Controlling Lights
How to control lights using the free software QLC+, Resolume or other software and hardware devices
- Controlling Lights using QLC+
- Control Lights From Resolume
- Controlling Aputure and Nanlite lights with IOS and Android app's
- Controlling lights using data flow software
Controlling Lights using QLC+
QLC+ Startup Guide
QLC+ control with Makey Makey
How to control QLC+ with a Makey Makey?
In QLC+, we can use key combinations, to trigger certain events in the light programme.
Makey Makey
Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone is an invention kit designed to connect everyday objects to computer keys. Using a circuit board, alligator clips, and a USB cable, the toy uses closed loop electrical signals to send the computer either a keyboard stroke or mouse click signal.
Find more about Makey Makey on: https://makeymakey.com
QLC+ Key Controls
First we are going to open our QLC+ light desk. To know how to open a template patch from any Blackbox environment, check the QLC+ general startup guide in Bookstack or via the reservation tool.
HKU Bookstack, control lights with QLC+
When we open the template file, we can add faders, buttons and other interface elements to trigger or start/stop certain lights or scenes that we want.
STEP 1: Add a button
STEP 2: Assign the button to a function
Let's choose a WHITE function, to make all the lamps turn on white when we press the button.
STEP 3: Control the Button by a keyboard function
After we have set a Function to the button, we are going to add a keyboard control. (can be one key or a combination of keys) For this we'll go to the right side of the Button Properties menu we were in when we added the function to the button, and double click on the keyboard Icon.
Use letters or functions that match with your Makey Makey board. By default there is the arrow keys, spacebar, mouse click and various letters such as W, A, S, D, F, G. If you want to use other letters with your Makey Makey, you can also re-map your Makey Makey board.
STEP 4: Toggle or Flash!?
Now you have matched and assigned Makey Makey keyboard letters/functions to the button! There is one more thing we can take into account, when controlling the button, which is how do we want the button to respons.
Toggle:
every time the button is pressed, it wil go from an OFF state to an ON (or the other way around), but it will stay there, until another button press. As a comparison, think about your standard light switch on the wall, when we press the light will go on, when we press again the light will go off. That's 2 presses.
Flash:
Flash is used to make the button go and execute the function we assigned it, only when we press and hold it. This is particularly handy when you want a certain effect of lights only to happen once, when the Makey Makey is triggered.
What's next?
so after you've successfully connected a keyboard letter to a button in QLC+ try experimenting with other ways of interacting with the light control desk and Makey Makey. You can also assign keypresses to other interface elements of QLC+ such as sliders, knobs and playing/stopping CUE lists with your own scenes.
More info on QLC you can find in the Manual: QLC+ Manual
More tutorials will follow using MIDI controllers and other software such as Isadora as inputs for triggering functions in QLC.
Control Lights From Resolume
We're going to look at options on how to control LED fixtures, Dimmers and possibly also LED pixel panels from Resolume using the Showtec NET-2/3 DMX ethernet Node
DMX fixtures from Resolume and ArtNet
Bookstack under construction!
ArtNet Devices supported by Resolume
Resolume Arena 6 and up do not support Enttec DMX USB devices! If you'd like to use an Enttec DMX USB device, your only option is to stick with Arena 5. Or to use a different USB to DMX device.
At the HKU Blackboxes, we use a Showtec NET 2/5 or Showtec NET 2/3, as output device for sending DMX information from the PC to the lights. What is convenient about this setup vs using Enter DMX USB (MKII and such), is that we can extend the Showtec NET 2/5 by use of network cable, instead of USB cable. Example: if you want your lamps all the way at the far end of a large room, you can connect the PC and dongle via 30m network cable without signal loss, vs having to extend DMX cables/usb cables.
Manual about the NET 2/3 https://www.huss-licht-ton.de/images/products_download/Manual_34954_1.pdf
Manual about the NET 2/5 https://www.highlite.com/en/mwdownloads/download/link/id/17428216
Resolume Tutorial - Using DMX as Output
For controlling lights using animations made with Resolume, straight from within the software
https://resolume.com/support/en/dmx
Image credit: Resolume
Tutorial about Mapping Pixels with DMX
In this tutorial, Resolume is used to create and control various DMX Light fixtures.
Every dmx light has its own specifications, pixel mapping possibilities and/or channel modes. Learn how to make your own light fixture layout for your personal lights in Resolume. Also how to decide what animations run over your fixture(s).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKtKUMT4ZOs
screenshot from YouTube video.
Controlling Aputure and Nanlite lights with IOS and Android app's
This page gives a short summation different light brands and the available applications to control the light parameters with a smartphone through bluetooth connection or, if possible, with a DMX connection
Aputure
The Aputure brand has a number of models on the market that can be controlled with the Sidus Link application using a Bluetooth connection. Below you can find links to OS and device specific downloads, and a range of tutorials how to use Sidus Link in conjunction with Aputure lights.
For IOS Iphone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sidus-link/id1471951977
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=creativity.intelligence.application.sidus.link&hl=nl
For IOS iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sidus-link-pro/id1574126730
How to:
Mobile app walkthrough:
Sidus Link Pro user guide series:
Sidus Link Pro User Guide Series
Nanlite
Nanlite has numerous of models on the market that can be controlled with the Nanlink application using a Bluetooth connection. Below you can find links to OS specific downloads, and a range of tutorials how to use Nanlink in conjunction with Nanlite.
Nanlink for IOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nanlink/id1584085006
Nanlink for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nanlink.nanlink&hl=nl
How to:
Controlling lights using data flow software
ENTTEC-DMX from Isadora
With this Isadora file you can control DMX lighting directly using an ENTECC DMX USB PRO download the Isadora patch here
updated : ENTTEC-DMX-USB_lightcontrol.izz
this Isadora patch the works with Par LED High-end | RGBAW+UV