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pathway choreo User Manual

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User Guide
Version 06.24.2016
1439 17 Ave SE Calgary AB T2G 1J9
403-243-8110
www.pathwayconnect.com
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  • Page 1 User Guide Version 06.24.2016 1439 17 Ave SE Calgary AB T2G 1J9 403-243-8110 www.pathwayconnect.com...
  • Page 3 Anytime Help Resources This full manual is on Choreo with hyperlinks between topics. Press for Hint Overlays, then to get the on-line version of this manual. There is a WWW version and a PDF version of this manual on www.pathwayconnect.com Operational Questions and Problem Reports support@pathwayconnect.com...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents ANYTIME HELP RESOURCES HOW TO... OW TO OW TO PEN A IFFERENT OW TO ATCH A IGHT OW TO NTENSITY OW TO ET A OLOR OSITION OR HAPE TTRIBUTE OW TO ET AN FFECT OW TO ECORD A EMORY OW TO ECORD A OW TO LAYBACK EMORIES OW TO LAYBACK UES LAYLISTS OW TO OPY OR ELETE A UE OR EMORY OW TO AVE A OW TO...
  • Page 6 BTAINING AND PPLYING IXTURE IBRARY PDATES HOW USB PEN HOW FROM USB AVE HOW TO REATE A PEN A IFFERENT HOW PEN A ACKUP AVE URRENT HOW ELETE A HOW TASKS ASK RIENTED AVIGATION SELECT CONTROL RECORD PLAY CREEN AVIGATION TATUS AVIGATION CONS ELECT IGHT ELECTION IGHT OUBLE AP TO NTENSITY...
  • Page 7 UTTON AND ROSSFADE IMINGS HIFT AGIC NFO CREEN TTRIBUTE OURCE OURCE IBRARY ALUE FFECT ECORDED ECORDED EMORIES ECORDED IBRARIES ECORDED ROUPS OCKS TTRIBUTE EXT OLOR EANING NTERNAL TORAGE & IGHLIGHT OWLIGHT IGHLIGHT OWLIGHT ANNING SHOW CONTROL CTIONS PPLICATION ROGRAM NTERFACE ERIAL ONNECTIVITY ELNET ONNECTIVITY ONTACT...

  • Page 9: How To

    To close the on-line manual, press in the top right hand corner of the screen. For further information on operating Choreo, visit our YouTube video library at www.youtube.com/pathwayconnectivity or use this QR code. Questions may be emailed to support@pathwayconnectivity,...

  • Page 10: How To Open A Different Show

    3. Choose from the options to create a new show, restore a backup, or restore a previous show. NOTE If you want to restore a show file from USB, remove Choreo from the • wall and plug the USB drive into port on the rear of the controller.

  • Page 11: Anytime Help Resources

    How To... How to Patch a Light To patch a light you must know the light’s manufacturer, its model type, its operating mode, and its DMX start address. Select the position in the Fixture Grid where you wish to patch the light.

  • Page 12: How To Set Intensity

    You can press the blank spaces between the Up and Down • arrows in the list to jump through the list faster than just using the arrow buttons. How to Set Intensity Select a light in the Grid by touching it. The cell’s outline will turn red. 2.
  • Page 13 How To... Select a light in the Grid by touching it. The cell’s outline will turn red. 2. From the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen, touch the Control icon. 3. If not grayed out, touch one of Color Position Shape...

  • Page 14: How To Set An Effect

    NOTE There are Advanced tools for each of Intensity , Color , Position • and Shape . See Advanced Tools for more information on locking, releasing, defaulting knocking out attributes. Effects can be added to attributes. See How to Set an Effect.

  • Page 15: How To Record A Memory

    How To... colors. When the offset reaches 180 degrees, adjacent lights will be at the top and bottom of the effect curve. Repeat : Affects how many lights start along the effect function at one • time. For example, in a marquee effect, if repeat is set to 1, only one light out of the selection will be “on”...

  • Page 16: How To Record A Cue

    4. Note how the Memory is outlined in red. Touch the QWERTY icon and enter a name if desired. 5. Touch Done 6. The look will be recorded and you will return to your previous CONTROL task. You may want to continue altering the look of the selected Lights or 7.

  • Page 17: How To Playback Memories

    How To... 1. Touch the Record icon to open the RECORD tasks. 2. Touch the Record Cue icon. 3. If necessary, touch the Playlist you want to record to in the red Select Playlist toolbar. 4. The last cue in the Playlist should have a green bar below it. If you want to record it elsewhere, touch an existing cue and use the icons to move the green bar.

  • Page 18: How To Playback Cues (Playlists)

    4. Run the Memories with the virtual slider handles on the screen. NOTE To see more Memories saved in the current page, use the • Left and Right arrows. Change Memory Pages by selecting a new Memory Page in the green •...
  • Page 19 How To... 5. From the green Play toolbar select Transport then touch the Go icon that appears on the Transport cluster of icons above the toolbar. You can also press the appropriate (left or right) Go button on the console. NOTE The first cue is selected by default, or double tap the cue you wish to •...

  • Page 20: How To Edit, Move, Copy Or Delete A Cue Or Memory

    How to Edit, Move, Copy or Delete a Cue or Memory 1. Touch the Play icon to open the PLAY task. 2. Touch the Playlist icon to edit Cues or the Memory icon to edit Memories. 3. Press Edit 4. A ‘do-not-enter’ icon will appear on each cue or memory.

