Techni-Lux MagicQ Pro Series User manual

MagicQ User Manual i
MagicQ User Manual
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MagicQ User Manual ii
REVISION HISTORY
NUMBER DATE DESCRIPTION NAME
v1.6.6.9 06/03/2015 ChamSys

MagicQ User Manual iii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 MagicQ software and consoles ............................................ 2
1.2 MagicQ Pro Series .................................................. 2
1.3 MagicQ Compact Series ............................................... 4
1.4 MagicQ Wings for use with PC/Mac ......................................... 4
1.5 Plugging Up ...................................................... 4
1.6 DMX Connections .................................................. 5
1.7 Powering Up ..................................................... 5
1.8 Powering Down .................................................... 5
1.9 Resetting the Console ................................................. 5
1.10 Power Supply Protection ............................................... 6
1.11 Care of your MagicQ console ............................................. 6
1.12 Safety Information .................................................. 6
2 Installing MagicQ Software & Drivers 7
2.1 MagicQ software ................................................... 7
2.2 MagicDMX ...................................................... 7
2.3 MagicQ Wings & Interfaces ............................................. 7
2.4 MagicQ on Windows ................................................. 7
2.5 MagicQ on Mac .................................................... 14
2.5.1 Turning off App Nap ............................................. 14
2.5.2 Making the MagicQ folder writeable ..................................... 15
2.6 MagicQ on Linux ................................................... 16
3 Using MagicQ on PCs and Macs 17
3.1 Simple Generic Console ............................................... 17
3.2 Technician Test Fixture ................................................ 18
3.3 Demo Shows ..................................................... 19
3.4 Touch View ...................................................... 20
3.5 Playback mode .................................................... 20
3.6 MagicQ PC / Mac Restrictions ............................................ 20

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4 MagicQ Concepts 22
4.1 Show Storage ..................................................... 22
4.2 Output channels .................................................... 22
4.2.1 HTP / LTP channels ............................................. 23
4.3 Cues .......................................................... 23
4.4 Cue Stacks ...................................................... 24
4.5 Playbacks ....................................................... 24
4.6 Pages ......................................................... 24
4.7 FX ........................................................... 24
4.8 Window Layouts ................................................... 25
4.9 Shift Functions .................................................... 25
4.10 The Programmer ................................................... 25
4.11 Help .......................................................... 25
5 MagicQ Layout 26
5.1 Physical layout .................................................... 26
5.1.1 Touch Screen, Encoders & Soft Buttons ................................... 26
5.1.2 Windows ................................................... 27
5.1.3 Head Control ................................................. 28
5.1.4 Editor Buttons ................................................ 28
5.1.5 Playback ................................................... 29
5.2 Keyboard, Keypad, Select & Confirm Windows ................................... 29
5.3 Common Actions ................................................... 29
5.3.1 Items ..................................................... 29
5.3.2 Setting the value of items ........................................... 30
5.3.3 Naming items ................................................. 30
5.3.4 Moving items ................................................. 30
5.3.5 Copying items ................................................ 31
5.3.6 Removing items ............................................... 31
5.3.7 Recording items ............................................... 31
5.4 Icons .......................................................... 31
5.4.1 Actions on Playbacks ............................................. 32
6 Quick Start 33
6.1 Starting up MagicQ .................................................. 33
6.2 Calibrating the Touch Screen ............................................. 33
6.3 Starting a New Show ................................................. 34
6.4 Enabling Outputs ................................................... 35
6.4.1 Using Direct DMX Outputs ......................................... 35

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6.4.2 Using Outputs via network .......................................... 36
6.5 Connecting a MagicQ Playback Wing ........................................ 36
6.5.1 Setting Playback Wing IDs .......................................... 36
6.6 Connecting External Monitors ............................................ 37
6.6.1 Pro 2010 and Pro 2014 Operating System .................................. 37
6.6.2 Pro Operating System ............................................ 37
6.7 Patching ........................................................ 37
6.7.1 Naming and Numbering Heads ........................................ 40
6.8 Controlling Heads ................................................... 40
6.8.1 Selecting Heads ................................................ 40
6.8.2 Selecting heads from the Group/Heads Window ............................... 41
6.8.3 Recording a Group .............................................. 41
6.9 Naming a Group ................................................... 41
6.10 Recalling a Group ................................................... 41
6.11 Setting Levels for Dimmers .............................................. 41
6.12 Locating Heads .................................................... 42
6.13 Modifying Attributes ................................................. 42
6.14 Recording a Palette .................................................. 44
6.15 Adding in FX ..................................................... 44
6.16 Recording a Cue ................................................... 44
6.17 Recording a Cue Stack (Chase or Theatre Stack) ................................... 45
6.18 Selecting and recording complete window layouts .................................. 46
6.19 Saving the Show ................................................... 46
6.20 Playback ........................................................ 46
7 Patching 48
7.1 Patching on MagicQ ................................................. 48
7.2 Getting started with patching ............................................. 48
7.3 Patching a Head or Dimmer ............................................. 48
7.4 Head Names and Head Numbers ........................................... 50
7.4.1 Head Names ................................................. 51
7.4.2 Head Numbers ................................................ 51
7.4.3 Renumbering Head Numbers ......................................... 52
7.4.4 Patching to specific Head numbers ...................................... 52
7.5 Gel name and number ................................................. 52
7.6 Generating auto groups ................................................ 52
7.7 Multi Element Heads ................................................. 52
7.8 Inverting and Swapping ................................................ 53
7.9 Pan and Tilt Offsets .................................................. 53

