125 Conditions that use variables 125

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Contents

DALI Ballast Error 125

Actions that use variables 125

Start, Release, Toggle, Resume and Pause Timeline 125 Set, Increase and Decrease Intensity 126 Set AVCMaster 126 Set Fixture RGB 126 Set DALI Level 126 Recall DALI Scene 126 DALI Command 126 Mark DALI Ballast Fixed 126 DALI Start Emergency Test 126 DALI Stop Emergency Test 127 Set Timeline Rate 127 Serial and Ethernet Output 127 MIDI Output 127 Run Script 128 Set BPS Button LED 128 Paradigm Action 128

Notes 128

Simulate 129

Simulator modes 129

Timeline mode 129 Project mode 129

Simulator controls 129

Start/Pause 129 Skip backwards & forwards 130 Reset 130 Rate fader 130

Program window play head (Timeline mode only) 130 Testing trigger variables 130 Testing trigger conditions 130 Simulating timecode 130

Simulating with audio 131 Simulating the AVC 131 Output Live 131 Tear-off simulator 131

Upload 133

Upload to the AVC 133 Issues 134 Restore after upload 134 What's actually uploaded? 134 Can the project file be retrieved from the Controller(s)? 134 Archiving a project 134

Network - Overview 135

Controllers 135

Tessera Panel Controller (TPC) 135

TPC with TPC-RIO 135

Mosaic Show Controllers (MSC) 135

Audio Visual Controller (AVC) 135

Expansion Modules 135 Remote Devices 136

Network - Controller connection 137

USB 137

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Connecting the Controller via USB 137

Ethernet 137

DHCP (default) 137 Link local (DHCP error) 137 Static IP (optional) 137 Multicast 137 Default gateway 138 Managed switches and firewalls 138

eDMX considerations 138 Network window 138 Controller firmware 139

To update a Controller's firmware: 139

Network - Controller association 141

Project vs real Controllers 141

Managing project TPCs and MSCs 141

To add and set the type of a project TPC or MSC: 142

To delete a project TPC or MSC: 142 Managing project AVCs 142 Associating project Controllers with real Controllers 142

To associate a Controller: 142

To identify a Controller (beacon): 142

Time Server 143

To change the Time Server: 143

Web interface tools 143

To view a Controller's web interface: 143

To create files for uploading via the web interface: 143

File transfer 143

To transfer files to and from a Controller's memory card: 143 Mac OS X users: 144

Controller status 144 Disabling Output Live 144

Network - Controller configuration 145

Network 145 Logging 145 Watchdog 146 Remote Logging via Syslog 146 NTP Server 146 Network Ports 146 Admin Password 146

To change the Controller configuration settings: 146 Date and Time 147

To change manually the Time Server's date and time: 147

To synchronize the Time Server's date and time to Designer: 147 Memory Card 147

Storing configuration settings on the memory card (optional) 147

Network - Controller properties 149

Identification 149 Screen 149 Playback Refresh Rate (TPC and MSC only) 150 Real Time 150

Network - Controller protocols 151

Network 2 (Protocol) 151

TPC, revised MSC 1, 2 & 4 151

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Contents

MSC X 151 DMX Proxy (MSC 1 only) 152 ETCNet2 152 KiNet power supplies 152 DVI (MSC X only) 152

Network - Controller Interfaces 154

Configure TPC-RIO (TPC only) 154

Inputs (MSC 1, 2 & 4 and TPC with TPC-RIO only) 154

Serial Port(s) (not standalone TPC) 155

MIDI In (MSC 1, 2 & 4 only) 155

Ethernet 155

DMX-In (MSC X and TPC only) 155

DALI 155 MSC 1 & 2: Expansion Modules 156

Paradigm 156

DMX-IN 156

RS485 156

LTC 156

AUDIO 157

DALI-M 157

DALI-S 158

Network - Remote Devices 159

Connection 159

TCP/IP 159

Multicast 159 Project vs real Remote Devices 160

Managing project Remote Devices 160

To add and set the type of a project Remote Device: 160 To delete a project Remote Device: 161

Remote Device firmware 161

To update a Remote Device's firmware: 161

Associating Remote Devices 161

To associate a project Remote Device with a real device (automatic addresses 1>15): 161 To associate a project Remote Device with a real device (manual addresses 16>100): 161

Remote Input Output (RIO) device properties 162

Serial Port 162

I/O Configuration 162

Audio 162

Timecode 162

MIDI 163

DALI 163 Button Panel Station (BPS) device properties 163

Properties 163

Button Configuration 163

Report 164

Report toolbar 164

Equipment 164

Group 164

Patch 164

All Timelines 164

Timeline 165

Trigger 165

Network 165

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

KiNet 165

Font 165 Report spreadsheet 165 Exporting a report 165

Web interface - Default pages 166

Home 166 Project Status 167

Timelines 167

Groups 167 Log 168

General log 168

System log 168 Output 169

View output 169

Park and Unpark 169 Input 170

DMX 170

Digital inputs 170 DALI 170

CSV Export 170

Emergency Test Schedule 171

Emergency Ballast Errors 171

Ballast Status 171

Recent Power Failures 171 Control 172

Command line 172

Triggers 172

Dynamic text slots 172 Configuration 172

Remote upload 173 Custom Page 173

Web interface - Command line 174

Selections 174

Setting intensity 174

Setting RGB 174

Clearing fixture settings 175

Clearing all fixtures settings 175

Multiple Commands 175

Interaction with timeline playback 175

Web interface - Custom page(s) 176

Adding files 176

Removing files 176

Defining the default page 176

Defining triggers 176

Injecting variables 177

Testing conditions 177

Dynamic feedback 177

Issues 178 Frequently asked questions 183

Software 183

Is the free software a cut-down demo version? 183

Does the Designer software support the Apple Macintosh? 183

What are the PC minimum requirements for Designer software? 183

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Contents

Are project files compatible across versions and platforms? 183 Can I have multiple versions of Designer on my computer? 183 What documentation is available? 183 How many timelines can I program? How many fixtures, etc? 183 How can I tell what DMX levels are being generated? 184 Where's Undo? 184 Backing up? 184 What are the Unison Mosaic Designer file extensions? 184 Can the project file be retrieved from the Controller(s)? 184 How best to archive a project? 184 How do I programme RS232, RS485 or Ethernet triggers? 185

Fixtures 185

What happens if I need a fixture that isn't in the library? 185 I have a fixture with lots of DMX modes, which mode should I use? 185

Hardware 186

Which revision of MSC 1 & 2 hardware do Ihave? 186 What show control interfaces does the MSC 1, 2 & 4 support? 186 Is Unison Mosaic RDM compatible? 186 Will I need more memory on the Controller? 186 Are there any diagnostic tools? 187 When should I use reset? 187 Should I keep Controllers in the field up-to-date with the latest firmware? 187 What warranty does ETC offer? 187 What user serviceable parts are there in a Controller or Remote Device? 187 Standards compliance? 187

Network 187

What are the differences between connecting to a PC via USB and Ethernet? 187 How do the Unison Mosaic products cope with sharing a network with other, non-lighting devices? 188 What about remote focus units, portable control stations, IR, etc? 188 Is there a way to call up channels for focus? 188

Troubleshooting 189

What are the Controller's LEDs telling me? 189

MSC and AVC Status LEDs 189 TPC Status LEDs 189 Error codes 189

Why can't I see the Controller in the Designer network window? 189

USB problems 189 Ethernet problems (network) 190 Ethernet problems (one-to-one) 190

Incorrect Ethernet cable (CAT5/5E/6) pairing 190 I can see the Controller in the network window but it is shown in grey? 190 I can see the Controller in the network window but it is shown in red? 190 Simulation looks fine but when I upload to the MSC nothing happens? 191 Trigger conditions do not work in simulation, why? 191 Output Live does nothing? 191 Why do I see a delay between the simulation and the MSC in Output Live? 191 The Controller's playback performance is deteriorating over time, why? 191 Uploading was working ok but now always fails? 191 When I try to Upload I see a list of issues instead? 191 Is there a way of seeing what the Controller is doing? 191 I get a "Magic number does not match" error when opening a project file? 192

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

I get loads of warnings about custom fixtures when opening a project file? 192 I have forgotten the Controller's password? 192 I have checked the FAQ and troubleshooting but I'm still stuck? 192 When using DMX In on a MSC or AVC, is my DMX line terminated? 192

Output viewer 193

Unpatched universe 193 Patched, simulator not running (reset) 193 Patched, simulator running (playing or paused) 193 Output Live 194

Log viewer 195 TPC recovery 196 MSC Recovery 197

Revised MSC 1/2/4 Hardware (serial numbers 006xxx onwards) 197 Original MSC 1/2 Hardware (serial numbers 001xxx - 005xxx) 197 When to use it 198

To update the bootloader 198 To recover corrupt firmware 198

How to use it 198

Connect the MSC via USB 198 Run the tool 198

MSC X Recovery Tool 199

When to use it 199

To recover corrupt firmware 199 To install a new or larger capacity card 199

How to use it 199

Remove the MSC X's Compact Flash card 199 Plug the Compact Flash card into a CF card reader on a PC 199 Run the tool 200 Reinsert the Compact Flash card into the MSC X & reboot 201

AVC Recovery Tool 202

When to use it 202

To update the firmware for both processors in the AVC 202 To recover corrupt firmware 202

How to use it 203

Connect the AVC via USB 203 Run the tool 203

Software release notes 204

Release Notes 204 Software Licences 204

GPL 204

System limits & capacities 205

Best Practices 205

Triggering and playback expectations 206 Looping and holding at end 206 Transparency 206 AVC Timeline Restrictions 206

Lua scripts 207

Lua script editor 207 Debugging Lua scripts 207 Unison Mosaic language extensions for triggers 208

Accessing the realtime clock (local to this Controller) 208 Accessing the calculated sunrise and sunset times (local to this Controller) 208 Accessing the calculated twilight times (local to this Controller) 208

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Contents

TPC user interface control 209

Accessing the current state of the digital inputs on this Controller 209

Accessing the values of DMX inputs on the local Controller 209

Checking the local Controller number 209

Checking the status of timelines (local to this Controller) 209

Injecting a trigger 210

Timeline control 210

Timecode control (local to this Controller) 210

Fixture control (local to this Controller) 210

Accessing the values of DMX channels (local to this Controller) 211

Park and Unpark DMX channels (local to this Controller) 211

Accessing the current state of the digital inputs on a RIO 211

Accessing the current state of BPS buttons and setting BPS LEDs 212

Accessing trigger variables 212

Writing messages to the Controller's status log 212

Storing data on the memory card 212

Trigger Programming Guide 214

Introduction 214 The Basics 214

Comments 215

Variables 215

Arithmetic 215

Flow of Control 215

Tables 216

Functions 217 Practical Examples 218

Cycling through different timelines 218

Make a timeline loop N times 219

Track motion sensor activity over a period of time 221

Inverting a DMX input before it is used with a Set Intensity action 222

Interpreting data from a wind direction sensor 222

Using a table of times for high and low tide 224

Implementing an interactive game for a Science Museum 225 More information 225

Custom Preset Programming Guide 227

Basics 227

Listing 1 227

Listing 2 227 A real example 227

Listing 3 227 Animation 228

Listing 4 228

Listing 5 229

Listing 6 229 More colours than just red 230

Listing 7 230 Working with colours 231

Listing 8 231

Listing 9 232

Listing 10 232 A simple gradient 233

Listing 11 233

Listing 12 233

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Working with gradients 233

Listing 13 234 Listing 14 234 Listing 15 234

Working with properties 235

Boolean properties 236 Integer properties 236 Float properties 236 Colour properties 236 Gradient properties 236 Listing 16 237 Listing 17 237

Colour library summary 238

Properties 238

Gradient library summary 239

Functions 239

Built-in functions 239

TPC learning infrared receiver 240

To enter Learn Mode: 240 To learn an IR code: 240 To test an IR slot 240 To erase an IR code: 240 To exit Learn Mode: 240

BPS learning infrared receiver 241

To enter Learn Mode: 241 To learn an IR code: 241 To erase an IR code: 241 To test an IR code: 241 To exit Learn Mode: 242

File formats 243

Fixture plan file format (*.csv) 243

Fixture type syntax 243 Fixture position syntax 243

Example 243

Pixel matrix file format (*.csv) 244

Fixture position syntax 244

Example 244

Web server query interface 245

Syntax 245 Commands 245

Get Controller Settings 245

Sample Response 245 Notes 246

Get Current Time 246

Sample Response 246

Get Timelines 246

Sample Response 246

Get Timeline Statuses 247

Sample Response 247 Notes 247

Get Text Slots 247

Sample Response 247 Notes 248

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Contents

Get Global Lua Variables 248

Sample Response 248 Notes 248

Example 248

Glossary 249

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Welcome

Introduction

Welcome and thank you for using version v1.11 of the Unison Mosaic Designer software. This release offers some significant improvements and additional functionality over earlier versions, see what's new for details.

WARNING: Projects saved with v1.11 can not be opened with earlier versions so please make sure to back up your programming prior to installation.

Platforms

Unison Mosaic Designer is designed to run on a Microsoft Windows 7, Vista or XP (SP2+) or Apple Mac OS X (10.4.x or later - Intel or PowerPC) personal computer. As the application is of a highly graphical nature a large monitor is recommended (1024x768 minimum) and the extensive use of OpenGL graphics routines will benefit from a high performance graphics card. USB or Ethernet support will be required to connect to the Unison Mosaic hardware.

Apple QuickTime

Apple QuickTime (6.5 or later) must be installed to run Designer and QuickTime 7 is supplied on the Unison Mosaic Designer installation CD. QuickTime is also available for download at Apple - QuickTime Player.

Help Overview

The Help is split into four major sections: Quick Start, Reference, Troubleshooting, and Appendices.

Those of you experimenting with the software for the first time should work through the Quick Start guide to familiarise yourself with the basics of the software. The Reference section then gives detailed descriptions of every aspect of the software as well as the configuration of the Unison Mosaic Controllers and their accessories. The Troubleshooting section provides help to resolve any problems while the Appendices provide additional useful resources.

If you have a Controller that you wish to connect to and program now then please read the Network section for instructions although this is not required when working through the Quick Start guide.

Help Help

This is the PDF version of the on-line Help and it is available in various formats for printing. The on-line version, which has the advantage of being fully searchable and includes animated tutorials, can be opened from within Designer using Help > Contents on the main toolbar.

Support

As with all successful control products, support is crucial and the team at ETC will do everything possible to ensure that your project is a success. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions, bug reports and suggestions at:

T: (800) 688-4116

E: service@etcconnect.com

Please also visit our website to keep up to date with the latest product news and software releases: www.etccon-

nect.com.

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What's new in v1.11

Controllers

l Support for TPC-RIO

What's new in v1.11

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

User Interface

The software has been designed to present a consistent graphical user interface and so it is worth familiarising yourself with the layout of a typical window before proceeding further:

Main toolbar

The main toolbar contains the File menu to create New projects as well as Open and Save existing projects. The View menu accesses various optional,typically diagnostic, windows and the Zoom menu allows you quickly to manipulate the plan or timeline scale and position. The Options menu allows you to configure various applicationwide options and the Help menu gains access to this help, software build details and the means to check for any software upgrades.

Mode tabs

The application is divided into ten modes which can be selected by clicking on the appropriate tab. See the Quick Start overview for a brief description of each mode and then the Reference section for more details.

Mode toolbar

The left hand end of this toolbar always carries the New, Open and Save project buttons. The remainder is populated with tools as appropriate to the selected mode.

Browser

The browser is common to most modes and provides the primary interface for selecting, expanding and grouping fixtures in the project. The rows of the browser provide the seeds for Designer's timeline programming interface. Some modes (Simulate, Network & Reports) have no browser since fixture selection is not relevant. Scroll bars will appear as required and the browser can be made wider by dragging the right hand border.

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User Interface

Browser toolbar

The Browser toolbar provides controls for expanding and collapsing groups and compound fixtures as well as for creating groups and Pixel Matrices.