  • Page 21: How To Save A Show

    How To... How to Save a Show Choreo automatically saves all changes to a non-volatile memory. If you wish to back up to USB, insert a Fat32 formatted USB thumb drive on the rear of the controller. 1. Touch the Setup icon 2.
  • Page 22 5. Set the Control Attribute to “Lamp On” or “Lamp Off”, to strike or unstrike the arc light, or to “Reset” to force a moving light to run its recalibration routine. 6. After seven seconds, change the option back to “Idle” or simply Release the lights.

  • Page 23: Hardware Overview

    Hardware Overview Choreo consists of a 7" capacitive touchscreen housed in an aluminum bezel which can be mounted in a standard 3-gang wallbox. The back has the following connectors: Ethernet and PoE • USB-A (used drives formatted with FAT32 not NTFS or HFS+) •...
  • Page 24 This should only be done with the advice of technical support staff. Provide with each Choreo is a small screwdriver for use when wiring the connectors. The supplied adaptor plate to fit to a standard wallbox. The unit slips on from the top and is fastened at the bottom with two allen key set screws.

  • Page 25: Data Connections - Input / Output

    Hardware Overview for port locations. Choreo has two DMX512 output ports and one auxiliary port which can be configured to receive DMX or Serial. The output ports transmit DMX control data to the lights and other equipment capable of receiving and responding to DMX...

  • Page 26: Dmx512 Output

    DMX products may perform better with Medium or Slow speeds. Newer LED products perform best on Maximum. DMX512 Input The DMX512 Input allows Choreo to receive DMX from another source to run Memories and Actions. See DMX In in Show Control.
  • Page 27 Hardware Overview Here is the pin assignments for Choreo's Aux port:...

  • Page 28: Network Dmx

    Network DMX Choreo also supports DMX-over-Ethernet protocols including Pathport, Art-Net, sACN and KiNet. These protocols transmit the same DMX information as the XLR ports, at the same time, through the Ethernet port. Additional hardware, such as a Pathport gateway, is required to convert this signal to DMX512.

  • Page 29: Auxiliary Connector

    Choreo through its API. See the Show Control chapter for details. You must first set up the protocol on the connector by going to SETUP | INPUT/OUTPUT | AUX SERIAL PORT: These are the connections you must make between Choreo and your computer:...

  • Page 30: Contact Closures

    Contact Closures Choreo has a connector that provides three dry contacts to trigger Memory bump buttons. NOTE: You can add up to 16 Actions to any Memory to perform many different functions from running a cue, disabling outputs to even rebooting the controller.

  • Page 31: Setup

    Setup When used on DMX-only lighting systems, Choreo should require little or no configuration to start controlling lights. On Ethernet-based networks, some changes may be required to match an existing network. SETUP allows certain defaults to be changed to personalize the controler to match an operator’s style or preferences.

  • Page 32: System

    System System preferences are divided into General, Display, Time Zone, Astronomical and Advanced sections, along with the following options: General Number of Lights This option sets the size of the SELECT grid. The maximum number of lights is 600, regardless of fixture type. Setting the number of lights to match the number used in the show is recommended.
  • Page 33 Get Time Button Allows Choreo to retrieve the current time from an Internet-based clock service. This only works if the console is connected to the Internet. Changing the time zone (see below) will change the time accordingly. Daylight savings time is applied automatically, if applicable to the chosen time zone.

  • Page 34: Display

    If you forget your password, contact Technical Support. Screen Saver Text By default the screen saver text is "Choreo". You can change it to whatever you'd like here. Time Zone Continent Select from a list of geographic areas and coordinated universal time (UTC) zones.

  • Page 35: Astronomical

    This method may be necessary if your city is not listed. Advanced Record Changes Only Choreo normally records the current on-stage “look”, so that a Cue or Memory captures all active intensities and other attributes. However, some situations (and some operators) prefer that only any updated or altered attributes are...

  • Page 36: Network

    IP address. Automatic: Choreo waits to be assigned an IP address by an on-line service such as a DHCP server. If no server is found, Choreo will use the last address assigned to it. Not editable.

  • Page 37: Input / Output

    Setup If more than one IP address is assigned, Choreo will send Ethernet eDMX using all valid addresses. Input / Output This option accesses four pages of settings for the controller. See Choreo HardwareData Connections for a full description of the I/O...

  • Page 38: Wall Station Mode

    Playlist playback. When in Wall Station mode, the Choreo's programming functions are disabled. To restore programming functions, touch Unlock Password Touch the keyboard icon to enter a password that will be required to exit Wall Station mode.

  • Page 39: Playlist

    Technical Support. Playlist Limits Choreo to cue playback only. Once the parameters are set, touch the Lock icon to enter Playlist mode. Release, GO and Pause buttons appear at the bottom of the screen. To exit, touch Unlock and enter the password (if set).

  • Page 40: Button Station (And Slider)

    Button Station (and Slider) This option turns the Choreo into a virtual button/slider station. The number of Memories shown, the Memory Page associated with those buttons and password protection may be set. Once the parameters are set, touch the Lock icon to enter station mode.

