Dell Emphasis Lighting Control System- Manuals

Page 3 - T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s; C h a p t e r 1

Table of Contents i T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Using this Quick Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Help from ETC Technical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

Page 4 - C h a p t e r 3

ii Emphasis Control System Quick Guide EDMX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Where do I patch my channels? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Patch Conventional Lights in Emphasis Console . . . . 34Patch in DATA mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Page 5 - I n t r o d u c t i o n

Introduction 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n This quick guide covers the basic installation and operation of the Emphasis Control System. Specifically, this guide contains basic information about creating a show in Emphasis, including a step-by-step tutorial covering all the basic functions of Emphasis. T...

Page 6 - U s i n g t h i s Q u i c k G u i d e

2 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide U s i n g t h i s Q u i c k G u i d e This quick guide is intended for use in conjunction with the Emphasis Visualization and Emphasis Console User Manuals. This guide assumes that you have a basic familiarity with the Microsoft Windows ® operating system, openi...

Page 7 - H e l p f r o m E T C T e c h n i c a l S e r v i c e s; A m e r i c a s

Introduction 3 H e l p f r o m E T C T e c h n i c a l S e r v i c e s If you are having difficulties, your most convenient resources are the references given in the manual and the Help system. To search more widely, try the ETC website at www.etcconnect.com . If none of these resources is sufficien...

Page 9 - S y s t e m O v e r v i e w

1 System Overview 5 C h a p t e r 1 S y s t e m O v e r v i e w Emphasis integrates the functionality of WYSIWYG with the Expression-style control consoles to give you a powerful, but user-friendly, control system offering both a graphical, point-and-click environment and a tactile button-and-wheel ...

Page 10 - E m p h a s i s O p t i o n s; S e r v e r T y p e s; F a c e p a n e l s

6 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide E m p h a s i s O p t i o n s Emphasis systems are created by choosing the server type, maximum channel count and Facepanel type. Emphasis is offered as an upgrade to an existing Express or Expression- style console (see below for compatible Facepanel types), or...

Page 11 - S y s t e m C o m p o n e n t s; E m p h a s i s S e r v e r; E m p h a s i s F a c e p a n e l; Feature

1 System Overview 7 S y s t e m C o m p o n e n t s E m p h a s i s S e r v e r The Emphasis Server is a Dell ® computer optimized by ETC for the best performance of the Emphasis Visualization and Emphasis Console applications. The Server is provided pre-configured and should not require any softwar...

Page 12 - E m p h a s i s V i s u a l i z a t i o n; E m p h a s i s C o n s o l e

8 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide procedure for exporting your show to v3.1 format is described in the Emphasis Visualization User Manual . The procedure for returning your Facepanel to v3.1 operation is described in the Emphasis Console User Manual . E m p h a s i s V i s u a l i z a t i o n Em...

Page 13 - I n s t a l l a t i o n G u i d e l i n e s; H o o k i n g U p t h e H a r d w a r e

1 System Overview 9 I n s t a l l a t i o n G u i d e l i n e s H o o k i n g U p t h e H a r d w a r e Emphasis systems can range from a simple Server and Facepanel combination to fully integrated network systems. Regardless of the size of your system, there are some basic connections that are comm...

Page 14 - C o n n e c t i n g a P r i n t e r

10 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 9: Connect power cables to Server, Facepanel, and hubs or switches. C A U T I O N : When you plug in the server it may boot - it may not wait for you to press the power button. If the keyboard and/or mouse are not plugged in when you power up, they will no...

Page 15 - S o f t w a r e I n s t a l l a t i o n; I n s t a l l i n g F a c e p a n e l S o f t w a r e

1 System Overview 11 S o f t w a r e I n s t a l l a t i o n Your Emphasis Server will arrive with all software fully installed. If you have purchased a complete Emphasis Control System, including an Emphasis Server and a Facepanel, the Facepanel Software should also be loaded and ready to use. If y...

Page 16 - I n s t a l l i n g S o f t w a r e o n t h e E m p h a s i s S e r v e r

12 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide Step 16: Press [Enter] . The Facepanel will boot and the Stage displays will open on the attached monitor(s). I n s t a l l i n g S o f t w a r e o n t h e E m p h a s i s S e r v e r If you are installing a new version of software, you will be provided specifi...

Page 17 - R e g i s t r a t i o n

1 System Overview 13 R e g i s t r a t i o n When you first start your Emphasis Control System, you will be prompted to register the system. Registration will enable ETC to track your system for support purposes, and will enroll your system in the software subscription included with your Emphasis Co...