Plan

A graphical representation of the installation that provides an interface for selecting fixtures and simulating the results of your programming. This plan simulation is one of Designer's most powerful features as it allows you to program and visually test your programming when off site. Indeed, this feature can be useful in presenting your ideas when bidding for a contract.

Configuration area

Depending on the mode and items selected, context-sensitive configuration or control pane(s) will appear here for fast and convenient editing.

Status bar

Context-sensitive status and progress is displayed in this area.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Keyboard shortcuts

For ease and speed of use various keyboard keys map to application commands, particularly with regards window navigation:

● Function keys

● Ctrl + F8 Press to open or close the Tear-off Simulator.

● Delete / Backspace

● Esc

● Cursor keys

● Shift + cursor key Use to super-nudge a fixture selection (Setup).

● Page Up / Down Use Page Up and Page Down to zoom in and out of a plan, matrix or timeline.

● Tab

● Shift + tab

Press a function key (F1 thru F10) to change the application’s mode, akin to selecting a mode tab on the left hand side.

Press Delete or Backspace to delete the selected fixtures or groups of fixtures, a confirm dialog will appear if this will cause fixtures to be totally removed from the project with subsequent loss of programming. Press Delete or Backspace to delete the selected presets from a timeline.

Press Esc to clear the fixture selection. Press Esc to abort a fixture move or timeline drag operation (preset move/resize).

Use the cursor keys to nudge a fixture selection (Setup) or scroll a matrix or timeline (Media, Program).

Use to select the next fixture (with a single fixture selected in Setup, DALI & Mover) or next editable cell (on a properties tab for example).

Use to select the previous fixture (with a single fixture selected in Setup, DALI & Mover).

● Ctrl + tab Use to select the next timeline for editing (Program).

● Shift + Ctrl + tab Use to select the previous timeline for editing (Program).

● Ctrl + F Use to fit the plan or timeline to the screen.

● Ctrl + T Use to display the plan at actual size (1:1 pixel mapping).

● Ctrl + click

● Shift + click Hold Shift while clicking to select ranges of fixtures (Setup, DALI & Mover).

● Ctrl + drag

● Shift + drag

● Ctrl + A Select all fixtures (Setup, DALI & Mover) or presets (Program).

● Ctrl + N New project.

Hold Ctrl while clicking to select multiple fixtures (Setup, DALI & Mover) or presets (Program).

Hold Ctrl while dragging a preset on a timeline to snap to the start/end of other placed presets (Program) or while dragging a fixture selection to copy the selection using the same relative layout (Setup).

Hold Shift while dragging a preset on a timeline for finer resolution (Program) or while dragging a fixture selection to invert the Snap To Grid behaviour (Setup).

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● Ctrl + O Open project.

● Ctrl + S Save project.

Keyboard shortcuts

● Ctrl + E

● Ctrl + U Upload to the Controller(s).

● Ctrl + shift + U Save Snapshots.

● Ctrl + Q Quit the Designer application.

● Spacebar Start or pause the simulator.

● F Drops a flag in learn timing mode

Export project (exports the project including media & plan background image for transfer or backup purposes).

Notes for Mac OS X users

Unison Mosaic Designer makes a good deal of use of the two button mouse with right-click being used to invoke context-sensitive dialogs. As the majority of Mac users have only a single button mouse they must hold Ctrl while clicking to get this functionality. In most cases Macs use the Apple key instead of the Ctrl key except for moving between timelines in the Program tab where Ctrl is used due to an OS Xkeyboard shortcut change. Shift and Alt work as described for Windows.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Overview

The Designer software is the tool provided to configure and program the Unison Mosaic Controllers and Remote Devices. The Controllers have been designed specifically for the architectural and installation markets and, as opposed to DMX frame store solutions, offer genuine lighting, audiovisual and show control functionality.

Lighting & video is programmed on timelines, with a particular timeline having control data for one, some or all the lighting fixtures being controlled. Multiple timelines are supported and so a single unit can control multiple distinct zones, or more complex presentations can be programmed with external triggers coming from multiple systems.

The software offers powerful functionality with a simple and intuitive graphical user interface. Most operations can be performed with mouse clicks (typically left-click for selection and right-click for context sensitive options & commands) and drag-and-drop. Creating a project is broken down into ten sections, use the mode tabs down the left hand side of the application or the function keys (in brackets) to toggle between them:

Setup (F1)

In Setup you add your fixtures to the plan, arrange them in groups or customize their behaviour. Use the Properties pane to import a bitmap for the plan, set the plan’s size and grid spacing and specify the geographic location of the installation. See Setup reference.

Patch (F2)

In Patch the fixtures are assigned to the connected Controllers (see Network) and given DMX universes and addresses. This step can be skipped during design and only completed during installation. See Patch reference.

DALI (F3)

In DALI you patch and define DALI groups & scenes for any DALI ballasts in the project. Unlike DMX fixtures, these definitions are stored in the DALI ballasts themselves and so the configuration must be uploaded separately from here. See DALI reference.

Mover (F4)

In Mover you program presets for any automated lights with position or beam manipulation controls. These presets can then be placed onto timelines along with other programming. See Mover reference.

Media (F5)

Media allows you to create virtual video screens and map fixtures to pixels of the screen. Here you also import and manage the media files (either static images or video) which can then be played back on these screens and any audio visual fixtures in the project. See Media reference.

Program (F6)

Program is where you create and edit the timelines that make up your presentation. Each fixture or group of fixtures is a row of the timeline and you can drag-and-drop from an extensive range of built-in intensity and colour effects, as well as placing mover presets and media clips. See Program reference.

Trigger (F7)

In Triggers you connect your programming with the real world. At its most basic you can define which timeline to begin on startup but for more complex environments with external triggers you can define a detailed script, even

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Overview

incorporating conditions if necessary. See Trigger reference.

Simulate (F8)

Simulate allows you to view a representation of your project in plan format. You can play individual timelines to check your programming then run the whole project including triggers. A set of buttons allow you to simulate external triggers in order to test your programming properly. See Simulate reference.

The Simulator can also be opened in its own window so that it is permanently available, typically on a second monitor. Tear off (click and then drag to the right) the Simulate mode tab or press Ctrl (Apple) + F8 to open this window.

Network (F9)

This is where you manage your Unison Mosaic hardware, assigning connected Controllers to the Controllers in your project, configuring their input/output interfaces and any attached Expansion Modules or connected Remote Devices. See Network reference.

Report (F10)

Here you can view and organise spreadsheet-style reports listing the elements within the project for example fixture schedule, patch, triggers. This is useful in providing documentation about the installation for future reference and to aid maintenance. Reports can be exported as *.tsv files (Tab Separated Values) for importing into an Excel spreadsheet for formatting and printing. See Report reference.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Quick Start

Creating a project

Having installed QuickTime and Designer, launch the application and select New Project from the Launch Project dialog, choose a location for the file to be stored and give it a memorable name. A blank project will then be created and the application will enter the Setup window ready for you to configure your plan, place your fixtures and start programming.

To create a simple Unison Mosaic Designer project we will consider these four stages:

1. Setting up your plan, fixtures and patch

2. Creating Media and Mover presets ready to use when programming

3. Programming your timelines

4. Creating the triggers that will operate your show

Getting started: Adding Conventionals, LEDs and Moving Lights to the plan and patching them

1. From the Fixture Library pane, select Conventional from the Generic manufacturer and drag to the plan.

2. Right click (Ctrl Click for Mac users) on the inserted fixture, click on Duplicate Fixture, edit Width to 6 and click Ok.

3. Return to the Generic Library, select LED-RGB and drag to the plan. Duplicate an 8x8 array.

4. From the library, use the drop down menu to select Robe, ColorSpot 1200, drag to plan and duplicate fixture again, this time 6 in a circle.

5. Notice the fixture browser on the left has populated each fixture in groups based on fixture type. The middle three tree buttons above the browser allow you to expand and collapse the items. Collapse all for now.

6. Next we will generate Pixel Matrices for applying 2-dimensional colour effects and media presets.

7. Drag a box around the LED array to select all fixtures. Click on the New Pixel Matrix button above the browser to create a new matrix. Rename it "LED Matrix".

8. Repeat with the moving lights to create another matrix and name it all "ML Matrix".

9. Click on the Patch tab on the far left hand side of the screen to change to the Patch window.

10. Drag each group on to the blank universe to patch all fixtures. (This step is not essential to program and simulate).

Creating Media & Mover presets

1. Click on the Mover tab at the left to change to the Mover view.

2. In the Mover Preset window click on Create New, and select the moving lights by dragging a box around them on the plan, or click on their group in the browser.

3. In the parameter window click on the Position, Colour and Beam tabs and choose values for these attributes.

4. To create a further presets, simply leave your current programming and click Create New.

5. Click on the Media tab at the left to change to the Media view.

6. Select your LED matrix. You can move the pixels in relation to each other and resize the array window if desired.

7. To import media click on Create New in the Media Preset window. The Designer installer provides sample media which is located in the Designer installation directory: \resources\media_samples.

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Quick Start

Programming Timelines

1. Click on the Program tab at the left to change to the Program view.

2. Note the fixture browser now has timeline rows associated with each fixture, group, or matrix, and two Mover rows have been created. Note also the preset directories on the lower right-hand side of the window: the Group directory includes built-in presets that can be applied to Group and Fixture rows, the Matrix directory includes built-in presets that can be applied to Pixel Matrices, the Media directory has been populated with any media you imported, and the Mover directory has been populated with the Mover presets you created.

3. Click on the Group directory tab. Select and drag the Fixed Colour preset to your All LED group, and drop at the start of the row. You can adjust the position and length of the effect on the row by dragging it on the timeline and selecting the handles at the end of the preset. The preset properties (in this case just colour) can be edited in the Properties pane. Fade times and characteristics can be edited in the Transitions pane.

4. Choose other presets from the Group directory, such as Rainbow and Sparkle, experiment with dropping them on your groups, or open up the group and apply to individual fixtures and edit parameters.

5. To view your timeline, drag the Simulate tab at the left onto the Program view to open the Simulate window on top of the Program window. Click on the play button to run the timeline.

6. Click on the Matrix directory. Drag these presets onto your LED Matrix row. Experiment with parameters and simulation.

7. Click on the Media directory. Drag your media clip onto your one of your Matrix rows. Experiment with parameters and simulation. (To experiment with the matrix size, e.g. to modify the resolution or the viewable area of the media, return to the Media window and adjust the dimensions of the matrix, the position of the pixels, etc.).

8. Click on the Mover directory. Drag your Mover presets to one of the Mover rows. Click on the Group directory and drag intensity to the fixture / group row to apply intensity. For CMY fixtures, apply colour effects.

9. Use the intensity preset to program the Conventional fixtures.

10. Create additional timelines by clicking on New Timeline. Name as appropriate and program.

Creating Triggers

1. Click on the Trigger tab at the left to change to the Trigger view.

2. Note that Trigger, Condition and Action directories are to the left of the worksheet area, to the right are properties panes for editing parameters, selecting components, etc.

3. To create a Startup trigger, click Start up in the Trigger directory and drag into the main worksheet area. Give it a descriptive comment. Drag Start Timeline from the Actions directory to the new Startup trigger row on the worksheet, and under Action Data in the Actions pane select a timeline from the dropdown menu.

4. Repeat, experimenting with different Triggers and different Actions. Note Change button for Real Time parameters, and Edit for the MIDI message builder. Question marks (???) on the worksheet will indicate where parameters or values need to be set

5. To create a conditional trigger, create a Digital Input trigger. Set it to input 1, drag a Start Timeline Action and select a timeline to play. Copy and paste the trigger (right click / Mac Ctrl+click). On the earlier trigger drag an Astronomical condition which will default to After Sunset. Set Action to play a different timeline. This achieves a condition option and a catch-all option if the condition does not apply.

6. Return to Simulate. Select Project above the control area. All the triggers you have created appear below. Clicking Play will activate the Startup trigger. Run your project, utilizing the triggers to mimic contact closures, real time triggers, serial messages, etc.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Setup - Project properties

With no fixtures selected, the Project Properties pane is displayed:

Project Identification

The project filename (*.mdp) and path is displayed for reference.

Underneath are two fields for optionally entering a project title and the project's author, these fields are displayed on the Controller's web interface home page and are useful for reference once the installation completed.

If the title field is left blank the web interface will instead display the project's filename which may be useful for tracking iterative versions.

Plan

Size

The plan size can be set via the Width and Height fields (in pixels) and a solid background colour selected by clicking the Background browse button. The maximum plan size is 8192x8192 pixels.

Grid

The spacing of the working grid can be specified (again in pixels) and there are options to show this grid and whether fixtures should snap to it. This grid is useful in accurately and easily placing fixtures.

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Setup - Project properties

Background image

To use a background image click on the button next to the Image entry to browse for an image, either a Windows (*.bmp), Portable Network Graphics (*.png) or JPEG (*.jpg) image can be imported. It is envisaged that this image be a graphical representation of the installation, perhaps derived from architectural CAD drawings.

Use the Windows Alt + Print Screen command to take a screen shot of your CAD application and then use a bitmap editor to crop and resize the image to suit (see scale). Again, the maximum plan size is 8192x8192 pixels so make sure the bitmap is smaller or equal to these values. The plan size will automatically adjust to be that of this image.

When planning a fixture layout, give consideration to fixture selection and visualization. Particularly with large layouts, an abstracted arrangement of fixtures may be easier to view and work with than a pixel perfect, scale accurate representation.

Scale

The Unison Mosaic Designer fixture library uses a scale of 1cm:1pixel (0.394":1pixel) for the fixture icons so, for best results, the plan bitmap should be sized to this scale. If your installation is too large to be accommodated at this scale (i.e. bigger than 81.92m in either axis) then change the scale and use the Fixture Position settings to adjust the scale of your fixture icons accordingly.

Colour scheme

It may be desirable to change the colour of programmed and selected fixtures to aid clarity depending on the plan background colour or image, use the browse buttons to select appropriate colours. A darker background makes visualization clearer.

Location

City or Latitude/Longitude

At the bottom are the fields to set the location of the installation to ensure correct operation of the Controller's internal astronomical clocks. A city picker is provided to facilitate the coordinate entry but values can be entered directly into the Latitude and Longitude boxes - a web map service such as www.multimap.com is a useful resource for collecting this information.

Time zone

The local time zone can be entered as an offset to GMT, for example New York would be -05:00 being 5 hours behind GMT. If the city picker is used to select the location then the time zone will automatically be set.

NOTE: If such an offset is set then the Controller's date and time must be set to GMT not local time or this offset will be doubled.

Daylight Saving Time

Check the Daylight Saving Time box to enable automatic DST adjustment. The rules for Daylight Saving differ by region but, if the city picker is used to select the location, the correct settings for that region should appear in the

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Starts and Ends fields although it is recommended that you check that they are indeed valid. Alternatively, specific dates can be entered (the year is ignored).

Setup - Adding & organising fixtures

Once you have the plan setup as desired you can start populating it with the fixtures as required for the installation:

Fixture Library

Unison Mosaic Designer incorporates a comprehensive fixture library grouped by manufacturer. A generic manufacturer is provided for standard fixtures such as dimmers, basic RGB LEDs and non-dim items that need to be switched such as fans or smoke machines.

A custom manufacturer is created when you make your own fixtures, either by right-clicking on a fixture within the library picker (not once placed on the plan) and selecting Customise Fixture to use this fixture as a starting point, or by pressing the Fixture Editor button at the top to create a fixture from scratch. Both operations will open the

Fixture Editor.

Note however that common settings such as colour & gobo slots, size, shape and dimmer curve etc. can all be set on an individual fixture basis using the Fixture Configuration pane once the fixture has been deployed and selected, so creating a custom fixture library entry,a relatively complex process, may not be necessary.

