This page is a (recently started) work in progress!
StageSoc's lightng desk is the ETC Element 40.
We also have an ETC Nomad which allows a laptop to be used like the lighting desk (and is our backup in case the desk breaks)
The Element uses EOS software version 2.8.1 Build 6. Fixture library version 2.8.0.59
The software is available to dowload for free onto your laptop/PC - Note that the most recent version of EOS will not be compatible with the desk as they are newer!
This page is not a complete guide for using the desk, it's a quick reference for when you've forgotten how to do something
In general, to clear or remove something (e.g. remove an effect, get rid of a follow, unpark something), type it as you would to set it up but just hit enter without setting the parameter
E.g. Channel 58 Effect Enter (without setting the effect number)
or Cue 29 Follow Enter (without setting the follow time)
The default cue time for cues is 5 seconds. To change this (usually to 3 seconds), open the menu using the triangle on the bottom right of the screen.
Settings > system settings
Click the tab for Cues
In the time column, click the box for up time, type 3, Enter
Repeat for the down time
Parking a channel makes it effectively “frozen” - it will not be affected by cues or other changes. this is often used for backstage and band lights.
To get to the Park page
Park Park
Here you can see all of the parked channels and their intensity
To park a channel
[channel] @ [intensity] Enter
Or use soft key 6 (Park) from the magic sheet: set the channel intensity then [channel] S6 Enter
To unpark a channel from the magic sheet: [channel] S6 Enter This should ask you to confirm that you want to unpark
For haze and fan recorded to submasters:
In the main menu (open new tab), click the green box for Subs
Select the subs with haze and fan on them to open the menu (subs are numbered 1 to 40 going left to right on the top row then the bottom row)
In the “Exclude” column, click “Record”
Up time for a cue is set by :
Cue [number] Time [time] Enter
This is the time taken for the cue to fade up
Down time is set by pressing Time twice
Cue [number] Time Time [time] Enter
This is the time taken for the previous cue to go down
E.g. For Cue 17 = spotlight, Cue 18 = wash up, no spotlight
Set an up time of 3s, down time of 5s:
Cue 18 Time 3 Time Time 5
There will be a 2 second overlap where the wash is up and the spotlight is still on
Keep pressing Time to set colour, beam and focus times.
Follow and hang allows you to make cues go automatically.
The follow/hang is applied to the first cue i.e. the one you press GO for.
Follow
Use soft key 2 (fw/hg)
Cue [number] S2 [seconds] Enter
The next cue will start [time] seconds after you press GO for the first cue.
Hang
Press soft key 2 twice
Cue [number] S2 S2 [seconds] Enter
The next cue will start [time] seconds after the first cue has finished.
This allows you to repeat cues.
To test if it works, make sure to record a cue for after the repeated ones
Link
Use soft key 4
Cue [number of last cue] S4 Cue [number of first cue] Enter
After reaching the last cue, pressing GO will go back to the first cue. This goes on forever
Loop
You must link cues first.
To set the number of times to loop the cues, press S4 twice:
Cue [number of last cue] S4 S4 [number of times to loop back] Enter
E.g. to do the cues a total of 5 times you need loop number = 4
Scene markers allow you to mark sections of cues with a heading and adds a green line. This is useful for shows with a lot of cues!
The scene marker appears above the selected cue.
Cue [number of first cue of new scene] S1 (Attributes) S3 (Scene) Type the label text, Enter
Scene end is done in a similar way, selecting the “scene end” soft key instead. This adds a green line only, with no text. It is not necessary to end a scene before starting the next.
Go to the effect page by pressing Effect Effect
To make a new effect:
Effect [number] Enter
(using a number that is not already used)
Select effect type.
In the magic sheet, select the light(s) you want to apply an effect to (order of selection matters!)
Channel [channel] Effect [effect number] Enter
Next to the light on the magic sheet there should be a pink “E [effect number]” (e.g. E5 for Effect 5)
For an intensity effect, if you can't see it, try scrolling the lights intensity down - if it was at full, an effect to make it brighter won't do anything.