Odd behaviour in a chase FX subchannels.

[Johan Söderberg]

Im trying to help a colleague here. But cant explain whats going on.
Hes made four cues with 9 movingheads slowly moving around the stage.
Running the cues 1-4 as a loop in the sequence works just fine, but for practical reasons it would be better to make a chase effect of them.

So he did. The four cues as steps in a preset chase with the same times (5sec) in up, down and follow ought to look just like his cues looping in the sequence.
But it doesnt.
It fades up correctly but after the socond step things get strange. The Pan, tilt and strobe subchannels start misbehaving, while the different subchannels for colour move along nicely as intended.

I looked at the four cues all parameters and they are all there in his preset cues.
Tried to copy them and made subs with the same content and then a chase effect using the subs instead of the cues. The result was the same. The lamps start wobbling around and go on and off also in that new effect.

But running them in a loop still works just fine.
So I gave the four cues all the same action " Set next Go Cue" so that he can exit the loop easily anytime.

But still its strange...

[admin]

What are the options settings for the effect in question? Particularly, what are the non intensity subchannel settings? It may be that "Override Previous Levels" needs to be unchecked.

[Johan Söderberg]

its four steps, the four cues which work fine running as a loop in sequence.

If I check the box to Override Previous levels for the subchannels or not doesnt help. With or without I get two different versions, but none is correct.

[Johan Söderberg]

I made a new channel effect, just to see if it would work.
It took me a while since its 9 lamps in 4 steps with 9 subchannels:
- 324 individual settings to do.

But as the Swedish proverb goes - "Shame on he who gives up."

And yes the channel effect works perfectly!
It gives exactly the same effect as running the four cues in a loop.

But still the preset and Sub-triggereed chases refuse to behave properly.

I can send you a copy of the file if you like. One can see in the main window when the chases are running how the subchannels for Pan, tilt and Spot/Flood move to Zero now and then even though the cues and subs have all the correct values recorded.

[admin]

Sure, send the file and we'll see what's going on.

[admin]

All the parameters you want to control in a preset used as part of an effect need to be marked.

When you just play the cues, marks don't have an effect because marks only apply to tracking mode.

In submasters, groups, and presets used by effects, marks choose what channels and subchannels are controlled.

This is necessary because of a common desire to have, for example, one effect controlling a mover's position, while another effect changes its colors. Marks are the way that you designate what will be controlled by what preset.

In the case of at least the first effect in your file, some presets have marks for movers' subchannels and others do not. When a subchannel is not marked in a preset used as part of an effect, it is not controlled by the effect. This causes the level for the subchannel to change abruptly in the final output when that preset is active.

[Johan Söderberg]

Eh Voila'

That fixed everything

I've never bothered to dwelve into the mysteries round marking, unmarking and highligting of channels.
And I guess I´ve just been lucky when I myself have made preset effects because Ive never had this problem when Ive programmed myself.

But to quote another Swedish proverb: One learns as long as one lives.

Thanks Claude!