Fixture icons & scale

The following icons are used to differentiate between fixture classes:

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Setup - Project properties

Moving light - wash DALI ballast (see DALI)

Moving light - spot Conventional fixture

Moving light - mirror

Accessory (eg. scroller) Media server

Discrete LED fixture (to scale) Compound LED fixture (to scale)

Fountain jet fixture

4:3 PAL/NTSC AV device 16:9 PAL/NTSC AV device

The LED and compound LED fixture icons are drawn to scale (1cm:1pixel) so that, coupled with a correctly scaled background image, the resulting plan and simulation is as realistic as possible. The other icons are drawn to a standard size that, in most cases, will produce a realistic result. All placed fixture icons can however have their size (scale) and even shape modified using the Fixture Configuration pane.

When using the Simulator these icons instead render the fixture's output, even displaying the selected gobo and iris settings for moving lights. Fountain jets simulate differently however, extending in length to mimic the jet of water.

Non-dim (switched control channel) or controller

Populating the plan

Simply chose a manufacturer, select the required fixture by clicking on it and then drag it onto its position on the plan, it will automatically be added to the Browser and grouped with all other fixtures of that type. Once placed, left click to select it, a red highlight will indicate the current selection, see selecting fixtures. Right click to delete, group or duplicate fixtures.

To add a fixture:

1. Use the drop down menu at the top of the library browser to select the manufacturer

2. Locate the required fixture

3. Click and drag the fixture onto the plan and release the mouse button to drop it (it will automatically be added to the Browser)

To duplicate a fixture (create an array):

1. Right-click on the fixture (on the plan not the Browser) to be duplicated

2. Select "Duplicate"

3. Select either "Rectangle" or "Circle"

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4. Set the duplication parameters, see below

5. Press Ok

For rectangular arrays, positive width and height values will place the copies to the right and below respectively, negative to the left and above. Select either Rows or Columns to set the direction of the fixture numbering.

For circular arrays, select the radius, direction and count (number of fixtures) - complete circles are created in this way so, if arcs required, just delete those fixtures that are unwanted.

To copy a fixture or fixture selection:

1. Select the fixture(s)

2. Press and hold Ctrl (Apple)

3. Drag the copy to a new location on the plan and release the mouse button to drop (with multiple fixtures, their relative layout is preserved)

Note that pressing Ctrl after starting to drag will cause the selection to jump back to its original position and create a copy of the selection under the pointer.

To delete a fixture or fixture selection:

1. Select the fixture(s)

2. Press Delete or right-click > Delete

3. Press Delete to confirm (or Cancel to abort)

Note that the fixture(s) will be completely removed from the project and all programming discarded.

To see where a fixture is patched:

1. Check 'Show patched on' on the toolbar.

2. Move the cursor over a fixture - the fixture's patch will be shown next to the cursor.

3. Pick a Controller from the drop down list on the toolbar to see all fixtures patched to it - fixtures patched to the Controller will be shown in blue.

To highlight a fixture:

1. Select one or more fixtures using the Browser or the plan

2. Press the Highlight button, the fixture(s) will come on to their highlight defaults (typically open white)

3. Press Highlight again to turn off or select other fixtures to highlight

NOTE: The appropriate Controller must be on the network and correctly associated to highlight fixtures. Fixtures can also be highlighted from the universe tab in Patch.

DALI fixtures

DALI fixtures/ballasts are dragged onto the plan in the same way as all other fixtures but they do not populate the Browser and no groups are automatically made since DALI fixtures are programmed and controlled via dedicated DALI Interfaces, see DALI.

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Setup - Project properties

Audio visual (AV) fixtures

Select "Generic Video" from the drop down of manufacturers. Choose the appropriate type of device (PAL or NTSC,16:9 or 4:3) and drag it onto the plan, just as you would for a lighting fixture.

However, unlike other fixtures, this will automatically add a project AVC to control that device, see Controller

Association. Similarly duplicating or deleting these AV fixtures will automatically add or delete AVCs as required.

It is important to appreciate that AV fixtures are treated differently to lighting fixtures in that they are directly coupled to an AVC (which takes the same name) and thus require no patching. The AV fixture and its AVC should be thought of as a single, integrated entity. See Working with the Audio Visual Controller for information about pro- gramming AV fixtures and AVC playback.

Import fixture plan

You can use File > Import Fixture Plan to import a fixture layout from a CAD application via a CSV file, see fixture

plan file format.

Export fixture plan

You can use File > Export Fixture Plan to export a fixture layout to a CAD application via a CSV file, see fixture

plan file format. If you have any fixtures selected you will be prompted to export all or only those selected.

Fixture Identification

With a fixture selected the top two fields detail the fixture's manufacturer (manufacturer id) and model (model id), they are for reference only and can not be edited.

Name & number

Here you can enter a new name for the fixture, useful to help make the browser easier to navigate, and the means to change the fixture's unique user number.

Every fixture added to the project is assigned a user number which is used as a shorthand method of selecting it, using the web interface's command line for example. Use the up and down arrows to change the number but note that only available numbers are shown so you may need to change the number of another fixture first to make that number available. Note that the user number does not affect the order of the fixtures in the Browser and thus the order used for transitions.

Locked

Select "Yes" to prevent the fixture(s) from being moved or included in drag selections. Evidently, once locked, drag selection is prohibited to select multiple fixtures to unlock so you must use the Browser instead.

Comments

Below this are two fields for entering any comments about the fixture, useful for annotating the project's documentation. These comments will appear in the fixture report and in exported CSV fixture plans.

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Fixture Position

Use these fields to set numerically the fixture's position and orientation on the plan and to change the size and shape of the fixture's icon, useful for tweaking their scale to that of the plan background if the default scale not used (1cm:1pixel).

It is desirable to position the fixtures on the plan as accurately as possible to improve both the accuracy of the programming (in particular pixel matrices created automatically from the plan layout) and the general neatness of the project and simulation.

Grid

Use the plan properties to set the spacing of the plan's grid, whether it is displayed and whether fixtures should snap to it. Holding Shift while dragging a fixture selection will invert the snap to grid behaviour.

Nudge

Use the cursor keys to nudge a fixture selection up, down, left or right by the amount set as the grid spacing. Alternatively, use the up and down arrows by each of the fixture's position fields. Holding Shift while using the cursor keys performs a super-nudge of 10x the grid spacing.

Alignment

Fixtures can be aligned to one another by making the selection and entering the value to be shared into the appropriate position field.

Fixture Configuration

This pane allows you to configure the selected fixture(s):

Intensity

The fixture's dimmer curve and maximum intensity can be set, use the Dimmer Curve pull-down to determine the type of cross fade the intensity channel will perform and set a Maximum Intensity level, useful for balancing light output.

DALI

DALI ballasts can be configured as allowed for by the DALI standard; Min Level (0>254), Max Level (0>254), Power On Level (1>254) and Bus Failure level (No change, 0>254). The standard specifies a level range of 0>254 with 255 being used as a special case meaning "no change", a mask if you like. Unlike DMX fixtures, these settings are stored in the ballasts themselves and so must be uploaded separately, see DALI.

Ballasts can also have their default Fade Time and Fade Rate set in the configuration pane.

Emergency DALI ballasts will also have the option to the set the Prolong time in the configuration pane. More information about emergency ballasts can be in the DALI topic.

NOTE: The default Fade Time and Fade Rate will be overwritten when new values are sent to ballasts during playback from triggers or programming. This is due to the way DALI ballasts store this information.

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Setup - Project properties

Moving lights

Moving lights can be customised for the project as one would on any sophisticated moving light console. Use Invert Pan, Invert Tilt and Swap Pan & Tilt to normalise the way they respond to the position controls.

Customise the fixture’s gobo & colour wheels by pressing the Gobos or Colours buttons to open the Configuration dialogs. Drag from the library onto the correct slots as required, press Ok to save or Cancel to abort.

Gel colour

For those working with gelled lights it is possible to simulate the gel’s colour so that the fixtures are rendered correctly, press the Gel button and select the required colour via the colour picker.

Reset to Defaults

Use this to force the fixture to be redefined from its library definition, losing local changes and thus restoring it to its defaults. This is useful for updating fixtures on the plan with any library definition edits, forcing a redraw. Local changes to a fixture's geometry (shape, size) will be overwritten.

Highlight Patched Status

On the toolbar, use the Show patched on pull-down to select a Controller and then press Highlight to highlight the fixtures that are patched to that Controller. Select None instead of a Controller to highlight unpatched fixtures. Press Highlight again to turn it off.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Selecting fixtures

There are various ways of selecting fixtures which are common to all windows so it is worth covering them now:

Browser

The Browser is the most powerful and flexible method of selecting fixtures. Click on a group heading to select all fixtures within the group, expand a group by clicking on the plus sign and click on fixtures within to select individual fixtures and, with compound fixtures, expand them to select the individual pixels within. Fixtures and pixels are shown in red when selected.

Hold down Shift while clicking to select all contiguous groups/fixtures/pixels between clicks and hold down Ctrl (Apple on Mac) while clicking to select multiple non-contiguous individual groups/fixtures/pixels. Hold down Ctrl (Apple) while clicking to deselect a selected group/fixture/pixel.

Pressing Esc or clicking “in space” (anywhere on the Browser that isn’t a fixture) clears the selection.

The Browser also provides the interface to view and change the ordering of fixtures/pixels within groups. This order is used by the application to determine cue timing and effects skews, simply drag fixtures about within the Browser to change this order.

Plan

Only fixtures and pixels can be selected using the plan, to select groups you must use the Browser. Fixtures and pixels are shown in red when selected.

Shift and Ctrl (Apple) work with clicking as described above to select/deselect and you can also lasso fixtures by clicking and dragging around them, fixtures must be wholly enclosed to be selected.

Hold down Alt to select individual pixels within compound fixtures. Hold down Alt and Ctrl (Apple) to select/deselect multiple pixels.

Pressing Esc or clicking “in space” (anywhere on the Plan that isn’t a fixture) clears the selection.

Select next/previous fixture

With a single fixture selected, the Tab key will select the next fixture (next higher fixture number) and Shift + Tab will select the previous fixture (next lower fixture number).

Select all fixtures

Ctrl + A will select all fixtures.

Groups

Groups are an important concept to grasp as they serve three purposes:

Firstly, as you will see later, it is the rows of the Browser that make up the rows of the Program timeline interface thus it is convenient to gather fixtures/pixels that are to be programmed together into a group to simplify this procedure.

Secondly, as the order of fixtures/pixels within a group determines how programming and timing is rendered, it is sometimes useful to make multiple groups of the same fixtures with different ordering.

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Selecting fixtures

Finally, Groups can be used to set up intensity control zones in the Triggers window.

To create a group:

1. Select the fixtures you want to group using the Browser, the Plan or both - the order you do this in determines the order within the group

2. Right-click a member and choose Create Group From Selection or press the New Group button at the top of the Browser

3. Name the group which has been created in the Browser containing those fixtures

Alternatively:

1. Press New Group with no fixtures selected

2. Name this empty group

3. Drag fixture/pixel selections into the group from within the Browser - the order you do this in determines the order within the group

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Setup - Fixture editor

While we endeavour to provide a comprehensive library of DMX compatible fixtures, a Fixture Editor is provided either to customise existing fixtures or create new ones:

Customised or newly created fixtures will appear in the custom manufacturer folder. However, while we build up our database of fixture data we would actually prefer you to contact us to have your fixture added to the standard, distributed library. Please email your fixture request(s) to support.

IMPORTANT: When edits are made to the library definition of a fixture already in the project, the plan will not update until the fixture has been explicitly reset to its library defaults, see fixture configuration.

Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc. subscribes to the Carallon Automated Lighting Data Service.

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Preferences

Select Options > Preferences on the main toolbar to open the Preferences dialog:

General

Select the General tab to change the default behaviour of Designer:

Preferences

Intensity model

Choose whether intensity and DALI presets are programmed using Percent (0>100%) or 8-bit (0>255) values.

Colour model

Choose whether colours are specified using RGB (additive) or CMY (subtractive) values, the latter might feel more natural for moving light console users.

Number of backups

Designer can keep a number old versions of the project file when you save and it is here that you set the number of old files to keep. Before saving your project (File > Save or Ctrl+S), Designer will rename the project file on

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disk by adding the current time and date to the file name, such as "my_project_bak_2007-04-18_15-58-09.mdp". If you already have the specified number of backups, the oldest backup will be removed from the disk.

Use File > Save As to produce manual backups of the project at each important programming milestone.

Autosave interval

Designer can periodically create an automatic backup of your programming and it is here that you turn this feature on and set the backup interval in minutes. Designer will maintain a backup file named "my_project_auto.mdp" which can be opened to retrieve recent programming in the event of a software crash. This file will be deleted if the Designer project is closed normally.

Show Launch dialog

Choose whether the Launch dialog is automatically opened at startup (default), uncheck this box to suppress this dialog.

Close Upload Dialog after successful Upload All

Check this to have the Upload Dialog close automatically after a successful Upload All.

Saving Projects from Old Version

Choose what Designer should do when saving projects that were last saved in an earlier version of the software. This can be a useful prompt to keep a backup of your work.

Patch

Select the Patch tab to change the default settings for patching:

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Preferences

Channels per row

The Channels per row entry box lets you determine how many DMX channels per row are displayed which is useful for organising the display for complex fixtures; set this number to be a multiple of the number of channels a fixture uses to get a neater, tabulated display.

Timeline

Select the Timelines tab to change the default settings for timelines and presets:

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New timeline properties

Specify the default name and length for subsequently created timelines, see timeline properties.

New preset properties

Specify the default properties for subsequently added presets, see preset types and properties.

Background Colour

The background colour of the timeline area of the Program window can be chosen here, press the button and select a colour. This is useful to make certain types of programming stand out better, for example a project using mainly intensity presets may be clearer with a dark grey background.

Triggers

Select the Triggers tab to change the default settings for triggers:

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Preferences

Short MIDI data format

Select the default Short MIDI message data format to be either Decimal or Hexadecimal.

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Network

The web interface (HTTP) and file transfer (FTP) ports used when an MSC is connected via USB can be configured.

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Advanced

Preferences

Enable or disable using Winamp as a timecode source in Simulate. This feature is available on Windows only.

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Patch

Once you have created your plan and added your fixtures you need to patch them, that is to say connect them to real fixtures via the appropriate Controller (MSC 1, 2, 4 or X), interface (port), protocol and address. Patching is optional for programming and simulation but fixtures must be patched eventually for the MSCs to control them, including using Output Live in the Simulator.

NOTE: The AVC does not require patching.

Before we cover patching in detail let's look at some of the terms used:

Patch terminology

Term: Description:

DMX A digital serial control protocol for entertainment lighting. Officially called

DMX512-A, it was developed by the USITT and has become the standard protocol for entertainment lighting control using the RS485 physical layer.

RDM Remote Device Management, an extension of the USITT DMX512 protocol

that supports bi-directional communication with dimmers & fixtures.

eDMX A shorthand term for DMX-over-Ethernet protocols, see KiNet, Art-Net II, Path-

port and sACN below.

KiNet A proprietary Ethernet control protocol developed by Color Kinetics (now

Philips Solid State Lighting) used to control only their Ethernet PSUs.

Art-Net II A DMX-over-Ethernet protocol developed by Artistic Licence and widely used

in the entertainment industry to distribute multiple universes of DMX data.

Pathport A DMX-over-Ethernet protocol developed by Pathway Communications and

widely used in the entertainment industry to distribute multiple universes of DMX data.

sACN Streaming ACN (Advanced Control Network), a DMX-over-Ethernet protocol

developed by ESTA to distribute multiple universes of DMX data.

RIO The ETC Remote Input Output 80/44/08 can output up to 96 channels of DMX

per unit. See here for more information on patching to a RIO.

DVI Digital Video Interface, a standard for the delivery of digital video data to com-

puter monitors. Used by certain LED manufacturers (for example Barco and Martin Professional) to drive their LED controller products.

DALI Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, a digital serial control protocol for archi-

tectural lighting. Developed by Philips Lighting it has become a standard: IEC

60929. DALI fixtures are not patched using this window, see DALI.

Universe A common term given to a single DMX data link or port. A DMX universe car-

ries 512 channels of control data each with 8 bit resolution. A single dimmer will use one channel while more complex fixtures will use multiple channels as required.

