ChamSys has added a whole new dimension (quite literally!) to building lighting designs on its award-winning MagicQ series of consoles and software. The company’s just-introduced XYZ positioning feature makes it simple for designers and programmers to achieve the looks they envision in 3D space, without getting slowed down adjusting fixture pan and tilt parameters.
Building on the company’s existing Focus Point and Focus Line, the new feature allows MagicQ users to store XYZ palettes referencing static positions, dynamic trackers, and Visualisation objects.
MagicQ supports direct import of patch and XYZ information from popular 3D Visualisation packages, such as WYSIWYG, Capture, Depence, L8, and Vectorworks. (ChamSys has recently implemented the emerging industry standard GDTF MVR protocol enabling direct import from Vectorworks.)
“Our customers often patch and pre-program their shows in advance either using our ChamSys free fully featured MagicVis visualisation or their own choice of third party visualisation packages,” said ChamSys Software Director, Chris Kennedy. “Whichever option they select, we ensure that they only have to set up the patch and the positioning of the fixtures one time to seamlessly transfer this information to MagicQ so they can take full advantage of the 3D XYZ features.”
Using MagicQ PC free software on Windows, Mac or Linux, a designer/programmer can create, visualise, and pre-program a full show of virtually any size with MagicVis or 3rd party visualiser software. “MagicQ does not require expensive per universe external processing nodes for show playback or for pre-programming,” said Kennedy. “An entire show can be pre-programmed on a laptop without any hardware connected, which makes this feature ideal for those last- minute tour bus situations.”
Dynamic trackers can be received from external inputs over industry protocols such as Esta E1.59 Object Transform Protocol (OTP), PosiStageNet (PSN), or ChamSys simple open tracking protocol. With any of these protocols, lights can be made to follow performers automatically in real time, track lighting of moving set pieces, and make compensations for lights on moving trusses.
For those that are more adventurous, MagicQ allows the use of dynamic tracking inputs in its inbuilt automation system. Automation events can be built-up to trigger events when received Trackers move in and out of areas on the stage, allowing changes in intensities, zoom, colours or any attribute to be triggered automatically.
Areas are created simply by adding and positioning objects such as rectangle and circular forms into MagicVis. The user can choose whether events snap in and out as the Tracker enters the object area, or changes proportionality as the Tracker moves from the edge to the centre of the object. “ChamSys has always been committed to leading edge software features and has been a strong supporter of third-party open protocols,” said Kennedy. “The company’s support for XYZ Trackers, OTP and MVR maintains this tradition, offering our customers excellent system integration opportunities.”
ChamSys MagicQ software can be downloaded here.
