channel order

[debtoews]

ok-Im new to LOR software and so far LOVE IT! My question is- in one song I have 4 different tracks and each one of those tracks, Ive re-arranged the channels..some all the same color or whatever to make things easier...do I have to move them all back to the same order I started with? Any help is apreciated!

[Anthony in Houston]

Nope you can leave them any way you want them.



Anthony

[George Simmons]

Hi Deb,

Welcome. You said "in one song"... First question - are you creating your own sequences or re-working ones from someone else? If re-working, are they all from the same source or different sources?

At some point before you can run a show you're going to need to have a single configuration file which you'll use to import your channel assignments into each individual sequence. Until you reach that point, you can arrange tracks and channels the way you want. Once you've finalized what your display will include, and for simplicity sake that should occur as soon as possible, then you'll need to conform all your sequences.

[debtoews]

I have made a "master" channel and Im starting with it for the first channel of every song and use the beat wizard to give me my first grid to work on. then Im adding tracks to that for vocals, special "events" etc but Im moving the channels around to make it easier to program. I am a previous Animated Lighting then Aurora software user..I find Aurora very combersome and I find the LOR2 software way faster and easier for me to program/sequence. We run d-light controllers...total of 272 channels :-) Hope thats clear as mud..lol

[debtoews]

oh yeah, I always sequence my own stuff....its fun for me and I get it the way I want it the first time..I use the visualizer and that helps a ton!!!!!!!!!!! I just finished my first song......Telephone By Lady Gaga...should be FUN! (for after christmas show)

[Max-Paul]

I think this will be useful for you. I am still something of a newbie myself (2nd year completed now). I found this out the hard way and this might save you some time.

Like many, it is convenient to create your tracks and assign channels, also make your visualizer with graphics. Once you have this, many of us will export the information into a file. So, when you start a new song sequence all you have to do is import this configuation and volla. All you have to do is import a song (media) and set up your timing grid and start sequencing. Skipping over setting up track and the graphics in the visualizer.

Now here is the rub. You have to keep the tracks in the same sequence. Meaning that roof has to always be the first track and shrubs always has to be track two. And the actual channels have to always be in the same order. This becomes evedent when lets say you add an element such as a new spiral tree or new deers or what ever. What you are going to do is add this into a song (sequence). You will do this buy adding a channel in a track or if enough new items, maybe a new track with new channels. And you are going to go into the visualizer and add a new graphic item to represent the new item. Then export all of this new stuff. Whats going to happen when you import these new items into other sequences is that you are going to displace channels and or tracks. So your programming for your aches are going to now be controlling your new deers and your arches will have no programming. In short it can become a real mess.

Do not change your order of things. Tracks can be hidden while working on the first and last track, all in between need to be hidden.
Do not insert a channel in the middle of a track, add it at the end of the track. Same for tracks, add it at the bottom.

Disclaimer, I am still new and there might be a different and better way of doing things. This is what happened to me and what I have done to keep it from happening again to me. But I only have 132 channels at this time and those with much more channels than me might have even a better way of maintaining their systems.

[heystew]

I can't find the exact post that explains this, so maybe someone can point us to it. But i found this method to be brilliant to keep things organized.

1. Create a track with all channels (master track)
2. Copy those channels to a new track or tracks
3. move the the channels around in the new track(s) to your hearts content but never touch the master track.

this will keep the channels arranged the same in the sequence file no matter how much you move around the channels in the other tracks the master will stay in the same order. I thought i read somewhere that you could hide this first track.

Note: any time you add a new channel, add it at the End of the Master Track

If someone uses this method and i've mis-represented it, please chime in.

[Paul Roberson]

heystew wrote:

I can't find the exact post that explains this, so maybe someone can point us to it. But i found this method to be brilliant to keep things organized.

1. Create a track with all channels (master track)
2. Copy those channels to a new track or tracks
3. move the the channels around in the new track(s) to your hearts content but never touch the master track.

this will keep the channels arranged the same in the sequence file no matter how much you move around the channels in the other tracks the master will stay in the same order. I thought i read somewhere that you could hide this first track.

Note: any time you add a new channel, add it at the End of the Master Track

If someone uses this method and i've mis-represented it, please chime in.

You did good. : )

I also do the same #1 is my 'master track' and contains ALL my channels. NEVER do I move channels around in this master track. When adding channels to your set up you add them to the bottom of the master track.

Always 'duplicate' this track into another track (#2) to rearrange all your channels.

OR

Always 'copy' specific channels from the 'master track' into another track like a 'mega tree' track or whatever.

"Duplicate" is LORs actual verbiage when dealing with a whole track.

"Copy" is LORs actual verbiage when dealing with single channels.


btw. Welcome to LOR debtoews. I am also an x AL user. : )

[debtoews]

ok- I think Im doing things the right way because I have a master track configured with all my assigned channels. I never change the channel assignment (ie: controller box number and channel number) I always use the master as my 1st track on every song. Ive started a sceond song but I guess Id better make sure I didnt move the channels around on my master track grid. Thanks for the welcome - hopefully I'll have some videos to post at the end of this year!

[George Simmons]

Lots of people keep a master track, and then they duplicate the entire track and ALL those channels any number of times while doing who knows how many sordid and unspeakable things to those poor channels in the process of sorting them and copying into and out of them.

Others keep a master track, and then use additional tracks for the far more humane method of copying only SOME of their channels to other tracks to sort/segregate them into different groupings.

Still others take the minimalist and eco-friendliest approach of keeping and nurturing only one copy of each channel; segregating those channels into however many individual and unique tracks are required to meet the artistic needs and temperment of the individual sequencer. (Although multiple tracks in and of themselves can serve to bloat the file size also.)