Port The KiNet equivalent to a universe.

DMX Address The term used to determine which of the 512 control channels of a DMX uni-

verse a fixture should look at to take its own control data. This "start address" must be set on the fixture or dimmer rack itself as well as patching the control system.

For more information:

USITT DMX512

RDM

ESTA

DALI

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Patch

Patch window

This window comprises three sections, to the left is the Browser, to the right the Protocol configuration pane, with the rest of the window being a graphical representation of a protocol's port or universe. The number of address columns displayed per row can be changed using Options > Preferences > Patch.

If you are using an MSC X or choosing to output eDMX from an MSC 1 or 2 then you must use the Protocols pane to configure these protocols, see Controller Protocols.

Patch toolbar & protocol tabs

Use the Controller pull-down to select the Controller for patching. Use the Hide Unused Universe button to suppress unpatched universes and the Highlight button to bring the selected fixture(s) to its highlight values, typically 100% intensity in open white for easy identification.

Use the tabs across the top of the graphical area to select the required protocol and then the universe or power supply & port pull-downs to select the target for patching which will be graphically displayed.

Patching DMX & eDMX fixtures

Simply select one or more fixtures in the Browser and drag them onto the required start address of the graphical representation. Right click on a patched fixture to unpatch it or clear the entire universe/port, drag it to move it (change its address). Fixtures may be patched to multiple addresses and universes/ports. Patched fixtures are shown in blue in the Browser, unpatched black.

To patch a fixture:

1. Use Controller and Universe to select the desired Controller and universe of this Controller (if the Controller has multiple universes)

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

2. Select the fixture in the Browser

3. Drag and drop the fixture onto the desired start address

To patch multiple fixtures:

1. Use Controller and Universe to select the desired universe

2. Select a group of fixtures in the Browser (see selecting fixtures)

3. Drag and drop the group of fixtures onto the desired start address of the first fixture in the selection

To change a fixture's address:

1. Use Controller and Universe to select the universe on which the fixture is patched

2. Select the fixture(s) on the universe layout and simply drag them to a new address - to move them to another universe you must unpatch (see below) then repatch

Fixtures may be patched to as many locations and universes as is required although typically a fixture will only be patched to one unique address. The Designer software will prompt you with a warning dialogue should you attempt to patch a fixture that is already patched, select Continue or Unpatch Existing as required. This prompt can be turned off if it proves aggravating.

However, you can not patch more than one fixture to the same address; a DMX channel can only be controlled by one parameter so fixtures can't overlap at all. If you drag one fixture onto another the incoming fixture will highlight in red to alert you that this address is already occupied. If you go ahead and drop it there anyway the software will prompt you whether to continue and unpatch the existing fixture(s) for you,select Ok to proceed or Cancel to abort. Again, this prompt can be turned off.

Some fixtures, for example the Vari*lite VL5, need to be patched twice since they have two distinct patch points, one for the intensity control (patched to the dimmer rack) and another for the fixture's automation controls.

To patch a multiple patch point fixture:

1. Locate the fixture in the Browser and expand it by pressing the plus sign to reveal its patch points

2. Use Controller and Universe to select the desired universe for the first patch point

3. Drag and drop the first patch point onto the desired start address

4. Repeat for the other patch point(s)

1. Patch the entire fixture as one

2. Drag the patch points apart to their desired addresses

To unpatch a fixture or multiple fixtures:

1. Select one or more fixtures using the Browser or the universe layout

2. Right-click and select Unpatch

To clear all patching from a universe:

1. Use Controller and Universe to select the universe to be cleared

2. Right-click anywhere on the universe layout and select Clear Universe

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To clone a universe (copy the patch):

1. Use Controller and Universe to select the universe to be cloned

2. Press the Clone Universe button to open the Clone Patch dialog:

3. Select the target Controller, Protocol and Universe using the pull-down

4. Press Ok to clone the patch to this universe or Cancel to abort

To highlight a fixture:

1. Select one or more fixtures using the Browser or the universe layout

2. Press the Highlight button, the fixture(s) will come on to their highlight defaults (typically open white)

3. Press Highlight again to turn off or select other fixtures to highlight

Patch

NOTE: The appropriate Controller must be on the network and correctly associated to highlight fixtures. Fixtures can also be highlighted from the plan in Setup.

To hide unused universes:

1. Select the Controller

2. Press the Hide Unused Universes button, only universes with patched fixtures will be displayed

3. Press Hide Unused Universes again to display all or select another Controller

RDMdevice discovery

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In the DMX patch tab, press 'Discover' to find RDM-capable devices attached to the current Controller. The Discover button is only enabled if the current Controller is associated with a physical Controller and that Controller has been found on the network.

Toggle 'Show Discovered' to show and hide the discovered RDM devices.

To identify a device, toggle the button in the Identify column of the table. To readdress a device, enter a new value in the Start Address column.

KiNet device discovery

In the KiNet patch tab, press 'Discover' to find KiNet power supplies.

NOTE: KiNet discovery is performed via the network interface of the computer running Designer, not via the Con- trollers. If the computer has more than one network interface then you will be prompted to select which network interface to use for KiNet discovery. The network interface must have an IP address in the 10.x.x.x range for discovery to be completely successful.

Toggle 'Show Discovered' to show and hide the discovered power supplies.

Power supplies that have an IP address that is already used by the current Controller will appear in grey.

To add a power supply to the current Controller, press the button in the 'Select' column and press 'Add To Project'. A new power supply will be added to the current Controller and that power supply will be automatically selected. If Designer doesn't recognise the type of the power supply, you will be prompted to select it from a list.

To add all the discovered power supplies to the current Controller, press 'Add All To Project'.

Patching fixtures to a RIO

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Patch

In the RIO section of the patch tab you'll need to add a universe that will joined to a RIO before you can patch fixtures. Click 'Add Universe' and choose the RIO to which you want to output that universe of DMX.

The RIO is capable of outputting 96 channels of DMX. Any channels patched to a RIO will subtract from the maximum channel output capacity of the Controller. The RIO and Controller must be on the same network.

Patching DVI fixtures (MSC X)

To output data using the DVI port you must first create a pixel matrix that matches the LED controller's pixel map. Once this has been done, use the Pixel Matrix pull-down on the protocol tab to select which matrix will be output via the DVI port and select an X & Y offset as required. Any programming for the fixtures in the pixel matrix will now output on the DVI port, not just programming applied directly to the pixel matrix.

The MSC X's DVI port is set to a fixed 1024x768 @ 60Hz resolution which is compatible with most LED controllers. The LED controller (or monitor) MUST be connected when the MSC X boots or resets for the port to become active.

Used channels

At the top of the Protocols pane is an indicator of the number of used and available channels for the selected Controller.

When the Controller is an MSC X, and if you have not associated the controller with a physical device, then you are allowed to patch fixtures up to the capacity you have chosen (see Controller Association).

However, when you associate an MSC X with a physical device, you will only be able to associate to devices which have a capacity equal or greater than the patched fixtures. After associating with a device, you will be unable to exceed the capacity of that device.

eDMX Pass-Thru

When using an MSC in a project it is possible to allow eDMX from another eDMX source to be passed through to the controller’s DMX ports. With an MSC selected, the bottom of the protocols pane will show the eDMX PassThru settings. Select which universe the DMX port will be transmitting. Note that with an MSC 2 you'll be able to choose a different universe for each DMX port on the controller. There is also the option to auto-revert to the project’s output if eDMX isn't received for a specified amount of time.

Note that only Art-Net and sACN are currently supported for eDMX pass-thru.

Art-Net output customisation

By default, a controller with less than 30 universes of Art-Net patched will broadcast all data until a device requests unicast for a specific universe. Controllers with more than 30 Art-Net universes patched will only unicast data to devices requesting universe data and will not automatically broadcast.

There is the option to 'Disable Broadcast' for a controller. The controller will still unicast data to devices that request it. There is also the option to 'Always Broadcast' on a per universe basis. This will force the controller to always broadcast that universe's data. 'Always Broadcast' will override the 'Disable Broadcast' option.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

DALI

This window need only be used if there are DALI ballasts in the project and one or more RIO Ds or DALI-M Expansion Modules are being used.

Overview

The Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) is a digital serial control protocol for architectural lighting. Developed by Philips Lighting it has become a standard: IEC 60929. DALI differs from DMX in a number of important ways:

l Only 64 ballasts per DALI bus (interface) l Only 16 groups per interface l Only 16 scenes per interface l Ballast configuration (including address), groups and scenes is uploaded to and stored in the ballasts them-

selves

l Topology-free DALI bus operates at very low data rates l Command-based protocol, ballasts perform fades and maintain levels l Only certain discrete fade values are permitted

As a result the DALI protocol is not suitable for rendering effects and media, programming is restricted purely to recalling lighting levels via the Set Level and DALI Scene presets, see DALI presets.

DALI interfaces

Each RIO D, TPC with TPC-RIO or DALI-M Expansion Module added to the system supports one DALI bus (up to 64 ballasts) and is assigned to a DALI interface within Designer. Due to the nature of the DALI protocol, these DALI interfaces are insular affairs with each having its own unique set of ballasts and groups. Each interface must be configured and uploaded to individually.

When you add a RIO D, TPC with TPC-RIO or DALI-M Expansion Module you select which DALI interface it should be assigned to. Only one device can be assigned to each interface. Use the Add Interface button on the DALI toolbar to add another. Use Remove Interface to remove an unwanted one.

Up to 100 DALI interfaces can be added to a project, but the following restrictions apply:

l A TPC or an MSC 1 can support up to 16 RIO Ds. l An MSC 2 can support up to 32 RIO Ds. l An MSC 4 can support up to 64 RIO Ds. l An MSC X can support up to 100 RIO Ds. l An AVC cannot support any RIO Ds. l The original MSC 1/2 hardware each support up to two DALI-M Expansion Modules.

DALI addressing & grouping

Each DALI interface is configured separately, use the pull-down on the DALI toolbar to select an interface for configuration:

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DALI

The top pane of the DALI interface window displays the 64 real ballast address cells, the bottom pane the group membership matrix. The device commands are available to manage the ballasts on each DALI interface.

Device commands

IMPORTANT: Designer must be connected to the Controllers with RIO Ds or DALI-M Expansion Modules and the DALI ballasts must be active to perform these operations.

A DALI ballast internally stores its address, this is a number between 1 and 64. It is also possible that the ballast has never been addressed so it does not have an address. These commands are used to discover and address DALI ballasts:

Find addressed ballasts

This queries the ballasts attached to the device and reports all addressed ballasts found, an icon is added to each address cell when the corresponding ballast has been found.

Address ballasts

This finds all ballasts without an address and randomly assigns them a free address. It will not change the address of any already addressed ballasts.

Readdress all ballasts

This will clear the addresses of all ballasts and then assign every ballast a random address.

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Resolve clash

It is possible that two ballasts can have the same short address. If that happens the ballasts clashing are shown with a red icon. The resolve clash button will move the clashing ballasts to a random address that is unused by any other ballast.

Identify emergency ballasts

Send all emergency ballasts a command to indicate their address on the multicoloured LEDs on the fixture. Whilst this is enabled the command will be sent every 10 seconds.

To manually readdress a DALI ballast:

1. Select the ballast icon in the current address cell

2. Drag it to the target (preferably empty) address cell

The ballast is readdressed to the target cell. If the target cell was occupied then the ballasts should swap addresses although this has not been found to be terribly reliable.

To highlight a ballast

Select an address cell (containing a ballast icon) and press Highlight to bring this ballast to full level, select another cell to highlight instead or press Highlight again to turn off.

Patching DALI fixtures

When you add DALI fixtures to your project plan in setup these "abstract" ballasts are assigned to the Unpatched DALI group in the Browser and must be mapped to real DALI interfaces and ballasts using this window.

Once you have discovered and addressed all the real DALI ballasts for each interface (if more than one) you can then patch your DALI fixtures to them simply by dragging them from the Unpatched DALI group onto the required interface and address cell. As each DALI interface is assigned DALI fixtures, the Browser refreshes to reflect these changes. The Unpatched DALI group will become empty once all the DALI fixtures in the project have been patched.

It is of course possible to patch your DALI fixtures blind in advance of being connected to the real ballasts. The patch is stored with the project data and not on the DALI ballasts.

DALI groups

Unlike other groups in Designer, DALI groups are a property of the real DALI interface not an abstract collection of fixtures, and there can only be 16 DALI groups per interface. The matrix on the lower pane of the window allows you to add and define groups for each interface:

To add a DALI group:

1. Press the Add button

2. Type a name by double-clicking the name cell

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DALI

3. Select which ballasts are to be a member by double-clicking the ballast's cell

The DALI group is added to the Browser and group configuration data ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

To delete a DALI group:

1. Right-click on the group in the Browser

2. Select Delete

3. Press Ok to confirm

The DALI group is removed and the group configuration data updated ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

If groups have already been programmed onto the DALI fixtures you can press the Discover Groups button to automatically populate group information from the fixtures on the interface.

DALI scenes

In Designer's implementation, DALI scenes are common across DALI interfaces, use the pull-down on the DALI toolbar and select Scene Setup for programming:

The Browser and project plan are displayed so that you can select the DALI fixtures and groups. On the right are the DALI scenes folder and the Intensity controls.

There can be up to 16 DALI scenes which can contain programming for some or all of your DALI fixtures, even if spanning different DALI interfaces. In general you should include programming for all your DALI fixtures in each scene since you can determine when creating timelines which fixtures or groups should run the scene by dropping the DALI scene on the appropriate timeline row, the choice is yours though.

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To create a DALI scene:

1. Press the Create New button

2. Name the new scene

3. Select the DALI fixtures or groups

4. Set the required level (0>254), the fixtures on the plan will simulate these levels

The DALI scene is added to the folder and scene configuration data is ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

To delete a DALI scene:

1. Select the scene in the folder

2. Press Delete

3. Press Yes to confirm

The DALI scene is removed and scene configuration data updated ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

To edit a DALI scene:

1. Select the scene in the folder

2. Select the DALI fixtures or groups

3. Adjust the levels

The DALI scene is edited and scene configuration data updated ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

To remove a DALI fixture from a scene:

1. Select the scene in the folder

2. Select the fixture to remove

Press the Knockout button to the right of the Intensity controls

The DALI scene is edited and scene configuration data updated ready to be uploaded into the ballasts.

Emergency Ballasts

Emergency DALI ballasts are set-up in the same way as standard DALI ballasts and support Highlight and ReAddressing.

Emergency tests may be scheduled for all emergency ballasts in a project via the Emergency Ballast Tests tab on the right of the DALI window. You can override project settings on a per interface basis by using the emergency settings in the Interface Properties tab. Function and Duration tests can be scheduled independently of each other on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. The time of day that the tests run can also be specified. Choosing to test alternate ballasts will test every other patched ballast - the remaining ballasts will then be tested once the initial test is complete.

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DALI

Test information is stored on the memory card of the controller responsible for that interface. This information can also be viewed via the web interface.

Specify a ballast's Prolong time in the Setup tab.

Upload configuration

Once you have configured all your DALI interfaces and programmed all your DALI scenes you must upload the configuration to each DALI interface in turn so that this data can be stored on the DALI ballasts themselves. Select an interface using the pull-down on the DALI toolbar and press the Upload Configuration button, a progress bar will track this rather slow procedure.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Mover

This window need only be used if there are fixtures in the project that have control parameters other than intensity and colour mixing. Examples include most automated lights which, above and beyond position (pan & tilt), might also include gobo and effects wheels:

The Mover window is where one sets these other parameters and it comprises four sections: On the left is the Browser, in the middle the Plan. Top right is the directory of Mover Presets within the project and below that is the Fixture Parameters pane and it is here that parameters other than intensity and colour mixing are set.

Parameter kinds

Parameters are grouped by kind:

Intensity Parameters excluding intensity (which is programmed directly on the timeline) such as strobe

Position Pan and tilt

Colour

Beam Image Gobo and effects wheels

Beam Shape Iris, zoom and focus etc.

