Effect types

Vista provides several effect types:

• Wave effects where Intensity or Colour or Position or any other feature of your lights follows a waveform. With this sort of effect you can create Intensity chases, Position shapes such as a circle and Colour mix effects including rainbows and more.
• Swing effects where Intensity or Colour or Position or any other feature of your lights crossfade between presets or other IPCGBM settings.
• Video effects that use an animated gif to control the Intensity and Colour of a group of fixtures – usually arranged in a matrix.

Using effects

To run an effect on your fixtures you can either:

• apply one of Vista’s built in template effect or
• modify a template effect or
• create your own effects from scratch, using the SmartFX window.

Applying a stored template effect

To apply an effect:

1. In the Fixture Chooser window, select the fixtures you want to use.
2. Click the Components tab in the sidebar and select the FX button. Vista displays the list of available template effects:
   
   The icon indicates the effect type and letters in the ‘Content’ column show which features are in this effect:

   This icon / letter…	indicates this…
   I	An Intensity effect.
   P	A Position effect.
   C	A Colour effect.
   Matrix / Multi-element	An effect designed to run on a matrix (See creating a matrix on page [TBC]) or multi-element fixture (a fixture with more than one light source – for example a 4 cell ColourBlock.
   Multi-feature (i.e. IPC—)	An effect that includes more than one feature. For example the ‘BallyColour’ effect .

   • If a template effect is greyed out it means that the template cannot be applied to the fixture type(s) you have selected.
3. To apply an effect, click on the one you want. The effect you’ve chosen starts running on the selected fixtures.
4. To adjust the speed and other settings of an effect, open the SmartFX window and use the controls to adjust it. See the following section

Using the SmartFX window to modify an effect

To adjust the speed and other parameters of an effect, open the SmartFX window by either:

• clicking the SmartFX button on the main toolbar – usually F11, or
• selecting the SmartFX Editor option from the Tools menu (Ctrl + K).

The SmartFX has two panes: the effects list, on the left and effect controls on the right:

The ‘Show effects from…’ pane normally shows the effects that are active (i.e. running in the Live tab or in a Cuelist).

The Effects list

You can filter the list of effects by their source, whether they are active and the fixtures they are being applied to.

This option…	does this…
Source Popup selector	The source popup filters the effects list by source: Anywhere includes all effects Selected Cuelist includes just the effects running on the Selected Playback Editor Cuelist includes effects running in the Live tab and any Cuelists (tabs) that are open in the Editor Editor Current Cue includes effects running in the selected cue in the Cuelist being edited.
Active only	Filters the effects list to only show effects that are being played – that is the ones you can see on stage.
Selected Fixtures	Filters the effects list to only show effects that are being run on the selected fixtures.
New Effect	Creates a new effect with your own settings. See Creating an effect from scratch on page 7-11
Save as template	Click this button to save the effect as a template that will appear in the Components list and Quickpickers.

When you click on an effect in this list, Vista displays the settings and controls for this effect in the right hand pane.

Effect controls

The SmartFX Control Panel contains:

• Rate controls that apply to all feature types in your effect.
• Feature type tab(s) (IPCGBM) with controls for the effect waveform, size, rate multiplier, and direction
• A Sequence tab with controls for fixture overlap, sorting, spread and ganging.
• An Advanced tab, where you can add additional effects and synchronise or offset the effect waveforms. This tab is also used to set how the effect interacts with other cues and effects during playback

Rate control

Effects can include one or more feature types (IPCGBG). The rate controls apply and are common to all features in the effect.

This option…	does this…
Rate BPM	Sets the base rate at which the effect runs, expressed in beats-per-minute (BPM).
Rate popup: per cycle per item (was per-fixture)	This control affects whether the Rate is based on cycles-per-minute or fixtures-per-minute: Per-cycle – if the effect is an intensity chase at a Rate of 20 BPM Per-cycle, then the whole sequence will repeat 20 times each minute. Per-item – if the chase is at a Rate of 80BPM Per-item, then the chase will cover 80 fixtures each minute. The loop time of a Per-item effect varies with the quantity of fixtures used, and is slower with more fixtures. This means the fixture-to-fixture rate (e.g. a flash rate) will be constant no matter now many fixtures are used.
Disable / Enable	This button disables or enables the selected effect.

The Feature tab(s) for ‘Wave’ effects

Effects can include one or more feature types (IPCGBG). Vista creates a feature tab for each type with controls for the effect waveform, size, rate multiplier, and direction.

Click on the feature tab (i.e. Intensity) to see the controls:

• The feature tab(s) will not appear unless the effect is selected in the left pane.

