Show Editor - Background

[Guest guest]

I put together a small halloween display just to try out everything prior to Christmas and I'm glad I did. ( Click Here to see videos )

Can someone explain how a background animation should work. I want my tun-in sign to say on the entire time the show is running. I created a single "on" event, about a minute long- removed all other timing markers and saved it. Loaded it up as a background sequence - But it does not play.

Any Ideas????

Tad

[Guest guest]

Tad,

Make sure that the channel you are using for your sign is set to nothing in your sequence. In other words, it should only be assigned a channel in the background part. I hope I said that ok, because it sounds as clear as mud to me when I read it.

James

[Guest guest]

Quite appealing for only six lights! Here is a clickable URL for others to use to get there...
http://web.mac.com/tkledzik/iWeb/Halloween/Halloween%2006.html

[Guest guest]

James Peachee wrote:

Tad,

Make sure that the channel you are using for your sign is set to nothing in your sequence. In other words, it should only be assigned a channel in the background part. I hope I said that ok, because it sounds as clear as mud to me when I read it.

James

James, mind if I try to clean it up for you?

Tad, Let's assume that you have the flood lights on Controller 1, Channel 16. (1/16)

You might create a sequence with only ONE channel, and have it be your flood lights. You would define that channel as 1/16. This sequence would be placed into your background tab.

When you build your sequences for your shows, make sure you do NOT have 1/16 defined ANYWHERE in that sequence.

Why? If you have the same channel defined in two places the controllers will try to execute both, as both the background portion and musical/animation portion would be sending commands out for 1/16 at the same time.

[Guest guest]

I'll first apologize for that LACK of a clickable link there- forgot honestly...

I am sure that I have the channel assigned in my sequences. Which if I understand you, I should not have assigned in the sequence at all. That is an easy to fix issue. It makes total sense now that I stop and think about it....

I just wanted to play for Halloween. 6 lights was easy & hard all at the same time... I was stalled out on my Christmas stuff and this really brought me back around. I guess it's easy to try and over-engineer things- I really tried to keep things simple and easy.

Tad

[Guest guest]

FWIW, I'm going to put the sign channel inside of my songs and have it ON while the song plays. That way I know that the sign will be lit only at the appropriate time.

[Guest guest]

I really like the double trouble vid. Nice work.

[Guest guest]

Awesome - can't get enough of of other peoples talented shows!

[Guest guest]

I couldn't get it to play... :{

[Guest guest]

Brian Mitchell wrote:

I couldn't get it to play... :{

You need Apples Quicktime to see them, make sure it's on your computer (free to download)

[Guest guest]

Tad, nice work, love the tomb stone sign. can't wait to see more.

[Guest guest]

Don wrote:

James Peachee wrote:

Tad,

Make sure that the channel you are using for your sign is set to nothing in your sequence. In other words, it should only be assigned a channel in the background part. I hope I said that ok, because it sounds as clear as mud to me when I read it.

James

James, mind if I try to clean it up for you?

Tad, Let's assume that you have the flood lights on Controller 1, Channel 16. (1/16)

You might create a sequence with only ONE channel, and have it be your flood lights. You would define that channel as 1/16. This sequence would be placed into your background tab.

When you build your sequences for your shows, make sure you do NOT have 1/16 defined ANYWHERE in that sequence.

Why? If you have the same channel defined in two places the controllers will try to execute both, as both the background portion and musical/animation portion would be sending commands out for 1/16 at the same time.

Hello Don

I don't get what you are saying here!

Yes, I'm a newbie and this is my first post. What am I missing?

We know Tad has 6 channels connected to his flood lights. 1 Tune-In sign and one or more connected to curtain strobes, COOL! Side Note to TAD - Are curtain strobes cool? And I would love to get your sequence

How does "create a sequence with only ONE channel, and have it be your flood lights" Help him?

Signed

Newbie without a unit yet. Next Friday Thanks Dan! I have been using the demo since Carson Williams

Tim

Forgot to say.

Very nice work TAD. I really wanted to try and test mine out for Holloween, but I dont think I will have enough time. Four days before holloween!

[Guest guest]

Lets say it yet another way;

Your controller has 16 channels.

Controller 1 channel 1 = 1-1

Floods = Channels 1-1 through 1-6 (6 Flood lights)

Strobes = Channel 1-7

Sign = Channel 1-8

Channel 1-8 can't be assigned to any other sequence, it's dedicated to the sign only in the background tab, so now you have 8 channels to left sequence for other things from the 16 total channels.

[Guest guest]

I fixed my sequences last night and everything worked as it should. I did have the channel assigned in the sequence.

JMMCORM-
As a fix to my problem, I did go and put the sign in my sequence. Like you said- I'd know it would always be one during the sequence. The problem was that if you put 5 seconds between song sequences the tune-in sign would turn off then back on.

It just looked funny. I think people would begin to realize that something was starting and stopping - where as if the sign just stayed on, it would appear more unified as a show.
Just my opinion though. Some of my other sequences were 15-30 seconds long and the light was just turning off and one- kind of distracting....

[Guest guest]

Tad wrote:

It just looked funny. I think people would begin to realize that something was starting and stopping - where as if the sign just stayed on, it would appear more unified as a show.
Just my opinion though. Some of my other sequences were 15-30 seconds long and the light was just turning off and one- kind of distracting....

First let me say awesome display!

I agree, it looks funny. The only thing I know about background animations for a sign is that the sign channel should be the only channel in the animation sequence and that channel should not be in any of the other sequences played. (Learned that from LOR Wiki).

If you are using the MP3 Director, I heard it curently doesn't support background sequences. I am hoping that LOR II will enable background sequences for the MP3 Director.

[Guest guest]

mb323 wrote:

If you are using the MP3 Director, I heard it curently doesn't support background sequences. I am hoping that LOR II will enable background sequences for the MP3 Director.

There is a work around, however. If you are using the MP3 Director, you would include your "Background" sequence with your regular sequence as well. So if you had two flood lights, you would simply include those in with your normal sequence. Load that on the SD card, and your good to go.

[Guest guest]

Don wrote:

There is a work around, however. If you are using the MP3 Director, you would include your "Background" sequence with your regular sequence as well. So if you had two flood lights, you would simply include those in with your normal sequence. Load that on the SD card, and your good to go.

As Tad mentioned, doesn't that turn the sign on and back off for each sequence? I can live with that but would prefer the sign stay on for the entire show.

What I am really waiting for is the ability to schedule shows with the MP3 Director.

[Guest guest]

OK, I swear I'm not being a smarta** here, but if you want the sign on all the time, can't you just plug it into a regular outlet?

[Guest guest]

Hmmmmm! just plug it in..................BRAIN HURTS!

[Guest guest]

Don,

Thanks, you did good cleaning that up. Sometimes it just doesn't come out right!

James