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Organising groups and presets

The problem

Groups and presets only save time if you can find them instantly, in the dark, with the music running. A pool where "Spots odd" is in slot 47 and "Spots even" in slot 3, or where "Red" means something different on every fixture type, slows you down exactly when you need speed.

And presets have a second problem: they should combine. Colour from one preset, position from another, beam from a third. That only works if each preset touches only its own kind of attribute.

Practice

This page is common working practice, not MA documentation. The manual describes the pools and options; how to arrange them is up to you.

The idea: a grid you can read without looking

Treat each pool as a map with fixed coordinates: the same kind of thing always sits in the same place.

Groups

A common pattern is one row per fixture type (or per position), with the same columns in every row:

All L→R R→L Odd Even Left half Right half Out→In
Spots 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Washes 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
LED bars 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Beams 31 …
Strobes 41 …

Plus a row of combined groups ("All moving", "All LED", "Everything").

  • The order is part of the group. "L→R" and "R→L" are different groups, because fans and effects follow the selection order. See Selection and groups.
  • With MAtricks you can skip some variants (odd/even, halves, mirrored) and derive them from the "L→R" group on the fly. Many programmers still store the ones they use most, because one tap beats three.
  • Name everything. On the command line, names and wildcards work: Group spot*.

Presets

One pool per preset type, and keep presets pure. The numbered preset pools filter by type, so a colour preset only stores colour. That's what makes them combine. Use the All pool only for complete "looks" you deliberately want as one unit.

A useful layout inside each pool:

  • Colour: the same colour in the same slot, everywhere. If you build global or universal colours, one "Deep blue" works on every fixture type (see Colour for why that isn't automatic). Order them like a colour wheel, with whites and near-whites in their own row.
  • Position: one row per stage position or "target" (centre, DJ booth, crowd, crossing beams, floor, ceiling/air), each as a selective preset stored for all your movers.
  • Beam / gobo / focus: a few looks you use (tight beam, wide wash, breakup gobo, prism) rather than every gobo on the wheel.
  • Dimmer: levels per fixture type, if your fixtures differ in brightness (see Busking intensity).

Which preset scope for what

Preset type Usual scope Why
Position selective every fixture needs its own pan/tilt for the same target
Colour global or universal the same colour should look the same on all units of a type
Gobo, beam, focus global wheel slots differ between types, but not between units of one type
Dimmer universal or per type levels are simple numbers

Across pools

  • The same numbers across pools: if position 1 is "Centre", make the focus and beam presets that belong to it number 1 too.
  • Gaps on purpose: leave room for additions in every block, so a new fixture type or colour doesn't break the grid.

Building it quickly

You don't have to build the palette by hand:

  • Auto Create groups makes an "All" group per fixture type or layer, and optionally single-fixture groups.
  • Auto Create presets makes global presets from the fixture types' built-in channel sets (gobos, colour wheel slots …).
  • Auto Create additional presets generates colour swatches (hues × saturations, plus white) and universal dimmer presets in steps.

Then rename, move and fill the gaps by hand. Auto-created pools are a starting point, not a finished palette.

When it matters, and when not

  • Every show you'll run more than once: a fixed layout for groups and colour presets. It's the single biggest speed-up for busking.
  • Position presets: as soon as you have moving lights.
  • A full matrix of every variant: only if you use them. Empty rows are fine, clutter isn't.

Sources

Mostly working practice. Manual facts used: