Suggested Sequencing Workflow for RGB Colors and Timings?

[McAllister]

Newbie question: Can anyone suggest an efficient workflow for applying timings and colors to dumb RGB devices?  

 

Here's my problem: I'm using the John Storms method for breaking down my songs and getting pretty good timings.  I can easily apply those to my regular CTB16PC Channels.  What takes me FOREVER is applying those timings/colors to 5 dumb RGB ribbons that I have mounted to my eaves!  If I copy/paste the timings then I can make any of the colors were I can paste into the primary colors or combinations of those... but when I want to make anything other than 100%, then I have to go manually edit those intensities, fades, and levels.  For instance, orange is 100 R and 80 G... to get that I have to paste the timings into the R channel (easy at 100%), then paste them into the G channel, then manually go in and set all the Green intensities to 80% and fade ups from 0 to 80 and fade downs from 80 to 0...... very time consuming!  Plus I found that the colors in the palette don't match real life--- for Halloween, I used the orange and purple from the palette, then when I tested on my house, didn't like them at all, and had to go back and change the levels manually again!

 

I think to myself: There HAS to be a better way that I'm not aware of.  I can't find any good tutorials out there on how to program the RGB devices.  The LOR site has a good video on the color fade tool, but that's all that I can find.

 

So - all you RGB Geniuses out there - what workflows have you found to quickly apply timings and colors to RGB Devices?  I'm essentially only working with 5 pixels and it takes forever!  I know there are shows with millions of pixels--- I've heard of NutCracker and SuperStar for those.  But what to use for my setup with 5 "pixels" on the eaves of my house???

[xtremeone]

You need to be using the color fade tool. Should be what you are looking for.

[McAllister]

Yes - the color fade tool gave me unreliable colors, and also, I haven't figured out how to get the color fade to respond to timings.  Ideally I would paste my timings for the on/off/fades, then use the color fade (or some other tool) to "paint on top" of the timings that are on the channel.  Perhaps something like a paste to/from foreground - something that rather than pasting the on/off/fade intensities, it would keep those intensities and paint the color on top of the timings.  Does something like this exist?

[k6ccc]

As for the unreliable colors, I assume you mean that the colors on screen don't really match the lights in the yard.  Welcome to RGB...

 

That's largely how that works.  As I've said many times, you need to see the actual lights in the locations where they will be used for your show.  Then using the hardware utility, play with the color values to get the desired color.  Then document what works for you in that location.  Note that the colors may appear different in one location vs another because of other lighting, or structure colors.  For example, an RGB floodlight pointed at a red brick wall will look far different than if it is pointed at my light green stucco house.  Also, different lights or even different batches of the same lights may very well look different.