Control Lamp and fixture controls such as dowse, strike, reset and macros

Setting one parameter within a kind sets or “touches” all the rest, the kind heading will turn blue and the Knockout button will be enabled to indicate that programming for this kind is included in the preset.

To remove programming press the Knockout button to the right of the kind heading to “untouch” these para-

meters.

Parameters excluding colour mixing (which is programmed directly on the timeline) such as fixed colour wheels and scrollers, colour correction

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Mover

Effects

A realtime effect can also be applied to any parameter by pressing the associated FX button which opens the effect controls for adjustment, pressing FX again turns off that effect.

Effects work by modulating the programmed base value with a low-frequency oscillator (LFO):

l Effect - the shape of the LFO's waveform (Square, Triangle, Sawtooth, Sine or Cosine) l Size - the amplitude of the modulation, adjust in conjunction with the base value l Period - the number of seconds over which the waveform will repeat, the higher the period the slower the

effect

l Style - choose None (all parameters are modulated together) or Spread (the effect is spread over space as

well as time)

Position

The Position kind is a special case in that a) a graphical position picker is provided and b) the pan and tilt effects are linked and displayed/adjusted graphically. Hold Shift while dragging for fine resolution or use the Pan and Tilt fields provided underneath for accurate, numerical positioning. Note that you can also lock an axis by clicking on the Pan or Tilt button which allows positioning of one axis without interfering with the other.

Creating a mover preset

Click Create New to make a new preset and type a name. Select the fixtures, which will automatically come on to 100% so that you can see what you’re doing, set their parameters and add effects to these parameters as required. The fixture icons on the plan will provide graphical feedback of what they’re doing. You will not be able to select any fixtures unsuitable for making mover presets. Use the Transition section to give the preset a default fade time and skew type, the preset is now ready for use.

Mover Presets can be created to contain programming for all kinds (complete look) or just a single kind, for example Colour presets or Position presets, akin to palettes on a moving light console. This latter method allows for more flexibility when programming the timelines as you can mix and match these kind presets to make complete looks on the fly. It also allows different transitions to be applied to each kind so that gobos could fly in one after another (using a skew) while position moves more slowly and as a whole (longer fade, no skew).

Using Output Live

While the mover icons give a fair degree of feedback about your programming, by visualising colour and gobos for example, other parameters are not visualised and so must be programmed live, press the Output Live button on the main toolbar to do so. Output Live is not possible without patched and associated Controllers.

Note that if you wish to program or edit a preset that requires one or more other presets to be on stage, for example rotating, zooming and focusing a gobo where the position is set by another preset, then you must also be simulating a timeline that runs those presets.

Editing a mover preset

To edit an existing preset just click on it and select the fixtures for adjustment, note that included fixtures will be shown with a blue halo on the plan and fixtures currently selected for edit with a red halo. Any timelines on which the preset is deployed will automatically update to reflect the edits made.

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Deleting and copying a mover preset

Right click on a preset to delete or copy it, the latter function being useful in making similar presets that vary only slightly, say just the gobo being used.

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Media

This window serves two purposes: to edit or manually create Pixel Matrices of fixtures for use as a media playback screen, and to import Media, AVC & Custom Presets into the system:

The window comprises 3 sections: On the left is the Browser, in the middle the Pixel Matrix editing area, and on the right are the Presets panes.

Pixel Matrices

To create Pixel Matrices automatically from the plan (recommended):

1. Go to Setup

2. Select the fixtures you want to include in the Matrix

3. Press the New Pixel Matrix button on the Browser toolbar, the software will automatically create a Matrix with the fixtures correctly positioned and the Render Window cropped to best fit

4. Name the Pixel Matrix using either the textbox on the toolbar or right-clicking>Rename in the Browser

To create a Pixel Matrix manually:

1. Press Create New on the toolbar, a default 50x50 Render Window (the hatched area) will be created and the Browser populated

2. Populate the Render Window by dragging on fixtures from the Browser

3. Adjust the size of the Render Window by using the Width & Height fields on the toolbar or the Crop button (see below) to best fit

4. Name the Pixel Matrix using either the textbox on the toolbar or right-clicking > Rename in the Browser

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Typically you will place fixtures to mimic as closely as possible their actual deployment, the software will compensate for gaps and irregularities in a matrix so that media will be rendered correctly. Fixtures that have been rotated on the Plan during Setup will be placed on the Matrix using this rotation although this is only relevant to compound fixtures. Such fixtures can be rotated separately for each Matrix by dragging them around when the cursor indicates rotate mode, note that the first element of a compound fixture is displayed a darker pink for easy orientation.

To remove a fixture from a Matrix right-click on the fixture on the plan and select Remove Fixture.

To break a composite fixture apart into individual pixels right-click on the fixture on the plan and select Break Fixture.

You may create as many Matrices as you like and any fixture can be used as a “pixel” in any Matrix but clearly those that can colour mix are the sensible choice, RGB LEDs being by far the best due to their large colour gamut and fast response. That being said, the software will render coloured media as grey scale on intensity only fixtures.

Crop render window

Use the Crop Render Window button to trim the Render Window to fit the extents of the fixture array.

Manual sizing of the Render Window is provided by typing in appropriate Width and Height size values and it is perfectly allowable to undersize the Render Window to achieve effects such as picture-in-picture or oversize it to concentrate on a particular area of the imported media.

Import pixel matrix

You can use the Import button to import pixel layout from a CAD application via a CSV file, see pixel matrix file

format.

Media Presets

Select the Media tab. Media presets can only be played on MSC Pixel Matrices.

Media is imported by clicking Create New in the Media Presets pane. A dialog will open as shown above for you to browse to wherever your media files are located, enable Thumbnails view to preview them. Designer supports most common media files, indeed anything that QuickTime supports, and it matters not at all the resolution of the media clips as the software will up/down-scale as required when the Media Preset is placed on a Matrix during programming. In short, no media preparation should be required. The first frame is used as their thumbnail in the directory, they can be named using the name textbox at the bottom of the directory pane and they can also be deleted.

Imported Media is automatically resized to fit a Pixel Matrices’ Render Window, the hatched area of the Matrix. Only fixtures/pixels within this Render Window will receive the media which is why Render Windows should typically be cropped (see above) to force the media to fit onto just the fixtures.

Designer ships with sample media clips kindly provided by Projected Image Digital, Mode Studios and Digigobos. Four samples are installed with the application, the others reside in the Sample Media folder on the CD. Links are provided from the Media window to peruse these vendors’ websites to obtain additional media for your project.

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Media

Media Slots

Select the Media Slots tab. Media slots are placeholders for Media Presets and can only be played on MSC Pixel Matrices.

Create a Media Slot by clicking Create New in the Media Slots pane. A Media Slot can be renamed using the name text box underneath the Media Slots directory. The selected Media Slot can be deleted by clicking the Delete button.

The content for Media Slots is created using a separate utility application: Unison Mosaic MediaManager. When you have finished creating your Designer project, go to File > Export for Media Manager to save details about your Media Slots to a .mdx file. Create a new project in MediaManager and import the .mdx file. You can now program content onto each media slot. It is possible to import .mdx files from multiple Designer projects into a single MediaManager project in order to aid media management for large installations. Please refer to the MediaManager help for further details.

Whenever you make a change to the fixtures, patch or programming in your Designer project you must go to File > Export for Media Manager and then import the generated file into your existing MediaManager project.

When you've exported your media from MediaManager you can upload it to your controllers using Unison Mosaic RemoteManager. Please refer to the RemoteManager help for further details.

AVC Presets

Select the AVC tab. AVC presets can only be played on AVCs, see Working with the Audio Visual Controller.

You must prepare the video and audio clips you want to use on the AVC in this pane. To add a new clip click Create New and browse to a suitable media file containing video, audio or both.

Should the media file(s) subsequently be moved, renamed or deleted such that the preset path(s) no longer valid then a warning icon will be displayed over the thumbnail.

Designer can import a wide variety of video formats and convert them into the video format used on the AVC. However, the AVC format is based on MPEG2 and for best quality results - and fastest conversion - we recommend preparing content as standard definition MPEG2. All video content must have either PAL (25fps) or NTSC (29.97fps) frame rates - Designer will not accept content with other frame rates, but it will scale video prepared for different resolutions.

Designer can also import a wide range of audio formats including AC3 (used on DVDs), WAV, and MP3. To add audio to an existing clip, make sure the clip is selected and click on the button next to the "Audio Path" box. You can then browse to the audio file and select it.

If the video and audio need to be synchronised (i.e. audio is a soundtrack for the video) then you should select "Audio synced" to ensure they are always locked together. You can specify an audio offset to correct for any time delay between video and audio. If the audio and video can run independently (e.g. audio is a music track of a different length to the video) then make sure "audio synced" is not selected and they will loop independently.

Custom Presets

Select the Custom tab. Custom presets can only be played on MSC Pixel Matrices.

Custom Presets use a Lua script to define an effect that can be played back on a Matrix. You can use this to cre- ate effects that are not available as standard in Designer.

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To create a new Custom Preset, press Create New in the Custom tab on the right. This will open a script editor dialog:

The source editor initially shows the framework of a custom preset. You can either enter the source yourself, or you can load the source from a file using File > Import. Designer provides sample scripts which are located in Program Files at \ETC\Mosaic\Designer\resources\scripts\custom_presets.

After editing or importing a script, you compile it by pressing F7. If there are any errors in the script, they will be reported in the Output tab. If there are no errors reported, it is advisable to run the script to preview the preset. To run the script, use Debug > Run (F5). If the script takes a long time to run, or appears to have got stuck in a loop, use Debug > Stop (Ctrl+F5) to stop execution.

IMPORTANT: When working in the script editor, if your script does have an infinite loop, you are able to stop it executing by pressing Debug > Stop (Ctrl+F5). However, outside of the debugger, there is no such way to stop the execution of a badly-behaved script. This will result in Designer locking up and will have to be shut down manually. You must ensure that your scripts do not have such errors in them.

A preview of the preset will be generated and shown on the right of the script editor. You can start and stop the preview and step forwards and backwards with transport controls below the preview. Altering the period below the preview and pressing Debug > Run (F5) again will generate the preview again with the specified period.

If the preset defines any properties, after the script is successfully compiled, suitable editors for these properties will be displayed below the preview. You can change the values of these properties and rerun the script using Debug > Run (F5) to observe the effect of those properties in the preview.

Once you are happy with the preview, close the script editor. The preset can now be placed on Matrices on a timeline.

You can edit the source of the custom preset script again by selecting it in the Custom tab on the Media pane and pressing Edit. If you edit a preset that is already used on a timeline, any changes you make will be applied to everywhere where the preset is used.

Refer to the script editor documentation for more information on editing scripts, and the custom presets pro- grammers guide for help on creating a custom preset from scratch.

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Program - Timeline Properties

With no presets selected, the Timeline Properties pane is displayed:

Program - Timeline Properties

Name

Give your timeline a name here, a descriptive name will help you identify the correct timeline when creating basic

triggers and viewing the web interface's status and control pages.

Number

Every timeline has a unique number which is primarily for reference but can be changed if necessary. The timeline number is used to identify a timeline for creating advanced triggers, for example when using LUA scripts, and when using the web interface's command line.

Length

The default timeline length is 05:00.00 (5 minutes) and you will need to increase this before placing or extending presets beyond this time. The maximum timeline length is 24 hours to prevent them becoming unmanageable use triggers to stitch together multiple timelines to create longer time frames.

Priority

Use the pull-down to select a priority level for the timeline:

l High - the timeline will never be overridden l Above normal l Normal - the timeline behaves normally and can be overridden l Below normal l Low - the timeline can not override other timelines

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Time source

Use the pull-down to select a time source for the timeline to follow:

l Internal - the timeline will run autonomously although playback speed and position can be overridden using

triggers.

l Timecode Bus - the timeline will follow one of six Timecode Buses (see below). l Audio Bus - the timeline will follow one of four Audio Buses (see below).

Working with timecode

By selecting one of the six Timecode Buses, the timeline's ruler will display timecode values and the properties pane will give further options:

Time Offset

Timelines by default start at 00:00:00.00 (hours:minutes:seconds.frames) but the timecode source may not do so, the tape may have been "striped" with an offset of an hour (01:00:00.00) for example. Enter the source's starting value in this box to synchronise.

Format

Timecode comes in four formats that depend on the source media used, select the appropriate format here (Film24, EBU25, SMPTE30 & NTSC30) to prevent missed frames and stuttering playback.

Auto release at end

Check this box if you want the timeline to release, and hence ignore timecode, at the end (the end of the last placed preset or flag). Typically leave it unchecked so that the timeline always follows the timecode regardless of the timecode value which may exceed the end time.

Timecode Buses

The six Timecode Buses are internal buses to which one patches the external timecode sources available to the system. These may be MIDI timecode (MTC) sources input via one or more MSCs' or RIO As' MIDI Inputs or linear timecode (LTC) sources input via one or more RIO As or LTC Expansion Modules. You can use the Timecode Viewer available from the View menu to monitor each Timecode Bus:

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Program - Timeline Properties

Working with audio

By selecting one of the four Audio Buses, the properties pane will give further options:

Band

The Audio Expansion Module generates five frequency bands (63Hz, 250Hz, 1KHz, 3.5KHz and 12KHz) and the RIO A can generate up to 30 frequency bands (configured in Remote Device properties). Use this pull-down to select which band will drive the timeline.

Audio Buses

The four Audio Buses are internal buses to which one patches the external audio sources available to the system via one or more RIO As or Audio Expansion Modules. You can use the Audio Feedback window available from the View menu to monitor each Audio Bus:

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Changing the timeline & preset defaults

Use Options > Preferences on the main toolbar and select the Timelines tab to change these defaults. Here you can change the default timeline name and length as well as the length, fade & release time and default crossfade path of newly placed presets. See Preferences.

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Program - Preset types & properties

The Program window is where you put your presentation together by dragging and dropping the built-in effects and your Mover, Media and Custom Presets onto your fixtures, groups and Pixel Matrices:

The window comprises 4 sections: On the left is the Browser, in the middle the Timeline editing area with its associated toolbar across the top. Bottom right are the folders of Group, Matrix, Media, Mover, DALI, AVC and Custom Presets (although not all folders may be displayed). Above this is the Preset Properties pane which is divided into Timing, Transition and Properties all of which you use to manipulate how a preset placed on a timeline is rendered.

It is useful simultaneously to view the output of a timeline to check your programming thus the Simulate window can be opened at the same time as the Program window by selecting View > Tear off simulate or by holding Ctrl (Apple) and pressing F8, see Simulate for details.

Before creating a timeline it is worth covering the seven preset types:

Group Presets

A range of presets from simple colour fills to rainbow, sparkle and chase effects. These presets have no spatial awareness and are applied to fixtures and groups using the fixture ordering (as set in the Browser) to determine how they are rendered and in what order the fixtures will transition. They are akin to the sort of programming, effects and cue timing that is available on moving light consoles:

Fixed colour

The most basic preset, renders a static colour fill. Use the colour picker, user palette or text entry fields (RGB or HSI) to select the colour.