This option…	does this…
Size (was Amplitude)	Size affects how much of the effect waveform is added to the feature. For example if you run an Intensity wave effect, set to size 50%, on a set of fixtures they will modulate between 0 and 50% intensity. For effects that run on more than one channel (i.e. Position and Colour mix) there is a separate size control for each channel For swing effects there is no size controls since only a value of 100% will reach the endpoints.
Rate (was Rate Multiplier)	To maintain synchronization between the features of an effect you can scale the rate for each feature as a multiple of the base rate. To make a feature run slower than the base rate set the feature rate to lower value (e.g. x½ or x¼ ).To make a feature run faster than the base rate set the feature rate to a higher value (e.g. x2 or x4 )
Direction	Mainly useful for chasing effects, this controls whether fixtures are sequenced in ascending (forward), descending (backward) or both directions (bounce).
Base tab Waveform buttons	This tab shows the available effect waveforms, in graphical form. To select a waveform click on one of the buttons. When multiple waveforms are being used the buttons show the effect that will be created. For example Position – shows buttons for creating shapes including a Circle, Square, Can-can, Triangle, Figure 8, Spiral, Bally Hoo and Spread circle. Colour Mix – shows buttons for a Rainbow wave, RGB, CMY and more
Base tab Visual editor	Below the waveform buttons, Vista displays a preview of the waveform(s) in the effect. For position and colour effects this section also provides size controls for each of the feature waveforms. For example a position effect has one waveform operating on Pan and another on Tilt. You can change the offset of the waveform(s) by clicking in the preview window and dragging the waveform to the left or right.
Customise tab	On this tab you can select the waveform type and the phase offset of the waveform. For position and colour effects, that operate on more than one channel there is also a waveform, rate multiplier and phase offset control for each channel.

The Feature tab(s) for ‘Swing’ effects

For swing effects there are no size controls since only a value of 100% will reach the endpoints. Likewise there is no direction control because ‘swing’ effects are designed to bounce between endpoints.


• The feature tab(s) will not appear unless the effect is selected in the left pane.

This option…	does this…
Stop	Clicking on a ‘Stop’ icon pauses the swing effect so that you can set a value for the feature. To set a value choose a preset or set a value in the sidebar palette windows.
Beats	Sets the number of beats the effect will remain on each point before fading to the next point.
Feature	shows the type of features included in the swing points
Value	shows a value or graphical representation of the setting for the swing point.
Curve	Sets the fade curve to the swing point. See ‘Fade curves’ on page xxx
Run effect	Click the ‘Run effect’ button to start the swing effect running if it has been stopped.
	Click the + (Plus) button to add a swing point.
	Click the – (Minus) button to delete the selected swing point.

The Sequence tab

When you apply an effect to a number of fixtures you can use the controls on the sequence tab to set how the effect is applied to those fixtures.


This option…	does this…
Overlap	affects how much each fixture overlaps the next when the effect is running: At 0% each fixture runs the effect sequentially – there is no overlap At 100% each fixture executes the effect simultaneously. This control works in conjunction with Spread to achieve synchronized chases & wave effects.
Stagger	Vista dynamically calculates a waveform offset value for each fixture depending upon this control: Stagger = 0% – all fixtures have a uniform offset Stagger = 100% each fixture has a unique offset ranging from 0% to 100%. Normally this control will be left at 100% unless the Overlap control is at 100%, otherwise there will be periods when all fixtures will appear to be doing.
Sort Fixtures	when an effect runs you can sort the fixtures in a number of ways: ID sorts the fixtures by number order. Selection sorts based on the order in which you selected them in the Chooser. Random sorts the fixtures in a random order. Position sorts the fixtures by their position on the Fixture Chooser layout. Fixtures are sorted from top left to bottom right. To reverse the sort order click on the drop down box and choose either ‘Ascending’ or ‘Descending’
Spread Shape	the spread shape buttons control how the effect runs across the fixtures. There are 4 spread shapes available: First to last. The effect starts on the first fixture and runs to the last. Pairs, outside to inside. The effect starts on the 2 end fixtures and into the centre. Last to first. The opposite of 1. Pairs, inside to outside. The opposite of 3.
Curve	sets the distribution of fixtures, along the effect waveform. The normal setting is ‘Linear’and in this case the fixtures are evenly distributed. Other curves, such as square and inverse square will bunch some of the fixtures together and spread others out.
Fixture Ganging Blocking	sets how the set of fixtures are grouped together. ‘No Blocking’ indicates that the effect runs across the fixtures one at a time. Fixtures can be ganged so that two or more fixtures are doing the same thing. For example: when set to 2, adjacent pairs of fixtures are ganged together in the effect. when set to 2/1/3 for a set of 12 fixtures they’d be ganged in a pair, then a single, then threes.
Fixture Ganging Repeats	allows non-adjacent fixtures to be ganged together. a repeat of 2 sets every third fixture to be doing the same thing. a repeat of 3 sets every fourth fixture to be doing the same thing. The ‘Preview’ panel shows how the fixtures will be ganged together.
View Current Selection	click this button to [TBC]
Change Fixture Selection	click this button to [TBC]

The Advanced tab

This tab is used to:

• synchronise or offset the effect waveforms when there is more than one feature in an effect – for example an effect that includes both Intensity and Colour features.
• set how the effect interacts with other cues and effects during playback
• save an effect you’ve modified or created to the list of template effects.