  • Page 41: Logo

    Logo The Choreo logo will displayed when the Lock icon is touched. A password may be set by touching the keyboard icon and entering a password. You can import a custom screen image. Put a BMP or PNG file on a USB thumb drive and select IMPORT CUSTOM LOGO.

  • Page 42: Copy Logs To Usb

    Update System From time to time, software updates will be issued for Choreo. A link to these update is posted on the Controls product page on the Pathway Connectivity website (www.pathwayconnect.com) or on the Pathway product forums (forums.pathwayconnect.com).

  • Page 43: Obtaining And Applying Fixture Library Updates

    Setup Obtaining and Applying Fixture Library Updates The Choreo fixture library includes well over 2000 lights. However, with new lighting fixtures being introduced all the time, updating the library may occasionally be necessary. In the event your fixture is not in the existing Fixture Library, first ensure the latest fixture library is installed on your Choreo by visiting pathwayconnect.com/downloads/cognito.

  • Page 44: Show File

    7. The filename of the update will be shown. If more than one update is present on the USB drive, then a list of releases will be shown. Use the Up and Down buttons to choose the release you wish to install – typically the one with the most recent date will be shown at the top of the list.

  • Page 45: Create A New Show

    Choreo. Open a Backup File Shows a list of archived show files, internally saved by Choreo. Every time you modify the show (i.e., record a cue, change a time, label a memory) a serialized backup is made of your show. This option allows you to go back to a previous version of the show, even if nothing has been saved to USB.

  • Page 46: Delete A Show File

    Delete a Show File Choreo has ample room to store show files with different names, but occasionally you may want to clean things up to free up space or just make the list of shows and backups more manageable. When you delete a show file, all the backups of that show file are deleted too.

  • Page 47: Tasks

    Tasks Task Oriented Navigation The touch screen has four distinct displays, each corresponding to a specific programming task: SELECT, CONTROL, RECORD and PLAY. Each task is shown on the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen. Enter a task screen by touching its icon.

  • Page 48: Select

    SELECT SELECT is used to choose lights for programming. Pick lights by touching them individually, multi-selecting with the Shift key, or by using Groups. SELECT also accesses tools to patch lights into the Fixture Grid, set each light’s DMX start address, label individual lights and, optionally, associate a light with a specific gel.

  • Page 49: Screen Navigation

    Tasks Screen Navigation Status Bar Across the top of the screen in every task is the status bar. It shows: 1. The current day of the week, date and time of day is shown in the center of the Status Bar. Set the time of day and time zone in SETUP | SYSTEM.

  • Page 50: Navigation Icons

    Navigation Icons On either side of the main display are navigation icons. Not all methods of navigation are available on all pages. Icons are grayed out when not in use. The Left and Right Arrow icons allow you to reach additional pages of lights, Memories or swatch colors, for example.
  • Page 51 The Setup icon takes you into the SETUP screens for Choreo. The Edit icon opens the selected Cue or Memory's properties box. Press it again to close the properties box accepting the changes. You can also use Edit in Select task to copy attributes between lights.

  • Page 52: Select

    Select Light Selection Lights may be manually selected or deselected by touching the cell of each light as needed. To select or deselect a range of lights, touch the cell of the first fixture, press and hold the Shift button then touch the cell of the last fixture in the range.
  • Page 53 Tasks Captured If you have used CONTROL Double Tapped to Set Intensity on any light, it is considered Captured and you will see CAPT in this icon . Pressing the Captured SELECT tool will select all lights that have any attributes captured. Invert During a cueing session, before recording a cue, you may bounce back and forth between two lights or two groups of lights.

  • Page 54: Light Grid

    The Groups tool allows rapid selection of show-specific or user-defined groups of lights. Grouping reduces the number of lights that must be individually chosen manually. To set up a Group, select the lights you wish to include, then use RECORD | GROUP.
  • Page 55 Tasks 1: Light Number. The number in the upper left hand corner of each cell identifies each light in the show. The Light number is not the same as the light’s address. 2: Color Indicator. For color-changing lights, the background of the circle provides an indication of the light’s current color.

  • Page 56: Double Tap To Set Intensity

    selected. If there is an # in this box, only one light is selected and the number is the Light's number. 8: Orientation Indicator. For lights with position attributes, the triangular pointer at the center of the circle shows the direction the light is pointed. Light Selection See Also: Double Tap to Set Intensity...
  • Page 57 Tasks 3. Use Light Type to choose the light’s model and operating mode. Use the arrows to select the manufacturer. Then select the model and operating mode required (if there is more than one mode) from the Light Type column. 4.
  • Page 58 Favorites Press the star to dispaly a limited selection of fixtures, as chosen by the user. Once a light is selected, it may be added to the "Favorites" list for easy reuse by touching Add Favorite . Any light that is selected this is already in the favorite list shows Remove Favorite DMX Address A grid of DMX...
  • Page 59 Tasks Choose the correct part, then touch another cell specifying the other part(s) as needed. Multi-part Fixtures Some lights support more than one intensity attribute. These lights will appear in Light Type as ‘Part 1’, ‘Part 2’, and so on, or as ‘Head 1’, ‘Head 2’ etc. In most cases, each part should be patched to consecutive, contiguous blocks of DMX slots.

  • Page 60: Copy Attributes

    For example, if you mix a color in RGB, you can copy that to a light that uses a color wheel. Choreo will do its best to find the closest matched color in the color wheel. See Natural Language Control for further examples.