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Colour fan

Renders a static multi-colour gradient over a group of fixtures:

number of elements that are repeated over is Repeat multiplied by Buddy)

Random colour

Renders a dynamic chase through a random sequence of colours:

l Colour - specifies the first colour of the sequence, all subsequent colours are relative to the start colour in

a pseudo-random way (saturation and intensity levels are maintained)

l Period - the number of seconds that the sequence takes to complete l Count - the number of times that the sequence should complete over the length of the preset l Offset Style - choose None (all elements are the same colour) or Spread (the sequence is spread over

space as well as time)

l Fade - the fade time in seconds between each colour in the sequence l Hold - the time that each colour in the sequence is not fading l Steps - the number of steps in the sequence l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random sequence (copying this value to another preset will create the same

random sequence)

l Randomise - picks a new seed

Rainbow effect

Renders a dynamic rainbow effect cycling through hue:

l Colour - specifies the start colour of the rainbow (the saturation and intensity are maintained throughout

the cycle)

l Period - the number of seconds that the rainbow takes to complete one cycle l Count - the number of times that the rainbow should cycle over the length of the preset l Reverse Colour - reverses the direction around the hue circle (default (unchecked) is clockwise) l Offset Style - Choose None (all elements are the same colour), Spread (the rainbow is spread over space

as well as time) or One Shot (as None, but will stop after one cycle of the hue circle)

l Reverse Direction - if Offset Style is Spread, reverse the direction of the spread in space l Repeat - the number of elements between the start and end of the hue circle l Buddy - the number of elements that will be set to the same colour in the rainbow (if Buddy is greater than

1, the number of elements that are repeated over is Repeat multiplied by Buddy)

Strobe

Renders a dynamic colour strobe effect on black:

l Transparency - select Opaque for none, Base Transparent to superimpose the effect onto other pro-

gramming

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Program - Preset types & properties

l Colour - specifies the flash colour l Period - the interval in seconds between the start of each flash l Duration - the length in seconds of the flash

Sparkle

Renders a dynamic random sparkle effect:

l Base Colour - the colour of the background l Spark Colour - the colour of the spark l Transparency - select Opaque for none, Base or Spark Transparent to superimpose the effect onto other

programming

l Period - the rate of the effect (larger numbers are slower) l Density - the density of the effect in percent (higher numbers, more sparks)

Colour chase

Renders a dynamic chase through a user-specified sequence of colours:

l Colours - pressing the colour buttons will prompt for a new colour for that step l Steps - the number of steps in the sequence l Direction - choose Forwards, Backwards or Bounce (the latter uses two periods to complete) l Period - the number of seconds that the sequence takes to complete l Count - the number of times that the sequence should complete over the length of the preset l Offset Style - choose None (all elements are the same colour) or Spread (the sequence is spread over

space as well as time)

l Repeat - the number of elements to repeat the chase over l Buddy - the number of elements that will be set to the same step (if Buddy is greater than 1, the number of

elements that are repeated over is Repeat multiplied by Buddy)

l Fade - the fade time in seconds between each colour in the sequence l Hold - the time that each colour in the sequence is not fading

Colour on colour

Renders a dynamic pulse of colour passing over another colour:

l Base Colour - the base colour l Top colour - the colour of the pulse l Transparency - select Opaque for none, Base or Top Transparent to superimpose the effect onto other pro-

gramming

l Period - the number of seconds that the sequence takes to complete l Count - the number of times that the sequence should complete over the length of the preset l Repeat - the number of elements to repeat the pulse over l Buddy - the number of elements that will be set to the same colour in the pulse (if Buddy is greater than 1,

the number of elements that are repeated over is Repeat multiplied by Buddy)

l Shape - the shape of the pulse (Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp Up or Ramp Down) l Pulse Width - the width of the pulse in percent (1 > 200%, if 100%, the pulse is half of the element width) l Phase - the offset of the pulse in degrees l Reverse Direction - reverses the direction of the pulse l Invert Pulse - changes the starting position of the pulse

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Intensity

Renders static or dynamic intensity control:

l Level - intensity level l Shape - choose None (static intensity) or a dynamic effect (Sine, Cosine, Square, Triangle or Ramp Up) l Size - the amplitude of the effect l Period - the period of the effect in seconds l Count - the number of times that the effect should repeat over the length of the preset l Offset Style - choose None (all elements are the same intensity), Spread (the effect is spread over space

as well as time) or Once (as None, but will stop after one period)

l Reverse Direction - reverses the direction of the effect l Repeat - the number of elements to repeat the effect over l Buddy - the number of elements that will be set to the same intensity (if Buddy is greater than 1, the num-

ber of elements that are repeated over is Repeat multiplied by Buddy)

Flicker

Renders dynamic,random flickering over a colour gradient:

l To change a colour, press on the coloured button, select a colour and press Ok l To move a colour, click and drag the coloured button l To add a new colour, click anywhere on the slider where there is no button l To remove a colour, right-click on the coloured button l Period - the period of the effect in seconds l Sub - the amplitude of the low frequency perturbation l First - the amplitude of the fundamental flicker frequency l Second - the amplitude of the second harmonic l Third - the amplitude of the third harmonic l Seed - used to offset the effect; click the Randomise button to generate a random value l Uniform - apply the Seed value as the offset for all fixtures in the group, or use it as a seed to generate ran-

dom offsets for each fixture in the group

Each of the sliders corresponds to a sine wave of a specific frequency. The frequency of Sub is defined by the Period - the default is 30 seconds (1/30Hz). First will be twice as fast, Second twice as fast again and and Third twice as fast as Second. The value of each sine wave is used to fetch a value from a set of pre-generated random values and the four results are summed. The sum is used to select a position in the colour gradient to output to the fixtures. Mix the different frequency components using the sliders to select how much of each component you want.

So if you are looking for a relatively steady flicker you might have a lot of Sub, with a little bit of Third to stop it looking too regular. If you want a more chaotic looking flicker then you might have less of Sub and First and more of Second and Third. It really is something you have to experiment with. If you want the overall flicker to have a different speed change the Period and everything will shift accordingly.

If you've got a set of slider values that you like and you want to copy the effect to another group, but not have both groups flickering identically, then just click the Randomise button to change the offset.

Hue Fade

Performs a fade in hue between two defined points:

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Program - Preset types & properties

l Start Colour - defines the hue at the start of the preset, and the saturation and brightness throughout the

preset

l End Colour - defines the hue at the end of the preset; saturation and brightness will be the same as the

start colour

l Reverse Direction - reverses the direction of the hue fade

The start and end colours will share the same saturation and brightness; editing the saturation or brightness for one colour will edit the other as well.

The fade time between the colours is determined by the length of the preset on the timeline.

Matrix Presets

A range of presets from gradient colour fills to rainbow and text effects. These presets have spatial awareness and can be applied to Pixel Matrices using the inherent 2D information to determine how they are rendered and in what order the fixtures will transition. They are considerably more powerful than the standard presets and allow you to “paint” onto your fixture arrays:

Text

Renders a scrolling text message on a matrix:

l Text Colour - the text colour l Base colour - the background colour l Period - the number of seconds that the message takes to scroll over the matrix l Count - the number of times that the message should scroll over the length of the preset l Text - the text to render l Offset - the percentage of the height of the matrix to offset the baseline of the text (positive is down, neg-

ative is up)

l Text Height - the height of the text in percentage of the matrix height l Direction - the direction to scroll in l Flip - flips the text upside down l Mirror - flips the text left to right l Bold - renders the text in bold l Italic - renders the text in italic l Font - the font to render the text in

2D rainbow

Renders a dynamic rainbow effect on a matrix:

l Colour - specifies the start colour of the rainbow (the saturation and intensity are maintained throughout

the cycle)

l Period - the number of seconds that the rainbow takes to complete one cycle l Count - the number of times that the rainbow should cycle over the length of the preset l Type - the shape of the rainbow effect (Linear, Radial, Conical, Square, Noise, Perlin Noise or Bilinear) l Reverse - reverses the direction of the wave

If the Type is Linear, Radial, Conical, Square or Bilinear, the properties Angle, Repeat and Count are available:

l Repeat - the repeat style (None, Sawtooth, Triangle) l Count - the number of repeats l Angle - the angle in degrees of the wave (Linear, Conical & Bilinear only)

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Note that setting Repeat to None will only have an apparent effect when the Type is Radial. It behaves like Sawtooth with a Count of 1, except that the area outside the unit circle is filled with the same colour as the edge of the unit circle, rather than the effect continuing beyond a Count of 1.

If the type is Noise:

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

l Randomise - picks a new seed

If the type is Perlin Noise:

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

l Randomise - picks a new seed l X - the horizontal scale (higher numbers will produce more variation horizontally) l Y - the vertical scale (higher numbers will produce more variation vertically) l Depth - the coarseness of the noise

Spiral rainbow

A special version of 2D Rainbow with conical type:

l Colour - specifies the start colour of the rainbow (the saturation and intensity are maintained throughout

the cycle)

l Period - the number of seconds that the rainbow takes to complete one cycle l Count - the number of times that the rainbow should cycle over the length of the preset l Spokes - the number of times the rainbow repeats around the matrix l Curve - an angle in degrees to curve the effect as it radiates from the centre of the matrix l Reverse - reverses the direction of the spiral

Gradient

Renders a static multi-colour gradient on a matrix:

If the Type is Linear, Radial, Conical, Square or Bilinear, the properties Angle, Repeat and Count are available:

l Repeat - the repeat style (None, Sawtooth, Triangle) l Count - the number of repeats l Angle - the angle in degrees of the gradient (Linear, Conical & Bilinear only)

If the type is Noise:

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

l Randomise - picks a new seed

If the type is Perlin Noise:

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Program - Preset types & properties

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

Starfield

Renders a radiating star field:

l Space Colour - the colour of the background l Star Colour - the colour of the stars l Speed - the speed of the stars l Star Count - the number of stars to show

2D colour on colour

Renders a dynamic pulse of colour over another colour on a matrix:

l Base Colour - the base colour l Top colour - the colour of the pulse l Transparency - select Opaque for none, Base or Top Transparent to superimpose the effect onto other pro-

gramming

l Period - the number of seconds that the sequence takes to complete l Count - the number of times that the sequence should complete over the length of the preset l Type - the type of pulse (Linear, Radial, Conical, Square, Noise, Perlin Noise or Bilinear) l Shape - the shape of the pulse (Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp Up or Ramp Down) l Pulse Width - the width of the pulse in percent (1 > 200%, if 100% the pulse fills half of the matrix) l Reverse Direction - reverses the direction of the pulse l Invert Pulse - changes the starting position of the pulse

If the Type is Linear, Radial, Conical, Square or Bilinear, the properties Angle, Repeat and Count are available:

l Repeat - the repeat style (None, Sawtooth, Triangle) l Count - the number of repeats l Angle - the angle in degrees of the pulse (Linear, Conical & Bilinear only)

If the type is Noise:

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

l Randomise - picks a new seed

If the type is Perlin Noise:

l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

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Live video

Displays live video on a matrix (MSC X only):

l X&Y offset - map to the top left pixel of interest on the incoming DV image

Perlin noise

Renders a smoothly-varying noise effect:

l To change a colour, press on the coloured button, select a colour and press Ok l To move a colour, click and drag the coloured button l To add a new colour, click anywhere on the slider where there is no button l To remove a colour, right-click on the coloured button l Period - the number of seconds that the noise takes to loop l Count - the number of times that the noise should loop over the length of the preset l X - the horizontal scale (higher numbers will produce more variation horizontally) l Y - the vertical scale (higher numbers will produce more variation vertically) l Depth - the coarseness of the noise l Rate - the rate at which the noise varies l Seed - the seed of the pseudo-random noise (copying this value to another preset will create the same

noise)

l Randomise - picks a new seed

Dynamic text

Renders a text message which can be changed at runtime:

l Colour - the colour of the text l Period - the number of seconds that the message takes to scroll over the matrix l Count - the number of times that the message should scroll over the length of the preset l Text - the text to render l Font - the font to use to render the text (see the Fonts dialog below) l Scroll - the scroll direction of the text l Seamless Loop - if the text is set to scroll, setting this will remove the gap between the end and the start l Alignment - if the text is set to not scroll, this is the alignment of the text (Left, Centre, Right) l Mirror - flips the text left to right l Flip - flips the text top to bottom l Invert Colour - sets either the background or the text to be transparent l Offset - set a offset amount on the Y axis of the matrix

To configure the font used by the Dynamic Text preset, press the [...] button next to the font picker to open the Fonts dialog:

l Select a font from the Font picker l Press New to create a new font l Press Delete to delete the selected font (note that you cannot delete a font that is in use in the project) l Set the font's name in the Name property l Use Family, Size, Bold and Italic to set the appearance of the font l Press Ok to close the Fonts dialog

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Program - Preset types & properties

NOTE: Editing a font will change all Dynamic text presets that use that font not just the currently selected preset (s).

The Dynamic Text preset allows you to change the text after uploading the project to a Controller. To do this, you need to specify which parts of the text are going to change and which parts will remain the same.

For example, to show the opening time of a venue, you might set the Text property to "Opening Time: <open>". This creates a text slot called 'open' which you can change the value of. You can have more than one slot specified in the Text property, for example "Opening Time: <open> Closing Time: <close>".

To set the initial text for a text slot, press the [...] button next to the Text property to open the Dynamic Text Configuration dialog:

l Click in the Default Value cell of a slot to edit the text stored in that slot l You can remove unused text slots by pressing Remove l Press Ok to save changes and Cancel to discard changes

The Set Text Slot trigger action allows you to change the value of a text slot from a trigger.

There are two built-in slots, <time> and <date>, which show the current time and date respectively. You can change the format of how the time and date are displayed in the Dynamic Text Configuration dialog. Press the [...] button next to the Text property to open this dialog. At the bottom of the dialog you can select from some standard time and date formats, or type your own using the following codes:

%a Abbreviated weekday name

%A Full weekday name

%b Abbreviated month name

%B Full month name

%c Date and time representation

%d Day of the month (01-31)

%H Hour in 24h format (00-23)

%I Hour in 12h format (01-12)

%j Day of the year (001-366)

%m Month as a decimal number (01-12)

%M Minute (00-59)

%p AM or PM designation

%S Second (00-61)

%U Week number with the first Sunday as the first day of week one (00-53)

%w Weekday as a decimal number with Sunday as 0 (0-6)

%W Week number with the first Monday as the first day of week one (00-53)

%x Date representation

%X Time representation

%y Year, last two digits (00-99)

%Y Year

%Z Timezone name or abbreviation

%% A % sign

All other text is used verbatim. The computed output will be truncated to 255 characters.

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Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Media Presets

Preset (user named)

The presets that you optionally created using the Media window to import still and moving images into your project. These presets have spatial awareness when applied to Pixel Matrices in that the media clip will be resized to fit the Pixel Matrix’s Render Window.

NOTE: If no Media presets have been created, the Media Presets folder will not be displayed.

Media Slot Presets

The Media Slots that you optionally created using the Media window. These presets have spatial awareness when applied to Pixel Matrices in that Unison Mosaic MediaManager will generate media for the Media Slot at the dimensions of the Pixel Matrix's render window.

Mover Presets

Mover presets do not have a length, only a transition (shown on the timeline), with the settings persisting until another Mover preset is encountered or the timeline released. They are applied to the dedicated Movers rows of a timeline.

Preset (user named)

The presets that you optionally created using the Mover window to control the other parameters, typically position and gobo, of any automated lighting in your project.

NOTE: If no Mover presets have been created, the Mover Presets folder will not be displayed.

DALI Presets

Like Mover presets, DALI presets do not have a length, only a transition, with the settings persisting until another DALI preset is encountered.

However, unlike Mover presets, DALI presets will persist even if the timeline is released. Indeed, since they are just commands to tell the DALI ballasts what to do, even power-cycling the Controller will make no difference; the settings will persist until a new command is issued or the ballasts themselves power-cycled.

Set level

Used to set a DALI fixture or user created group to a level (0>254, 255), and select a fade time from the pull-down list of DALI fade times. See DALI regards creating DALI groups.

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Program - Preset types & properties

Scene (user named)

Used to recall a DALI scene that you created and uploaded, and select a fade time from the pull-down list of DALI fade times. See DALI regards creating DALI scenes.

NOTE: If there are no DALI fixtures in the project, the DALI Presets folder will not be displayed.

AVC Presets

See Working with the Audio Visual Controller.

NOTE: If there are no AV fixtures in the project, the AVC Presets folder will not be displayed.

Custom Presets

Preset (user named)

Renders a custom preset that you have optionally created using the Media window:

l Period - the number of seconds that the effect takes to complete one cycle l Count - the number of times that the effect should cycle over the length of the preset

In addition, custom presets may define a number of properties that can be set for each instance of that preset on the timeline.

NOTE: If no Custom presets have been created, the Custom Presets folder will not be displayed.

