Controlling Lights

How to control lights using the free software QLC+, Resolume or other software and hardware devices

Controlling Lights using QLC+

Controlling Lights using QLC+

QLC+ Startup Guide

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Controlling Lights using QLC+

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

Add a button to your light control desk. You can find the icon for adding a (empty) button in the top left corner of the screen. 

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STEP 2: Assign the button to a function

When the button is added, it is stilly empty, it does not hold a function yet, and we need to assign one by double clicking on the button and then go to the "Function" area, where we can double click again on the control icon. You can add different function to a button ranging by controlling a que, a scene or a whole effects chain of events. 


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Let's choose a WHITE function, to make all the lamps turn on white when we press the button.

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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. 

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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

Control Lights From Resolume

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. 

showtec net 2:5.jpg

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

Resolume DMX.jpg

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

pixel mapping resolume dmx.png

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    

Controlling Aputure and Nanlite lights with IOS and Android app's

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

 

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For IOS iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sidus-link-pro/id1574126730

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How to:

Mobile app walkthrough:

Sidus Link Pro user guide series:

Sidus Link Pro User Guide Series

 

Controlling Aputure and Nanlite lights with IOS and Android app's

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.

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How to:

 

 

 

Controlling lights using data flow software


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

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updated : ENTTEC-DMX-USB_lightcontrol.izz
this Isadora patch the works with Par LED High-end | RGBAW+UV

Controlling lights using data flow software

ENTECC from Touchdesigner

see DigitalLightingcontrol_touchdesigner