What are dynamic scenes?
Express features an extensive library of built-in dynamic scenes that help you create stylish lighting looks in just a few clicks. Whether you need something abstract or geometric, noisy or uniform, the dynamic scene library has an effect for you.
As soon as a dynamic scene is placed in a space, you’ll see the effect controlling the colour and intensity of all fixtures in that space straight away.
If you require more precise control over individual fixtures within the dynamic scene, or adjustment of fixture parameters beyond colour and intensity, you can use the static programming tools to apply a static override to the dynamic scene.
Introducing static overrides in dynamic scenes
In Express 2.0 and later, it’s possible to apply static programming overrides over dynamic effects, allowing you to define specific programming on a fixture-by-fixture basis. For example, this might be setting one or two fixtures to white while other fixtures in the space continue the dynamic effect.
Static overrides in dynamic scenes also support extended parameters beyond colour and intensity. This is ideal for projects using fixtures that offer parameters like zoom, focus or gobo, where a single static value needs to be assigned to these parameters while the dynamic effect takes care of colour and intensity.
How to apply static overrides in dynamic scenes
- Create a dynamic scene by clicking ‘Add items’ > ‘Scenes’ > ‘Dynamic Scene’.
- Click on the canvas to place the scene in the correct space.
- In the property editor to the right of the window, choose an effect from the list of built-in dynamic presets. For this example, we’ll choose ‘Colour Storm’.
- If required, modify the properties of the dynamic effect to achieve the look you need. The parameters offered will vary depending on the effect selected.
- Select the fixture or fixtures to which the static override should be applied. You can make a quick selection using the options on the left side of the window, including all fixtures, odd or even fixtures, or a selection based on control type.
- With fixtures selected, use the static programming tools in the menu at the bottom of the window to adjust the programming of the selected fixtures. We’re going to set these fixtures to blue.
- Finally, click the check icon above the programming tools to commit your changes.
Now, when the scene is started, notice that the fixtures we selected turn blue, while other fixtures continue to be controlled by the dynamic effect.
How to apply static overrides to extended parameters in dynamic scenes
It’s also possible to apply a static override to parameters other than colour and intensity. To do this, follow the steps above until step 5, where we’ll expose controls for extended parameters by clicking the ‘Show more’ arrow icon to the right of the programming tools. This icon is only shown when the selected fixture(s) feature extended parameters.
From here, it’s possible to set a static value for parameters like zoom, focus and gobo, which will be set when the scene is started, while colour and intensity continue to be controlled by the dynamic effect.
To learn more about control of extended parameters in Pharos Express, read our Tips & Tricks article: How to Control Fixtures with Extended Parameters in Express.
