A massive thanks to your project.
As a band member we are constantly on the lookout for ways to "solve" problems with shows or make them better for our audience.
Unfortunately many bands struggle, as I often say, "everyone wants to be entertained but no one wants to entertain". ie do the hard work. Shows are becoming more like movies, everything is done for you, you just sit back and and be entertained. People are being sold out however, swamped by special effects and dazzle but missing out on the interaction that makes a live show, play, music etc so much more rewarding. This is the daily battle we fight in our attempt to grab the punters $20..But I digress
Most of our events are charity or free or low paid as we try to infiltrate the music scene. Like you, many many hours spent above our daytime jobs learning our instruments and without the luxury of having sound people or lighting people, we also have to learn that side of things as well. Jack of all trades and masters of none, a sad but true reflection of todays music world. There are many many great musicians out there but fewer and fewer places for them to play as people remain glued to their phones and Netflix. (oops Im ranting again)
I have read some clever people have used QLC as a base with their own code modifications. I'm certainly not that clever. I have to rely on the QLC version and the forum users to help me out. We are all at various levels of learning and experience. I am involved in a number of online forums etc and it pains me to say that QLC is the least active of these. I tend to use this as a health check on the project. A vibrant community is always at the heart of a successful project as is marketing and the like. Also the step from a commercial or paid item is a very big one in quality and responsibility.
I have always supported open source and the like projects,and not just because its free and have been apart of many too . There are many different business models and finding one that will suit this project is tricky. Im currently in a predicament myself.
We, the band, would turn up to a venue and rely on their lighting and their sound. They have limited time to learn our ways and so the show is "okay" but nothing special. We also loose most, if any profit, in paying the venues "extras". But we still want to share our music so we wont give up. In an attempt to fix this we have been striving to produce it all on our own. Targeting this year starting in March we will use our sound gear, our lights,our truss etc. Slowly acquiring the equipment and expertise over the previous 2 years. QLC or any lighting software is just another cost on top that we will somehow find the $$ for. But the decision is hard. Many are saying use this or try this software, while I remain faithful to the hope of QLC5. Unfortunately I loose these debates when usage issues or questions on the QLC forum are not addressed. You, should be busy writing great code and normally "power users" within the forum would take care of these other things for you. Either helping the user to understand a better way to use the software or confirming that it is in fact a bug. As you state tutorials need to be made but again this puts load on you and takes you away from the code.
Im trying to say that its not just a matter of finding money, or making you self sustaining. There are other things to address.
We, as members of the forum can help here by being a little more responsive in helping others and generating a vibrant community.
I dont think a payment to download will work and like you, I despise trial periods that time out or versions with hampered features. eg. Ive slowly been learning to use QLC for the last 2 years or so, on and off as time permits so its not a matter of a lighting guy saying " I know what I need and can see how the software will solve my issues, buy it". I definitely support a donation box and think a Liberpay or some sort of ongoing payment is a paramount for you to see if you can be sustainable. Crowd funding and startups are also a good way to grab some dollars but dont give an indication of ongoing commitment.
I feel your pain. I guess as a band we are sort of using the crowdfunding model. We spend up front $$ and time hiring a venue/instruments and equipment, advertising, learning and producing a show and then hope people purchase a ticket. That unfortunately, no matter how much we want it too, it does not put food on the table until its a rolling success.
We need you to help make our shows easier to manage and look great, lets hope we can work something out.
