Changing Fixture Attributes
Once you have selected the fixtures you want to operate, you then have various options for controlling them.
Changing Attributes Using The Wheels
"Attributes" are the functions of the fixture, like pan, tilt, colour, dimmer, etc. You select which attributes you want to modify using the Attribute Bank buttons - Intensity, Position, Colour, Gobo, Beam, Effect, Special, FX (abbreviated as IPCGBESFX) and then set values using the wheels. The attributes available depend on the fixture type. Dimmer channels only have a dimmer attribute.
The touch display above the wheels shows the current attribute bank (grey background) and the current values on the wheels. The light blue circles show attributes which you have changed and which are in the programmer. The roller graphics show the different attributes which are available, which may be a percentage for a variable attribute, or named ranges for something like a colour or gobo wheel.
You can also set attributes using the Attribute Editor workspace window.
On the Pearl Expert the wheels on the Touch Wing are used instead of the wheels on the console, unless you change this using the User Settings.
Each attribute button controls several attributes, one on each wheel. On Diamond 9 and Sapphire Touch the trackball controls pan/tilt of the selected fixtures, with the ring controlling dimmer by default. You can change this by pressing the Assign button next to the trackball.
With some fixtures selected, press the button for the attribute to be changed.
Turn the wheels to set the attribute. The settings which are available scroll up and down on the wheel display as you turn the wheels.
You can also touch the roller image on the screen to change the attributes up or down by one step. For continuously variable controls like a dimmer, touching the roller will set the attribute to full or zero.Repeat from step 1 to change other attributes of the selected fixtures.
Some other things to know about attributes:
If the wheel display shows a small arrow next to the legends as shown above, this means that there are more than three attributes to control in this bank. Press the attribute button again to toggle through the attributes (for example some LED fixtures have Red, Green, Blue, Amber, White - so on a console with three wheels, when you press Colour you would first get Red, Green, Blue on the three wheels, then if you press Colour again you will get Amber and White.)
If an attribute is in the programmer, the value in the programmer is highlighted in pale blue on the wheel display and the IPCGBESFX button also has a pale blue highlight. This provides a quick way to see which attributes are in the programmer.
If the display above the wheels does not show the attribute when you press the button, that attribute is not available on the selected fixtures.
The wheels operate in an "acceleration" mode. If you spin the wheel fast, the fixture changes in larger steps. If you move the wheel slowly, the fixture moves in its smallest increment.
Holding down the Avo button while turning a wheel puts the wheel into "Fast" mode. When in this mode, a single rotation of the wheel changes the attribute you are controlling over its full range. For example, if while moving the Pan wheel you hold down Avo the fixture will make a complete pan movement between end stops in one rotation of the wheel.
Some LED colour mixing fixtures have a Virtual Dimmer function (using the Intensity wheel) which offers intensity control by mastering the RGB levels when the fixture itself does not provide an intensity channel.
Trackball (Diamond 9 and Sapphire Touch only)
The trackball normally controls Pan and Tilt of selected fixtures, with the Z-ring controlling intensity. You can assign the trackball to different attributes like this:
- Select some fixtures having the attribute you want to assign (this is just so the wheel functions are displayed on the roller view).
- Select an Attribute Bank so that one of the wheels is controlling the attribute you want to assign.
- Press Assign.
- Press the softkey for the function you want to assign, Track Ball X, Track Ball Y or Wheel Z.
- Press the @ button of the wheel which has the function you want to assign.
The attribute is assigned and the assign menu closes. To check the assignment has worked you can press Assign again and the softkeys should show the new attribute.
- You can also switch the trackball to control the mouse pointer on the touchscreens, see Trackball (mouse control).
Intensity wheel (Diamond 9 only)
On the Diamond 9 a dedicated wheel is provided to set the intensity of selected fixtures. A display above the wheel shows the wheel display for intensity. This wheel always controls intensity and is not changed by the Attribute Bank buttons (unless you reassign it as described below).
Below the wheel is a Level \@ button which shows the Adjust Attribute Value menu for intensity (see Adjusting Attributes with @ button ).
- You can assign this wheel to control a different attribute - see the trackball section above, but at step 4 use the Level Wheel softkey to assign the attribute. The display above the wheel will change to show the controlled attribute.
Attribute Editor Window
For attributes with fixed values such as gobos and fixed colour wheels, the Attribute Editor window can be easier to work with than the wheels as you can directly choose gobos or colour slots. It also offers a colour picker window for fixtures with RGB or CMY colour mixing.
The Diamond 9 has a dedicated Editor touchscreen to show the Attribute Editor, on other consoles you open it as a workspace window - Double press Open/View then Attribute Editor from the window select buttons to show it. As a shortcut you can also show it by touching the attribute name text just below the on-screen IPCGBES buttons.