  • Page 61: Control Intensity

    Tasks This shows the Intensity as a number and graphically as ring, it shows what attribute families have recently changes with the four attribute family ghost icons , it shows the color of the Light, where the Light is pointed and any shutter cuts that may be set.

  • Page 62: Control Color

    Libraries : Choose from a list of standard intensities or use a Raise/Lower bar. Touching the top of the raise bar moves the light's intensities more quicly than touching near the bottom. IRGB : Provides a Raise/Lower bar for Intensity and direct Red/Green/Blue (RGB) control for lights that support color mixing.

  • Page 63: Color Spaces

    Tasks recording the color. Updating a Library automatically updates any Cues and Memories that use it. Picker : Choose a color by touching the gradient chart. When multiple RGB fixtures are selected - for example cyclorama lights - standard rainbow patterns may be chosen from the top of the screen.

  • Page 64: Native Hsi Dmx Mapping

    NLC - Color Spaces for further explanation and graphical examples. Native HSI DMX Mapping Although Choreo's Natural Language Control allows you to mix colors in multiple color spaces (CMY, RGB, HSV) and specify a white point with Color Correction, most lights only utilize either RGB or CMY on the DMX wire. Some manufacturers have defined fixture profiles that expect to see Hue and Saturation in DMX slots.

  • Page 65: Control Shape

    Tasks Libraries : Recall custom positions saved using RECORD | LIBRARY | POSITION. Position Libraries are specific to the lights in use when recording the position. Updating a Library will automatically update any Cues and Memories that use it. Joystic k: Adjust a light’s position relative to its current position. The further from center you touch, the quicker the light will move.

  • Page 66: Advanced Attribute Control

    Advanced Attribute Control Each CONTROL attribute offers an Advanced tool. These tools – Desk Lock, Tech Lock, Attribute Default, Attribute Release, Knockout Attribute and Knockout Light – provide a way to place lights or their individual attributes outside of normal programming flow, to remove specific changes made to a light or even to remove the light from the current cue.
  • Page 67 Tasks Desk Lock Light: Available only from the Intensity tool. Freezes all attributes of the selected light(s). Individual attributes of the light may be changed and included in future cues or memories, as described above. The Intensity of Desk-Locked lights are not affected by the Grand Master or Dead Blackout button.

  • Page 68: Record

    Releasing Attribute Control Releases changes made since the last RECORD action, to the chosen attribute of selected light(s). Advanced Release is an attribute-specific equivalent of the general Release button. Allows the selective discard of the changes made to a light, unlike the general Release button which discards all changes made to the light.

  • Page 69: Record Memory

    Tasks Record Memory Memory saves the current look into a slider. Memories are represented by rectangles across the top of the screen. Any fader location may be chosen by touching it. The selected location is indicated by a red outline. By default, fader 1 or the next available fader is selected.

  • Page 70: Record Cue

    See Also: Add Memory Page • Changing Memory Pages and Banking Within a Page • Memory Priorities • How to Record a Memory • Record Cue Cue saves a completed look into the current Playlist. Make a Playlist current by selecting it from the secondary toolbar. The Cues in the current Playlist are shown on the left, and details of the selected cue are shown on the right.
  • Page 71 Tasks You can get to more properties using the up and down arrows on the right hand side Cue Timings - Basic Properties Fade : Sets a basic crossfade time. If no other timings are set, this timing will be used to govern a light’s change in Intensity, Color, Position and Shape attributes.

  • Page 72: Record Library

    Color Fade: Sets a time for the color transition in a light. If no value is set, any color fade will use the Fade time. Color Delay: Sets a delay time between pressing GO and starting the Color Fade. Shape Timing Options Shape Fade : Sets a time for the shape transition, such as zooming in or changing between gobos.

  • Page 73: Record Group

    Tasks Record Position Capture the position of a light or group of lights, for example – down stage center. Certain shape attributes, such as zoom, edge and shutter, are also captured in the position library, if those attributes are not already recorded.

  • Page 74: Rerecording And Inserting Cues

    ReRecording and Inserting Cues Once changes are made to an existing cue, touch RECORD | CUE, then select the same cue location from the Playlist. The outline will turn red. If you press Done you will be offered three options: Replace Existing Cue Re-records the current console ‘look’...

  • Page 75: Update

    Tasks Update Existing Cue If you have selected to Record Only Change in SETUP | SYSTEM there is a fourth option presented to Update the Existing Cue. It updates any attribute values that have changed from the previous cue but does not re- record the entire stage look.

  • Page 76: Play

    The Shift + Update combination may also be used to update Libraries, so that the revised Library will be used wherever it’s already included in a cue or memory. Shift + Record may also be used to quickly update values into Memories which are presently at full.

