Sync'ing the light show to the band

[RichG]

I'm wondering what is the best way to sync a light show to the band with DMXIS.

I do not want to sync the band to the light show. For what we do it's just not possible. I don't want the drummer playing to a click track. Sometimes our singer may accidentally skip a verse. I want to sync the lights to the band as best as I can in a real world situation. This includes skipped verses, tempo fluctuations, ad lib stops in the middle of the song (If you've ever played Jesse's Girl you know what I mean).

The catch is I'm the light guy, and the guitarist, and the sound guy... so I have to be able to do all this via midi foot controller.

[ChrisDuncan]

Since you have to manage all of that while playing, I'd keep it as simple as possible. Create your presets with the granularity you need, probably "looks" for intro / verse / chorus / bridge / out, etc. and then call them up with your foot pedal.

I'm going the opposite route of working to a click track so I'm just winging it here, but that might at least get you thinking in the right direction.

[RichG]

That makes sense. I could arrange things like this where each element might be a Chase series:

Code: Select all

Song 1
  Intro
  Verse
  Chorus
  Verse
  Chorus
  Out

Song 2
  Intro
  Verse
  Bridge
  Chorus
  Verse
  Stop
  Chorus
  Out

How can I control tempo to accommodate speed fluctuations? Is there a way I can tap in a tempo sync the lights to the drummer's speed?

[ChrisDuncan]

I don't know if there's a tap to sync feature in the software.

I've found that whether it's fixtures, software, audio gear, etc. I've had to design things with the art of the possible in mind. For instance, I had an idea in my head but then found that my movers simply weren't fast enough to execute what I had in mind. So, I found what the limits were with my gear and designed within those parameters. All art has boundaries, it's just a matter of what you can create within a given box.

In your case, since working to a click track isn't an option, I think your best approach is to design presets that aren't dependent on exactly matching the current bpm of the band to look good. So, a slow to moderate chase might look out of sync, but a fast one would work for "dazzle." In a similar fashion, some moving light sequences can look good and catch the vibe of the song even without a precise lock.

Even after eliminating some techniques that won't look good unless the bpm is right, you'll still have a pretty broad palette to work with.

[JnTuneTech]

I would agree totally with Chris. Without a click track, just go with the closest bpms you can agree on, and try to coax the drummer to be more consistent with regard to speed (yes, I know, always a sore spot in bands!) so that the lights will sync close enough. -You might benefit from creating some Banks/Presets that are identified by bpm, or even song(s) in some cases, I would think.

After that, it's just up to you to hit the footswitch (or whatever you change Banks/Presets with) at the best time. -Oh, and Jesse's Girl has been on my set list, and I agree that without a click track, someone has to be alert on the switch! Good luck -Jn-

[stevedabass]

This is something I'm looking into too, I'm considering using the plugin in Reaper, and then using a footswitch to modify the tempo in Reaper if we go out of sync with any time sensitive scenes.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

[JnTuneTech]

Stevedabass - It's kind of a stretch, but I have controlled a few MIDI parameters via foot pedal, thru the DAW, while playing live to a synced sound & light mix. But, in my case, that had nothing to do with tempo control.

That being said, with MIDI, creative programming, the right interfaces & software, many things can be accomplished. I don't know Reaper, but if it has a way to link MIDI commands to the tempo setting, and the ability to change this while the transport is running, it might be an option. -Seems like that would be an awkward way to "steer" things though, IMHO.

I could see having a footswitch control a function (or a set thereof) in DMXIS thru MIDI assignment, for some specific fixtures that won't be controlled from the plugin, while playing synced to the DAW, but that might be limited and troublesome to set up reliably. I have found mixing VST automation and live MIDI control to be quite difficult, as generally the automation overrides live control by default. And if you add Banks & Presets to the scenario, it gets even harder to make it all work seamlessly. -Still, where there's a will, there's a way. Just be creative, give it a try!! -Jn-

[BSmithrian]

I am using reaper with DMXIS to run our light show during live gigs. I took a recording of each of our songs and opened it in reaper, I then opened a new midi track for each song and set midi notes and markers where I want a lighting change. I then deleted the recording of the song. I set one of my midi pedal buttons to play/pause in reaper and another to jump to the next marker in reaper. After the last light change I put in a midi note and marker to change to the next bank (song). I saved all of the midi tracks then copied all of them to one midi track. I left about a minute gap between each of the tracks (if you change your set list or order of songs you will need the gap so you don't have to move each track and marker). Actually now is when you need to put the markers in ... they won't copy and paste.
I then put each song of the set in the bank (you have to number them or they will get out of sync) and put all of the light changes in the presets for that song. If we get ahead I just jump to the next trigger at the appropriate time to sync us back up. If we fall behind I push pause, then jump to the next marker, and then hit play when we get there. When it switches to the next bank (song) I hit pause and then jump to the start of the next song in reaper. I am tied to the button for the start and end of all the songs ... but this is working fairly well for us.