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Inspecting your programming without live output

The problem

You've programmed for an evening. Now you want to check what's in your cues: does cue 12 still contain that stray gobo? Which cues use the "Deep blue" preset? Why does the wash turn purple in the third look?

Playing everything back on the rig isn't always possible: the lights aren't there (you're at home on onPC), the venue is in use, or there's a show running and you need to check something during it. Even when the rig is there, playback only shows the result, not which cue or preset caused it.

grandMA2 gives you several ways to look at programming as data, and to see it as light without sending it to the stage.

Practice

The tools on this page are documented in the manual. Combining them into a checking routine is working practice.

Look at the data: the sequence sheets

Sequence content sheet
Looks like a fixture sheet but shows one cue: what's stored in it. The Cue Mode button chooses which cue: current, previous, next, or Manual, which adds a scroll bar to step through any cue without playing it. Toggle Tracking off to see only what's really stored in that cue, or on to see the full state including tracked values.
Sequence tracking sheet
The whole sequence as a spreadsheet: cues as rows, stored attributes as columns. The colours show where values are stored, tracked or blocked (see Cues, sequences and tracking). Selection Only shows just the selected fixtures, and only the cues where they have stored values. That's the quickest way to answer "where does fixture 5 change?".

Both sheets follow the selected executor (or the last Go, or a fixed executor, via Link Mode), and values can be edited directly in them, without the programmer. Switch on Edit Cue Only if the fix mustn't track.

The Seq+ / Seq- masks show only fixtures and attributes stored in the selected sequence(s) in any fixture sheet or stage view.

See where a value comes from

When something looks wrong on stage (or in 3D), the fixture sheet's output layers answer "who is doing this?":

  • Value Exec ID: which executor (page:executor)
  • Value Cue ID: which sequence and cue
  • Output: the value after masters
  • DMX: what leaves the console

In the content and tracking sheets, Value Cue ID shows where a tracked value was originally stored. See The programmer.

See it as light, but not on stage: Preview and Blind

Preview
Preview Cue 5 (or Prvw with an executor) loads a cue into the preview editor without DMX output. The sheets turn red to show you're in preview, and you can step with Preview Next / Preview Previous. PreviewEdit (Prvw Prvw) lets you change values there and update the cue, all blind. Leave with Esc.
Blind
Suppresses the output of the live programmer: you program, the stage doesn't change. Turning Blind off brings your changes live.
BlindEdit
Switches to a separate blind programmer, so you can prepare something while the live programmer keeps whatever it's doing.

A virtual rig: MA 3D

MA 3D is MA's free visualiser. It joins the session, needs no parameters (so it works with plain onPC), and the manual explicitly mentions using it "for Blind and Preview editing". Your preview or blind work is visible as light in 3D while the real rig stays untouched.

It's the closest thing to having the rig at home, but many users find it too limited to rely on. Use it for a rough check of positions and colours, and fine-tune on the real fixtures.

A checking routine

Practice

After a programming session:

  1. Tracking sheet with Selection Only, one fixture type at a time: look for values you didn't intend, especially Control attributes and stray gobos or prisms.
  2. Content sheet in Manual mode with tracking off: step through the cues and check that each cue stores only what changes in it.
  3. Check that cues show preset names, not raw numbers. Numbers mean the link to a preset is missing (see Presets).
  4. Preview (and MA 3D if you have it) to look at the important cues as light.
  5. Save with a short note in the backup menu. Every save keeps the previous ten versions.

When it matters, and when not

  • Programming at home on onPC: sheets plus MA 3D are your whole rig.
  • During a show: Preview, PreviewEdit and BlindEdit let you fix the next cue or look without the audience seeing it.
  • Busking with simple executors: you'll mostly use the output layers to find out which executor is doing something.

Sources