  • Page 77: Play Memories

    Tasks Play Memories Play Memories The Memories available for playback are shown across the top of the screen, as indicated by a label and a yellow level indicator. Changing Memory Pages Further Memory Pages are available for selection from the tool bar. If the desired Memory Page is not see, press More...
  • Page 78 Editing a Memory's Properties When a Memory location is selected the location’s outline will turn red. If you press EDIT the Memory’s playback timings and bump button configuration are shown. Make the changes to the timings, Memory Bump Buttom Modes Memory Priorities as desired then press Done Moving and Copying Memories...
  • Page 79 Tasks Changing Memory Pages and Banking Within a Page From PLAY | MEMORIES you can freely change Memory Pages just by touching a new page in the green toolbar. Each Memory Page can have up to 160 Memories recorded in it and you can always Add another Memory Page.
  • Page 80 On press, Memory will fade in, then delay the specified amount of time before fading out. Timed Disables the button. The Memory is still controlled by the fader. Disabled You can add Actions to do things like run cues or chases when a button is pressed or released.
  • Page 81 Tasks 4. Touch Done to exit the Memory Page directory. Airplane View in PLAY MEMORIES Similar to how pressing the Airplane in SELECT shows you banks of Lights, pressing Airplane in PLAY | MEMORIES shows you all 20 banks of memories on the current Memory Page and indication as to which are recorded and which are active.
  • Page 82 Blind Memory Editing To make changes to a Memory while another Memory is live on-stage, select the desired Memory location. The outline will turn red. Then touch Edit in Blind . The display will change to the SELECT task, with a blue background to indicate Blind mode.
  • Page 83 Tasks If you add more than one Action to a Memory, use the arrows to edit the additional actions. Press Done when you've finished editing the Actions. See also Contact Closures Memory Priorities When you edit the properties of a Memory, you can adjust its Priority which determines the pecking order of who 'wins' when multiple controls are attempting to set an attribute.

  • Page 84: Play Playbacks

    If you match the priority, the last control affecting the attribute will win. Choreo does not have a Grand Master but the Memory Master is visible in Wall Station Mode. Play Playbacks To change Playlists on a Playback press Select Playlist ... on the right of the toolbar.
  • Page 85 Tasks A green arrow next to the cue name indicates the next cue to be run. You can double click on a cue to move the arrow. Times and other properties for the currently selected cue (the one outlined in red) will appear on the right side when you press EDIT Once a Playlist is assigned to a Playback, further Playlists may be selected for that Playback without releasing the original Playlist, allowing more than two Playlists...
  • Page 86 see ‘Girl’ indented with the Follow icon to its left. That indicates to you that stage management will call the ‘Boy’ cue, but you don’t press GO for the ‘Girl’ cue; it will happen on its own. As the cue is running, a yellow bar shows its progress. Intensity, Color, Position and Shape timing is shown beside their appropriately colored clock icons.
  • Page 87 Tasks Play Transport Controls The default tool for Playbacks is Transport. While EDIT is not active, the Transport controls available to you are: Go - advances to the next cue in Cue time. In the following case, pressing Go would fade House to Half in 5 seconds Pause/Back While a cue is fading, you will see .
  • Page 88 Step Forward Goes to the next cue in 1 second. Step Back Backs up a cue in 1 second. Playback Options Press the Options tool to change general properties of the selected Playlist. Name Touch the name bubble to change the name of your Playlist.
  • Page 89 II and they call for a break. Auto Run When selected, this Playlist will Go when Choreo boots. If the Playlist is marked as a chase, the chase will start running, otherwise, the first cue (and any follow cues after that) will run. This is very handy in architectural situations where you way want to ensure that lights are always on in the space.
  • Page 90 Playback with Timecode Choreo allows Playlists to run automatically, synchronized to one of three internal Timecode clocks. Timecode Source Any Playlist can be synchronized to one of three internal clocks. Clock Shows you the current timecode for the selected source. Touch the control to...
  • Page 91 Tasks Learn TC Press this toggle button if you want cues to grab the current time and stamp the cue when you press the Go button. Even after you’ve “Learned Timing” on your show, you can select individual cues, press EDIT and tweak their time, perhaps just by a frame or two, until you get the timing perfect.
  • Page 92 HH:MM:SS.FF This button allows you to specify what time the clock resets to when you press the Reset button. This option is not shown when the Source is External. Note that the Timecode tool is disabled when IS CHASE is set in OPTIONS. When a Playback is running a Playlist that is using Timecode, the status bar will indicate such by displaying the Timecode icon: Playlist as a Chase...
  • Page 93 Tasks Rate As mentioned above, cue timing is irrelevant when a Playlist is a chase. Each cue is now a step in the chase and a beat clock will advance from one step to the next automatically without the need for setting the Follow properties in each cue. Rate - The rate is measured in Beats Per Minute (BPM).
  • Page 94 Direction - The bottom four buttons change the direction of the chase, either Forward (top down), Reverse (bottom up), Bounce (down then up then down again) or Random. Only one of these options can be selected at any one time. Remember, there is no need to assign Links to any cues.
  • Page 95 Tasks Cue Timings and Placement Single tap a cue to select it for editing. The cue will be highlighted in red. • Double tapping a cue selects the cue to run the next time the Go button is • pressed. Triple tapping a cue will immediately jump the Playlist to that cue and run it •...
  • Page 96 5. Press EDIT to complete the operation. Deleting Cues 1. Press EDIT 2. Touch on the left of the cue label to choose it for deletion. It will rotate vertically and DEL button will appear. 3. Touch DEL to confirm you want the cue deleted or to remove the DEL button 4.

  • Page 97: Play Mixed Mode

    Tasks 3. The display will change to the SELECT task, with a blue background to indicate Blind mode. The clock on the status bar changes to ‘Blind’, followed by the label of the item being edited. An icon with a pin in the upper right corner of each cell indicates the light’s live state.

