Patching Fixtures ​

Patching tells Studio which lights you have and where they listen: each fixture gets a DMX universe, a first address and a mode, plus a position on stage for the visualizer. You patch, try and adjust fixtures in the universe view, which opens at the bottom of the screen when you pick a universe in the patch bay. From left to right: the universe's settings and Stream, its Fixture Pool, then the selected fixture's settings, position and controls, each explained below.

A new show comes with four universes (Universe 0 to Universe 3). Each holds 512 DMX channels.

Before you start, have your rig's paperwork at hand: for each light, its model, the DMX mode set on its menu, its start address and the universe (the cable or node) it hangs on. Patching is copying that into Studio. If Studio and the lights disagree on a mode or an address, the lights react to the wrong channels: a dimmer fader moves the pan, a colour comes out wrong.

In the demo show: universe Stage holds four MAC Aura in Standard mode (14 channels) at addresses 0, 14, 28 and 42, so 56 addresses in use and 456 free.

Patching a Fixture ​

1. In the patch bay, unfold the universe you want to patch into.
2. In the Fixture Pool widget, press Add. The Patch Fixture popup opens.
3. Pick a fixture in the list on the left. Type in Search items to filter it.
4. Choose its Fixture mode. The mode sets how many channels the fixture uses.
5. Check the Address (Studio proposes the first free one) and, to patch several identical fixtures one after another, the Amount.
6. Press OK. The fixtures appear in the fixture pool, in the patch bay and in the visualizer.

The preview adds a Generic PAR RGBW to the demo rig: it takes the first free address, 56, and hangs 4 m up, 3 m in front of the heads (Pos Y −3, Pos Z 4, °Rot X 180).

The fixture list ​

The list holds the built-in Open Fixture Library, the generic fixtures bundled with Studio, and the GDTF fixtures you imported. Where they come from, how to find one and how to import a GDTF file: Fixture Library.

Patch settings ​

A fixture is placed with Z up: a rotation of 180° on X hangs it with its beam pointing down.

Note: Studio counts addresses from 0, as its lists show (U0 - CH14 is universe 0, address 14). Address 0 is the channel your DMX equipment calls 1, so a fixture set to address 1 on its display goes at address 0 in Studio.

Importing GDTF fixtures ​

For a fixture that isn't in the list, import its .gdtf file with Import GDTF… under the list: see GDTF fixtures. A show that uses GDTF fixtures this device doesn't have opens with a Missing fixtures prompt first: see Opening a show with missing fixtures.

Selecting and Filtering Fixtures ​

Click a fixture in the Fixture Pool (or the patch bay) to select it: the universe view shows its settings and controls, and the visualizer outlines it, so you can tell which light on stage is which. Hold Ctrl and click to select several. Type in Search items to show only the fixtures whose name matches.

Filtering matches any part of the name: Aura 3 finds MAC Aura 3, Aura all four. Name your fixtures by position (Front PAR L, Back wash 2) and the filter becomes the fastest way around a big rig.

Deleting Fixtures ​

In the universe view's Fixture Pool, select the fixtures, then press Delete or Backspace and confirm. A deleted fixture is also removed from every group, scene and effect that used it, and its addresses become free. In the preview, MAC Aura 4 leaves the show, and the rig on stage loses its right-hand head.

Universe Settings ​

Fixture Settings and Position ​

The Fixture Settings widget renames the selected fixture, moves its Address and changes its Mode. The Model is shown for reference.

When you change a fixture's mode, channels found in both modes (for example Dimmer or Pan) keep their value and new channels start at 0. If the new mode needs more addresses than are free after the fixture, or goes past the end of the universe, the change is refused and the fixture keeps its mode.

The Position Tool places the fixture on stage for the visualizer: Position X/Y/Z in meters (to the centimetre) and Rotation X/Y/Z in degrees. You can also drag fixtures in the visualizer.

Stage axes: X runs left to right as the audience sees it, Y from the audience (negative) to the back of the stage (positive), Z up from the floor. The demo heads sit at Y 0, Z 6: on a truss 6 m up, across the middle of the stage. Change MAC Aura 1's Position Z below and watch it move.

Trying a Fixture ​

The universe view controls the selected fixture directly, so you can check it responds: these values go out live but are not saved. To keep a look, make a scene.

This is the first thing to do after patching real lights: bring each one's dimmer up, move its pan and tilt, and check the right light answers the right way. In the previews below, the controls drive MAC Aura 2 on the demo rig.

Channels ​

One fader per channel, with its value (DMX 0–255) above it. Type a value or drag the fader.

Color Picker ​

Sets the fixture's colour channels whatever its colour system (RGB, RGBW, CMY…). Pick a hue on the wheel and its saturation and brightness in the square, or type values in the fields on the right: the Mode list switches them between HSV, RGB and CMY. Hex code shows the colour (press Copy to copy it). On a fixture with a white channel, white takes the part red, green and blue share (red 255, green 128, blue 128 gives white 128 and red 127). Amber, UV and lime stay on their faders.

Pan/Tilt ​

Drag the point to aim a moving head. Set fine channels also moves the fine pan and tilt channels, for 256 steps between two coarse values, on fixtures that have them.

Cells ​

Some fixtures are made of cells: the pixels of a bar or a matrix, the heads of a multi-head fixture. For these, the Cells widget lists them after All cells:

• All cells (the default): the controls set every cell at once.
• Click a cell to control it alone, or hold Ctrl to pick several.

The channels widget then shows the selected cells' channels plus those of the whole fixture (a master dimmer, a strobe). Fixtures without cells, such as the demo rig's heads, don't show the widget. Cells shows them on a 12-pixel bar.

Supported Channel Types ​

Every channel is sent to your lights; which ones the visualizer draws is listed in Fixture Library.