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7.10 Applying Offsets using Update ............................................ 53
7.11 Minimum and Maximum levels ............................................ 53
7.11.1 Limits and Offset. .............................................. 53
7.12 Dimmer curves .................................................... 54
7.13 Testing channels .................................................... 54
7.14 Changing the DMX address of heads ......................................... 55
7.15 Patching a Head to multiple DMX addresses ..................................... 55
7.16 Unpatching a Head from a DMX address ....................................... 56
7.17 Patching scrollers ................................................... 56
7.18 Editing Heads ..................................................... 56
7.19 Cloning (Adding extra heads / dimmers to a programmed show) .......................... 57
7.19.1 Copy Head Programming .......................................... 57
7.19.2 Patch Channel Copy ............................................. 57
7.20 Morphing Heads (Changing Head type) ....................................... 57
7.20.1 Morphing Multi Part Heads ......................................... 58
7.20.2 Morphing Heads with virtual dimmers .................................... 58
7.20.3 Morphing between CMY and colour wheel Heads .............................. 58
7.21 Importing Heads ................................................... 58
7.22 Exporting Heads ................................................... 58
7.23 VL5 type channels (split personalities) ........................................ 59
7.24 Merging with DMX input ............................................... 59
7.25 Customising Locate, Default, Highlight and Lowlight values ............................ 59
7.26 Theatre Patch syntax ................................................. 60
7.27 Virtual Dimmers ................................................... 60
7.27.1 Quickly adding Virtual Dimmers to patched heads ............................. 61
7.27.2 Heads always with virtual dimmers ..................................... 61
7.28 Patch Head Filtering ................................................. 61
8 Setting Intensity levels 62
8.1 Using the on screen faders .............................................. 62
8.2 Using the encoders .................................................. 63
8.3 Using the keypad ................................................... 63
8.3.1 Setting fade times from the keypad ...................................... 63
8.4 Multi Element Heads ................................................. 64
8.5 Using Selected Heads ................................................. 64
8.6 Using gel colours in the Intensity Window ...................................... 64
8.6.1 Programming of Dimmers using gel colours ................................. 65
8.7 Setting levels whilst running a show ......................................... 65
8.8 Viewing Intensities in the Outputs Window ..................................... 65

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9 Controlling Attributes 66
9.1 Selecting Heads .................................................... 66
9.2 Using Groups ..................................................... 66
9.2.1 Recording a Group .............................................. 67
9.2.2 Naming a Group ............................................... 67
9.3 Selecting Heads using the keypad .......................................... 67
9.3.1 Selecting Heads on the keypad using @@ .................................. 68
9.3.2 Selecting heads on the keypad without @@ ................................. 68
9.3.3 Remove Dimmer (Rem Dim) Function ................................... 68
9.4 Selecting heads using the rig plan view ........................................ 69
9.5 Head Macros ..................................................... 69
9.6 Locating Heads .................................................... 69
9.7 Modifying Attributes ................................................. 69
9.8 Using a mouse or track-ball to control pan and tilt .................................. 70
9.9 Flip / Mirror ...................................................... 70
9.10 Setting attribute values using the keypad ....................................... 70
9.11 Selecting individual Heads .............................................. 71
9.11.1 Single Mode ................................................. 71
9.11.2 Pair ...................................................... 71
9.11.3 Odd/Even ................................................... 71
9.11.4 Segments ................................................... 72
9.11.5 All ...................................................... 72
9.11.6 Sub selecting Groups ............................................. 72
9.11.7 Sub selecting heads using specific palettes .................................. 72
9.11.8 Changing Overall Selection order ...................................... 72
9.11.9 Sub selection of heads from Groups / Overall Selection ........................... 73
9.12 Highlight Mode .................................................... 73
9.13 Lowlight function ................................................... 73
9.14 Reselecting heads using Palettes and Intensities (Active Palette and Intensity) ................... 74
9.15 Fan Mode ....................................................... 74
9.16 And Only ....................................................... 75
10 Palettes 76
10.1 Using Palettes ..................................................... 76
10.2 Recording Palettes .................................................. 77
10.2.1 Recording individual attributes into a Palette ................................ 77
10.2.2 Recording only the selected heads ...................................... 77
10.3 Intensity Palettes ................................................... 78
10.4 Naming Palettes .................................................... 78

