Sunlite Suite
Controlling Speed/Size of your scenes
As you probably realized already, some buttons on your screen have faders (or sliders) on them. These faders control one of three different properties in each button: SPEED, DIMMER and SIZE.
It is also possible to show faders that control these same properties for all buttons within a page:
- Page menu - Display - Live toolbar Button
You can see the new toolbar appear above the buttons on the selected page. The three faders on this toolbar will control whatever button is selected (a SELECTED button is not necessarily the same as an ACTIVATED button, you can SELECT without ACTIVATE by left-clicking with the mouse).
You can also add either the SPEED or DIMMER fader (but not SIZE) to each button. Select the button, then go to
Button menu - Button Settings
Select the "Dimmer/Speed" tab and select which fader you want to show in that particular button.
The Speed function
If you want to increase (or decrease) the speed of a sequence (Easy Time or Easy Step) in real time you must use the SPEED function. This feature allows you to modify the speed property without editing the button. Even when the fader position is saved for each button, none of these changes are saved inside the original program.
You should see a SPEED fader in preprogrammed buttons that control movement, color wheel rotation, gobo rotation, strobe, etc.
The Dimmer function
This function allows you to modify easily the DMX level of certain channels in real-time. You should see a DIMMER fader on preprogrammed buttons like Dimmer, Zoom, Iris, Focus, etc. These faders allow you to modify the DMX values for those particular channels without using the button Editor.
You can also use this function with conventional lighting (PAR, etc). Such a button would allow to modify the beam intensity in real-time for one or any group of fixtures included in the button.
Example
Imagine you want to create a switch that controls dimmer levels from 100 to 200 (DMX values) with a fader. First, create a new switch ("Button" - "New Switch"), and call it "Dimmer 100-200". Make sure you create an EMPTY switch and that you DO NOT link all channels to Dimmer or EasyStep.
Then, edit this button by clicking on "Edit" from the "Button" menu. Once inside the Editor you can assign the "Dimmer" function (purple button on the bottom left-hand corner) to any or all the channels within the page. If you assign the Dimmer property using the mouse's left click, you will see a full Dimmer, with maximum 100% and minimum 0% (255-0DMX).
If you right-click to assign the Dimmer, however, you can define the minimum and maximum levels for that channel.
Set the minimum and maximum levels to 100 and 200 DMX, respectively, then close the Editor and save changes. You now have a button that can control a dimmer between DMX values 100 to 200. You can use the Toolbar Dimmer fader to change this value, if you want.
You can also add a small fader to the button. To do this, select your new button nnd go to - Button menu - Button Settings - Dimmer/Speed tab -. Then select:
- Show the Dimmer fader
- Draw the fader on the button
- Use the minimum and maximum levels of each channel
There you go! now you have a button with a fader that controls the DMX output between 100 and 200 for a particular channel only. You can verify the DMX signal from the OUTPUTS window (black area at the bottom of the controller)
Setting minimum and maximum dimmer levels is necessary, for example, when using a channel controlling a shutter (e.g. Blackout from 0 to 99, Dimmer from 100 to 200 and Strobe from 201 to 255%). This way, you can have several faders within the same channel, each controlling a particular fragment of the whole DMX range.
The Size function
This function allows you to increase or decrease the size of a movement. Imagine a scene with a simple tilt movement. If you want to reduce the amplitude of the movement without editing your scene, you must use the SIZE function from the Toolbar. All you need to do is move the fader on the toolbar while the scene is running. You will be able to see the changes in real-time on your fixtures.
Page Dimmer and Speed
You can also use the DIMMER and SPEED functions as global parameters for the entire page:
- Page menu - Display - Live toolbar page -
Make sure that you keep track of the changes you make using this toolbar. The Live toolbar for the page has priority over all the buttons inside the page.