ETC Emphasis Lighting Control System manual

Lighting Control System Quick Guide V ersion 1.4.0 Copyright © Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc. All Rights reserved. Product information and specifications subject to change. Part Number: 4200M1300-1.4. 0 Rev A Released: September 2003 emphasis™[...]

ETC ® , Emphasis™, Expression ® , Insight™, Imagine™, Focus™, Express™, Unison ® , Obsession ® II, ETCNet2™, EDMX™, Sensor ® , and WYSILink™ are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Electronic Theatre Controls, In c. in the United States and othe r countries. The name WYSIWYG ™ is a trademark of CAST Lighting Limited[...]

Table of Contents i Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Using this Quick Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Help from ETC Technical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Europe . . .[...]

ii Emphasis Control System Quick Guide EDMX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Where do I patch my channels? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Patch Conve ntional Lights in Emphas is Console . . . . 34 Patch in DATA mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Insert Fixtures . . . . . . .[...]

Introduction 1 Introduction This quick guide covers the basic installation a nd operat ion of the Emphasis Control System. Specifica lly, this guide contains basic info rmation about creating a show in Emphasis, including a step-by-ste p tutorial co vering all the basic f unctions of Emph asis. The introduction contains the following sections: • [...]

2 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Using this Qu ick Guide This quick guide is intended for use in conjunction with the Emphasis Visualization and Emphasis Console User M anuals. This guide assumes that yo u have a basic familiarity with the Microsoft W indows ® operating system, opening and closing files, closing an d resizing windows, using W[...]

Introduction 3 Help from ETC Technical Services If you are having dif ficulties, your mos t convenient resou rces are the refe rences given in the manual and the Help system. To sea rch more widely, try the ETC website at www.etcconnect.com . If none of these resources is sufficient, contact ETC Tech nical Services direct ly at one of the offices i[...]

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1 System Overview 5 Chapter 1 System Overview Emphasis integrates the func tionality of WYSIWYG with the Expression-style control consoles to give you a powerful, but user-friendl y, control system offering both a graphical, point-and-click environment and a tactile butto n-and- wheel interface. Emphasis e nsures consistency and accuracy with total[...]

6 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Emphasis Opti ons Emphasis systems are created by ch oosing th e server type, maximum channe l count and Facepanel type. Emphasis is offe red as an up grade to an existing Express or Expressio n- style console (see below for compatib le Facepanel types), or as a complete package. Server Types • 3D - Includes [...]

1 System Overview 7 System Components Emphasis Server The Emphasis Server is a Dell ® comput er optimized by ETC for the best performance of the Emphas is Visualization and Emphasis C onsole app lications. The Server is pr ovided pre-configured and shou ld not require any softw are installations for it s initial use. This section contains informat[...]

8 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide procedure for exporting your show to v3.1 format is described in the Emphasis Visualization User Manual . The p rocedure for returning you r Facepanel to v3.1 operation is descr ibed in the Emphasis Console User Manu al . Emphasis Visualization Emphasis Visualization is the software applicat ion that provides t[...]

1 System Overview 9 Installation Guidelines Hooking Up the Hardware Emphasis systems can range from a simple Server and Facepane l combination to fully integrated network syste ms. Rega rdless of the size of y our system, there are some basic connections that are common to all systems. Note: See the Emphasis Console User Manual fo r the c orrect ne[...]

10 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 9: Connect power cables to Server , Facepane l, and hubs or switches. CAUTION: When you plug in the server it may boot - it may not wa it for you to press the power button. If the keyboard an d/ or mouse are not plug ged in when you power up, they will not be recognized by the Server. You will have to for[...]

1 System Overview 11 Software Installation Your Emphasis Server will arrive with all software fu lly installed. If y ou have purchased a complete Emphasis Control System, in cluding an Emphasis Server and a Facepanel, the Facepanel Software sho uld also be loaded an d ready to use. If you have purchased Emph asis as an upgrade to an existing Expr e[...]

12 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 16: Press [Enter] . The Facepanel will boot and the St age displays will open on the attached monitor (s). Installing Software on the Emphasis Server If you are installing a new version of softw are, you will be provided spec ific instructions for installation with the release notes for that ve rsion. Whe[...]

1 System Overview 13 Registration When you first start your Emphasis Control System, you will be prompted to register the system. Registration will enable ETC to track your system for support purposes, and will enroll your system in the software subscrip tio n included with your Emphasis Control System, providing you with software upgrade s for the[...]

14 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide To register by fax: Step 1: Fill out the registration form included with your Emphasis Se rver. Fax it to the appropriate fax number bas ed on your location. You will be sent a R egistration Validation Code within a full business day. Step 2: If you cannot find the form, you can print a new copy fr om the Emph[...]

