Step Creator

The Step Creator is a tool used to create a Step Recipe.

The step recipe is a description of two or more steps including speed, direction, width, transition, phase, and curve.

The recipes can be used on any selection of fixtures. Of course, the fixtures need to support the values or presets used in the recipe.

 

The recipes can be stored in a Step Recipes pool:

The Step Recipes Pool and the Step Creator are windows that can be created like any other window using the Add Windows pop-up.

The main part of the creator is separated into two sides. The left side is the controls for speed, direction, etc. The right side is the step amount and content.

Each step contains one set of information. This information can be applied to a specific attribute or several attributes using presets in the steps. This is changed in the top bar. There is a button called Type. This toggles between Attribute and Preset. If attribute is selected then there is another button next to it called Attribute. Tap this to open an Assignment Editor pop-up with all the available attributes in the show. This list can be filtered to make it easier to find a specific attribute.

The top bar has two other buttons. Tap Active to activate the creator and apply the current step values to the selected fixtures. Tap Reset to clear the step creator.

The step side of the main window is where the steps can be created or deleted. This is done by tapping Insert Step to insert a step above the selected step or by tapping Delete Step to delete the selected step. The minimum step number is two, so the delete step button is disabled if there are only two steps.

The content of the steps changes a little depending on the type button in the top bar. If it is an attribute, then a value can be entered by editing the fields in the Attribute Value column. If the type is preset, then there is a Preset Reference column instead. Tapping the fields opens the Assignment Editor pop-up. This shows all the presets in the show. They are organized in the feature groups. The list can be filtered by preset name.

The left side has the following settings:

• Width:
  This is only a valid setting when there are only two steps. It is used to control the relation between the two steps. If it is at 0% then step two is dominant. When it is at 100% then step one is dominant.
• Transition:
  This adjusts if there should be a fade from a step to the next. 0% is no fade. 100% is maximum fade.
• Phase:
  This adjusts the spread of the phase. 0% means that all fixtures do the same output. 100% is a complete 360-degree spread of the fixtures.
• Curve:
  This adjusts the transition between the steps. It changes between linear or curved transition.
• Speed Mode:
  There are two different speed modes:
  • PerStep:
    This means that the set speed is between each step per fixture. For instance, if there are 10 fixtures and the speed is 1 Hz = 60 BPM, then each fixture would run through the steps 6 times in a minute.
  • PerLoop:
    This means that the entire loop is run through each beat per minute. For instance, if there are 10 fixtures and the speed is 1 Hz = 60 BPM, then each fixture would run through the steps 60 times in a minute.
• Speed:
  This is a speed multiplier. The default is set to x 1 (1 Hz).
• Reverse:
  This On/Off toggle button changes the running direction.

When all the desired steps are created with the correct content and the timing and transition settings are done, then these settings can be stored in the Step Recipes pool. This recipe can then be used to easily apply the settings to a selection of fixtures. Remember that it only works if the selected fixtures have the required attributes or can use the relevant preset.

Create a Rainbow Recipe

This is an example of how to create a recipe for a color rainbow chaser. It uses the demo show as a reference and it can only be used on the fixtures that can use the color presets.

If you want to do this without the demo show, then you need fixtures with a color mixing system and three color presets (Red, Green, and Blue).

1. Clear the programmer, have the step creator and the step recipes pool visible. Maybe also a 3D window with the fixtures.
2. Tap Reset in the top bar of the Step Creator.
3. Select group 1 (All Spots).
4. Turn the dimmer at full.
5. Change the Type in the top bar of the step creator to Preset.
6. Tap Insert Step to create the third step.
7. Tap and hold the first field in the Preset Reference column.
8. Write Red in the filter input and select the Red color preset.
9. Tap and hold the second input field preset ref column.
10. Find and select the Green color preset.
11. Repeat points 9 and 10 for the third step and select the Blue color preset.
12. Tap Active in the top bar.
13. Move the Trans. fader up to 100.
14. Press Store followed by an empty Step Recipes pool object.
15. Label it "Soft Rainbow".

Now there is a step recipe that can be used by any fixture that can use the color presets.