@seb Thank you so much for responding with all the thought! Every bit of advice either helped me prepare, or I wound up finding that how I was performing was in line with the advice you had given.
I just got home after 16 straight hours of B2B DJing, where I controlled the laser in the main tent. I actually got to do lasers for a 3-hour Seth Troxler set last night, which was extra special. Saturday night, I controlled for 8 hours. I thought I’d recap my experience and what I learned for others who get thrown into the fire with an opportunity, and it’s sink or swim.
First of all- As @seb mentioned, the zoning is extremely important, and in most cases, completely different than what any hobbiest has practiced before. My zone was approximately 20 feet wide, but the height of the zone was limited to 18-24 inches on the sides and about 12 inches in the middle (because of the disco ball). Here’s a photo of what I was working with for reference. I’m bringing this up because most of the cool clips shared or provided in Liberation couldn’t be used. Something that I had to keep in mind is that the crowd is not looking at the wall being projected onto. What matters is the overhead beam experience you’re providing for the audience.
Here’s the output zone I was working with…
I should have started out by saying that on my first night, I had to use BEYOND because I did not get there in time to map the zone on Liberation without people in the room. After having used Liberation so much, the main thing I can say about BEYOND is that they are BEYOND due for a complete overhaul of their software. I really came to appreciate the thought Seb put into making Liberation. The LD had never heard of it and within 30 seconds of him watching me prepare, he said “omg this looks so much easier to use than BEYOND”. The only feature I appreciated on BEYOND was the easy-access “Animation Speed” bar… However, I quickly learned to use the tempo dial and tap on Liberation.
This was my first time truly utilizing the APC MK2 and hardly touching the laptop. I was amazed at how quickly my muscle memory came together, knowing exactly which knob, slider, or button did what, without having to look at my labels, let alone the controller.
So with that zone type, you’re really looking at a lot of horizontal line/dotted clips at varying speeds.
Also, doing lasers for a legit show, I was limited to the colors the DJs & LD liked, meaning I had to use the preset colors (below the effects and above the timeline) for the entire show. I used red the most, then blue, then purple, then cyan. So the point is the fun colors and color transformations on many of the clips couldn’t be utilized.
Seb’s advice on having the mix of energy levels was spot on. I also finally used the red zone like it was created for… Especially for pew-pew-pew sound effects/samples that the DJ would play.
I didn’t mess with the tempo multiplier much; I mainly used the tempo knob to get the movement to where I wanted it, if using the tap button alone a few times didn’t suffice. I found the nudge to be too small a change, but I can see how it could be helpful if you’re just a tiny bit off. Again- Seb’s advice on having the music tempo synced correctly made so much of a difference!
The effects I used the most were:
- The triangle inside a triangle (small to large), particularly for making dots and lines extend horizontally to be in sync with the tempo, which was pretty sick.
- The randomizer - to keep up with the progression of the artists
- The strobe
- The sine wave
Being in sync with the LD controlling movers is what it all came down to in the long run. The first couple of hours, he would tell me when to fade in, what color, and when to fade out or fast blackout. It’s the most amazing feeling when you and the LD change to the same color at the exact same time without communicating. Also being so in sync, whether we were both pushing our respective lights to the max, or knowing when I should phase out so he can take it, or vice versa, without saying anything… You kinda need to read each other’s minds (which is easier than it sounds if you both enjoy the music and have seen so many shows that you can both anticipate what the DJ will do next).
I bought the Amazon.com: CME WIDI Thru6 BT - 2-in-6-out MIDI Thru/Split with 5-pin DIN and Bluetooth - future-proof technology, high-speed transfer of all data, extreme accuracy for all devices : Musical Instruments to get a direct feed without running too many cables across the room, but it didn’t come with any 5-pin cords, and the sound production dude didn’t have any… So I unfortunately had to use my MacBook mic for audio input and lowered the volume to almost 0 so it could pick up as many changes as possible. Otherwise, it’d just be maxed out the entire time. Debating whether I’ll keep or return this item. If anyone has used it and would share an opinion, I’d appreciate it.
Something that would be helpful for users or @Seb to share are “mirrored” clips!!! While I hated BEYOND’s platform in general, the software’s user had a good collection of mirrored clips, which is really useful for a thin horizontal zone.
I have to wait for my friend to send me pictures and video of me in action, but here are a few I took (and the flyer to the gig I did):