1 System Overview 15 Upgrades To upgrade your Emphasis Control System, contact the ETC dealer who pr ovided your Emphasis Control System to purchase the upgrade. When purchas ed, you will receive an Upgrade Code that will unlock the new features you have purchased. You can upgrade from a lower chann el count to a higher ch annel count, and/or from [...]

16 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide System Procedures Power-up Procedure For best performance , power-up your system in the fo llowing order: Step 1: Turn on the hub( s) and/or switch(es). Step 2: Turn on the Server and m onitor(s). Wa it for the Emphasis a pplication to start up completely before pro ceeding to the next step. Note: In a network[...]

1 System Overview 17 Login as a Different User There are a number of diffe rent user accoun ts contained in the Emphasis system. When the system is turned on, it will open using the Emphasis User settings. To gain access to the other user accounts, exit Emph asis. Note: When you load new system software onto y our Empha sis Server, you will see an [...]

18 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Troubleshooting The Emphasis Facepanel type defaults to the Expr ession 3. This affects the video output of your Facepanel and the virtual facepane l in Emphasis Visualization. If you have an Insight or Ex press conso le as your Em phasis Facepanel, or if you swap Facepanels from an Expression-style to an Insi[...]

1 System Overview 19 performance speed of yo ur system. The wa llpaper is set to “None” as a default. • Additional software applica tions (games, inter net b rowsers, word processors, etc.) . It is not advisable to load additional applications onto your Emphasis Server. Co nflicts may occur between applications tha t could severe ly impact yo[...]

20 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 3: Click the General tab. You will find the Windows version information as well as the Emphasis system version. The Support Info button also displays the version number, as well as the phone numbers for ETC Americas, ETC Europe and ETC Asia. Note: You can also use the shortcut á +PAUSE/BREAK to view th e[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 21 Chapter 2 Emphasis User Interface The Emphasis user interface includes th e displays, tool bars, menus and comma nds available on the Emphasis Server, and the displays and commands available from the Emphasis Facepanel. These are used togethe r to create a nd playback yo ur show file. This chapter contains the following[...]

22 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Overview of the Console User Interf ace Emphasis Console drives the Facepan el and the console di splays within EMPHASIS mode in Emphasis Visualization. Stage vs. Blind The Stage dis play shows yo u the curren t levels of all active channels.The Blind display looks almost exactly the same as Stage, but is used[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 23 Changing display pages If you are using more channels than can be displayed on a single display, yo u can use softkeys [S4-Previous Page] and [S5-Next Page] to view more channels. You can also use the arrow keys to chang e pages: left-arrow [ s ] jumps to the first page of ch annels, up- arrow [ u ] displays the previou[...]

24 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide • In Emphasis Visualization , yo u can click on a fixture symbo l to select its channel. See the Emphasis Visualization User Manual for more information on selecting fixtur es using the mouse. Select dimmers: • Press <Dim> [ x ] to select a single dimmer for dimmer check, or in Patch or Park displays[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 25 Set levels usi ng [Full]: Step 1: Select channels using the pr ocedure described in Select Channels, Dimmers and Fixtures, page 23 . Step 2: Press [Full] to set the channe l(s) to 100%. Set levels usi ng the level wheel (Expression/In sight only): Step 1: Select channels using the pr ocedure described in Select Channels[...]

26 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Captured channels an d the [Release] command When you set channels to levels and then move on to select other channels, the channels you have just se t are displayed in r ed and become captured . Captured ch annels have be en set to levels using manual control, and they may have be en recorded into a cue, grou[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 27 Control fixtures using the encode rs (Expression/Insight 3 or 2x with MLM): Step 1: Press [S8 - Fixture] [ x ] , where [x] is the fixtu re number you want to select. Use [And] , [Thru] an d [Except] to select multiple fixtur es. The fixture box w ill be displayed. Step 2: Press [Focus Point] [Enter] to prepare the fixtu[...]

28 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Record Cues and Submasters Emphasis provides two basic recording fu nctions – [Record] and [Track] . The [Record] function saves all channels at their Stage levels in th e cue, group or submaster you specify. When you use [Record] for cues, only the cue you specify is affected. [Tr ack] , on the other hand, [...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 29 Cue Playback Playing back cues is as simple as pressing the [Go] key on a fader pair. With each [Go] press, the selected cue (or next cue) will play back in that fader pair. If you have cues recorded and you have just tu rned on your system or loaded a new show, the cue with the lowest cue number au tomatically becomes [...]

30 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Overview of the Emphasis Vi sualization User Int erface Emphasis Visualization provides a graphic us er-interface designed to facilitate smooth transitions from mode to mode, an d to keep the data organized and easy to find. Mode and Layout Tabs The mode buttons ar e used t o access t he different modes availa[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 31 Access menu comma nds using the keyboard: Step 1: Press ALT+ n, where n is the underlined letter in the menu name. The menu will drop down. Step 2: Press the key corr esponding to the underlined letter in th e command you want to execute. Some commands have shortcuts that do not re quire me nu selection. In those cases,[...]

