Martin LJ getting started guide by Len Woelfel  

This is a supplement to help users of Martin’s LightJockey program, a software-based DMX control system. This will be posted in installments to this sites on an intermittent basis. First and foremost you should read the help menu with the software, and the user manual, available at http://www.martin.com/service/service.asp?dofind=yes&support=Martin You can also find a user forum at http://www.martin.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=14 Whether you are a new user or an experienced hand, I hope you find something of value here.

Also, since there is no pre-defined list of topics, please feel free to contact me with input or questions and I will try to respond here. Finally, I don’t pretend to know everything about LightJockey, nor am I saying that my way is the only way to do something. As with every lighting desk, the best way to do something is the way that works best for you.

Oops!

This installment is going to take a bit of a tangent from the past. Today is full of anecdotes about issues that I’ve had, and how I overcame them (or in one case, didn’t). Hopefully, you’ll take something from these.

STORING FIXTURES Instead of creating a lot of different libraries where I have made different changes, I prefer to keep every fixture in one library and move the fixtures around as needed. Here’s why. I deal with a lot of the same fixtures over and over, but in different venues. Typically, it’s 6 - 10 of one moving light, plus some conventionals or some LED lights. Also, most of the shows I do don’t require a lot of specific cues, and getting a set list is a rarity. I have to do everything on the fly and have a fairly large library of cues to work from. Here’s how I make my life easier.

For positions, I set up 15 focus points across the stage. I mentally divide the stage into a grid five sections across and three deep. Then I create a focus for everything to go to each of those 15 sections of stage. Next, I make focus points for just some lights and save them in different sequences. Everything is loaded into transparent cues so I can access them individually. I also have transparent cues for each color, gobo, etc. That way, if I change a hotkey around or re-patch Fingers, or change a LJManager screen, I don’t have to remember which library I did it in. Everything stays in my base library.

To make all this easy, I park everything in storage and then move the fixtures I need to the links where they work best. Here’s how. First, back up your library. So if you make a mistake, you can recover. Disconnect your dongle from your computer and re-start LightJockey. You’ll get a warning page advising you it is disconnected, so tell it to “Continue anyway.” In so doing, you now have access to all 4 universes, or links. Open the fixture configuration window and add more fixtures identical to the ones you already have. I prefer to “store” them at the upper range of fixture numbers. For example, if you have 10 Mac 300 programmed in a library, add 10 more, and make them fixtures 91 - 100. When you address them, put them on link/universe 4. Save the configuration. Then right click on each fixture and select “Copy From Fixture.” Copy the data from the fixtures you have programmed previously. Once you’ve done this, the new fixtures should behave exactly as the old ones have. You can now delete the fixtures at the lower addresses/fixture numbers. Now you have room to add more fixtures on lower links without losing any data from the old fixtures.

Need to use them again? Just copy or change addresses onto working links. And all your hotkeys, sequences, cues, etc., are exactly as you remember them.

BACKGROUND DATA A few years ago I was working a large corporate show. The client had a custom gobo installed in 2 moving lights and the rest (identical model, roughly 30 moving lights) were all stock. He wanted the 2 with the custom gobos pointing at a spot all night (waste of moving lights, but it wasn’t my idea). So I made a sequence with the position, gobo index, color, intensity, etc., and loaded it into a background cue. It ran perfectly. Until I started using movement macros on all the other fixtures. The two with the custom gobos kept moving around all night and I couldn’t figure out why. I had to keep adjusting these two fixtures and the night was very long indeed. It took me a few days to figure out what I did wrong.

In making a background cue, the cue will run over every sequence or cue that is active. But only the data programmed into a background cue will override any active sequence or cue. I had neglected to open the movement macro window and program OUT any macro from occurring. To do so, you set the macro to “No Macro” and set the Off/Fade/Snap button to Snap. This will stop any movement macro from running while the background cue is running. The same thing applies to all other attributes of a fixture. If you want it to be open, no color, then you have to set it to Fade or Snap, and not to Off. Otherwise, any color information in the active cue will run.

THE GLOBAL PATCH THAT DIDN’T GO AWAY I was hired to do a club installation that included a set of ADJ LED Par cans as well as a number of fixtures I already had a lot of programming for. It was the first time I had worked with the ADJ Pars, but I already had a lot of programming in place for everything else. So I copied everything to a new library, removed the fixtures not being used at the club, and added the par cans in. Once programming started, I realized that the Par cans couldn’t be addressed where they were, and everything had to be re-patched. Using the storage technique above, I moved all the fixtures to link 4, then put the Pars starting at channel 1 then everything else above them on the link.

This created a new problem. The par cans started doing all kinds of weird flashing, etc., and I didn’t have control over them. I checked the dmx output, and some channels were outputting a value of 43, some would work, some were completely non-functioning. I tried everything I could think of, to no avail. Several frantic hours later I realized the problem. The Global Patch had retained all the information from the original lights and my default library that were at those addresses (Martin Mac 250 Entours). I had the intensity channel of the Entours limited to certain values, gobos limited to certain things, etc. and those patches carried over to the ADJ Pars. Once I cleared the patch everything worked as it should.

THE ERRANT HOTKEY I like using hotkeys. Depending on what you have them programmed to do they can speed up programming, they can allow for quick access to sequences, cues, etc. But some keyboard keys shouldn’t be used as hotkeys. Some people like to use the space bar or the Shift button + a letter key for things. I suggest thinking carefully before assigning functions to those. For example, if you are saving a sequence/cue etc., and have something assigned to your space bar or Shift + a letter key, you’ll execute that function every time you try and name a sequence, etc. Another way to avoid this is to disable hotkeys during programming.

KNOW YOUR FIXTURES A long time ago I was hired to program some HES StudioSpot 250. That’s relevant only because of the way the profile is designed. It was the first time I had ever worked with them. I did a lot of pre-programming before I ever saw the fixtures, including a lot of strobing the client wanted. I made all kinds of chases involving having the strobe setting at 100%. Or so I thought. The SS250 strobe function is between 0 and 12.5%. Above that the light will pulse on and off and do other macros, but not strobe. It took me quite a while to figure it out and the client was not very happy. So if pre-programming lights you’ve never worked with before, READ THE MANUAL.

The next topic is up to you. I’m running out of ideas on what to discuss, so if you want there to be a next time, I need feedback. Hope to hear from you soon.