The buttons on the left of the window select the attribute to change.
The rest of the window contains buttons or controls to set the attribute value. For attributes such as gobos and fixed colours, a button is provided for each one, making selection a lot quicker than scrolling through on a wheel.
When you apply an attribute, the button turns blue to show that the attribute is in the programmer. If you touch the button again, the attribute will be removed from the programmer.
Touching the title of an attribute (such as "Gobo 2") expands the attribute to the full window, displaying more buttons as shown below. Gobo images will be shown if the fixture personality has the information included (not all do).
If an attribute has a range of values, sliding your finger left and right on the button will show a horizontal slider which allows you to adjust the attribute.
When the selected fixture has sub-fixtures or cells, buttons appear at the top of the attribute editor window allowing you to select the whole fixture (left hand button), or individual cells for control. The layout of the cell buttons matches the layout set in the pixel mapper to help you locate the correct cell on the fixture.
Some types of attribute have special displays as follows:
Intensity/Shutter
Provides an easy slider for Dimmer, also buttons for 0%, 100%, up and down 5%, and intensity locate (affects only the intensity).
Position
Provides a way to set the position from the touchscreen using an X-Y grid. Positions of selected fixtures are shown as circles on the grid which is useful to check positioning or spacing of fixtures. Other controls are provided:
Locate sets 50/50 position (other attributes not affected),
Flip sets a moving head to its opposite yoke position.
Align sets pan/tilt to match the settings in the programmer of the most recently selected fixture. For example if you want to match the tilt of 4 fixtures to the first fixture, select fixtures in the order 2-3-4-1 and press Align.
Pan/Tilt lock buttons are helpful when setting positions of multiple fixtures using the X-Y grid. For example if you have 10 pan-fanned fixtures and you want to just move the tilt, select Pan lock. Otherwise the fixtures will all move to the position you click on, losing the fan effect.
Fine button switches to fine control mode for more precise positioning.
Colour Mix: Channel
The Colour mix editor has 4 different ways of selecting colours, which are useful in different ways (on Diamond 9, and on other consoles if you resize the window to a portrait shape, the sliders are horizontal rather than vertical as shown in the pictures.)
The Channel tab provides a colour picker, with a slider for each colour control channel in the fixture. The sliders shown will vary depending on what is provided in the fixture - this example is an ETC Lustr fixture which has 7 independent LED emitter colours. This mode is useful to obtain colours such as tints of white or UV/Congo Blue which are hard to mix from a picker or colour wheel.
Colour Mix: HSI/RGB/CMY
HIS/RGB/CMY provides a colour wheel with interactive sliders for changing Hue/Saturation/Intensity, Red/Green/Blue, and Cyan/Magenta/Yellow. Changing any slider or clicking on the wheel will adjust all other sliders to match that colour, allowing you to make easy small adjustments of colour using whichever control is easiest; for example use the Saturation slider to create a pastel version of a colour without affecting the hue.
All types of slider work for all fixtures, so a fixture with CMY mixing can still be controlled using the RGB or HSI sliders.
Colour Mix: Picker
This is the classic colour picker from earlier versions of Titan which provides a picker for hue and saturation, with a slider on the right hand side to set the intensity.
Colour Mix: Filters
Lets you pick a gel/filter colour from the Lee, Roscolux or GamColor ranges of filters. You can search for a particular colour by name or by number using the search bar. There is a context menu button to Order Filters by Number or Order Filters by Hue.
For LED fixtures with additional emitters for Warm/Cool white, Amber, UV, Lime or Cyan, Colour Mix will automatically control all the colour channels to obtain the colour. In versions previous to Titan v9 only RGB elements were controlled by the colour picker and other colours had to be set independently.
Media Servers/Active Fixtures
Active fixtures such as media servers will display a thumbnail of the media clip in the button. The media server must support CITP and be patched as an active fixture for the thumbnails to work.
For Ai media servers please see the Synergy section for more details of how Synergy allows you to control the setup and media playback.
Shutter Blades/Keystone
Fixtures which support keystoning or blades/shutters can be controlled graphically in the attribute window. Select and drag the corners or sides of the image to control the fixture. This control can have various different appearances depending on the control channels in the fixture.
Updated personality files may be required to support the keystone/blade functions. If the functions are not shown in the Attribute View, try downloading and installing the latest personality library, then update the personalities in the Patch menu.
Setting Attributes from the Softkeys
You can directly enter a numeric value for the attributes which are live on the wheels. You must be at the main Program menu to do this (keep pressing Exit until the vertical menu bar shows "Program Menu").
