Customizing lighting effects

You add lights in drawing wireframe views and you customize their effects in lighting wireframe views. Although Lighting Wireframe views look a lot like drawing wireframe views, you cannot draw anything within lighting wireframe views—you can only select light fixtures and modify their settings. If you need to make changes to your drawing, you must switch to a drawing wireframe view.

Notes: You can also customize the lighting effects of fixtures in the Virtual View by using the Virtual View fixture selection mode. For details see “Using Virtual view fixture selection”.

Use the Light Tool to control the intensity, focus, zoom, color and projection pattern (gobo) of a light fixture. The Light Tool is available in the Lighting Wireframe, Lighting Quad, and Virtual View tabs. The Light Tool allows you to create virtual lighting Looks. You can rough-in static looks and render them for design presentations.

Focusing light beams

To focus light beams

1. Click the Lighting Wireframe tab.

Note: You can also focus light beams in the Virtual View by using the Virtual View Fixture Selection Tool. For details, see “Using Virtual view fixture selection”.

2. Double-click the light fixture that you want to focus.

Result: The beam displays.

3. Click any of the lines defining the beam, drag the beam to its new position, and then release the mouse button.

Tips:

• You can also right-click the light fixture, click Focus, and then click where you want the beam to be focused.
• You can also use the Light Tool to focus light beams. See “Focus options”.

Note: When you focus a moving light, the fixture symbol does not rotate to align with the light beam in the wireframe or Virtual Views. However, the fixture does rotate in the rendered view.

Using the Light Tool

To display the light tool

In the Lighting Wireframe, Lighting Quad, and Virtual View tabs, from the Tools menu, choose Light Tool.

or

Click the Light Tool on the Lights toolbar.

The Light Tool button.

To modify light fixtures

Begin by selecting the desired light fixtures in either the Lighting Wireframe, Lighting Quad tabs.

Note: To modify the fixture in the Virtual View, you must first select the applicable lights in either of the lighting tabs, and then switch to the Virtual View tab and continue with the Light Tool (step 2 below).

1. Select a light fixture or light fixtures. You can select multiple light fixtures by holding the CTRL key while clicking on the light fixture symbols.

Result: Selected light fixtures highlight in green.

2. On the Lights toolbar, click Light Tool.

3. Use each section of the Light Tool to customize the lighting. See the descriptions of each section below.

Intensity options

Use the Intensity options to set the intensity level for the selected lights. Higher levels represent brighter lights.

• To set the Intensity to 100%, click Full. To set it to 0%, click Off.
• To select values between 0 and 100%, click on the wheel and move the mouse up or down. The intensity level displays in the Intensity box as you move the mouse.
• Alternatively, you can enter a specific percentage by typing the number in the Intensity box and clicking Apply.

Note: The intensity level selected is applied to all selected light fixtures. When you select multiple light fixtures that have varying intensity levels, “N/A” displays in the Intensity box.

Zoom options

Use the Zoom options to set the diameter of the beam for the selected lights.

• To set a tight zoom, click Narrow. To set a wide zoom angle, click Wide.
• To select values between, click and hold the wheel with the left mouse button and move the mouse up or down.

Focus options

The Light Tool gives you the option to use it in either Box or Wheel mode.

• To move the position of the light beam, click and drag the mouse on the Focus Pad trackpad.
• To reset the light fixture to Pan = 50% and Tilt = 50%, click Home.
• To send the fixture's beam to a specific location, click Focus, and then click at that location in your lighting wireframe drawing. This feature does not apply to the Virtual View tab.
• To lock the trackpad movement of the fixture to only Pan or Tilt, select the movement axis from the Pan/Tilt drop-down box.

Note: The Focus options do not take into account the current viewing position or light fixture settings. In one orientation, dragging to the right on the trackpad results in the beam moving left but rotating the light fixture 180 degrees and dragging to the right should cause the beam to move to the right.

Color options

Use these options to select the color of the selected light beams.

• Click the custom Color box to select a color. To adjust the color value, drag the grayscale arrow up or down.
• To specify the color using an RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or HSL (Hue Saturation, Luminosity) color model, double-click the Color box.

Color Mixing options

To facilitate designing with various fixtures using different color mixing techniques, the Color Designer tool also offers a drop-down with three different color space models (RGB, CMY, HSI). If you know the RGB values of the desired color, you can enter them, and the custom color box will update. Or if you have the RGB value and want to convert it to the CMY equivalent, change the Color Mixing selection.

You can also preview the color selected at all times using the Color preview box. Double-clicking on the Color Preview box has the same functionality as double-clicking on the Color Picker area, but without affecting your position on the area.

Note: These are valid value ranges for the color spaces:

• RGB Color Space: R (0-255), G (0-255), B (0-255)
• CMY Color Space: C (0-100), M (0-100), Y (0-100)
• HSI Color Space: H (0-360), S (0-100), I (0-100)

Predefined Colors

To use one of the predefined colors that comes with Vivien, click the drop-down arrow beside the Predefined Colors drop-down box and select the color that you want to use for the currently selected light.

