Martin LIGHTING DIRECTOR Bedienungsanleitung

MARTINLIGHTINGDIRECTORPerformer-activated show control systemUSER MANUAL Version 1.1

How does the Martin Lighting Director work?The MLD system uses a proprietary tracking system developed by APR inc. ofEdmonton, Alberta, Canada. The tr

2. Holding the radio so that the power switch is up, you will see 3 wires on the mini-XLR connector (the one the mic plugs into) leading to a 3 pin co

APPENDIX I - Reference TemplateThe following is a cheat sheet summarizing the necessary steps for MLD set-up. Youmay photocopy this sheet and use it a

If NO then measure six distances between the stage marks in centimetres (or inches): X1 X2 X3 X4 Xc D14 DC1 D13 D24 DC2 D23 up

INDEXAnchoring radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Config.sysbarebones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95EMM386 lines for . .

Map editordefined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48orientation . . . . . . .

Speakers, PA system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Speakers, ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10alternative positions . . . . . .

What’s included with the MLD package?The following items comprise the Martin Lighting Director package (order # 920901):1 MLD software 3.5” diskette1

tracker that you need (the standard MLD package comes with one) b) look at theexample on Appendix H, and c) consult the Martin web site for late-break

CHAPTER 1 - PC InstallationIf the Martin Lighting Director card and software have been pre-installed onto your PCyou may skip this chapter. IMPORTANT

SOFTWARE INSTALLATIONThe MLD software comes on a single 3.5" high density (1.44 MB) disk and runs underMS-DOS. This manual covers software versio

system. You are ready to go! (Please see the “Manual Installation” section below if youwould like to see a detailed discussions of all the modificatio

- mld.lod firmware support file for mld.exe- mldmic.lod firmware support file for mld.exe- vesa.dat graphics support file for install.exe- testvesa.ex

Run the MLD software from Windows 95To run the MLD software look for the file called MLD.EXE and double click on its icon.A warning message will appea

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CHAPTER 2 - System CalibrationThe Martin Lighting Director uses four ultrasonic emitters as a reference frame to findwireless trackers on the stage. T

Martin Lighting Director, by Acoustic Positioning Research Incorporated, Edmonton,Canada. Based on U.S. patents 5,107,746 and 5,214,615 and 5,412,619

2. Mount your speakersMount the four speakers on the corners of the stage by clamping them to trussing,static props, walls or the ceiling. Make sure t

3. Connect your speakersConnect each of the four MLD speakers to the MLD box. This must be done using thespeaker cables supplied (20 m each) and an ap

a) If you are using your own modified wireless microphone system:Locate your radio receiver’s line-level output. You will need to connect this into on

6. Prepare your tracker(s)The MLD tracker is a modified wireless microphone that detects the ultrasonic pulsesand sends radio signals back to the MLD

Figure 7 - Speaker Test screen. Clicking on the iconsgenerates audible tones from the speakers.8. Calibrate your speakersThe MLD must know the prec

AUTOMATIC CALIBRATION is the most common method for setting up thetracking system. This method entails measuring the distances, in centimeters (or inc

The five stage markings will not appear on your editor window because the programhides them as it knows that they are default values that do not corre

exactly that height over the markings b) press the “Use Automatic” button so that thecalculated values appear for speaker positions in the Manual Irre

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CHAPTER 3 - Light and Media Set-upIn this chapter you will learn how to define and calibrate lighting fixtures and othermedia for use with the MLD. Th

TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7WELCOME . . . . . . . .

MLD box Figure 12 - MLD between the console and the lights.This is the most common configuration DMX cable DMX 512 out in Light 1 Lig

trigger pre-programmed cues in the CASE. This can generate very impressive effectsbecause sequences, chases, static looks and other cues can be called

MLD box Figure 15 - Bidirectional MIDI interconnection. DMX cable DMX 512 out in MLD - PC 26-pin cable MLDcard Light 1 Light 2

BASIC LIGHT DEFINITIONThe MLD system needs to know specific information about the lights that you will becontrolling. To enter this information choose

Side note: If the chosen fixture is a moving light then the light definition box will show a sectionlabelled “Follow-spot data”, as shown in the previ

AUTOMATED FOLLOWSPOT CALIBRATIONIf the light that you are defining will be used as an automated followspot, you need todo a followspot calibration. Th

centre stagemark upstage markcalibration pt 1 Figure 20 - Speaker calibration markings being used tocalibrate followspots downstage markcalib