Type a number on the numeric keypad then press one of the softkeys to set the value to the fixture. The Softkey legend will show what effect your value is going to have (such as Gobo 5, or Deep Blue).
For attributes displayed in percent, such as Dimmer, or Colour Mix, you enter a value from 0-100 to set the percentage output. For attributes where the output is divided up into ranges, such as colour wheels, you enter the index of the range you want. For example to select the 3rd colour (as displayed in the list above the wheel) you would enter 3.
Adjusting Attributes with the @ buttons
Pressing the @ button next to a wheel opens the Adjust Attribute Value menu for that attribute.
You can also open this menu by touching the centre of the on-screen wheel view for the attribute, or by clicking on the attribute in the Channel Grid window.
(On Tiger Touch 1 the three buttons between the wheels act as @ buttons. On the Pearl Expert you will need to use the touch screen method.).
The menu gives you the following functions:
Select Function: gives you shortcuts on the softkeys to the possible settings for the attribute (for dimmers, a range of values is provided).
Touch/Clear: places the attribute in the programmer or removes the attribute from the programmer
Locate: locates the attribute (does not place in programmer)
Release: releases the attribute
Off: sets the attribute to Off. This temporarily disables the attribute, though its value is stored and can be restored with On.
On: sets the attribute to On (when merged to a cue or palette, On will restore a value which has previously been set to Off)
Freeze/Unfreeze: freeze or unfreeze the attribute
Attribute Groups - IPCGBES-FX
To make life a bit simpler, the console groups together attributes which have similar effects, using the letters IPCGBES-FX.
I-Intensity (dimmer, strobe shutter)
P-Position (pan, tilt)
C-Colour (colour wheel, CMY mixing)
G-Gobo (gobo wheels, gobo rotate, gobo position)
B-Beam (iris, focus, zoom, beam shaper)
E-Effects (prism)
S-Special (motor speeds)
FX-Shapes, Pixel Mapper
These groups are used to select which attributes you want to work with in many of the functions on the console, particularly when you are "masking off" certain attributes from being saved.
Above the attributes roller on the screen, the console shows you which attribute group you are currently changing (the grey box). The Attribute Group is also highlighted in blue if the programmer contains any of those attributes. For example in the image above we are currently changing Colour attributes, but Intensity and Special attributes have also been modified.
Align Fixtures
You can copy attributes from one fixture to another using the Align Fixtures function. This is useful for example if you accidentally left a fixture out of a cue, you can use Align to copy settings from its neighbour.
You can align multiple fixtures to others in one operation, either using groups or individual selection. If you are aligning different numbers of fixtures there are options to set how this is handled, see below.
Select the fixtures you want to Align either manually or using a group.
Press ML Menu then Align Fixtures (on Diamond 9 press Align).
Set the mask to include the attribute groups you want to copy (using the Attribute Bank buttons, or using the softkey options for exclude and include all attributes).
Touch the select button of the fixture or group you want to copy the settings from.
Press Align.
The fixture selection order is used to determine how the aligned values are copied.
The Auto Reset Mask option will always set the mask to Include All whenever you enter the Align Fixtures function. The alternative option Remember Mask will leave the last mask set.
- Spread Attributes will try to spread out the attribute changes if there are a different number of fixtures in the source and target groups (best for positions). Repeat Attributes will repeat the source selection on extra fixtures, or attempt to mirror the fixtures if there are fewer.
- Align Programmer Attributes will only align the attributes which are in the programmer, Align All Attributes will align all the attributes which are enabled by the mask. So for example if you want to align the tilt of some fixtures and you have set the tilt you want on an example fixture, Align Programmer Attributes would only change the tilt; but Align All Attributes would copy the pan setting from the source fixture as well.
- Palette References Maintained will copy palettes from the source fixtures. Palette References Lost will convert the palettes to absolute values in the target fixtures.
If the fixture you are copying the settings from is also one of the fixtures being aligned, it's difficult to tell what you are doing as all the fixture buttons light up red. However if you look at the top line of the screen, there is a list of the fixtures you have selected.
Flip
Moving head fixtures can point at the same stage position from two possible yoke positions. Sometimes to get the fixture moving the same as other fixtures, you need to swap to the opposite yoke position and the Flip function lets you do that.
Select the fixtures you want to Flip.
Press Fixture then Flip Pan and Tilt.
The Position window in the Attribute Editor also has a Flip button which does this.
On consoles with a ML Menu button you can also use that menu to access Flip.
The settings used for Flip are defined in the fixture personality. If Flip doesn't work you may need to update to the latest personality.