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Program - Working with timelines

Now that we've taken a look at the preset types let's see how to apply them to create a timeline:

Creating a timeline

To create a timeline click New Timeline and a fresh set of blank rows will appear to the right of each Browser entry. Use the Timeline Properties pane to name the timeline, the default length of which is 5 minutes which can be changed using the Length text box as required (timeline length is really just a user interface setting and can generally be left at the default value).

Timeline row categories

There are five categories of timeline row which determine the preset type that can be deployed on them:

Groups and fixtures

The majority of the timeline rows will be your groups of fixtures, the all groups created by the system as you added fixtures and the groups you made to organise your programming. Only Group presets can be applied to this category. Click the plus sign to expand a group and expose its members:

A fixture, or element within a compound fixture, capable of colour mixing, for example an RGB LED or auto-

mated light with CMY colour mixing. Use the Group colour presets to set static or dynamic intensity and colour.

A fixture incapable of colour mixing, for example a conventional light with/without a scroller or automated light with only a colour wheel. Use the Group intensity preset to set static or dynamic intensity. Create Mover presets to control the scroller or colour wheel as required.

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Program - Working with timelines

Matrices

These are the Pixel Matrices created in Setup and Media, only Matrix, Media and Custom presets can be applied to this category. In many ways, creating matrices and working with these powerful presets is the preferred way to go with Designer.

Movers

Unlike the categories above these rows do not specify a fixture selection but are instead simply a placeholder for any Mover presets created in the project. The fixture selection is a property of the Mover preset depending as it does on the fixtures selected when the preset was created. More rows can be added as required by right-clicking in the Browser and selecting New Movers Row, similarly to remove them.

DALI

These rows are for the DALI ballasts and groups and will only appear if some DALI fixtures have been added to the project, see DALI. Note that each DALI interface has its own set of rows due to the restrictions of the DALI standard. Only DALI presets can be applied to this category.

AVC

These rows are for AVCs and will only appear if audio visual devices have been added to the project. Only AVC

presets can be applied to these rows, see Working with the Audio Visual Controller.

Timeline row priorities

While the Latest Takes Precedent system determines what should be rendered and output as presets come and go over time, it is the order of the rows that determines what should be rendered and output should two or more presets with fixtures in common start simultaneously, with rows higher up the list taking precedent.

For example a fixture may be a member of two groups with a preset applied to both starting at the same time. In this case the fixture will render the preset for the group higher up the list. Groups can be reordered in the browser simply by dragging them to new positions.

Accordingly, simultaneous presets placed on groups and fixtures have a higher priority than presets placed on matrices.

Browser controls and feedback

The Browser toolbar provides controls for expanding and collapsing groups and compound fixtures as well as highlighting rows with programming. The Browser provides useful feedback as to which rows contain programming; elements, fixtures and groups will be displayed in blue, compound fixture or group headings will indicate the presence of any programming on members even when collapsed.

Expand all

Expands all compound fixtures and groups so that all element (pixel) rows are displayed. Items with programming will be shown in blue.

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Expand all groups

Expands only groups so that all fixture rows are displayed. Items with any programming, even on a concealed member, will be shown in blue.

Collapse all

Collapses all so that only group rows are displayed. Groups with any programming, even on a concealed member, will be shown in blue.

Hide unused

Use this filter to hide all the unused rows, press again to turn off. Only items with any programming, even on a concealed member, will be shown in blue.

Selecting timelines

The timeline picker on the toolbar will be populated with every timeline in the project, select from the pull-down list to open a timeline for editing. Use Ctrl (Apple) + Tab to select the next timeline, Shift + Ctrl + Tab the previous.

Copying timelines

Timelines can be copied using the Copy Timeline button, the copy is a brand new instance that operates independently, useful for creating similar timelines.

Deleting timelines

Timelines can be deleted using the Delete Timeline button, a warning dialog will you prompt you to confirm. Note that there must be at least one timeline in the project.

Maintaining indefinite output

There are two ways of maintaining a timeline’s output beyond the end of the last preset. This is a particularly important feature for architectural use where a simple wall panel could be used to recall “scenes” at random which would remain active indefinitely until another is recalled:

Hold

Press the Hold button to prevent the timeline from releasing at the end (the default). Presets will remain active until overridden, effects and media will continue to play. Press the button again to reinstate the release.

Loop

Press the Loop Timeline button to make a timeline loop indefinitely. This is useful if you want to loop a sequence of presets. Press the button again to remove the loop.

It's also worth noting that a Timeline Running condition won't detect timelines that are holding at end. A Timeline

On Stage condition will detect a looping or held at end timeline as long as the timeline is affecting the output of at

least one fixture. Timeline Started and Timeline Ended triggers will match whenever a looping timeline loops. A

Timeline Ended trigger will never match a timeline that is holding at end.

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Program - Working with timelines

NOTE: Projects with lots of timelines set to Hold or Loop can eventually overwhelm the Controller(s) if these timelines are not explicitly released when no longer required.

Flags

Flags can be dropped onto timelines for use with triggers to create more complex presentations; perhaps incorporating remote sensors and conditional logic or triggering show control or AV equipment.

To set a flag, press the Add Trigger Flag button and drop it onto the timeline ruler at the required position. Hold down Ctrl (Apple) while pressing Add Trigger Flag to drop multiple in a single session, press the button again to finish.

To move a placed flag, drag it along the timeline ruler. To remove a placed flag, right-click on it and select Delete Flag.

Use the Triggers window to determine what these flags will do.

Learn timing

When simulating a single timeline, flags can be dropped interactively after pressing the Add Trigger Flag button to enter learn timing mode. Press F to drop a flag at each appropriate playback time then depress the Add Trigger Flag button to exit learn timing or click anywhere on the timeline (in which case a final flag will be dropped).

Locking timelines

When clicking on presets to edit their properties it is sometimes all too easy to move or stretch them by accident so it is possible to lock a timeline using the Lock button on the timeline toolbar. When a timeline is locked it is only possible to edit the preset properties, moving or stretching them is prohibited. Press the Lock button again to unlock.

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Program - Working with presets

Applying presets

At its most basic let’s, for example, make a fixture or group of fixtures go green. Select the Group folder and the “Fixed Colour” preset within and drag this onto the appropriate timeline row so that it starts at the required time, say at 0 seconds on the left. A 10 second long red strip (the default length and colour) will appear already selected for manipulation via the Preset Properties pane on the right. “Fixed Colour” preset properties are limited to colour and timing, use the colour picker to select green and set a fade time and skew as required.If you have the Simulate window open you can now simply click Start and you’ll see these fixtures fade to green using the time and transition you have just entered and, after 10 seconds, fade back to black using the default release time of 2 seconds.

Presets can be moved and stretched on the timeline using the mouse to vary their start, end and length or alternatively you can type exact values into the Timing fields top right. Click View Transitions to display the fade and release timing graphically which can also be stretched using the mouse as an alternative to typing fade and release time values into the Timing pane.

So getting slightly more adventurous let’s say you want the fixtures to remain green for longer, say 20 seconds, and then fade to a rainbow effect. Firstly either drag the end of the green preset to 20 seconds on the timeline or set the end or length value to be 20 seconds via the Timing fields. Now select the “Rainbow Effect” preset (also in the Group folder) and drag this onto the timeline immediately following the green preset (so it starts at 20 seconds) and set its period to be 2 seconds with a “Spread” offset type. Again, use the Simulate window to view this new programming (click Reset then Start).

TIP! Hold Shift while dragging for finer resolution (centisecond). Hold Ctrl (Apple) while dragging to snap to the start/end of other placed presets.

Programmed groups, fixtures or elements - i.e. those with at least one preset applied - are shown in blue in the Browser, unprogrammed remain black.

Colour picker & user palette

The majority of presets allow you to select one or more colours and so the colour picker and user palette is used to select a colour either graphically or numerically, two modes are provided:

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Program - Working with presets

A user colour palette is displayed on the right hand side. The top three buttons automatically keep track of the last three colours deployed and below them is the user palette which comes pre-loaded with useful primary and secondary colours, white and black. To add your own colour simply mix it using the picker, hold Ctrl (Apple) and click on a palette slot either empty or occupied, in the latter case the new colour will replace the old. If more slots are required then Ctrl (Apple) click on the plus sign at the bottom of the palette (you must first scroll down). The user palette is stored with the project.

Warm/Cold fixtures

The temperature slider takes effect on fixtures with warm white and cold white control channels and on fixtures with a single colour temperature channel.

Transparency

Some preset types support transparency. This is where one of the colours within the effect is specified as transparent, allowing whatever programming is running underneath to be seen. It is a very powerful feature allowing some very specific effects to be achieved that would otherwise be impossible.

However it also allows you to break some of the usual rules of Unison Mosaic playback and so it may need some extra thought or experimentation to get the result you are looking for. Here are some tips on how to get the best from this feature:

l Before using transparency make sure there isn't a way to achieve what you want using the existing

opaque presets. If there is another way to get what you want then that may make life simpler. Use transparency for those very specific effects that cannot be achieved any other way.

l It can sometimes be difficult to make transparent effects behave tidily when a timeline loops. Use it in

timelines that don't loop or hold at end when you can, or make a point of turning off the transparent effect before the point when it loops.

l It may be easier to get the result you want by using several timelines. Often problems can be avoided by

having one timeline that contains the transparent effects and putting the background non-transparent effects into a separate timeline.

l When you are using multiple timelines, don't forget about the timeline priority setting. This can be a way of

ensuring that transparent effects stay on top while you change the background underneath.

Mover presets

Mover presets can be dropped onto the Mover rows at the required time to synchronise their control with the rest of the presentation. Unlike the other presets, Mover presets remain active for the length of the timeline unless overridden by another Mover preset, such an override taking place by fixture parameter kind on the Latest Takes

Precedent basis. For example, a Mover preset that only sets a fixture’s beam parameters will not interfere with a

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previous Mover preset that set its position. This position will remain active until such time that a Mover preset is encountered that does set this fixture’s position in which case this new position will now become active.

TIP! It is possible to add more Mover rows (and delete them) so that more than two Mover presets can be run simultaneously, right-click>New Mover Row.

It is important to remember to set the intensity for movers by dragging the “Intensity” preset onto the timeline to determine when and for how long the movers are on. Movers that can colour mix should have a “Fixed Colour” or an effect preset applied to turn them on and set their colour.

DALI presets

DALI presets can be dropped onto the DALI ballasts and groups for each DALI interface in the project, see DALI. DALI presets should be thought of as commands instructing the DALI ballasts or groups to fade to a level or scene with the ballasts retaining this level or scene indefinitely regardless of the state of the timeline. Unlike DMX fixtures, there exists no notion of a released, default state and so DALI ballasts must be explicitly turned off with a preset. Beware that timelines set to loop will repeatedly run any placed DALI presets and thus reissue these commands until the timeline is released.

TIP! It may be simpler to separate DALI programming onto dedicated timelines and use triggers to synchronize them to the other fixture programming.

Copying presets

Presets can be copied (right-click>Copy) from one row and pasted (right-click>Paste) onto another (or later on the same row), this helps speed up the process of applying programming from one set of fixtures onto another; preset parameters, timing and transitions will all be copied. Note that copying presets in this way creates brand new instances of presets that operate independently of each other.

TIP! Hold Shift while selecting Paste to place the copy with finer resolution (centisecond).

Linking presets

If, however, you want to add more fixtures to an existing preset so as to operate on them all as one then drag the top or bottom edge of that preset up or down to include more rows of fixtures, this operation creates a linked preset. Note that any skewed timing or effects within the preset will now be rendered over the new, larger fixture selection - use Repeat to compensate if required.

A linked preset can be unlinked if desired by using right-click>Unlink to yield separate, identical instances.

Mover presets can not be linked since the fixture selection is a property of the preset itself.

Deleting presets

Presets can be deleted by pressing Delete,Backspace or using right-click>Delete.

Selecting multiple presets

To select more than one preset at a time for moving and editing properties or timing hold Ctrl (Apple) while clicking to build the selection or Ctrl (Apple) + A to select all.

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Program - Working with the Audio Visual Controller

Overview

The Unison Mosaic Audio Visual Controller (AVC) is a companion to the Unison Mosaic MSCs. It allows the same level of intuitive control for audio and video that the MSCs provide for lighting.

Like the MSC, it is a rugged solid-state device in a compact DIN-rail mounting enclosure. Video and audio content is stored on a memory card (2GB card provided as standard) with instant access (no “seek” time) to any clip for playback. Video content is MPEG2 at full D1 resolution, that is DVD quality, and the aspect ratio can be either 4:3 or 16:9 anamorphic. Video output is selectable as composite, S-Video or component signals along with stereo balanced analogue.

However, the fundamental difference between the AVC and other video playback devices is that the AVC incorporates two separate players and a vision mixer. This means that it can respond immediately to external triggers and perform graceful transitions (dissolves, wipes, etc.) between two clips. This is a huge advantage for any sort of interactive or themed application and allows the compact AVC to replace multiple discrete items of larger AV equipment.

The AVC incorporates a live input so that a camera or other video feed can be mixed with its internal playback. There is also an internal effects unit supporting picture-in-picture and luma-key effects. Finally a separate overlay (downstream key) is supported which could either be a customer logo or text, including scrolling text from an external source.

Schematic of AV routing

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Timeline Rows

Each AVC has four rows although only one is shown by default. Click the plus sign to expand this main row to expose these more advanced control rows. Only AVC presets can be applied to these rows, but not necessarily all AVC rows, and a preset's behaviour may change depending on the row on which it is placed:

Main

Used for the primary, full-screen image and/or audio.

Effect

Used for picture-in-picture (PIP) and luma-keyeffects:

l Fullscreen - use this if you want to play a brief clip over the top of that running on the main row and you do

not want to stop and restart the main clip.

l Luma Key - will selectively superimpose parts of the effects clip based on the intensity (or luma) of the

images. You can control the intensity threshold by setting the min and max values between 0 and 255. Over the range from min to max the two clips will be blended to make for a more seamless effect. You can then choose whether to superimpose the image from the effects clip directly or to superimpose a fixed colour of your choice.

l PIP - allows you to play the effects clip as a picture-in-picture. The picture-in-picture image will always be

scaled down by half, but you can choose exactly where on screen to place the window using the X Position & Y Position settings. You can then choose whether to reduce the size of the window (perhaps to remove an unsightly border) and locate the image within the window using the X Offset & Y Offset settings. The "Correct aspect ratio" option is an advanced setting that can be used when the content being shown within the PIP does not match the aspect ratio of the screen - when enabled it will scale the content so that it looks visually correct.

Overlay

Used for dynamic text.

Audio Mixer

Used to override the audio levels. The default audio behaviour is to use the audio from the current clip playing on the main row, with the audio crossfading with the video. Here you can change the audio behaviour, for example to include audio from a clip playing on the effect row or from the live input, or simply to adjust volume levels.

AVC Presets

If there are no AV fixtures in the project, the AVC Presets folder will not be displayed.

Preset (user named)

Used to play the clips that you created using the Media window to import video and/or audio into your project. This preset requires a player and can be placed on either the main row (for full screen playback) or the effect row (for PIP or luma-key effects).

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Program - Working with the Audio Visual Controller

Block

Used in a multi-timeline playback scenario to temporarily (for the length of the block preset) inhibit row programming from other running timelines. This preset does not require a player and can be placed on any of the AVC rows.

Live input

Used to display live video and/or audio. This preset does not require a player and can be placed on the main row (for full screen playback) or the effect row (for PIP or luma-key effects).