  • Page 98: Play Schedule

    Allows astronomical or clock based triggering of Action which can in turn run cues, play memories or automate other functions of Choreo. Two components make up event scheduling: the timing of the event, and the actions. Adding an Timed Event 1.
  • Page 99 Tasks NOTE You may also set the TYPE from 'At Time' or 'At Sunrise' etc. to 'None'. That way the event will just be skipped until you set the Type again and you don't need to setup the actions again. Event Type None Event is disabled.
  • Page 100 After Sunset The associated action will begin after local sunset as determined by the offset time. Time or Offset You will either see a Time or an Offset based on the Type of event described above. Time Sets the time used by “At Time” to trigger the associated event. Use the arrows to set the time by adjusting by minutes.

  • Page 101: Other Features

    Other Features Pin Button and Pin Crossfade Timings The Pin icon provides a simple method of transitioning between lighting looks when in SELECT or PLAY. With a Memory is active in the Play task or lights are under manual control in the Control task, the Pin icon is used to hold the look (i.e.
  • Page 102 Asserts cue on one second fade time. Releases the Playlist assigned to the selected Pause Playback. Closes the Hints overlay (not the hyperlinked help Help manual). In PLAY, updates current Cue or Memory (instead of Record recording to next available location). Bump Momentary Forces the button action to latch ON (toggle).

  • Page 103: Info Screen

    Other Features Info Screen If no lights are selected in the Fixture Grid, touching the information icon changes the light’s percentage intensity (normally shown in the lower left hand corner of each cell) to the light’s DMX start address. If the light is unpatched, the cell will gray out, and an exclamation point is shown instead of a start address.

  • Page 104: Attribute

    Below the Fixture Number, the following items are shown: Attribute Shows the attributes supported by the light, in the order of how they are patched within the light’s DMX footprint. Source Shows the name of the specific Playlist or Memory source of the existing attribute level.

  • Page 105: Recorded Cues

    Other Features Recorded Cues Shows the number of cues the light is used in. Can be used to identify unused lights. Recorded Memories Shows the number of memories the light is used in. Can be used to identify unused lights. Recorded Libraries Shows how many libraries...

  • Page 106: Attribute Text Color Meaning

    Attribute Text Color Meaning The color used to display an attribute’s value also provides information about changes made to that attribute. The colors related to Intensity changes are also shown on each light’s Intensity Indicator ring in SELECT grid. Color Attribute Condition Notes Gray...

  • Page 107: Flip

    Pan and Tilt. If your lights don’t move while they’re one, the automatic Move In Black feature of Choreo will set up your lights for you and you many never find the need for this new feature. But, sometimes when you write cues and the lights do move from Point A to Point B, again, there will be two ways of getting there.

  • Page 108: Highlight

    Highlight The Highlight tool is often used in conjunction with NEXT and PREV to identify lights when a full look is on the stage already. When you turn on Highlight, regardless of the lights current intensity, it will be temporarily brought to full, it's color will be forced to white and if there are any gobos or shutters in the light, they will be opened.

  • Page 109: Fanning

    Other Features Fanning When you have a large rig of lights you often want to see them work with each other to create large, bold looks. Selecting lights individually and setting attributes manually, one by one, can be a tedious task. This tool in CONTROL WHEELS, makes setting attributes en masse a breeze.
  • Page 110 Remember that your selection order is maintained during fanning. Selecting Lights 1 through 10 is very different than selecting 1,10,2,9,3,8,4,7,5,6. Changing up the selection order can vastly increase your productivity and creativity with the same set of lights. (As an aside, the selection order is also maintained when you record Groups.

  • Page 111: Show Control

    Show Control Actions Actions may be added to Cues, Memories, or Scheduled Events. Action are grouped by type including Playlist, Memory, System, and Timecode: None : Event triggering is disabled. Default. Playlist : Triggers cue playback action, according to these further choices. Goto : Begins as a playlist at a specific cue, using the following: Playlist: Selects a playlist, by name.

  • Page 112: The Api - Application Program Interface

    Clock : Specified Internal 1, 2 or 3 for the three commands above. The API - Application Program Interface You can control many of the features of Choreo from external devices like show controllers or PCs. The connection may be either through...

  • Page 113: Serial Connectivity

    Lua interpreter. For more information on the Lua programming language, see www.lua.org. Serial Connectivity Select functions of Choreo may be triggered remotely using an RS232 serial connection, using the command set detailed below. Here is the pinout for serial communications. See Auxiliary Connector in...

  • Page 114: Telnet Connectivity

    Ethernet connection, using the command set detailed below. The computer and Choreo must have an IP address on the same subnet. If an Ethernet switch with a DHCP server is used to connect the PC and Choreo, ensure the Choreo is...

  • Page 115: Contact Closures

    SETUP | INPUTS/OUTPUTS. Using the arrow page to Contact Input 1, 2 or 3 . Choreo Data Connections for details on how to wire the contacts. DMX In The DMX input port can receive DMX512 levels from another controller and use that information to trigger Memories.
  • Page 116 NOTE When DMX In is mapped to a Memory page and DMX is present at the In port, you cannot control the Memories manually. The DMX will always "win" and change whatever level you set. You must set up the Aux port to either receive DMX or RS232. 1.
  • Page 117 Show Control 1. From the Input/Output screen in Setup, arrow down to "DMX Input" 2. Use the arrows to set the Input Protocol to DMX if you're using the Aux connector on the rear of the unit. 3. Use the arrows to select the Memory Page. 4.

