Scene and Effect Editing

Overview

The SwiftTec DMXLightShow software suite allows scenes and effects to be created easily using a simple editor. Scene and effects are a powerful feature within the software which allow lighting states to be recorded and retrieved at a click of a button.

Scenes vs Effects

The main difference between Scenes and Effects are the devices they affect when selected.

Creating and Editing Scenes

To edit a scene or effect simply right-click wth the mouse on a scene/effect to be edited and select Edit from the popup menu. To create a new scene or effect right click in the scene list or effect list window and select Create Scene/Effect from the popup menu. The full DMXmanager software effects can be converted to scenes and vice versa.

Main Scene Editing Screen 

You will be presented with a window similar to the above one which allows you to change all aspects of the scene. The upper section of the window deals with the scene attributes:

The lower section of the window allows frames to be added, edited, removed or resequenced.

Sequence Selection This is the sequence selector. Each scene/effect consist of three sequences:
  • Scene Start - Plays when the scene/effect is started
  • Scene Body - The main body of the scene which can run continuosly until stopped
  • Scene Stop - Plays when the scene/effect is stopped
The frame list The frame list is the list of frames for the currently selected sequence. Each frame has an action, a duration and a trigger. Frames can be created using the frame creation controls to the right (see below) and moved around or deleted using the buttons to the left.

Multiple frames can be selected to move blocks of frames about in the sequence or to delete large groups of frames easily.

Frame selection is done using the left-mouse button to click on the desired frame(s). To select a range of frames click on the first frame in the desired selection, then hold down the Shift key whilst clicking on the last frame in the desired selection. To select a number of individual frames click on the first desired frame to be selected, then select the other frames whilst holding down the Ctrl key.
This section allows the frame parameters to be set

  • the duration of the frame in seconds
  • the action type
  • fade - a smooth fade
  • switch - an instant change
  • trigger - the frame trigger
  • auto - follows immediately after previous frame
  • manual - waits for the trigger button to be pressed
  • These parameters can be applied to the currently selected frame(s) by clicking the Apply Settings button

    Frame details  This section can be used both to create and edit frames.

    The add frame button will create a new frame using the specified parameters (above) in the position selected - at the top or bottom of the sequence, above the first selected frame or below the last selected frame. The frame will be created using the specified duration, action and trigger. If the action is fade a snapshot of the current state of the devices will taken automatically.

    To edit a frame click on it in the frame list. The devices will be updated to reflect the state represented by the frame. You can now start modifying the frame by changing the actrion, duration or trigger or by changing the device state using the device controls. Any changes will be automatically saved in the selected frame.

    Using this mechanism a complex sequence of device states can quickly be assembled to create sequences that are only limited by your imagination (and the connected devices of course!).

    NOTE: If you select multiple frames you can change the action, trigger and duration parameters for all selected frames but the device states will not be recorded.
    Group Selection Scene and effects can be organised in groups. The group selector allows the group to be selected.
    Device selection When creating a effect you must first select which device an effect will operate on. Click the Select Devices button then click on each device in the main device list which you wish to use with the effect. When you have completed this operation click the Finish Selecting Devices button.  You will then be able to add frames which affect only the devices that you have selected.

    To save the changes click on the Save button. To cancel all changes simply click the cancel button.

    Actions

    The following actions are available:

    The effect start/stop actions have 2 options available:

    Triggers

    The following triggers are available:

    The actual triggers available for a given frame depends on the software being run and if a scene or effect is in operation.

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