Page 19 - U p g r a d e s

1 System Overview 15 U p g r a d e s To upgrade your Emphasis Control System, contact the ETC dealer who provided your Emphasis Control System to purchase the upgrade. When purchased, you will receive an Upgrade Code that will unlock the new features you have purchased. You can upgrade from a lower ...

Page 20 - S y s t e m P r o c e d u r e s; P o w e r - u p P r o c e d u r e

16 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide S y s t e m P r o c e d u r e s P o w e r - u p P r o c e d u r e For best performance, power-up your system in the following order: Step 1: Turn on the hub(s) and/or switch(es). Step 2: Turn on the Server and monitor(s). Wait for the Emphasis application to st...

Page 21 - L o g i n a s a D i f f e r e n t U s e r

1 System Overview 17 L o g i n a s a D i f f e r e n t U s e r There are a number of different user accounts contained in the Emphasis system. When the system is turned on, it will open using the Emphasis User settings. To gain access to the other user accounts, exit Emphasis. N o t e : When you loa...

Page 22 - T r o u b l e s h o o t i n g

18 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide T r o u b l e s h o o t i n g The Emphasis Facepanel type defaults to the Expression 3. This affects the video output of your Facepanel and the virtual facepanel in Emphasis Visualization. If you have an Insight or Express console as your Emphasis Facepanel, or...

Page 23 - H o w d o I f i n d t h e s o f t w a r e v e r s i o n ?

1 System Overview 19 performance speed of your system. The wallpaper is set to “None” as a default. • Additional software applications (games, internet browsers, word processors, etc.). It is not advisable to load additional applications onto your Emphasis Server. Conflicts may occur between applica...

Page 25 - C h a p t e r 2; E m p h a s i s U s e r I n t e r f a c e

2 Emphasis User Interface 21 C h a p t e r 2 E m p h a s i s U s e r I n t e r f a c e The Emphasis user interface includes the displays, toolbars, menus and commands available on the Emphasis Server, and the displays and commands available from the Emphasis Facepanel. These are used together to cre...

Page 26 - O v e r v i e w o f t h e C o n s o l e U s e r I n t e r f a c e; S t a g e v s . B l i n d

22 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide O v e r v i e w o f t h e C o n s o l e U s e r I n t e r f a c e Emphasis Console drives the Facepanel and the console displays within EMPHASIS mode in Emphasis Visualization. S t a g e v s . B l i n d The Stage display shows you the current levels of all acti...

Page 27 - C h a n g i n g d i s p l a y p a g e s; S e l e c t C h a n n e l s a n d S e t L e v e l s; S e l e c t C h a n n e l s , D i m m e r s a n d F i x t u r e s; D i r e c t S e l e c t i o n

2 Emphasis User Interface 23 C h a n g i n g d i s p l a y p a g e s If you are using more channels than can be displayed on a single display, you can use softkeys [S4-Previous Page] and [S5-Next Page] to view more channels. You can also use the arrow keys to change pages: left-arrow [ s ] jumps to ...

Page 28 - S e t L e v e l s; D i r e c t L e v e l s

24 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide • In Emphasis Visualization, you can click on a fixture symbol to select its channel. See the Emphasis Visualization User Manual for more information on selecting fixtures using the mouse. Select dimmers: • Press <Dim> [ x ] to select a single dimmer for ...

Page 30 - C a p t u r e d c h a n n e l s a n d t h e [ R e l e a s e ] c o m m a n d; M o v i n g L i g h t C o n t r o l

26 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide C a p t u r e d c h a n n e l s a n d t h e [ R e l e a s e ] c o m m a n d When you set channels to levels and then move on to select other channels, the channels you have just set are displayed in red and become captured . Captured channels have been set to l...

Page 32 - R e c o r d C u e s a n d S u b m a s t e r s; S u b m a s t e r s

28 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide R e c o r d C u e s a n d S u b m a s t e r s Emphasis provides two basic recording functions – [Record] and [Track] . The [Record] function saves all channels at their Stage levels in the cue, group or submaster you specify. When you use [Record] for cues, onl...

Page 33 - C u e P l a y b a c k; I n s e q u e n c e; O u t o f s e q u e n c e

2 Emphasis User Interface 29 C u e P l a y b a c k Playing back cues is as simple as pressing the [Go] key on a fader pair. With each [Go] press, the selected cue (or next cue) will play back in that fader pair. If you have cues recorded and you have just turned on your system or loaded a new show, ...

