Busking with a Media Server

As lighting programmers, we are frequently put into situations where we have little to no time to program for a show that’s happening the same day, so we’ve learned to improvise. Whether you call this “busking,” “punting,” or maybe even just “operating on the fly,” we all have a few techniques that help us get through the “no time to program” one-off. But what about one-off shows with a media server? What things do programmers need to be ready for a show when they have little to no idea what’s coming up next? Luckily, many of the same steps for working with automated lighting can also be applied to punting with media servers. Here are some suggestions so you can be ready to roll with the punches.

Console Organization

Obviously, organizing your desktop workspace on the console is very important. Speed is the name of the game during a busking show, so finding that ‘blue’ clip you want or creative effect in a hurry means that your desktop views have to be well thought out. On most consoles I prefer to have the palette windows for media clips open on a full screen, and if I really have time to organize my clips, I will separate clips into color palettes, and/or energy (tempo). This might require a couple of pages of clips to be quickly thrown into palettes, but the nice thing about media servers is that you can set the console and server up in a corner somewhere while the rig is being built, and slam away. When you’re using stock content, if you’re not familiar with it already, then you may find it very useful to take advantage of a remote content management application (if the server has one) so you can see thumbnails, making it easier to locate clips by color and/or name at least. (Sometimes you will need to have that software on your own laptop, and always remember to bring an Ethernet cable to connect into your media server).

Which Palettes Do You Need?

Now, as for palettes, there are a few types that I find handy to have on the ready: visual effects, color effects, color mixing, play modes and x,y,z media positions. You might even throw in a few scale/zoom/size palettes in there too, just in case. Visual and color effects are really where the magic happens; with effects like Shake, Roll, Tile, and Wobble, just to name a few, how could it not be fun? Be aware that many effects also have additional parameter modifier channels, so you can save several settings stored in palettes for a variety of looks. Just remember not to store any media clips into these palettes so they can be applied to any media at any time.

Layer Numbering

When I first began working with media servers, the concept of how layer numbering could affect my programming speed didn’t really seem to me to be an issue. However, that has changed because I have found myself working on shows with multiple servers at a time. So layer numbering becomes critical for not getting lost. For instance, on a show with three servers, and each server has 12 layers, once upon a time I would number the servers like I do lighting fixtures, starting each server’s layer 1 at a unique number separated by a chunk of space between each. So layer numbering for each would have looked like this:

Layer Numbering: The Old Way

So “layer 1” is numbered 101+201+301+etc.

Now however, I’ve adopted a slightly different way to number my servers, so using the keypad for selecting is much easier:

Layer Numbering: The New Way

The numbers actually mean more to me this way:

101 means Layer 1 on Server 1, while 102 means Layer 1 on Server 2. To me, it makes more sense because it’s more likely that I will want to grab all layer ones (for instance) in a hurry and apply a clip or effect. Numbering in this way means I don’t have to guess at what those fixture numbers for all layer 1’s are; they are, simply, 101-103 ENTER (or PLEASE). There. Easy as pie. Now where is that color effect I need?

Which Layer is the Master? Highest or Lowest?

Okay, this one, I admit, I can go either way on, and it really depends on the type of show. However, genius programmer JJ Wulf suggested to me one day that he uses layer 12 (or the highest layer) as the master layer so that when there is a “default” media clip, he keeps it on that layer and then in a hurry, when he wants to get out of something he can bring up the top layer, and it will automatically override all other layers underneath, and he can set up for the next look. I find this is very helpful in a busking or fast programming session even, but again, there are times when I want to be able to use the main media clip on the bottom layer so I can overlay other effects on it, so it’s best to keep this in mind as an option and use it when it makes sense.

Cue Stacks: What’s in Them?

Now that you have a few palettes in the bank, what exactly do you want on those Cuelist faders for playback? Well, this is subjective, of course, but my quickest way through a show is to bang in about 50-100 cues in a list (or two) where each cue has a media clip along with intensity, a starting scale/zoom size and play mode. Everything else I’m going to want to affect manually for the most part, so I don’t store them in the cues. (This is why I love tracking consoles!) Since lighting consoles lack a VIDEO preview feature currently, it is important to label the cue with a name that means something to you so you know what color and type of clip it is. There’s nothing worse than hitting a cue with a bright fast clip during a sad dark ballad.

I like to put a few of my favorite visual and color effects on separate cuelist faders as well. Effects like Alpha Masking and Inverting Colors, to name a few, come in very handy when trying to quickly overlay clips together.

Another useful cuelist on a handle is PlaySpeed. Crossfade settings on the fader’s handle can be changed so that you can control the crossfade of the speed channel manually, allowing you to speed up, slow down or stop a clip when you want.

Priority Settings

One last thing about Cuelist faders to pay attention to is the Priority levels on the faders themselves. If you build a main stack of cues containing unaffected media clips, then it’s probably a good idea to raise the priority levels on any effects faders that you create so you can mix and match and not have to worry about the cuelists being released when combined with other lists that may have values for those same attributes (Like intensity or play mode for instance).

Effects Engine

Last but not least, take advantage of the effects engine, but please try to use OFFSET (or GROUPING) and don’t just open the effects engine and start touching the RAINBOW effect. We will know; we ALL will know.

Now, go have fun! It’s the one time you will be allowed to put anything you want up on the screens, so do it! And pay back those video guys for the years of PowerPoint torture they’ve put you through.

Fire off an impromptu email to Vickie Claiborne. Reach her at vclaiborne@plsn.com.