32 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Note: You can also right-click on a toolbar to see th e toolbar list. A check mark to the left of a toolbar name indicates it is currently visible. Click the toolbar’s name to change its visibility. Shortcuts Shortcuts are available on the left-hand side of the screen. Ea ch mo de has different types of shor[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 33 Patch To control dimmers an d other DMX contro lled devices using your Emphasis Contro l System, you will need to create a patch . Emphasis uses control channels to record data in cues and submasters. Contr ol channels must have dimmer s assigned to them, so that the dimmers (or other DM X controlled devices) know which[...]

34 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Patch Conventional Lights in Emphasis Console While it is possible to create a patch for conventional dimmers in Emphasis Console, it is better to creat e your patch in Em phasis Visu alization. Emphasis Cons ole only limits you to patching conventional d immers to channels, not m oving light fixtures that use[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 35 Unpatch dimmers in Emphas is Console: Step 1: On y our Emphasis F acepanel or from the virtu al facepanel in Emphasis Visualization, press [Patch] to access the Patch display. Step 2: Press <Dim> [ x ] [Enter] , where [ x ] is the dimmer number, to select the dimmer . You can use [And] , [Thru] and [Except] to sel[...]

36 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Insert Fixtures You can insert fixtures di rectly into the Spreadshee t using the Lib rary. Insert fixtu res one at a t ime: Step 1: In the Libra ry menu, click Browse Library . Step 2: Navigate to th e fixture you want to ins ert. Step 3: Double-click on the fixture name y ou want to insert. The fixture will [...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 37 Enter and Edit Data Entering data into the Spreadsheet is as simple as selecting the cell or cells you want to edit and typing in a new value. For d ata that is generated by the fixture library, you may be asked to select a value from a list. The list contains valid choices fo r the type of fixture you have selected. In[...]

38 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Saving Your Work It is important to save your work often durin g your work session. Em phasis has an Auto Save function that will help to keep your dat a safe, however it is always a good idea to get in the habit of saving your show docum ent to the hard drive and to an extern al disk periodically during your [...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 39 Step 2: Insert a 3.5” floppy disk into the drive on the Server . Step 3: Set the floppy drive as the save destinatio n. Step 4: Type the file name into the File n ame box. Step 5: Click Save. Save a show file to CD: Step 1: In the File menu, click Save Show to save as the cu rrent sh ow name, or Save Show As to sa ve [...]

40 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 5: Insert new CD-R and click Format CD. Step 6: Type a label for your CD and click Start Forma t. When th e format is complete, you can access the CD just like any other disk on your Server. Step 7: Click Emphasis on the Windows Task Bar to maximize Emphasis Vis ualization. Step 8: In the File menu, click[...]

2 Emphasis User Interface 41 Eject a CD-R: Step 1: Minim ize the Empha sis application an d right-click on Start menu on task bar and click Explore . Alternatively, you can pr ess á +E to launch Windows Explorer at any time. Step 2: Right-click on the CD-R’s volume name and click Eject . The Eject CD dialog opens. Step 3: Choose how you want to [...]

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3 Quick St art 43 Chapter 3 Quick Start This chapter provides a guide for ne w Empha sis users with WYSIWYG experience , and a tutorial for new Emphasis users with little or no WYSIWYG e xperience. Note: This chapter takes you quickly through many of th e basic functions of your Emphasis Control System. All the features in the tutorial are explaine[...]

44 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual Emphasis for Experienced WY SIWYG/ Expression Users Emphasis Visualization is based upon the le vels of WYSIWYG software. If you ha ve used these applications, you will find the user interface very fam iliar. Emphasis Visualization replaces the DESIGN and LIVE modes of WYSIWYG Design and WYSIWYG Perform [...]

3 Quick St art 45 Basic Show Creation fo r New Emphasis Users This tutorial will take you through many of the basic steps in creating a show file: • Create a CAD drawing for a small show • View and modify your data in DATA mode • Create show paperwork • Control fixtures and store ba sic cues • [Emphasis 3D] Create a re ndering This tutori[...]

46 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual Step 2: Click the CAD mode button at the top of the Emphasis Visualization screen. Step 3: Click Wireframe layout tab at bottom of work area. Step 4: Open toolbars. Toolbars give you quick acces s to commands at the click of a mouse. You can mo ve toolbars aroun d the screen, or you can dock them at the [...]