Gobo

Gobos are patterns that the light fixture projects. Vivien contains a library of “stock” pattern lists. It also contains all custom patterns that you have imported with the Gobo Wizard.

• Click the Gobo scroll arrows to select the desired gobo. If you do not want a gobo on the light, leave the wheel in the open slot (white square).
• You can use the scroll arrows to select and apply a custom gobo that you have imported into Vivien using the Gobo Wizard. Note that you can only apply custom gobos to Moving Lights and Theatre Lights. For details on the Gobo Wizard, see “To use the Gobo Wizard”.

Using the Gobo Wizard

You can use the Gobo Wizard to import custom images such as corporate logos, and then store them in the Gobos folder on the AV tab in Vivien’s library. Once they are stored in the library, you can apply these custom images to lighting fixtures that you have hung in your plot, personalizing your events and adding greater realism to your renderings. For details, see “Applying custom gobos to light fixtures”.

Custom gobos can only be created when a Vivien file is open, but may be saved for use in other files. A maximum of 12 gobos may be added to any Vivien file but there is no limit for how many can be saved for later use. When creating a custom gobo, you will be presented with the option to import a previously-saved gobo, or to create a new one.

Once you reach the file’s custom gobo limit, you must delete a gobo before you can create or import another. See “To delete custom gobos” for details.

To project a custom image upward, you can use Vivien’s Truss Wizard to create uplighting, and then apply a custom gobo to the light fixtures. For more information, see “Creating uplighting”.

Note that all custom gobos that you import are saved with your Vivien file. This means that when you share such a file with other Vivien users, your custom gobos will appear in that file’s AV > Gobos section of the Library Browser on the other user’s computer, and if selected for fixtures, will display in the Virtual View when those fixtures are on.

To use the Gobo Wizard

1. From the Library menu, choose Gobo Wizard.

2. Select whether you wish to create a new custom gobo, or import a previously-saved one; or delete all unused or all custom gobos. If you choose to import a previously-saved gobo, click Add existing (shared) Custom Gobo, select it from the list and click Next. Click Delete all UNUSED Custom Gobos from this file if you want to automatically remove all Custom Gobos not used in this file, or click Delete All Custom Gobos from this file if you want to automatically remove all Custom Gobos in this file.

Note: Once a previously-saved gobo has been added to your file, it will no longer appear in the list.

3. To create a new gobo, type a name for the new gobo. This is the name that appears in the Gobos folder on the AV tab in Vivien’s library.

Tip: To make this gobo available in other Vivien files, select the Make this custom gobo available to other Vivien files checkbox in this window; otherwise, the gobo will only be available in the current file.

Important Note: A custom gobo may only be made available to other files while it is being created. If the Make this custom gobo available to other Vivien files option was not enabled when the gobo was created but you wish to make the gobo available to other files later on, you will have to delete it and then add it again (this time remembering to enable this option).

4. Click Next.
5. Click the ellipsis button (...) to navigate to the image that you want to apply as a gobo. You can choose a file in “.bmp”, “.jpg,” “.gif”, “.tiff”, “.tga”, or “.png” format.

Note: All colours and grays of the selected image will be projected by the fixture to which a custom gobo is applied. The white parts of the image (i.e. the pixels for which the R/G/B value is 255/255/255) will project the colour of the light (that is, the colour selected via the Light Tool, or white if no colour was selected) while he black parts of the image (i.e. the pixels for which the R/G/B value is 0/0/0) will block the beam.

6. Click Finish.

Result: The gobo appears on the AV tab in Vivien’s library in the Gobos folder, or gobos are deleted. For details on applying custom gobos to light fixtures, see “Applying custom gobos to light fixtures”.

To delete custom gobos individually

Custom gobos may be deleted from within the Gobo Wizard, from the Welcome Screen, or while the file is open.

Notes:

• While a file is open, deleting a gobo that was saved for later use will only remove it from that file; if needed again, it can be re-added, assuming it was made available to the application in the first place.
• While a file is open, deleting a gobo that was added to that file but not saved for later use, will remove it permanently.
• While on the Welcome Screen, deleting a gobo will make it unavailable to new files (i.e. files created after it has been deleted) but that gobo may be used in any files into which it was imported.

1. In the Library Browser, navigate to the AV > Gobos folder.
2. Double-click the folder to open it.
3. Highlight the custom gobo that you want to delete, and then right-click and choose Delete.
4. Take note of the warning that appears, and click Yes to delete the gobo.

Applying custom gobos to light fixtures

After you have created and saved custom gobos with the Gobo Wizard, you can apply them to Moving Lights and Theatre Lights that you have hung and turned on in your drawing. For details on creating custom gobos, see “To use the Gobo Wizard”.

