Chase Duration in show

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RichT
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 3:30 pm
Real Name:

Hi all, newbie here! I am very new to using QLC+ and have never used an automated lighting program before.

I am trying to set up a show for work, I have the music working, the light colour & brightness states. The issue I am having is getting a EFX working for the duration of a song. If I place the EFX at the beginning of the song and want the moving lights to stop their Pan & Tilt movements at the end I set the hold duration for the length, however it slows the pace right down and makes the one loop for the duration. I can't seem to set up it looping the same efc for say 10 seconds even though the efx is set for loop.

Any ideas? I am sure I am doing something so simple which is wrong.

Thanks!
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GGGss
Posts: 2662
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:15 pm
Location: Belgium
Real Name: Fredje Gallon

Welcome to the board ;-)

IMHO the way to do music & show in sync is a combination of several scenes, chasers and efx's all combined in a show. See http://www.qlcplus.org/docs/showmanager.html
With the show manager you have some control between expired time and what's going on with the lights. Here you could set moods for chorus and refrain and so on...

Have it a try
All electric machines work on smoke... when the smoke escapes... they don't work anymore
mlohrey
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:07 am
Real Name: Mark Lohrey

I have found the show manager possibly the most rewarding and most frustrating part of QLC+ in my attempts to use it.

If you have the time, then creating step by step sequences seems to be the most reliable and accurate method. However, these can be painful to create.

I am not sure whether this will work for you, but for matrix effects, I found that putting them in a chaser and then putting them in the show was the most reliable way of having them work as expected. It is easy then to simply extend the duration time of the effect to what you need. You just have to be careful to create copies of the chasers if you plan to reuse them but for different amounts of time.

I haven't tested this method with moving heads. I have only recently managed to buy some. I might do some experimenting.

Cheers

Mark
mlohrey
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:07 am
Real Name: Mark Lohrey

I did some basic testing and it seems to work OK.
You have to remember that the time of the EFX relates to the time for one complete cycle of the EFX (as you have found).
If you create a chaser and put the EFX in that, then you can make the EFX run at the rate you want for the length of time you want. The rate is determined by the length of hold in the EFX and the length by the time of hold in the chaser.
Alternatively, you can add the EFX multiple times to the track.

When working on complex shows I have found it wise to save often.

Cheers

Mark
RichT
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 3:30 pm
Real Name:

Hi everyone thanks for the help! I managed to get the efx moving scans to move for the correct period of time during a song, I have encountered 2 other problems.

In operate or design mode even though I have locked the efx just by clicking it accidentally shrinks it back down to one cycle and I have to fiddle with the timings again.

Also I cant seem to alternate between 2 efx during a song. They will play once but wont play again for example faster efx during chorus and slower during versus.

Thanks again
mlohrey
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:07 am
Real Name: Mark Lohrey

Here is a test workspace with some ideas for you.

I have created a show file with a moving head. The second track shows the EFX in a chaser. The speed of the EFX is controlled by the EFX itself and the duration by the Chaser. It seems to work in my trials.

Cheers

Mark
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Show-Test with Moving Heads.qxw
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