It is important for a programmer to understand the unique requirements and processes that are involved when programming fixtures that have framing shutter capabilities. Once you get the shutters, pan/tilt, and zoom set as needed, it is also essential to store this information into palettes/presets. This way you can come back and quickly select or update them easily at a later date if needed. It is never a good idea to simply store framing shutter data into cues without using a palette/preset. Due to the complexity of shutters, I will often store/merge my data into the palette/preset as I am working with each and every unit instead of adjusting them all first and then storing. This helps by protecting the data as I work with multiple fixtures. It is also useful to store a combined palette that has the pan/tilt, zoom, edge, and framing shutter values for quick recall of the exact position and adjustments.
— From “Feeding the Machines” by Brad Schiller, PLSN, May 2014