1. In the Lighting Wireframe or Lighting Quad tab, select the Moving Lights or Theatre Lights to which you want to apply a custom gobo.
2. In the Light Tool, click the down arrow of the Gobo section.

Note: If the Light Tool is not displayed, click Tools > Light Tool.

3. Keep clicking the down arrow to scroll through the gobos until you see the one that you want to apply. Click on the image to select it.

Result: The gobo attaches to the light fixture and becomes visible in the Virtual View (if the light fixture is turned on).

Fixture-specific properties

Customize the properties of a fixture by assigning specific attributes, such as point of view, patch information, and lens type.

To edit/view fixture attributes

1. Select the fixture that you want to view or edit.
2. Right-click and select Object Properties.

Tip: At any time, to access an object’s properties, you can click on the Item Properties tool on the Modify toolbar.

The Item Properties button.

Result: The Properties window appears. Based on the type of fixture that you have selected, the tab fields in the Properties window varies. An example is how in the graphic below.

• Layer: A list of the layers in your document is displayed. Click on a list item to change the layer on which the fixture will be edited or viewed.
• Display with Layer Groups: By default, this checkbox is selected to show the list of layers within groups, and the Collapse All and Expand All buttons become active. Clear the checkbox to show only the list of layers.
• Collapse All: Click the Collapse All button to display only the Layer Groups.
• Expand All: Click the Expand All button to display the Layer Groups and all the Layers.
• Use Layer Color: Select this checkbox to set the fixture’s color for Wireframe views to be identical with the properties of the layer on which the fixture resides. Clear this checkbox, and then use the Color box to select a specific color for the fixture.
• Line Weight: From the drop-down list, choose the line weight for the selected fixture, which sets the thickness of the fixture symbol lines, defining how it will appear in all the Wireframe views and in the printed layouts.
• Hatching: Section for managing hatching effects only for closed objects. See “Hatching”.
• Fixture Symbol Fill: Section for managing fill options for fixture symbols.
• Use Document Defaults: By default the checkbox is selected to apply the fill settings that were set in Document Options. See “Fixtures and Beams tab”. Clear this checkbox if you want to change the fill and color settings.
• Enable: Select this checkbox to change the fill settings of the selected fixture.
•  Select Percentage from the drop-down if you wish to fill using the same hue of the fixture symbol, and set the percentage drop-down for the hue intensity.
• Select Custom Color from the drop-down and click the Color box to choose a different color.
• Select Use Gel Color from the drop-down if you wish to fill using the gel color that was attached to the fixture.

Fixture tab

Use the options on the Fixture tab to control the brightness of the fixture’s beam, footprint, or flare when turned on in Virtual View. The settings here will override the Virtual View > View Options settings.

• Flare: Increase or decrease the brightness of the lens flare for the fixture in Virtual View. The source disc remains visible.

Note: Flare value is NOT passed to the Renderer when you use the Render Wizard to render the Virtual View.

• Beam: Increase or decrease the brightness of the beam cone for the fixture in Virtual View.

Note: Beam value is passed and will apply to the Renderer when you use the Render Wizard to render the Virtual View.

Tip: If the beam of the fixture does not appear as bright in a rendering as you think it should be, increase the value of the Beam slider, keeping in mind the Beam Saturation setting in Step 4 of the Render Wizard.

• Footprint: Increase or decrease the brightness of the beam footprint for the fixture in Virtual View.

Note: Footprint value is NOT passed to the Renderer when you use the Render Wizard to render the Virtual View.

• Lock Sliders: Select this checkbox to lock the Beam Brightness settings.
• Reset to Default: Click to reset the Beam Brightness back to the default settings.

Note: Any changes will be applied to all fixtures of this type in the file.

Saving lighting Looks

Changes made with the Light Tool update the currently selected Look. A Look is a saved lighting state—each Look remembers what settings (intensity, focus, color, gobo, zoom) were applied to the fixtures in your file—and can be recalled by simply clicking on its shortcut. Separate Looks may be created for various parts of the event; for example, the lights could be set a certain way while guests are arriving at the venue ("pre-show"), another way during dinner service, another way during a speech by someone standing at the podium, and yet another way while a band is performing.

The name of a Look should be indicative of which part of the show it represents. The name of the currently selected Look displays at the top of the working area. Before making changes, always check that the currently selected Look is the one you want to modify.

To create a new lighting look

1. In the shortcuts bar, click the Looks tab.
2. Right-click in the Looks shortcut area, and then click New Look.
3. Type the name of the new look, and then click OK.
4. Click the shortcut for your new look.
5. Use the Light Tool to create your new lighting look.

Tip: To build on an existing look without losing the original, clone the look shortcut and work from the copy of the shortcut. For more information on cloning shortcuts, see “To clone a shortcut”.