Is it possible to write Tilt Automation to MIDI?

[Brian James]

Hey everyone,

First of all, I'm using Logic Pro X with the Show Buddy Active plug-in version. I've been preprogramming a live set for my band and using Show Buddy Active has been a blessing considering the band's lights are remotely located. 2D visualization has been a godsend.

There is one major problem that I've been encountering though. In order to have a syncopated light show I've been creating lots of different presets within a single (song) bank and switching between them quite rapidly. Sometimes within eighth note increments. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to bode well for programming tilt into the preset. Every time a preset switches, it reverts back to the original tilt value saved into the newly selected preset. This would mean I would have to program hundreds of presets within Show Buddy Active that are identical to each other but with different tilt values (not ideal). In order to circumvent this, I've been programming tilt separately into automation lanes, one lane for every light (there are four).

My question is: Is there a way to convert this tilt value into MIDI? Currently, programming these tilt values using automation lanes within my Logic Pro X project works well but does not embed itself into the midi regions. I want them to embed themselves into midi regions so that I can program a specific song's lighting tilt values once and never worry about it again. At the moment, if I create a new project, these tilt values are bound to the "Host Project" and do not transfer over to new projects or different computers even though they are both through Logic Pro X. This would mean I would have to reprogram all of the tilt values any time my band wants to create a new live set. Total pain.

Any ideas?

Thanks, guys

[Quentin]

I don't know about midi - but could you not mask the tilt value in "lots" of your presets and only leave it active in certain key ones? That way a change from, say 0 to 45 degrees of tilt, which might take a second or two depending on the fixture, could continue whilst any of the masked presets were being selected. If there really are loads of presets you might be able to use a macro to pick the ones you need, or even to mask the tilt channels in all the presets and then manually unmask the key ones. Good luck!