The Freestyler Guide

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Which form of software DMX control do you use???

  • Martin's "LightJockey"

    Votes: 37 100.0%
  • Chauvet's "ShowXpress"

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Elation's "CompuPro"

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sunlite Suite

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • FreeStyler

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I use Hardware

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    37
scottie....cool avatar photo you got. Did you take that pic?
Yes, I took that at a middle school dance I did a few months ago. As you can see.. only 2 of my 4 scanners were running right, there should be 2 more on the other end of the truss... but for some reason that night, I was only getting half of the rig running correctly when using my DMX controller (DMX55).. when I turned off the controller.. the lights ran in stand alone mode correctly.
 
yay....Chapter 2 is done....

it also has Chapter 1 included in it. Once again, I am sorry for the spacing, but i will fix that later. I plan to have this guide completed in the coming week as it is Spring Break for me. Who knows? Maybe i will have the revised version out...
I have been thinking about this ever since i wrote the beginning of this guide. Why now make a video tutorial? I think i will attempt this, for those who need a visual aid. I think it will be more effective in the long run and Plan on it happening after the guide is done.

What do you think? it would be like those "total training" videos except it would be free......???

The next chapter will involve visualizations and how to use them.


until then, have fun and keep practicing.



rlelek
 

Attachments

  • rlelek_freestyler_guide_2.pdf
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Out of all three-- I love ShowXPress. Yes, it has an ugly interface, but IMHO so does DJ Power.

ShowXpress has proven reliable, innovative (they ask users for the next features and ACTUALLY do it), quick to learn, and getting even better with every update.
 
Thanks rlelek !
I've been using FreeStyler for about two weeks and just stumbled upon this thread. Great job.
This program is very usefull. I'm using it with the DMX USB PRO interface. It works great! The included 3D visualizer is awesome!
Very cool.
In FreeStyler, there are a few bugs you have to works around, but eventually I'm sure they will get fixed.
Steve
 
Ryan, great job so far. Perhaps some screenshot pics will go a long way to helping too.
 
Ryan, great job so far. Perhaps some screenshot pics will go a long way to helping too.

Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing. It is a little hard to read a little of the guide and keep switching back over to the FreeStyler program to see what's going on. Great suggestion!!!

But what if...... I take it to the next level???

What does everyone think about video training??? It would be a type of video with narration of the guide while using the program. Maybe this will provide the visual aid you seek??? Either way, I still hope to add screenshots in the revision, after the writing portion of the guide is complete

It is Spring Break '07 here and I hope to get at least the guide done by the end of it :sqlaugh:

Thanks for all of your support...

rlelek
 
Thanks rlelek !
I've been using FreeStyler for about two weeks and just stumbled upon this thread. Great job.
This program is very usefull. I'm using it with the DMX USB PRO interface. It works great! The included 3D visualizer is awesome!
Very cool.
In FreeStyler, there are a few bugs you have to works around, but eventually I'm sure they will get fixed.
Steve

Yes, you are 100% correct. I have seen MANY bugs/lockups. For example, when in sound active mode, I cannot turn the macros on/off. I must first turn the sound activation "Off" and then configure the macros. It would be nice to switch from "sound active" to "Macros" by clicking a button instead of going through what I have to.

There are also a few other bugs I am looking into because I have found out that it is mostly my fault for programming incorrectly. We'll see how these turn out, and perhaps I will add a page describing the bugs/fixes later on...

I do everything through a visualizer as I do not have any fixtures yet. I do not personally like the Sunlite visualizer because it seems to be blurry/distorted to me as well as not displaying the gobos. I will show you what visualizer I use in the next chapter.......

Keep experimenting,

rlelek
 
I gotta say man-- very thorough guide.

May I suggest asking Bryan Durio to check for proofreading. I didn't read everything, but take it from me-- the more people who proofread it, the better it becomes. :)

Thanks for that suggestion!!! I think I will...I do not think it will need much editing because I tried to use as much correct English as possible, but I think I will have him look it over because no one is perfect :sqlaugh: .

What did you think about the Training Video made from screenshot capture and narration?



rlelek




"If you fail, you learn, and you get one step closer to success."---rlelek
 
Hmm, I must've missed the training video. I'll rescan the thread tomorrow and look.

And even if you put effort into using as much correct English as possible, sometimes there are things you may not know.

Again, I don't knock on age, but there's a lot of grammar they don't teach you until college. :)
 
To tell you the truth... just keep writing the guide... after its all finished.. Then worry about grammar...

I just want the info.. I could care less if its in the right grammatical context.. :sqbiggrin:

great work... lets get chapter 3-4-5-6 up soon..
Thanks
 
Hmm, I must've missed the training video. I'll rescan the thread tomorrow and look.

And even if you put effort into using as much correct English as possible, sometimes there are things you may not know.

Again, I don't knock on age, but there's a lot of grammar they don't teach you until college. :)

*sigh*..... I agree.... but the only thing I can give is my best :)

***Also....the training video is not created, nor is it in development. It is just an idea of something to do after the guide is finished....
 
To tell you the truth... just keep writing the guide... after its all finished.. Then worry about grammar...

I just want the info.. I could care less if its in the right grammatical context.. :sqbiggrin:

great work... lets get chapter 3-4-5-6 up soon..
Thanks

No worries my friend. As I said in a previous post, Spring Break is now. I plan to have the whole thing done by the end of it but don't quote me on that...:sqerr:
 
Looking forward to the video!

Sunlite works great on my laptop. I also have it doing gobos and prism rotation for my Elation Power Spot 250 moving heads. I was able to easily program the Power Spot fixture file with the included ScanLibrary fixture maker.
It's amazing. I also made a file for my Design Wash 250 moving heads.
It nails it verbatim including the zoom.
 
Looking forward to the video!

Sunlite works great on my laptop. I also have it doing gobos and prism rotation for my Elation Power Spot 250 moving heads. I was able to easily program the Power Spot fixture file with the included ScanLibrary fixture maker.
It's amazing. I also made a file for my Design Wash 250 moving heads.
It nails it verbatim including the zoom.

Nice that you mentioned the Prism... I have been trying to get the various DMX programs to work with my Chauvet Insignia 2.0 barrel scanner.. It has a rotating prism... but the visualizer just shows it like a regular scanner... nothing rotating. even the chauvet software doesn’t show it right... any thoughts??

Thanks.. Scottie
 
You might be able to come close with Sunlite (ScanLibrary) in FreeStyler.
It's capable of up to a 5 facet prism. I've never seen the Insignia 2.0.
The images on the site make it look like a moon flower effect.
 
thanks for your input

Ace but this thread is a how to operate the freestyler and with that in mint it isnt relevant noting the tool others are using if thats your tool touch on it in a thread and donate the time Ryan is with this thread thanks.
Out of all three-- I love ShowXPress. Yes, it has an ugly interface, but IMHO so does DJ Power.

ShowXpress has proven reliable, innovative (they ask users for the next features and ACTUALLY do it), quick to learn, and getting even better with every update.
 
good call my Bad and yes. We need to let some things slide off our backs. Life is but a dream .