Figure 21 - Pointing the light to the calibration points using the MLD controllerOr ii) Use your DMX console. If you have a DMX console connected t

values for X, Y and Z for that point. Next, press the other “Track CalibrationPoint” buttons to repeat the procedure above for the other light calibra

2. MANUAL SET-UPIf for some reason automatic calibration of followspot fixtures is not possible, you maydirectly enter the data for each fixture by ph

2. Manual set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Other set-up options . . . . . . . .

ROTATION Direction ofpositive motion downstage upstage stage left stage right Lighting fixtureshown from above(bird's eye view).At

ROTATION Direction ofpositive motion downstage upstage stage left stage right Lighting fixtureshown from above(bird's eye view).At

OTHER SET-UP OPTIONS Figure 24 - Set-up screenSETTING THE MAP PATHAt the top of the “Set-up” screen there is the “Map Path” field. This is the path

Side note: you may enable MIDI functionality even if you do not have a MIDI card installed.This was done to allow you to design maps that later could

BACKING UP YOUR SETTINGSOnce you have set up and calibrated your tracking system, light configuration and othermedia, it is advisable to make a back-u

CHAPTER 4 - Automated followspotQuick StartThe Martin Lighting Director features powerful software that lets you definesophisticated automated behavio

Here are the necessary steps to have the MLD control pan and tilt for a number oflights to follow two performers, all of the other DMX channels being

CHAPTER 5 - Layer MediaThe Martin Lighting Director software lets you define relationships between theposition and velocity of the performer(s) being

you move the mouse pointer towards stage left the first coordinate display showspositive values, while if you move the mouse pointer towards stage rig

LAYERS (WHERE?)The first thing to do when trying to define media behaviour is to tell the Martin LightingDirector where you would like the definition

CHAPTER 8 - Tips to optimize system performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Speaker positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To zoom out, you select the “zoom-out” tool, represented by a magnifying glass with aminus sign and click on the editor: this will zoom out incrementa

and also wanted the followspots to turn red if the performer gets close to a stageprop. For the light intensity trick you would draw a layer covering

DEFINING MEDIA ASSIGNMENTS (WHAT?)Once you have designed a layer, you will define what you want to happen in that layer.Click on the “Layer Media” opt

Figure 30 - Light control screenAUTOMATED FOLLOWSPOT CONTROLSetting automated follow spot functionality is quite easy. Simply choose the lightingfi

on the name of the parameter the box becomes deselected and the control of thatparameter of that light will revert to the lighting console.When you ar

DYNAMIC CONTROLLight assignment screens have an area called “Dynamic light control”. Inside this areaare buttons specifying all the DMX parameters tha

DEFINING LAYER MEDIA BEHAVIOUR (HOW?)If you have chosen to do dynamic control of lighting parameters, the “Layer MediaBehaviour” area at the bottom of

Figure 33 - Bell shaped dynamic control curve. The DMX channel will start at zero at stage right and thenincrease to a maximum of 255 at the centre

pointer over the curve and pressing the right mouse button. On the floating windowthat appears you may draw the curve point by point. To exit the zoom

Figure 36 - Dynamic control curve applies to all regions in a single layer.IMPORTANT NOTE: the outlines in the graphical editor will always represe

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You may click on the “flip” button to invert your curve and on “copy” to load a curvethat you already designed for a different layer. Press OK to acce

MAPS (WHO? and WHEN?)Eight layers, with their associated areas, height assignments, media assignments, mediabehaviour curves and tracker assignments,

Figure 37 - Map remote control triggers for loading andunloading a map.“follow2” would have a single layer made-up of a region covering the whole s

Map notesYou may add notes to your current map by pressing on the "Map Notes" button. Hereyou may want to store information such as your map

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CHAPTER 6 - Real-time modeReal-time mode allows the Martin Lighting Director to track performers on stage andto send and receive data according to the

• If all the boxes are red: the tracker is not receiving pulses from any speaker. Makesure the tracker has a fresh battery, is “on” with mute “off” an

SETTING TRACKING PARAMETERSThe real-time screen features interactive control of the following tracking parameters:Sample rate - This is the number of

Mouse testIf you want to test a map without actually having to use a tracker on the stage you canpress the “Mouse test” button. This mode allows you t

sets the same fixture to an iris value of 10 the fixture will only receive the latterinstruction and the user will only see an iris of 10. This resolv

INTRODUCTIONWELCOME!Thank you for purchasing the Martin Lighting Director system. The Martin LightingDirector, abbreviated MLD, is the most versatile

