LOR II Waveform for Dummies Help

[David Barnett]

Hey folks, I have begun trying to resequence some of my wowlights shows I purchased, to better fit my Halloween setup. makin some progress, albiet slowly.

IN regards to the Waveform Editor in LOR II. I see a few of you use this fairly easily(?) to help sequence stuff.

I have seen the wonderful tutorials on creating,sequencing etc. But, I haven't run across any in regards to using the Waveform Editor in LOR II. I kinda have an idea of what it is telling you, just not too sure at this point. IE: No, "Oh I get it now" moments.

Does anyone have a nebie type explanation and or tutorial I could use to better understand this tool in LOR II.

Thanks for all your kind assistance.

Best,

David

[iresq]

The waveform allows for a visual representation of the music. I use it mostly to help lining up actions with a musical event that may be visible in the wave (drum kick or explosion, when signing starts, etc).

I generally use full height and expand the scale a bit.

[bob]

You might be thinking of the Beat Wizard - or even if you're not thinking of it, you might want to check it out (if you haven't already).

If so, I would suggest reading the help file page on it, and also here are a couple good threads where people describe how they use it (one even includes a tutorial video made by a user):

• http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=16195&forum_id=72
• http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=15994&forum_id=72

Hope this helps.

[David Barnett]

Bob, no actually I am reffering to the Waveform visualizer.

iresq, Thanks for the info. OK, expanding on this; how do you know what is what within the waveform.

What will you see when singing starts ,posible guitar or other instrument solo's etc.

In other words I'm asking for a little insight on how to interpret the waveform somewhat..so I can better see the events and adjust my animation.

Hope this helps clarify. Thanks for any assitance

Best,

David

[Paul B. Anderson]

The waveform is a basic tool; it will not separate vocals, guitars or any instruments. It is basically used to see peaks (louder sounds), and vallys (softer, or no sounds) to help with lining up event timings in your sequencing. Think of it this way - during a soft part in a song, the waveform will be thin; the louder the sounds are, the thicker the wave. You can notice some drum beats, or other louder sounds at the peaks, and line up a timing event with it. Hope I didn't confusel you more..... - Paul

[David Barnett]

Hi Paul. No not at all. It shed some light on info I was seeking.

Thank You.

Best,

David

[taybrynn]

As others have already said.

The waveform is just a representation of all the sounds (combined) at any given point in time. Generally the higher bars on the waveform are for louder sounds and the smaller bars are for quieter sounds. Nothing on the waveform usually indicates silence in the music.

So when a song has louder bursts and perhap quiet spots in between ... then the waveform helps the most. You may be in a timing grid of say .02 second intervals and trying to decide whether to start on one cell vs. another.

I've download sequences from others (that probably used LOR I - no waveform) ... and you can clearly see when the timing is off ... because the waveform doesn't match the light-enabled timing events. Sometimes you need to split a timing interval to match the music more exactly ... and trying to determine exactly where to split it is the question ... well, look at the waveform ... at can sometimes help a lot. I believe that when you find the correct spot on the waveform, you can then right-click and choose an option to split the interval at xx:xx ... which is where you are pointing within the waveform ... very useful.

If the song has non-stop music and a fairly busy waveform, then the waveform becomes slightly less useful ... or you might need to just reference the peaks and
valleys as reference points.

For example, you might find that as the music gets louder and louder ... a fade up
on certain channels could match that intensity increase in the music.

Likewise, you might find that as the music fades down ... you could start a fade down
to mirror what the music is doing. You might decide where to start it based on the
peak or valley of the waveform. There is no absolute rule, but I often find myself
fading up to the peaks and fading down into the (waveform) valleys.

Having the waveform also gives you a readout of the time, which I don't think you get if your not showing the waveform. I often listen and watch the waveform and when I hear something I was the synchronize to ... I noticed exactly where on the waveform it occurs ... and for some reason, to me, I can recall a point on a waveform (visually) a lot easier than I can remember it was a certain time. It give you something to reference again down in your intervals.

I hope that helps.


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[David Barnett]

Taybrynn, this is exactly the info. I needed. Thank You so Much.

Best,

David

[zman]

Scott, very well stated.

David, something you may want to review as well, is the Tutorial videos that Michael Farney has on Lorsequences.com. He has them broken out into LORI & II but they do cross over a lot. He has Beat Wizard covered and a basic how - to for sequencing. He has this embedded into his Tapper Wizard video that is about an hour long and it's an hour worth spending. Good luck.