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10.5 Updating Palettes ................................................... 78
10.6 Copying and moving Palettes ............................................. 78
10.7 Removing attributes from Palettes .......................................... 78
10.8 Linked Palettes .................................................... 79
10.9 Viewing / Editing Palette contents .......................................... 79
10.10Using Palettes with times ............................................... 79
10.10.1 Using FAN .................................................. 80
10.11Making Palettes into Cue Stacks ........................................... 80
10.12Selecting Palettes from the keypad .......................................... 80
10.13Merging of Palettes from another show ........................................ 81
10.14Modifying Palettes in the personality ......................................... 81
10.15Grabbing Palettes from DMX input ......................................... 81
11 FX Engine 82
11.1 Adding in FX ..................................................... 82
11.1.1 FX Speed & Size ............................................... 84
11.1.2 FX base values ................................................ 84
11.1.3 FX add modes ................................................ 84
11.1.4 FX Spread (offsets over heads) ........................................ 84
11.1.5 FX Parts ................................................... 85
11.1.6 FX Segments ................................................. 85
11.1.7 FX Direction & Inversion .......................................... 87
11.1.8 Pulse Width .................................................. 88
11.1.9 FX fade times ................................................. 88
11.1.10 Initial spreads ................................................. 89
11.1.11 FX on CMY and RGB fixtures ........................................ 89
11.1.12 Flicker FX .................................................. 89
11.1.13 Multiple FX .................................................. 89
11.1.14 Joining / Splitting multiple FX ........................................ 90
11.1.15 Modifying FX for selected Heads ...................................... 90
11.1.16 Changing FX ................................................. 90
11.1.17 FX Reordering ................................................ 90
11.1.18 Blocking FX ................................................. 90
11.1.19 One Shot FX ................................................. 90
11.2 Generating user FX .................................................. 90
11.3 Editing user FX .................................................... 91
11.4 Palette FX ....................................................... 91
11.5 FX colour flicks .................................................... 91
11.6 FX using base colour ................................................. 92
11.7 FX Window ...................................................... 92
11.8 Importing and Exporting the FX Library ....................................... 92

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12 Programmer 93
12.1 What is in the programmer? ............................................. 93
12.2 Clearing the programmer ............................................... 94
12.3 Activation by Channel or by Head? .......................................... 94
12.4 Recording a Cue ................................................... 94
12.4.1 Levels ..................................................... 95
12.4.2 Timing .................................................... 95
12.4.3 FX ...................................................... 95
12.5 Split Cue Times .................................................... 95
12.5.1 View Simple ................................................. 95
12.5.2 View Advanced ................................................ 96
12.6 Fade Type ....................................................... 96
12.7 Recording to a specific Cue Id ............................................ 97
12.8 Snapshot Icons .................................................... 97
12.9 Record Options .................................................... 97
12.9.1 Record Short cuts ............................................... 97
12.9.2 Masking ................................................... 98
12.9.3 Options .................................................... 98
12.10Active ......................................................... 98
12.11Removing channels from the Programmer ...................................... 99
12.11.1 Removing channels using the REMOVE button ............................... 99
12.11.2 Removing channels using the Programmer Window ............................. 99
12.12Making channels hard values .............................................100
12.13Copy between heads .................................................100
12.14Blind programming ..................................................101
12.15Parking (freezing) channels ..............................................101
13 Outputs Windows 102
13.1 Heads View ......................................................102
13.2 Intensity View .....................................................103
13.3 DMX Channels View .................................................103
13.4 Movement View ....................................................104
13.5 Plan View .......................................................104
13.5.1 Creating rig plans ...............................................104
13.5.2 Selection of heads in Outputs Plan View ...................................105

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14 Editing Cues 107
14.1 Including Cues into the Programmer .........................................107
14.1.1 Including Cues at a specified level ......................................107
14.1.2 Snapshot ...................................................107
14.2 Editing using Include and Update method ......................................108
14.3 Record Merge (Updating a Cue with the contents of the programmer) .......................108
14.4 Making changes to multiple Cues ...........................................108
14.4.1 Changes to multiple Cues using keypad ...................................108
14.4.2 Changes to multiple Cues using Cue Stack window .............................108
14.5 Editing using Update .................................................109
14.6 Direct Modification of Intensities in Cues ......................................109
15 Cue Stacks 110
15.1 Cue Stack Window ..................................................110
15.2 Chase Timing .....................................................111
15.3 Cue Timing ......................................................111
15.3.1 Cue Timing Example .............................................111
15.3.2 The Halt field .................................................112
15.3.3 Cue Delay and Fade times ..........................................112
15.4 Tracking ........................................................112
15.4.1 Tracking on MagicQ .............................................113
15.4.2 Viewing Cue Data and Tracking Data ....................................114
15.4.3 Copying Cues in tracking mode .......................................114
15.4.4 Blocking / Unblocking Cues .........................................114
15.5 Cue Only .......................................................114
15.6 Mark Cues .......................................................115
15.7 The Cue Store and Cue Stack Store ..........................................115
15.8 Assigning Cues and Cue Stacks ...........................................116
15.9 Copying and Moving Cues ..............................................116
15.10Linked Cues ......................................................116
15.11Removing Cues and Cue Stacks ...........................................116
15.12Cue Stack Defaults ..................................................117
15.13Audio Sound FX Cues ................................................117
15.14Cue Stack Macros ...................................................117
15.15Timeline ........................................................118