iopkit.blogg.se - Qlab midi control

#Qlab midi control how to
#Qlab midi control install

All you have to do is number a cue in Qlab that matches the number on the lighting board that you want to sync with. If you don’t put a cue number in the “Q Number” field, the board will receive that command and just tell whatever cue is next to “GO.” Maybe that’s a feature, maybe it’s a trap – all depends on how you decide to program your show.Ĭonversely, you can run your Qlab rig from the lighting board. Now you can add lighting (or power) cues anywhere in your Qlab show.

The “FIRE” command will fire any macro number that is programmed on the Express.

(We will ignore “Q List” and “Q Path” in this Express example.)

The default, “GO,” sends a GO command to the cue that you specify in the “Q Number” field.

To control the Express, we have two types of Commands that we can send. The Device ID is the ID for your computer in this MIDI network.įor our purposes, we will need to set up the Command Type as “Lighting (General),” and the Device ID to the number we set above on the Express. Make sure “Use MIDI Show Control” is selected. Fire up Qlab, and go to the preferences for MIDI Controls.

#Qlab midi control install

Install the drivers for your MIDI device, restarting if need be. Just note that the MIDI plugs are labeled “To MIDI In” and “To MIDI Out” and you’ll be golden.) (Connecting it can be a little weird, as the plugs are labeled in a way that seems backwards to some people. I am a big fan of the M-Audio Uno, because it’s cheap and works perfectly in a variety of scenarios. You will need your computer, the lighting board, and a MIDI>USB adapter.

Again, I will post later about the ETC Ion and other more modern boards. This works with all ETC boards that use the old “console software” operating system. I myself will probably need to do this in the coming months, and use this page for my own references! But, considering how many old Express boards are still out there, this is continually a useful topic.

#Qlab midi control how to

In a later post, I will bring this process up to the modern era, and show how to do this with an ETC Ion lighting board. Using MIDI (or more properly, MSC – MIDI Show Control) you can trigger both Cues and Macros on an ETC lighting console.

Concerts – slaving video and lighting cues together.

Rumors – crossfading music at the top of the show – from the front of house speakers to the living room stereo on stage, while also activating the power on the stereo practical during the cue (and thereby removing the practical’s power lights from the previous black out cue).

The Laramie Project – syncing camera sounds with flashing strobe lights.

Dancing at Lughnasa– having the radio power on, complete with light, and have music start playing from that radio, in the proper operating order (power, light warms up, sound fades in).

Other than working in tiny theatres where someone has too many jobs, why is this useful? Here are some examples I’ve done: So lighting was able to fall in line with all of my other cues. The theatre in question had a venerable ETC Express 24/48, and thanks to a MIDI adapter, I started using the trick I have used ever since, which is to have Qlab trigger my cues. The first big Qlab design I ever did was a show requiring me to design and run lights, sound, and video, in a theatre I had never been to before. Use that ancient lighting console in new and exciting ways, by integrating your lighting cues with the rest of your show in Qlab! You can trigger Cues and Macros! Get more out of ancient ETC Express lighting boards, using Qlab and MIDI