Fan Mode
Fan mode automatically spreads out the values on a selected range of fixtures. If used on pan and tilt, the result is spreading out "rays" of light beams. The first and last fixtures of the range are affected most, and the central fixtures are affected least. The amount of fan can be set using the attribute wheels.
As with shapes, the order in which you select the fixtures sets how the fan effect works. The fixtures you select first and last will be the ones which change most. If you use a group to select the fixtures, the order you selected the fixtures when you recorded the group is used.
The fan effect, while normally used on pan or tilt attributes, can be applied to any attribute.
Select the fixtures you want to fan.
Press Fan.
Select the attribute you want to Fan using the attribute bank buttons.
Set the amount of fan using the attribute wheels.
Turn off Fan by pressing the Fan button again when you have finished. Fan will turn off automatically if you change the fixture selection.
If you have selected fixtures from multiple groups, you can choose whether the fan effect works with or ignores the groups. For example if you have 12 fixtures across the stage in 3 groups of 4, you may want a fan of light beams spread evenly across the stage, or you may want 3 groups of separately fanned light beams.
By holding down Fan you can select:
- Ignore Groups All fixtures are fanned as one large group
- Fan Group as Fixture All fixtures in a group take on the same value.
- Fan Within Group Fan runs across individual fixtures in each group.
Holding down Fan also allows you to select the Curve used for the fan. The different curves allow you to obtain different fan effects.
Fan mode needs to be used on at least 4 fixtures to give good effects. If you have an odd number of fixtures, the central fixture will not change in fan mode.
Press Fan again to leave Fan mode. Any effects you have set will remain in the programmer.
It's all too easy to accidentally leave Fan mode turned on and be very confused about why the wheels aren't working properly, so turn it off as soon as you have completed the effect. To avoid this there is a User Setting 'Press and hold Fan'. If enabled, you have to hold down Fan to enable Fan mode.
Fan Curves
You can select different curves to use when in Fan mode. Hold down
Fan and select Curve, the options are:- Line: Traditional fan, the first and last selected fixture are affected equally in opposite directions, the midpoint remains unchanged. This is most useful for pan.
- Mirror- Divides the selection into two halves, the position in each half is the mirror of the other half
- Wings -- Divides the selection into three parts, the positions in the outer two parts mirror each other and the central part does not change.
- Arrow - The first and last selected fixture are affected equally to the midpoint fixture but in the opposite direction. This is useful for colour mixing, tilt and dimmer.
- Pull Middle - The first and last selected fixture remain at the current value, the midpoint is affected most. This is useful for colour mixing, tilt and dimmer.
- Pull Ends - The first and last selected fixture are affected most, the midpoint is unchanged. This is useful for colour mixing, tilt and dimmer.
- Pull End -- Like pull ends but only from one end, the other end does not change
Fan Parts
When using the Fan function you can split the fan into a number of groups. Select all the fixtures, hold down Fan and type a number on the numeric keypad. The Fan will divide into that number of parts, for example:
Normal (1):
2:
3:
Setting Fixture/Attribute Times
Fade and delay timings can be directly set for each fixture or individual attributes of a fixture. When you store the settings into a cue, the time settings will then become part of the cue.
There are a number of ways to set the times:
You can set individual attribute times by switching the wheels to Fade Time / Delay Time mode using the Wheels= softkey on the root menu. The Diamond 9 has a Fade / Delay button to the right of the wheels to set this mode.
Individual attribute times can also be set using a combination of the wheel @ keys and the Time key.
They can also be set by selecting fixtures and entering into the attribute times submenus from the Time key.
There is also command syntax that allows various options to set attribute time values - e.g. Time Fixture Position 5 @ 3 would set a 5s fade, 3s delay time onto the current fixture selection P group. Wheel @ keys can also be used in the syntax. Fan options are also available through syntax using THRO.
Setting a time attribute value will cause the \'in programmer\' indication to light up.
The Channel Grid window has a Times context menu button which allows you to view or edit all the attribute times currently in the programmer. You can set a time to Off to temporarily disable it; the On option will restore the previous setting.
You can try out time settings by pressing Avo + Time or double tap the Time button. (previously the Set button on Titan Mobile/Sapphire Touch and the Next Time button on Tiger Touch/Pearl Expert).
Clearing Attributes Using "Off"
Once you have changed an attribute, the value you set will be in the programmer and will be stored in any cues or palettes you create. If you've accidentally changed something and don't want to store it, you can use the Off function to remove it from the programmer.
Press Off to display the Off menu.
Use the Attribute Bank buttons to toggle which attributes you want to change. Then press the Attributes Off softkey to set them to Off.
The softkeys also give you options to turn off active attributes, such as Dimmer Off.
- To remove complete fixtures, select the fixtures, press Off thenSelected Fixtures Off.