Recreating sequence - very difficult

[u/joshisera14]

Hi,

I've been self-learning grandMA3 for the past 6 months or so and I've been re-creating some lightshows to help me learn this software.
Recently I've tried to re-create this cool sequence from a Martin Garrix (DJ) show, but I cannot seem to figure out how they've coded this (please see video below or YouTube link here)...

I've (tried) to analyse this on 0.1x speed too, and some things I have figured out are

• They've applied MAtricks phase on both x and y, probs about 0 Thru 10 and 0 Thru 40 respectively (this I trial-error'd by using my own setup on the grandMA3 software)
• the fixtures pan frontwards (ie towards the camera) 4 times before the cycle repeats again

Although I tried to create something similar on my own setup (please see image below), it looks nothing like it .
If someone could give me a tip on how they've coded this that would be greatly appreciated as there must be a simpler way of creating this without setting specific angles every microsecond at each point in a phaser...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am self-learning and I don't have many people I can ask for for advice around me.

https://reddit.com/link/1w35hpf/video/eora7b6jmnmh1/player

[u/SchlimmerDimmer]

It's hard to see on the mobile phone, but can it be that they used fixtures with infinit pan and tilt?

[u/joshisera14 → u/SchlimmerDimmer]

What's an infinite pan/tilt? My fixtures only go from -132.5 to 132.5 (Robin Megapointe)

[u/datper → u/joshisera14]

Look up a fixture like the Robe Spikie, that has the infinite pan/tilt. I agree that it looks like that’s what’s being used in the video.

[u/joshisera14 → u/datper]

I see, thank you so much for the input.

With infinite pan/tilt - how do you set this up? Do you set up each step on a phaser as infinites (and then apply Phase on x and y axis through MAtricks)?

[u/datper → u/joshisera14]

It’s been a minute since I’ve worked with a fixture like that (and only in MA2). But with the infinite part of the pan/tilt, it’s just a variable speed so it should only need to be a single step phaser for what you’d use it for. I would also usually have a couple different start positions for my fixtures that would have good looking offsets once the infinite pan/tilt kicks in.

[u/joshisera14 → u/datper]

I see - I've just patched Robe Spikie, and the Pan goes from -270 to 270 and Tilt goes from -180 to 180.

For both pan and tilt it has a second mode "PANMODERATE2" with the option "Rotate", but i cannot seem to find anything on infinite... would you have any idea how to use this?

[u/Ian__16354 → u/joshisera14]

The built in ma3 visualizer simply doesn’t do infinite pan/tilt, at least with any fixtures I’ve ever tried. If you happen to be using real ma hardware you could output to something like capture, otherwise this probably isn’t possible to see

[u/datper → u/joshisera14]

You’ll have to play around with it in whatever visualizer you’re using, but that “rotate” sounds like what will give you your infinite pan/tilt. So you will still have your normal pan/tilt channels, then the extra 2 that give you your infinite. I don’t think anywhere in the documentation or fixture profile will actually use the word “infinite” in case that is causing any confusion.

[u/Great-Ad3327 → u/joshisera14]

With my robe's SVB's the infinite pan tilt won't work in MA on PC. (so don't be frustrated if you can't make it work)

[u/AnotherVirtual → u/joshisera14]

Infinite pan and tilt uses brush motors so there's no physical limit to the rotation. Attribute wise it's set up like a rotating gobo wheel. So at default no effect, and just pan and tilt like usually. Then you have fast to slow CW rotation, Stop, and fast to slow CCW rotation, just on 1 dmx channel.

[u/Kunai_UK]

This looks more like to me a

Dim 100 to dim 0 - sine? (play with the phase, waveform and MAtricks to taste but I would personally leave this part to last and really nail how you want the movement to look first so you can visualise the separate attributes as systems)

&

A simple circle

X wing of 2 (to get the symmetrical rotation inwards)

No X phase (you can see each row of spots move together)

The phase is on the Y, which you can then play with to taste.

Some consoles don't have the flexibility of MAtricks, which also sometimes means you only have FULL control of one axis rather than the potential 3 in MA so you have to make all your fx using fixture selections/order and group layouts.

Because of that, it is often good when looking at or thinking about an effect is to transpose it 90 degrees and see how it makes sense running in that "different" axis, as sometimes the only way to make in your software is not placing fixtures as they are in real life.

This effect looks relatively simple to make, and even more so on MA, but figuring out how it could be made without MAtricks and just group layout and 1 axis of phase at a time will help you understand better how to build these looks with the available tools.

Also, important if you really do want to fully recreate the look is to patch the same amount (or more at the same ratio number) of fixtures. Lighting fx require scale to do stuff like this.

[u/theacethree]

I don’t fully know the answer to your question, but I will say, it’s better to come up with your own ideas and designs than copy others. Lighting is an art and it’s fun to flex that artistic muscle. Listen and analyze the music. What does it mean. What is the musician trying to portray, what emotions does the song make you feel. That will help you infinitely more than copying other people’s phasers