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CHAPTER 7 - MIDI ControlDeveloped in 1982, MIDI is an international specification used mostly by musicalinstruments that contain microprocessors to co

used because MIDI features sixteen channels that can be easily addressed ashexadecimal $0 to $F. Appendix C has a decimal to hexadecimal conversion ta

DYNAMIC CONTROL EXAMPLESuppose what you wanted was for the performer to control the volume of MIDIchannel 12 so that as he or she raised and lowered h

LIST OF MIDI COMMANDSThe first byte in a MIDI command is the command definition byte, also called statusbyte, which indicates what type of MIDI comman

F1 Undefined Part of MIDI time codeF2 yy zz Song positionpointeryy=least significant, zz=most significantF3 yy Song Select yy=song numberF4 yy MLD tem

Layer defaultsThe radio buttons to the right of the MIDI enabling box are the “Layer Defaults” whichhave eight short cuts to common MIDI commands. Whe

CHAPTER 8 - Tips to optimizesystem performanceChapter 2 presented the speaker positions for ideal MLD tracking. In real life it issometimes impossible

2. At any given point there should be at least 3 speakers with a clear line of sight to thetracker microphone. Three readings are needed to triangulat

KEY FOR THE FOLLOWING DIAGRAMS:Speaker (number is height in metres)Stage areaInteractive areaSpeaker area 7 7 7 7 7 IDEAL:For oversized

About this ManualThis manual is designed to get your MLD system up and running as quickly possible.Throughout the chapters you will find diagrams to i

For stages with curtains, backdrops or screens that do not allow placing thespeakers upstage: 8 8 7 7 This should give acceptable tracking.

SAMPLING RATEThe MLD allows selection of a tracking sampling rate via the “Sampling rate” control inthe real-time screen. The maximum recommended samp

FOLLOWSPOT ISSUESUsing moving lights as followspots has advantages and disadvantages. In this section wewill discuss what can be done to improve the l

CHAPTER 9 - ExamplesIn this short chapter there are a few exercises which might be useful to rehearse thebroad range of effects and applications that

1. Split the MLD’s DMX out signal, take one end to the lighting fixtures you need tofocus, take the other end to a lighting console capable of captu

CHAPTER 10 - System maintenanceTRACKER MAINTENANCEEvery time you turn on a tracker its diagnostic LED will flash once, showing that powerhas been appl

Side note: there are no serviceable parts inside the tracker, please do not open the belt pack orthe filter except for changing batteries.SPEAKER AND

APPENDIX A - Frequently AskedQuestionsWhat is the difference between regions, layers, maps and sets?The Martin Lighting Director software has the foll

distance) that may prevent ultrasonic interference between the systems.Can I track props? animals? the public?• You can track anything that a) has the

APPENDIX B - MLD card jumpersettingsTo prepare the MLD hardware card for installation on the user’s PC computer system,a memory address not already in

What is the Martin Lighting Director?The Martin Lighting Director is a 3D tracking system for lighting and show control. Ituses unique, patented techn

APPENDIX C - MIDI HexadecimaltableDec. Hex Dec. Hex Dec. Hex Dec. Hex 0 00 32 20 64 40 96 60 1 01 33 21 65 41 97 61 2 02 34 22 66 42

Conversion Table (Continued)Dec. Hex Dec. Hex Dec. Hex Dec. Hex128 80 160 A0 192 C0 224 E0 129 81 161 A1 193 C1 225 E1 130 82 162 A2 194 C2 226 E2 131

APPENDIX D - MLD fixture libraryHere a list of all the supported lights with their available "personalities"Martin ProfessionalPAL 1200 - 4

APPENDIX E - Serial output formatASCII DataThe MLD outputs a data record (45 bytes) in the following format:W, 5 chars, 5 chars, 5 chars, 5 chars, 5 c

APPENDIX F - SpecificationsGeneralParameters monitored: XYZ position, velocity.Maximum No. of trackers: Four simultaneouslyFrequency: Up to 32 sampl

APPENDIX G - TroubleshootingUsually, when things do not work correctly with the Martin Lighting Director, theproblem comes from one of three main sour

• Make sure your lights are powered up and the bulb has warmed up.• Check your DMX connections and your base channel addresses. A handy DMX testprogra

• Avoid radio interference. Take the normal precautions in operating wirelesssystems: use different frequencies for each tracker and avoid using other

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APPENDIX H - Modifying WirelessMics to become trackersThe MLD’s microphone assembly consists of a small ultrasonic microphone, a filter anda mini-XLR