This option…	does this…
Offset (Phase offset)	adjusting the Offset value, rolls the waveshape within its own window. For example a 0% Phase offset for a sine waveform would start and end at the midpoint while a 25% Phase offset would have the sinusoid start & end at the high point. You can adjust the offset of a feature by either dragging in the waveform window or entering a value between 0 and 360 in the offset field
+ Add	Click the + icon to add a new effect type that is synchronised with the other features(s) in this effect.
– Delete	Click the – icon to delete the selected effect feature.
Basepoint – Bound – Free	sets what happens when fixtures that are running an effect receive a new setting for the same feature type. For example if a circle position effect is running on a set of fixture and a cue runs that sets those fixtures to a different position. If the basepoint is set to Bound the effect stops running. If the basepoint is set to Free the effect continues to run but will take it’s basepoint from the new event. If the ‘Don’t use own basepoint’ box is ticked, the effect will only run on a basepoint from a different event.
Sync at Start	sets what happens as this effect starts when another effect is already running. Auto-sync the effect starts on the same phase as the already running effect Restart the effect always starts at it’s 0 point and so will always look the same when it starts. No-sync . The effect runs does not synchronize.

Creating an effect from scratch

To create your own effect:

1. In the Programmer Fixture window, select the fixtures you want.
2. Click the SmartFX button on the main toolbar or choose the ‘SmartFX Editor’ option from the Windows menu. Vista displays the Smart Effects window.
3. Click the New button, at the bottom of the left pane, to display the Create Effect window:
4. Click on one of the effect type buttons. Vista provides several effect types:
• Wave effects where the setting for Intensity or Colour or Position or any other feature follows a waveform.
• Swing effects that that move between two or more presets or IPCGBM settings
• Video effects that use an animated gif to control the Intensity and Colour of a group of fixtures – usually arranged in a matrix.
5. Choose the Feature type you want to use in the effect (e.g. intensity, or position or colour)
6. ‘Type a name for your effect in the ‘Name’ box
7. Click OK display your effect in the SmartFX window:
8. Adjust the controls in the right hand panel of the window to apply the effects you want.

Making your effect swing

If you chose the ‘Swing’ button in the Create effect window, you have to define the end points of the effect (i.e. where it starts and where it finishes).

In this case, when you click OK, Vista adds two swing point in the feature tab of the SmartFX window.

To set values for the two points:

1. Click the first ‘Stop’ button.
2. Use either the palettes or the controls to set a value for the feature type you are using .
3. Click the second ‘Stop’ button and define its settings in the same way.
4. Click the ‘Run Effect’ button to start the effect swinging.

Swing effects always have two end points but you can add more, intermediate, points to build more complex effects. Click on the + button to add another point.

Saving your effect

To save an effect you’ve created:

1. Select the Advanced tab and click on the ‘Save as Template’ button. Vista displays a small window asking for a name and location for the effect.
2. Type a name for the effect and choose where to save the effect. You can save the effect in either the Factory or User or Show folder. Saving the effect in the Show folder makes it easier to transfer the effect between different consoles.
3. Click on the OK button. Vista adds your effect to the list of effects. Next time you click the FX tab on Sidebar, your effect will be in the list.

Stopping an effect

There are two ways to stop an effect and have the fixtures revert to their original or default values for the feature(s) that were running in the effect:

• you can stop all effects that are running, or
• you can stop just a particular effect, or
• you can stop just particular effect type.

Stopping all effects

To stop all the effects that are running on your fixtures.

1. Select the fixtures that you want to stop the effect running on.
2. Choose the ‘Stop SmartFX’ option from the Tools menu.

Stopping a particular effect(s)

To stop one or more of the the effects that are running on your fixtures.

3. Select the fixtures that you want to stop the effect running on.
4. Click the SmartFX button on the main toolbar – usually F11, or select the SmartFX Editor option from the Tools menu (Ctrl + K).
5. Select the effect you want to stop from the list of effects.
6. Click on the Disable button.

Stopping effect running on a feature

To stop effects that are running on a feature type – i.e. Intensity, Postion, Colour etc.

1. Select the fixtures that you want to stop the effect running on.
2. Click on the Palettes tab, in the sidebar, if it’s not already selected.
3. Click on the feature type icon for the effect type you want to stop – Intensity, Position, Colour, Gobo or Beam. Vista opens a popup menu:



4. From the popup menu select the ‘Stop Effect’ option