Automated lighting fixtures and consoles are very complex systems based on millions of lines of computer code. No system is perfect, and every console and fixture has its own share of bugs or glitches. When you encounter these, you must think fast and develop a plan to work around the bug. At one point in my career, a friend dubbed me “The King of the Work-Around,” because I had an uncanny ability to quickly resolve unexpected problems, yet still achieve the desired result. Although you don’t need to become a king, you should certainly be ready to get yourself out of a jam with minimal effort. Many of your work-arounds can actually develop into good habits that save you from future problems.
That’s Not What I Wanted
One of the most common bugs that can occur appears when you build cues and then play them back. Recently, I was programming a show using timecode and had a particular cue that did not look right when the cues played automatically. I had a set of LED sidelights that were programmed to be red in cue 10. However, every time the cuelist played through via the timecode source, the lights would be a pink color. For some unknown reason, the white LEDs in the fixtures would be on in cue 10. I could load the cue and they would be red; I could play the cues manually and the lights would be red. All the data indicated they should be red. For some reason, though, when the cue played via the timecode, the lights would appear pink.
I spent a bit of time trying to figure out what was wrong. I thought maybe I had tracked in the white LED value from another cue, but found this was not the case. I then looked for an effect that might be lingering, but alas, this was not the source of the problem either. Eventually, I decided to just make a higher priority cuelist with one single cue that forced these lights to red. Then I had the main cuelist trigger this supplemental cuelist at the appropriate time. I also created a trigger to release the extra list after the red moment. My problem was solved, and my work-around saved the look. I never did determine the cause of the problem, but I suspect a bug in the console software as the likely culprit.
The Worst Problem
The worst glitch is when you record a cue and then find that the cue did not record as expected. A long time ago, I picked up a habit of hitting blind after recording a cue. This allows me to play it and ensure it looks as expected before clearing my programmer. Once I am satisfied, I clear my programmer and begin working on the next look. I also have a habit when working on large rigs of recording cues in steps. I will often create a look with the wash lights and record it. Then I will select the profile fixtures and merge them into the same cue. Then I will select effect fixtures and again merge them into the same cue. This work-around ensures that if a record goes wrong or if I make a mistake, it is only to a selection of my entire look and not all my data for the single cue.
Choosing Your Work-Around
When you experience an unexpected result in your console or your fixture, you must react quickly to determine the best course of action. You could spend an hour or more building and re-building cues just to make some lights turn red for a single cue. Worse yet, you might accidently delete other work or destroy tracking information in your quest to solve the problem at hand. You must quickly determine if the fixture, console, or your own programming is at fault. Once you decide, then you should come up with a plan to avoid the problem.
For instance, I once was programming a concert and found that my fixtures were not fading into their effect in cue 22 as I desired. I wanted them to slowly crossfade into the ballyhoo, but they would always seem to snap into it even when the cue was crossfading. Instead of rebuilding cues or building an external list, I simply adjusted the fixture’s position timing channel slightly and this allowed the transition to happen as expected. I only had to remember to turn off this timing setting in the subsequent cue to avoid any timing problems later in the programming.
When you have a solid understanding of your console tools and the fixture modes/options, then you can choose the right course of action to work around software glitches.
Working with Others
When working with a designer, you might cause frustration when you proclaim the console is not behaving as expected. Most designers do not want to hear about the problems you are having with a console or fixtures. They simply want to get the looks built and move on. You should explain that there is an oddity and that you will sort it out. If possible, move on and come back to it at a later time when the LD is not waiting to build more looks. Most importantly, don’t bore LDs with the details of the problem or the work-around you created.
The Mistake Might Be Your Own
It is also important to realize that some unexpected results might just be your own fault. Maybe you tracked a timing value that is now causing the lights to move slower than expected. You might have even recorded a cue in the wrong list or left out a palette/preset reference. Often the glitch is of your own making. These are the easiest to fix, but often the hardest to find. And although you might be reluctant to explain your fault, you will find that most LDs respect your honesty when you explain that you corrected a mistake that you made.
The most common programmer based mistakes are due to a lack of understanding of tracking. You should ensure that you fully understand tracking as a concept and how it operates on your desk. Then you should study the different tracking tools available to you and make use of them as needed. For example, I often use “cue-only” tools to record values into specific cues with the understanding that the console will resolve tracking around the cue automatically. But recently when programming on a new console, I found that it did not always work as expected, and thus I had to be ready to work around this by recreating the tracked values that should have been applied. I later learned that the new console had two different modes of the cue-only tool, and I needed to select the appropriate one to get the results I wanted.
Glitch Happens
When programming automated lighting, there are many things that can and do go wrong. You need to be prepared to work around the unexpected and keep the original intent of your programming. Experience, knowledge and learning will keep you ready to tackle problems as they develop. When you do find bugs in console or fixture software, be sure to make a note of them and report them to the manufacturers. If at all possible, send them your show file with a detailed description of the problem. Only then will these errors get resolved, and hopefully you can save your work-around prowess for new problems on your next show.