Personally, in my first year I started out in the second group. But long before I fully understood the near-incestuous inter-relationships among duplicated tracks and copied channels, it was making me half crazy. The moment I switched from the second to the third group and converted to a strict one channel, one location protocol, strange things quit happening to my sequences. YMMV. I'm now working with 19 channels and desperately waiting for the long-rumored object-based software upgrade so I can change everything from the way I've always done it into a more manageable method as the channel count continues to grow and the visualizer gets more crowded.

No matter how you do it: a, b, or c, the key for maximum convenience is adding new tracks and/or channels to the bottom of the configuration you are currently using. Doing it that way enables you to easily and accurately copy a new configuration file (.lcc) into old sequences. Of course, I've never done it that way. If you insist (like I do) on adding or subtracting channels in the middle of existing tracks, you'll have to make each of those changes manually in each old sequence before importing the updated .lcc file.

[debtoews]

with 272 channels to program....the easier...... the better!

[Paul Roberson]

George Simmons wrote:

Lots of people keep a master track, and then they duplicate the entire track and ALL those channels any number of times while doing who knows how many sordid and unspeakable things to those poor channels in the process of sorting them and copying into and out of them.

Others keep a master track, and then use additional tracks for the far more humane method of copying only SOME of their channels to other tracks to sort/segregate them into different groupings.

Still others take the minimalist and eco-friendliest approach of keeping and nurturing only one copy of each channel; segregating those channels into however many individual and unique tracks are required to meet the artistic needs and temperment of the individual sequencer. (Although multiple tracks in and of themselves can serve to bloat the file size also.)

Personally, in my first year I started out in the second group. But long before I fully understood the near-incestuous inter-relationships among duplicated tracks and copied channels, it was making me half crazy. The moment I switched from the second to the third group and converted to a strict one channel, one location protocol, strange things quit happening to my sequences. YMMV. I'm now working with 19 channels and desperately waiting for the long-rumored object-based software upgrade so I can change everything from the way I've always done it into a more manageable method as the channel count continues to grow and the visualizer gets more crowded.

No matter how you do it: a, b, or c, the key for maximum convenience is adding new tracks and/or channels to the bottom of the configuration you are currently using. Doing it that way enables you to easily and accurately copy a new configuration file (.lcc) into old sequences. Of course, I've never done it that way. If you insist (like I do) on adding or subtracting channels in the middle of existing tracks, you'll have to make each of those changes manually in each old sequence before importing the updated .lcc file.

That is not a very humane method.

I keep a master track with ALL my channels in it. When adding channels to last years sequences what I do is this.

Open a sequence from the previous year.

Duplicate the master track "master track 2010"

Name duplicated track #2 "master track 2011"

Do ALL my additions in this new master track in the middle or wherever. Move channels around if I want/need to.

Also make any changes needed to the other tracks. ie Copy my new blue channels to my existing 'all blue' track.

Then export the channel configuration. IE 2011 Channel config.

Now I can import this 2011 Channel config. file into each of my old 2010 sequences without having to :shock:manually:shock: do anything to each sequence.

[taybrynn]

I add at the bottom of track#1 as George suggests.

I then use additional tracks to organize from there.

Track#1 is the master and IMHO, it is best not to mess with (except adding at bottom each year) ... but give as much planned thought as possible (initially) in your first year or two, while moving/re-arranging is still fairly easy to do. I'd suggest looking at a large sequences from several shows ... and consider the logic behind the organization. For me, organization by color, then Left->Right order made the most sense. Its not absolute, but generalized to a degree. Look at holdman 2007 sequences ... I ended up with something similar and saw lots of reasons to organize in a similar manner. I finally realized there is absolute reason and benefit for the organization of channels.

Track#2, for example, was then copied and organized for my 2010 show track. And was organized first by color and then second by 'display item order' (which was Left to Right, generally).

If you wanted to organize groups further into other tracks, say tracks 3+ ... that probably also could make a lot of sense, but depends on how much organization you want for specific items (leaping arches, megatrees, tree lines, rgb grids, ccr stuff, etc.)

I treat track#1 is the master and don't mess with it from song to song, but tracks 2+ are fairly open. My plan going forward is that track#2 will be the 'current year' track ... and track#1 is always the master and always having additions down at the bottom. If I want some more custom tracks, I add them as tracks 3+ as needed to assist in sequencing and/or timing.

[PaulXmas]

I have never used tracks but it sounds like I should because it will save me a lot of time and headaches.

I went from 32 channel my first year to 112 last year. I didn't use anything from my first year. But I want to reuse and build on my 2010 sequences by adding 7 more controllers. I had named all my channels eg S1Deer 3-1 (1st South Deer Controller 3 Channel 1)

Sounds like if I use tracks I can say group all my deer together on one track and when I add a new controller I won't have to put them all back in order???

[jstorms]

Paul Roberson wrote

I keep a master track with ALL my channels in it. When adding channels to last years sequences what I do is this.

Open a sequence from the previous year.

Duplicate the master track "master track 2010"

Name duplicated track #2 "master track 2011"

Do ALL my additions in this new master track in the middle or wherever. Move channels around if I want/need to.

Also make any changes needed to the other tracks. ie Copy my new blue channels to my existing 'all blue' track.

Then export the channel configuration. IE 2011 Channel config.

Now I can import this 2011 Channel config. file into each of my old 2010 sequences without having to :shock:manually:shock: do anything to each sequence.

Hey Hey, this worked really well. I had 3 lines of trees in my first year show and wanted to put them together to make the chase sequences easier to program. Plus looking to add a bunch more channels.

I really appreciate all the tips. The above worked really well for me. Minimal work, nice result.