Page 34 - O v e r v i e w o f t h e E m p h a s i s V i s u a l i z a t i o n U s e r I n t e r f a c e; M o d e a n d L a y o u t T a b s; M e n u s a n d T o o l b a r s

30 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide O v e r v i e w o f t h e E m p h a s i s V i s u a l i z a t i o n U s e r I n t e r f a c e Emphasis Visualization provides a graphic user-interface designed to facilitate smooth transitions from mode to mode, and to keep the data organized and easy to find. ...

Page 35 - T o o l b a r s

2 Emphasis User Interface 31 Access menu commands using the keyboard: Step 1: Press ALT+ n, where n is the underlined letter in the menu name. The menu will drop down. Step 2: Press the key corresponding to the underlined letter in the command you want to execute. Some commands have shortcuts that d...

Page 36 - S h o r t c u t s; N a v i g a t i o n S h o r t c u t s

32 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide N o t e : You can also right-click on a toolbar to see the toolbar list. A check mark to the left of a toolbar name indicates it is currently visible. Click the toolbar’s name to change its visibility. S h o r t c u t s Shortcuts are available on the left-hand ...

Page 37 - P a t c h; E D M X; W h e r e d o I p a t c h m y c h a n n e l s ?; EDMX Addresses

2 Emphasis User Interface 33 P a t c h To control dimmers and other DMX controlled devices using your Emphasis Control System, you will need to create a patch . Emphasis uses control channels to record data in cues and submasters. Control channels must have dimmers assigned to them, so that the dimm...

Page 38 - P a t c h C o n v e n t i o n a l L i g h t s i n E m p h a s i s C o n s o l e; Show Requirements

34 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide P a t c h C o n v e n t i o n a l L i g h t s i n E m p h a s i s C o n s o l e While it is possible to create a patch for conventional dimmers in Emphasis Console, it is better to create your patch in Emphasis Visualization. Emphasis Console only limits you to...

Page 39 - P a t c h i n D A T A m o d e

2 Emphasis User Interface 35 Unpatch dimmers in Emphasis Console: Step 1: On your Emphasis Facepanel or from the virtual facepanel in Emphasis Visualization, press [Patch] to access the Patch display. Step 2: Press <Dim> [ x ] [Enter] , where [ x ] is the dimmer number, to select the dimmer. Y...

Page 40 - I n s e r t F i x t u r e s

36 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide I n s e r t F i x t u r e s You can insert fixtures directly into the Spreadsheet using the Library. Insert fixtures one at a time: Step 1: In the Library menu, click Browse Library . Step 2: Navigate to the fixture you want to insert. Step 3: Double-click on t...

Page 41 - E n t e r a n d E d i t D a t a; E n t e r i n g D a t a i n B u l k; I n c r e m e n t a l D a t a E n t r y

2 Emphasis User Interface 37 E n t e r a n d E d i t D a t a Entering data into the Spreadsheet is as simple as selecting the cell or cells you want to edit and typing in a new value. For data that is generated by the fixture library, you may be asked to select a value from a list. The list contains...

Page 42 - S a v i n g Y o u r W o r k; F i l e s t r u c t u r e a n d d i s k f u n c t i o n s

38 Emphasis Control System Quick Guide S a v i n g Y o u r W o r k It is important to save your work often during your work session. Emphasis has an Auto Save function that will help to keep your data safe, however it is always a good idea to get in the habit of saving your show document to the hard...

Page 47 - Q u i c k S t a r t

3 Quick Start 43 C h a p t e r 3 Q u i c k S t a r t This chapter provides a guide for new Emphasis users with WYSIWYG experience, and a tutorial for new Emphasis users with little or no WYSIWYG experience. N o t e : This chapter takes you quickly through many of the basic functions of your Emphasis...

Page 48 - E m p h a s i s f o r E x p e r i e n c e d W Y S I W Y G / E x p r e s s i o n U s e r s; P a t c h i n g a n d E D M X; C a n I j u s t p a t c h a t t h e F a c e p a n e l l i k e I u s e d t o ?; DMX Output Port

44 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual E m p h a s i s f o r E x p e r i e n c e d W Y S I W Y G / E x p r e s s i o n U s e r s Emphasis Visualization is based upon the levels of WYSIWYG software. If you have used these applications, you will find the user interface very familiar. Emphasis Vi...

