There is no right way to clone fixtures but there are a lot of wrong ways. There are so many ways to clone fixtures, that it’s difficult to say which way is the right way. Each programmer has devised their own processes, and the best way to clone a fixture is the way that works best for you. However, I can share some of my past experiences of cloning gone wrong and cloning gone right. I am primarily an MA programmer, so please forgive me if I only refer to MA ways of cloning. Every console has a different set of features. There are some universal basic truths, though.
What Is Cloning?
Cloning is used to add fixtures to the rig which are supposed to behave the same as an existing fixture or fixtures. This becomes useful when rigs grow or change over time. Cloning can be used to expand a rig or to convert one fixture type into another, as opposed to fixture swapping. My first experience with cloning happened when the long-term rental MAC IIIs had to be returned to the shop because The Joint finally decided to purchase Claypaky Alpha Spots. Instead of reprogramming several resident shows, I had the pleasure of helping several programmers clone their show files with the new fixtures. This is when it becomes clear who had clean show files and who had some dirty programming.
Dirty Show Files
Dirty show files are full of clutter and mismanaged data. If two fixtures get cloned to 12 fixtures, then a single hard value will be multiplied by six. If you are preparing to clone your show, please take time to open a tracking sheet and repair any raw values before the clone. This will save you time in the long run. Pay special attention to fixture specific functions, e.g. built-in fixture macros, effects, and special attributes. Using generic functions whenever possible will keep your clone file cleaner. When I know that I am building a show that will be cloned several times, I try to use a random dimmer chase instead of random on the shutter channel. I know that every fixture I come across will have a dimmer, but the mapping of random shutter will not always be the same. This is especially true when my FOH BMFLs become LED PARs at the mayor’s charity gala.
Take the Time
One of my programming phone-a-friends, Jonathan D. Martin says “Taking the time to understand and edit fixture profiles prior to any cloning procedure is essential. Updating missing or broken data post-clone is never fun, so by investing more energy up front editing the ‘clone-to’ fixture profiles, you will set yourself up for a clean clone and less reprogramming.” Read the fixture manuals and think through what profile changes are needed for the best results. This will usually take place in the beam palettes. One manufacturer will break up the shutter, the shutter type, and the shutter speed into three different attributes while another manufacturer will put all three options on the same attribute. When you go to hit your random strobes, the shutter might slam shut and give you an unexpected blackout.
So Many Colors
One cloning feature that I still struggle with is cloning LED fixtures that have different color attribute amounts. On my last tour, I started off by patching six Robe Spiiders, because I knew the first venue would have them. I built my show at the first venue and had some sweet bump buttons that took just the intensity and the white LEDs to full. At the next venue, we had RGB Elation Impressions. There were no white LEDs to hit. The mistake that I made was not including all color attributes in my bumps. Instead of only capturing the white chips, I reprogrammed the buttons to include a white palette instead of just the white chip. This way when I go to the white preset, I can just update the preset to be whatever is the closest to a bright white that the fixture can provide. Different consoles deal with color attributes differently. Some of them can fix this for you automatically, no matter how many color chips your fixture has.
Middle Fixture
When cloning from an even symmetrical rig into a room that has a center fixture, that middle fixture always sparks a discussion. Some people leave the center fixture out because it will ruin the symmetry of the programming. I don’t like the thought of wasting a single fixture. When the center fixture rears its ugly head, I usually clone around the fixture and then only clone color and intensity into it. I want it to match the color of my rig, but I don’t want it messing up my symmetrical ballyhoos and pan effects. Sometimes, I even point it straight down so that it doesn’t bug me.
Cloning Choices
Inevitably, you will need to clone from six fixtures on a straight truss into 40 fixtures in any number of orientations. I always make sure to clone from the center out. For instance, if fixture 202 – 206 need to be cloned, I’ll line up fixtures 203 and 204 to the center most fixtures of the new rig and work my way outwards instead of starting with fixture 201. This will maintain symmetry and ensure that my SR->SL sweeps stay mostly intact.
When To Clone
I almost never clone my show before I show up onsite. I will usually patch the new house rig and explore the fixture types, but I won’t clone my rig until I am sure that the new fixtures are where they are represented on the plot. This saves me from cloning my mid-stage fixtures into what I thought was their mid-stage fixtures only to realize that their mid-stage truss is 10’ behind my artists. A rare exception is when I’m cloning a fixture that I am unfamiliar with. Recently, I had the privilege of learning beforehand that a Chauvet Color STRIKE M now has a 68-channel mode that makes cloning from a GLP JDC1 much easier. I had to try it out to believe it.
Multi-instance
For better or worse, in the new world of LED panels, multi-instance fixtures are everywhere. This makes cloning easier, but it provides far more options than most people are aware of. When it comes to LED panels, I always try to clone from a layout view after testing out the fixtures. Too many times, I have had to overwrite my previous clone because the LED orientation was not what I expected. Cloning a Claypaky B-Eye K20 which follows a circular orientation pattern into an Ayrton MagicPanel which follows a linear orientation pattern will be more successful if you carefully choose your clone from a layout view instead of trying to batch clone them in no specific order.
Mix It Up
After you’re comfortable, get creative with where the data comes from. It doesn’t have to all be the same source. For example, take the color from one group of existing lights and dimmer chases from another. Mix it up and enjoy new combinations.
Reach Chris Lose at close@plsn.com