3 Quick St art 47 Step 5: Insert a Venue. The Venue is a represen tation of your theatre space. Emphasis provides you with three basic venue shapes: Black Box, Arena and Prosceniu m Arch. All of these venues can be customi zed. a. In the Draw menu, click V enue , then Black Box . b. In the dialog that opens, enter 50’-0” for the wid th and 30?[...]

48 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual i. In the File menu, click Save Show . Step 7: Draw a Cyc by extruding a line. a. In the Draw menu, click Line , then click Solid . b. Place the first end of the line at -20’-0 ”, 14’-0” by moving the mouse to that point (watch the coordinates display in the status b ar). Y ou can also type “ -[...]

3 Quick St art 49 b. Press T AB and change missing coordinate to -6’-0 ”. c. Click the XZ Orth o button on the CAD Options toolbar to constrain th e surface to vertical and horizontal sides. d. In the Draw menu, click Surface . e. Place the mouse at -21’-0”, -6’-0”, 18’- 0” and click to place the first corner of the surface. f. Plac[...]

50 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual d. Right-click the 8’ Ladder an d click Property . This allows you to view the object before you place it in your drawing. e. Click Insert. f. Drag the ladder to the up stage -right corner and click to place it. g. Click the “+” next to Outdoors. h. Double-click “BBQ w/ Hotplate”. Double- click[...]

3 Quick St art 51 e. Drag the d immer pack to th e riser and click to plac e it. f. Change to a side o r front view to see how everything is placed. Step 13: Place a human figure in the drawing. Emphasis contains a library of hundre ds of human figures in va rious poses. a. In the Layers toolbar , click the down-arr ow and click T alent. This sets [...]

52 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual j. Click on the colour box and select the colour for that element. k. Repeat for as many ele ments as you would like to change. The colours you set will be visible in the shaded view and in rendering s. Step 16: Place focus positions in your drawing. Focus positions are useful for focusing fixtures at a [...]

3 Quick St art 53 c. Set the pipe length to 50’-0”. Th e height for the pipe is set in the Draw P ipe dialog. We’ll use the default height of 20’-0”. d. Click the Position Manager button [ ...] to the right of the position name list. e. Click New . f. Ty p e i n “ #1 Electri c ” and click OK. g. Repeat steps e-f for “ #2 Electric ?[...]

54 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual c. In the Librar y Browser , click the Truss icon. Unlike pipe, truss is built from library objects. d. Find the following type of truss in the library: Thomas>GP 12inch>Section Im perial> Thomas GP12in 8ft. e. Double-click on the truss name. A piece of truss will attach to th e cursor . f. Plac[...]

3 Quick St art 55 g. Right-click each sh ortcut and click Properties . Rename each shortcut to be more descriptive of their lens se ttings. Step 20: Set an interval for pl acing fixtures on pipes. There is a feature that constr ai ns placement of fixtures on pipes to a specific hang interval. This feature is called Pipe Snap. You can set a default [...]

56 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual d. Drag your cursor over pipes in your drawing . Note that you must place fixtures on hang structures. Emphasis will not allow you to place fixtures in your drawing unl ess they are placed on hang structures. e. Click on the pipes and truss to place fixtures of that type. Place a total of four fixtures f[...]

3 Quick St art 57 Step 24: Patch your fixtures using Quick Tools. Quick Tools is a feature that le ts you qu ickly set fixture prop erties like patch, colour and gobos. All of the data you set with Quick Tools ca n also be set or edited in DATA mode. a. In the T ools menu, click Quick T ools . The Quick T ools dialog will open. b. Uncheck the Focus[...]

58 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual c. [Emphasis 3D] Click the Shutter tab. The Shutter tab disp lays the point of view of th e selected fixture and gives you sliders to move the shutters. Shutter cuts are visible in the beam of the fixture in wir eframe and shaded views, and re nderings. d. In the File menu, click Save Show . Step 26: Edi[...]

3 Quick St art 59 screen. b. Click on the Reports la yout tab at the bottom of the work area. Many typical types of show p aperwork are already provided in the Reports sh ortcuts. c. Scroll to find the report shortcut s for “Channel Schedule” and “Instrument Schedule”. Click on each one to view the report layout. Y ou will notice that the r[...]

60 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual b. Click on the Quad layout tab. c. Click on the top left window in the Quad view and set it to the plan view . d. Click on the top right window in the Quad view and set it to a side vie w . e. Click on the bottom left window in the Quad view and set it to the front vi ew . f. In a wireframe view , clic [...]

3 Quick St art 61 f. Play back your cues to verify they look all right. g. In the File menu, click Save Show . Step 31: Emphasis 3D: Create a Rendering. In Emphasis 3D, you can cr eate photo-rea listic renderin gs of your lighting cu es. There are many differen t settings you can pl ay with to find the be st look for your own renderings. Be aware t[...]

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