Page 49 - B a s i c S h o w C r e a t i o n f o r N e w E m p h a s i s U s e r s; T u t o r i a l

3 Quick Start 45 B a s i c S h o w C r e a t i o n f o r N e w E m p h a s i s U s e r s This tutorial will take you through many of the basic steps in creating a show file: • Create a CAD drawing for a small show • View and modify your data in DATA mode • Create show paperwork • Control fixtures an...

Page 52 - Draw a Cyc by extruding a line.; Draw a Border using the Surface tool.

48 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual i. In the File menu, click Save Show . Step 7: Draw a Cyc by extruding a line. a. In the Draw menu, click Line , then click Solid . b. Place the first end of the line at -20’-0”, 14’-0” by moving the mouse to that point (watch the coordinates display in t...

Page 54 - Place objects on the Riser.

50 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual d. Right-click the 8’ Ladder and click Property . This allows you to view the object before you place it in your drawing. e. Click Insert. f. Drag the ladder to the upstage-right corner and click to place it. g. Click the “+” next to Outdoors. h. Double-c...

Page 55 - Place a human figure in the drawing.; Change the colour of objects.

3 Quick Start 51 e. Drag the dimmer pack to the riser and click to place it. f. Change to a side or front view to see how everything is placed. Step 13: Place a human figure in the drawing. Emphasis contains a library of hundreds of human figures in various poses. a. In the Layers toolbar, click the...

Page 56 - Place focus positions in your drawing.

52 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual j. Click on the colour box and select the colour for that element. k. Repeat for as many elements as you would like to change. The colours you set will be visible in the shaded view and in renderings. Step 16: Place focus positions in your drawing. Focus ...

Page 57 - Add a lighting truss to your venue.

3 Quick Start 53 c. Set the pipe length to 50’-0”. The height for the pipe is set in the Draw Pipe dialog. We’ll use the default height of 20’-0”. d. Click the Position Manager button [...] to the right of the position name list. e. Click New. f. Type in “ #1 Electric ” and click OK. g. Repeat steps...

Page 58 - Create fixture shortcuts.

54 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual c. In the Library Browser, click the Truss icon. Unlike pipe, truss is built from library objects. d. Find the following type of truss in the library: Thomas>GP 12inch>Section Imperial>Thomas GP12in 8ft. e. Double-click on the truss name. A piece...

Page 59 - Set an interval for placing fixtures on pipes.; Place fixtures on your pipes using

3 Quick Start 55 g. Right-click each shortcut and click Properties . Rename each shortcut to be more descriptive of their lens settings. Step 20: Set an interval for placing fixtures on pipes. There is a feature that constrains placement of fixtures on pipes to a specific hang interval. This feature...

Page 60 - Place fixtures on your pipes from the Library.; Focus your lights using Quick Focus.

56 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual d. Drag your cursor over pipes in your drawing. Note that you must place fixtures on hang structures. Emphasis will not allow you to place fixtures in your drawing unless they are placed on hang structures. e. Click on the pipes and truss to place fixture...

Page 61 - Patch your fixtures using Quick Tools.; View your fixtures’ properties.

3 Quick Start 57 Step 24: Patch your fixtures using Quick Tools. Quick Tools is a feature that lets you quickly set fixture properties like patch, colour and gobos. All of the data you set with Quick Tools can also be set or edited in DATA mode. a. In the Tools menu, click Quick Tools . The Quick To...

Page 62 - Edit fixture data in DATA mode.

58 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual c. [Emphasis 3D] Click the Shutter tab. The Shutter tab displays the point of view of the selected fixture and gives you sliders to move the shutters. Shutter cuts are visible in the beam of the fixture in wireframe and shaded views, and renderings. d. In...

Page 63 - Select and control lights.

3 Quick Start 59 screen. b. Click on the Reports layout tab at the bottom of the work area. Many typical types of show paperwork are already provided in the Reports shortcuts. c. Scroll to find the report shortcuts for “Channel Schedule” and “Instrument Schedule”. Click on each one to view the repor...

Page 64 - Create a look and store cues.

60 Emphasis Visualization v1.4.0 User Manual b. Click on the Quad layout tab. c. Click on the top left window in the Quad view and set it to the plan view. d. Click on the top right window in the Quad view and set it to a side view. e. Click on the bottom left window in the Quad view and set it to t...