  • Page 118: Natural Language Control

    Natural Language Control This essay explains the core technology used in Choreo's internal 'fade engine' that makes DMX512 and runs the lights and the end devices at the bits and bytes level. Reading this and understanding Natural Language Control is not necessary to operate the controller, but it will give you an appreciation of how lighting control has advanced over the years.
  • Page 119 Choreo embraces that challenge and makes programming today's complex lighting systems simple again. Let's go back to the advent of computer-controlled lighting to examine the issues that plagued communication in the theatre. Before computers entered the theatre, the most popular dimmer controllers were known as piano-boards.

  • Page 120: Talking To The Lights With Bits And Bytes

    controller that has been accepted on Broadway since has used core concepts introduced by Light Palette. With the advent of intelligent lighting, so many more parameters have entered the equation that the language conventions which have evolved are discordant and technologically inadequate. The language must be overhauled.

  • Page 121: Talking To The Lights With Natural Language Control

    Talking to the Lights with Natural Language Control Natural Language Control's objective is to provide an intuitive programming experience and a versatile control system that when played back can actually provide the operator information about the system it is controlling. Natural Language Control does this by porting the control to an 'abstract' layer.

  • Page 122: Pan And Tilt Example

    During regular operation, these 'words' need to be converted into 'values' that DMX512 lighting fixtures can use. The trick with Natural Language Control is that this conversion is done each and every time a light is selected, a Memory is recalled or GO is pressed to start a cue (and not before).
  • Page 123 Now the numbers you just figured out for the first light mean nothing to this one. Worse yet, if you grab them both and pan them in tandem, you would get completely differing results: The angles of pan are completely different. The beams of light are not even close to parallel.
  • Page 124 units of degrees. Therefore, when you talk to the light, you tell it to pan so many degrees: Forty-five degrees is forty-five degrees. This makes controlling a rig that is made up of different types of lights easy to communicate with and easy to understand. Since Natural Language Control doesn't figure out DMX values until the very last second, it can also alter the way in which the conversion is done at run-time, producing new and exciting methods of transition during the fade from cue to...
  • Page 125 Moving lights achieve movement by physically moving the source with two motors housed within a yoke. This Pan/Tilt relationship equates to a polar coordinate system using azimuth and elevation. When you pan more than you tilt the light will move in an arc: We have become used to this characteristic movement of intelligent lights.

  • Page 126: Zoom Example

    Choreo has a Positon attribute called P/T Mode that alters the way fades are calculated when you advance from one position to another. If you record a memory or a cue using specific Pan and Tilt values and specify the P/T Mode to...
  • Page 127 All you have to do is turn them on and Choreo defaults them to the same value of 20°; they're already the same size! Your rig looks consistent and symmetrical with no undesirable surprises and no need for manual re-translation. If you want them to match your 19°...

  • Page 128: Shutter Control Example

    To be fair, Cue 2 could not have been written using the light on the right. This cue must have been recorded using a light that can achieve 70°. Even though in this example it was played back using a 50° light, it does not change the cue. If you later swapped it back to a 70°...
  • Page 129 Control groups related pairs together into useful names like Top, Bottom, Left and Right. In the example shown below, the controller is driving a Vari*Lite 1000 fixture. Choreo conveniently places the thrust controls on the two controls nearer the bottom of the screen and the respective angle controls above those. One...
  • Page 130 manipulates motors 1a and 1b in unison to Thrust the shutter into the aperture of the fixture. The control above that adjusts the relationship between those two motors, giving you one handle for controlling the Angle of that shutter: Note that the Thrust is measured in percentage. Most moving lights only allow you to put the shutter part way into the field of light.

  • Page 131: Gobo Control

    position in the aperture and degree units to describe the angle, you can copy the shape of a shutter cut from one type of moving light with one set of physical constraints to another with predictable results. In the example below, the value of Top Thrust is set to 50% and the Top shutter is cutting the beam in half.
  • Page 132 10% and Selects the Dots gobo for Indexing. The second channel is set to about 10% which indexes the gobo 15°. Remember, the fader doesn't show you these options as selections - you need to know them in advance! In contrast, Choreo's display shows Gobo 1 Wheel Mode...
  • Page 133 30%. (Where that value comes from is completely arbitrary. Truthfully, you would never get a answer even if you were to visit the factory and ask the firmware engineers!) The same information is shown on Choreo's display like this:...
  • Page 134 None of those behaviors were asked for, but were necessary to reach the desired result. With Choreo , you just nudge the g1 Mode control one tick to change the value from Rot CW to Rot CCW . The g1 Speed attribute, which controls the speed, is not changed.