Dynamic text

Renders a text message which can be changed at runtime:.

l Text Colour - the colour of the text l Base Colour - the colour of the background l Alpha - the transparency of the colour l X Position/Y Position - the top left (in pixels) of the text's rectangle l Width - the width (in pixels) of the text's rectangle (height is determined from the font) l Period - the number of seconds that the message takes to scroll over the matrix l Count - the number of times that the message should scroll over the length of the preset l Text - the text to render l Font - the font to use to render the text (see the Fonts dialog below) l Refresh - when to update the text if it is changed (Immediately, On Loop, On Release) l Scroll - select either static or the scroll direction of the text (Up, Down, Left, Right) l Alignment - if the text is set to static, the alignment of the text (Left, Center, Right) l Blend - if the text is set to scroll, specify a soft edge in pixels l Seamless Loop - if the text is set to scroll, setting this will remove the gap between the end and the start l Orientation - the orientation of the text (Horizontal, Vertical) l Mirror - flips the text left to right l Flip - flips the text top to bottom l Effect - applies a dot matrix effect (None, Dot Matrix Square, Dot Matrix Circle) l Dot Pitch - if a dot matrix effect is selected, sets the dot pitch in pixels of the pseudo matrix

NOTE: While this preset is complex, it may not achieve what you want, please contact support for assistance.

To configure the font used by the Dynamic Text preset, press the [...] button next to the font picker to open the Fonts dialog:

NOTE: Editing a font will change all Dynamic text presets that use that font not just the currently selected preset (s).

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To set the initial text for a text slot, press the [...] button next to the Text property to open the Dynamic Text Configuration dialog:

l Click in the Default Value cell of a slot to edit the text stored in that slot l You can remove unused text slots by pressing Remove l Press Ok to save changes and Cancel to discard changes

There are two built-in slots, <time> and <date>, which show the current time and date respectively.

The Set Text Slot trigger action allows you to change the value of a text slot from a trigger.

Fixed colour

Renders a full screen fixed colour when placed on the main row. When this preset is used on the effects row, you can set an alpha value to blend the colour with the clip running on the main row. This preset does not require a player.

Audio mixer

Used to set the levels of the main, effect and live input audio, can only be placed on the audio mixer row. By default, only the main row audio is output but this preset allows you to alter the mix to include the effect and live input audio.

Timing & transitions

All the AVC presets provide control for an In and Out time, each with the option to select a transition effect (Dissolve, Wipe etc). Use the Transition pane with the preset selected on the timeline:

Specifies the duration of the transition, analogous to the fade time in lighting. The default is 0 seconds. When two clips abut on a timeline row it is the second clip's In time that is used to perform the overall transition from one to the other and not the first preset's Out time (see below).

Out

Specifies the duration of the fade out (release) of a preset when no preset immediately follows it on a timeline row. The default is 0 seconds.

Playback

Precedent

For flexibility and consistency with lighting playback each AVC row operates independently using the Latest

Takes Precedent Plus (LTP+) system. It is thus possible,for example, to create timelines that contain just main

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Program - Working with the Audio Visual Controller

row programming and timelines with just overlay row programming so that these can be mixed at playback allowing overlaid text to remain onscreen regardless of which video clip is chosen to play underneath.

Timeline row programming will remain onstage for the duration of the timeline unless overridden by another timeline with programming on the same row(s) or explicitly released.

Players & limitations

While the AVC's major advantage is that is has two separate players it is important to appreciate that it only has two players. The flexibility of both the programming interface and the Unison Mosaic system's multi-timeline environment can catch the unwary, particularly when using dissolves or wipes which require both players for the duration of such a transition.

Both players are routed to both the Main Mixer and the Effects unit (see schematic above) along with the Live input. The Play Clip preset requires exclusive use of a player and so only two Play Clip presets can run concurrently, either while transitioning from one to the other or with one main and the other as an effect (eg. picture-inpicture). Note however that a 0 second duration "snap" transition only requires a single player and the Live input feed none at all.

Which player does what is determined automatically at playback to ensure that multiple timelines interact correctly. Your programming does not specify a particular player, just the request to use one. When the programming on a single timeline, or the interaction of multiple timelines at playback, calls for more than the two players available the AVC will automatically replace any timed transitions with snap transitions so that it does not exceed the player limit.

Data storage

The AVC uses its memory card much more aggressively than the other Controllers and best performance requires the memory card be formatted in a particular way. It is therefore recommended that you format the memory card either from within Designer (Controller config) or the AVC's web interface when starting a fresh pro- ject or inserting a new card.

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Timing, transitions & precedent

It is often said that good lighting as much about timing as anything else so it is important to understand the concepts of timing and transitions used throughout Designer:

Timing

Timing values pertain to presets placed on timelines and determine the Start, End and Length times and may be numerically set as an alternative to dragging.

Transition timing

Transition values pertain to Mover preset defaults and presets placed on timelines and determine what sort of cross fade is rendered. The use of interesting transitions can transform your project so it is well worth spending some time experimenting to see what can be achieved using these properties:

Fade

Sets the overall length of the transition, default value is 2 seconds.

Release

Sets the time used for a preset to “release” its fixtures when it completes, default value is 2 seconds.

Path

Specifies the cross fade path, default is Default meaning that each pixel or parameter will use the library default path (or Dimmer Curve if specified), typically Linear for intensity/position and Start for colour/gobo wheels. Some interesting additional paths are provided for your delectation.

Transition skews - Group & Mover presets (1D)

Skew Type

Various different skews can be selected to alter how individual fixtures (and pixels within fixtures in the case of compound fixtures such as battens and tiles) behave within the fade, default is None which means that all fixtures/pixels fade together. Use skews to create “multi-part” fades so that fixtures/pixels fly in one by one for example (set to Individually) - you may have to increase the fade time to clearly perceive the skew especially with lots of fixtures/pixels.

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Timing, transitions & precedent

Direction

The ordering of a skewed transition depends on the fixture/pixel ordering within the group. The Skew Direction drop-down provides further ordering options such as Forwards and Backwards for additional flexibility. Additional groups can be created with different fixture/pixel ordering to achieve other skewed effects.

Repeat

Specifies the number of adjacent fixtures/pixels over which a skewed transition is applied, default is All meaning that the skew will span the entire selection. Typically you set this value to be equal to the number of pixels in a compound fixture or the number of fixtures in a zone or on a truss, experimentation is recommended as interesting effects can be achieved.

Buddy

Specifies the number of fixtures/pixels that will fade together within a skewed transition, default is 1 meaning that each fixture/pixel will fade independently. Set to 2 to make pairs fade together, 3 for threesomes etc. Again, experimentation recommended.

Transition skews - Matrix & Media presets (2D)

Skew Type

Since the Pixel Matrices onto which you place Matrix and Media presets have spatial awareness, the available skews are more powerful and are akin to video wipes - you may have to increase the fade time to clearly perceive the skew.

% Fade

Sets the hardness of the skew; whether the edge of the wipe is hard (0%) or soft (100%).

Angle

Some skews (for example Linear or Radial Wipe) can optionally accept an angle value that alters the direction or start point of the transition.

Specifying times

Timing fields display times in the format hh:mm:ss.cc (hours:minutes:seconds.centiseconds), although leading zeros are not displayed. 24 hours (24:00:00.00) is the maximum timeline length and thus timing duration.

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When setting times you can enter in this format directly (omitting leading zeros) or you can use h, m & s to specify your units and Designer will reformat accordingly. Furthermore, any number input without separators (h, m, s or :) is taken literally if it is valid as such or converted if not, here a decimal point will always denote centiseconds.

For example:

00:01:30.00 1 minute and 30 seconds (00:01:30.00)

1:30 1 minute and 30 seconds (00:01:30.00)

90s 1 minute and 30 seconds (00:01:30.00)

1h2.5m 1 hour, 2 minutes and 30 seconds (01:02:30.00)

2h7m45.5s 2 hours, 7 minutes, 45 seconds and 50 centiseconds (half a second) (02:07:45.50)

99 1 minute, 39 seconds ("99" not valid so converted) (00:01:39.00)

100 1 minute,0 seconds ("100" valid so taken literally) (00:01:00.00)

2020 20 minutes, 20 second (00:20:20.00)

30.1 30 seconds and 10 centiseconds (tenth of a second) (00:00:30.10)

Precedent

The Unison Mosaic Controllers use the Latest Takes Precedent Plus (LTP+) system (popularised by Flying Pig Systems in the early 1990s) to determine what to output to a fixture (or, strictly speaking, fixture element or parameter) at playback runtime. LTP+ was an enhancement of the standard LTP system and was designed to incorporate automated lighting control. The "rules" of the LTP+ system are as follows:

1. After system initialisation, and prior to any preset (on a timeline) running, the output will be in a default, "released" state. This does not mean that all DMX channels will be zero however as this default state is determined by each fixture's library definition that will set parameters to sensible "home" positions, for example pan and tilt to midway, irises and gobo/colour flags to open white.

2. The output will respond to the latest preset activated regardless of the preset data (so a preset programmed to black will override a colour).

3. When a preset expires or is explicitly released the output will revert to the prior state which may be an overridden preset (if any) or the default state.

4. Fixture parameters are grouped by kind (Intensity, Colour, Beam Image, Beam Shape, Position & Control) and so preset programming and thus precedent operates at this level - multiple presets can thus be responsible for the output of a fixture with multiple parameter kinds e.g. a moving light or conventional fixture with a scroller.

Since the Controllers can run multiple timelines simultaneously then some consideration should be given as to how best structure the project. This is particularly important if the project calls for random triggering of timelines, for example from a Button Panel Station (BPS), since there is no way of knowing in advance what state the output will be in (i.e. which timelines have already been triggered) when a new timeline triggered. This interaction of timelines can yield unexpected results unless care is taken when programming.

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Trigger - Overview

The Trigger window is used to “connect” your timeline programming to the outside world:

Trigger - Overview

Controllers support a range of interfaces which can be used to trigger the playback engine including an internal realtime & astronomical clock. For example, digital input #1 (connected to a wall panel) could be set to start “Funky” timeline, “Advert” can be set to run on the hour every hour between sunrise and sunset and, at sunset, “Cleaning” would start.

The window comprises three sections: On the left are the Trigger, Condition and Action directories. In the middle is the trigger management area and the panes to configure the Triggers, Conditions and Actions are on the right.

Creating a trigger

To create a trigger, select and drag it from the directory and drop it onto the management area or press the button on the Trigger configuration pane and use the pull-down menu to select the required type, see basic,

advanced and Remote Device triggers.

Configuring a trigger

l Type - the trigger type l Number - the trigger's unique number as used for web interface control purposes (can typically be left at

the default value unless creating custom pages)

l Controller - the controller that will process the trigger, note that Realtime, Astronomical and Ethernet Input

triggers are processed by the Time Server so the selection is limited to None or Time

l Comment - enter a useful name for simulation and web interface control purposes l Absorb on match - uncheck to prevent the trigger absorbing the match, see below l Parameters - the data required for each trigger type, varies by type so refer to the appropriate trigger

descriptions

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Inhibiting a trigger

For testing purposes it is sometimes useful to inhibit one or more triggers to examine more clearly the operation of others. A trigger can be inhibited by setting the controller number to None so that no controller processes the trigger, the row details will be displayed in grey.

Incompletely defined triggers

If triggers/conditions/actions are not completely defined then they are highlighted in red to indicate that they need further attention.

Trigger order & matching

The order in which triggers are displayed in the Trigger screen is the order in which they are tested by the system. Once a trigger is successfully matched then,if "Absorb on match"is checked, no further triggers are tested for that event; the event is absorbed.Thus this trigger order is important, particularly when using conditions.

If you had two identical triggers in your show then, assuming they had no conditions, only the first one encountered would ever be matched. However, if you add a condition to the first trigger then it will only match when the condition is true, and when it is false the second trigger will match instead.

The ability to have the same trigger have different results based on a condition is very powerful. For instance you might have a single digital input that starts one timeline during the day and another during the night.

Changing the trigger order

You can either select and drag the trigger up or down within the management area to redefine the order or use the

and buttons on the Trigger configuration pane.

Absorb on match

In some cases it is useful for a matched trigger not to absorb the event and thus allow triggers further down the list, so there exists the option to disable the default behaviour (for triggers other than Realtime & Astronomical clock which default to unchecked) by unchecking the "Absorb on match" box for each trigger as required.

Conditions

If you wish to constrain the trigger with a condition then drag one from the directory and drop it into the Condition

field of the trigger or press the button on the Condition configuration pane and use the pull-down menu to select the required type, see conditions.

Up to 32 conditions can be applied to each trigger in this way and you can use the < and > buttons to select each one for configuration.

Configuring a condition

l Type - the condition type l NOT - check to invert the operation of the condition l Parameters - the data required for each condition type, varies by type so refer to the appropriate condition

descriptions

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Trigger - Overview

Removing a condition

Use the and buttons to select the condition to be removed and press the button on the Condition configuration pane.

Changing the condition order

To change the order in which conditions are tested, use the and buttons on the Condition configuration pane.

Actions

Every trigger needs an action, the thing to do, which you can drag from the directory onto the Action field of the

trigger or press the button on the Action configuration pane and use the pull-down menu to select the required type, see basic, advanced and Remote Device actions.

Up to 32 actions can be applied to each trigger in this way and you can use the and buttons to select each one for configuration.

Configuring an action

l Type - the action type l Controller - the controller that will process the action l Parameters - the data required for each action type, varies by type so refer to the appropriate action

descriptions

Removing an action

Use the and buttons to select the action to be removed and press the button on the Action configuration pane.

Changing the action order

To change the order in which actions are executed, use the and buttons on the Action configuration pane.

Copying a trigger

Select the trigger to be copied in the management area and use right-click > Copy to create a copy in the row immediately below, very useful for defining similar triggers since all the defined conditions and actions are also copied.

Deleting a trigger

Select the trigger in the management area and use right-click > Delete or press the button on the Trigger configuration pane, the entire trigger, its conditions and actions will be deleted.

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Triggers - Basic

These basic triggers allow you to use the Controller's realtime and astronomical clock, digital inputs and web inter-

face to control timeline playback and set intensity levels:

Basic trigger types

Startup

The startup trigger determines what the Controller should do after power up or reset. There are no configuration options.

Timeline Started

A timeline starting (generally as a result of a trigger or the timeline looping) can be used as a trigger, use the configuration pane to select which timeline.

Timeline Ended

A timeline reaching the end of its programming can be used as a trigger, use the configuration pane to select which timeline. For a looping timeline, this trigger will fire every time the timeline loops.

Timeline Released

A timeline releasing can be used as a trigger, use the configuration pane to select which timeline.

Timeline Flag

Any timeline can have one or more flags placed on the ruler (see working with timelines) to act as triggers, use the configuration pane to select which timeline and the flag within that timeline.

Real Time

The Controller has an internal, battery-backed real time clock. In a project with multiple Controllers only one Controller is set as the Time Server (see Controller association), use the configuration settings to determine what sort of real time event will be matched, for example 5 minutes past every hour or at noon on a specific date.

The standard dialog allows you to deal with the most common cases, including one-off events or events that recur hourly, daily or weekly. Note that the maximum resolution of real time events is 1 second, so an "Any Time" trigger will fire every second during the specified date range:

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ETC Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Welcome

Introduction

Platforms

Apple QuickTime

Help Overview

Help Help

Support

What's new in v1.11

Controllers

User Interface

Main toolbar

Mode tabs

Mode toolbar

Browser

Browser toolbar

Plan

Configuration area

Status bar

Keyboard shortcuts

Notes for Mac OS X users

Overview

Setup (F1)

Patch (F2)

DALI (F3)

Mover (F4)

Media (F5)

Program (F6)

Trigger (F7)

Simulate (F8)

Network (F9)

Report (F10)

Quick Start

Creating a project

Creating Media & Mover presets

Programming Timelines

Creating Triggers

Setup - Project properties

Project Identification

Plan

Size

Grid

Background image

Scale

Colour scheme

Location

City or Latitude/Longitude

Time zone

Daylight Saving Time

Fixture Library

Fixture icons & scale

Populating the plan

To add a fixture:

To duplicate a fixture (create an array):

To copy a fixture or fixture selection:

To delete a fixture or fixture selection:

To see where a fixture is patched:

To highlight a fixture:

DALI fixtures

Audio visual (AV) fixtures

Import fixture plan

Export fixture plan

Fixture Identification

Name & number

Locked

Comments

Fixture Position

Grid

Nudge

Alignment

Fixture Configuration

Intensity

DALI

Moving lights

Gel colour

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