  • Page 135: Conditional Abstract Attributes

    Conditional Abstract Attributes Automated lights are riddled with control parameters. In earlier days, many fixture manufacturers combined DMX512 channels to achieve separate effects in an attempt to prevent the fixture from consuming an outrageous number of channels. A common practice is to use one channel as a mode channel to modify the behavior of another.
  • Page 136 appropriately as to what it is doing at present based on the state of other attributes. Complex gobo wheels are a good example of how this is put to use. DMX512 mapping and the number of DMX512 slots used by the light have nothing to do with how the controls are laid out to the user.
  • Page 137 RPM: Changing Gobo 1 Wheel Mode (top left) back to Select will once again allow you to choose a gobo with the lower left control and in fact Choreo has 'remembered' that the last gobo you selected was Alpha Rays:...
  • Page 138 Choreo does keep the fact that you were rotating the gobos at 5 RPM, but if you set the Mode (top right) to Index and Choreo will remember that Index was last set to 45° and you're back where you began:...

  • Page 139: Attribute Substitutions

    Attribute Substitutions Copying and swapping attributes among lights that share scalar properties like Position and Zoom is only the tip of the iceberg when using Natural Language Control. The real power of Natural Language Control can be seen when you start using similar, but not identical attributes and how Natural Language Control works with them.
  • Page 140 matching can be done. For example, with the color mix below on the left copied to a light which has a color wheel as shown, Slot 5 would be chosen. By the way, the color value is not stored as Slot 5, it is stored as "Yellow" so that if it's ever applied to a different light with a different wheel (or mixing system), it would produce the correct or near correct color again.

  • Page 141: Phantom Abstract Attributes

    Obviously Choreo has the same smarts as Cognito here, but the touring example doesn't really apply with an architectural example. Phantom Abstract Attributes Natural Language Control's ability to provide additional attribute controls the fixture manufacturer didn't allow for makes controlling some types of lights more convenient.
  • Page 142 the colors in the rainbow, but if one is more dominant than the others, it can tint the white towards one end of the spectrum or another. Using a Phantom Abstract Attribute, Natural Language Control can automatically 'tune' your white or Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) when you're not mixing rich colors.
  • Page 143 Equally you could run the cues again with the CCT set to 3200K and it might look like this: Another option offered by Natural Language Control is the ability to automatically lower the CCT when you dim the lights. This is called Dim-To-Warm. When tungsten lights are dimmed, they cool off (which makes the light 'warmer' or more red).

  • Page 144: Color Spaces

    Color Spaces Complimentary Color Spaces are basically different methods used to describe the individual components that make up what the eye perceives as color. None of them are right or wrong. They are individual and each one has its purpose. The selection of one over the other is primarily a matter of choice.
  • Page 145 When you start with white light and introduce CMY flags, midway between Cue 1 and Cue 2, most of the dichroic glass is in the lens tube sucking most of the color (and intensity) out of the light and you 'dip' toward mud. Regardless of what color system your fixtures use, if you fade in the HSV color space from, say, purple to green where the saturation is pretty much unchanged, the only attribute that moves is Hue.
  • Page 146 This sort of fade avoids white and mud and looks more natural on stage. Note that the Natural Language Control decides to fade clockwise around this color space. That is because going through blue seems natural when going from purple to green.

  • Page 147: Conclusion

    Conclusion For years the language and control structure used to control lighting systems has been imposed upon designers by the equipment manufacturers. This was not conducive to an enjoyable experience for anyone involved in the process. Natural Language Control defines a common language that designers and programmers can share and the complex processes of translating this language into DMX or any other control protocol is taken care of for you.
  • Page 149 73, 88 DMX In 29, 107 BO 41 DMX ports 17, 29 BPM dongle build double tap bullseye douse lamp bump button 61, 71 bump button actions bump buttons edge edit edit a memory captured 41, 44, 46, 75 edit cue cell edit lock chase 80, 84 effects 6, 53, 54, 56 Choreo NSB ethernet circle evens clock 41, 82 clone light CMY 54, 55 CMY color space 136 color picker...
  • Page 150 fanning 101 joystick favorites file 2 , 13 filter fine movement fixture grid knockout fixture library support 3, 33 fixture usage flip 9 9 focus focusing a light labeling a light follow language latitude and longitude learn timing lens angle 118 level gel 48, 54, 64 library 54, 56, 64, 67 get time license go 79 light type 3, 48 gobo 57, 123 lights goto cue linear movement 56, 114 Grand Master...
  • Page 151 56, 64, 67 select 44, 46 park 53, 58 select - control - record - play paste serial RS232 17, 29, 104, 105 patch set time patching settings 3, 48 patern 123 setup Pathway Connectivity shape pause clock shift key pencil shortcuts phantom abstract attributes 133 show control 104, 105, 106, 107 picker show file 2, 13, 36, 95 pin 9 3 shutters 57, 120 play mixed mode slider actions play task...
  • Page 152 update system upgrade USB 13, 36 tap sync task bar task oriented navigation tech lock technical support 3, 1 video tutorials Telnet 104, 106 time event time of day 24, 41, 90 time zone 24, 41 timecode wait for go timed bump buttons wall station mode toggle wheel banks toggle bump buttons which part tool bar wrench tools track back triggers 103, 107 two-scene preset type zoom 57, 118 zoom screen update 66, 67, 73, 88, 93 update position...

  • Page 153: Warranty

    Pathway Connectivity’s sole responsibility under this warranty shall be to repair, replace or refund, at Pathway’s option, any units which are determined to be defective on Pathway’s inspection. Pathway Connectivity may elect to refund the cost of the device upon return, solely at Pathway Connectivity’s discretion.

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