2021 has brought a lot of great improvements to the LightShark. Let’s dive in and look at my favorites, and how they can make your show great!
A little bit earlier this summer the Lightshark team put out their effects engine update as well as a couple minor updates on top of it to fix bugs and add a bit more functionality. These changes have really done wonders for Lightshark as far as its utility.
New Features
The first part of the new effects engine, and a really neat feature is the “groups”.
Groups
Now if you press any group in Lightshark’s latest version you will see a 2D layout. This is really beneficial because you can actually layout how your fixtures sit on the stage. You can edit, move things around, create different steps and save them. The reason this is important to know how to use is because this is the foundation for your effects.
Basic Effects
The basic effects allow you to grab an effect across the top to display all of your different choices. You will notice now, as opposed to previously, that there are a lot of different ways to work with the effect. The new and different options are definitely worth exploring and playing around with to get an idea of what there is available.
Advanced Effects
With the advanced effects feature you can open up a panel and add layers and easily have access to all of your parameters. You can also use the advanced effects for your colors.
One thing to keep in mind is that only the colors that are shared between all the lights that you have selected are going to show up. You can mix and match and choose any colors you desire and watch them show up on the visualizer to see what you are working with.
You will notice that you also have the ability to work off of the grid, which is the group off of the steps that are defined in the 2D layout. The grid acts as the physical 2D layout. The steps are the actual steps defined within said layout. The groups are the individual groups that you use to make up the total selection to build the first effect.
Direction is another piece of this new feature pie. Here you will find all of the options that you had before. Only in “grid mode” will you have access to your full options of shapes.
Speed and Size Masters
Effects speed and size masters are some other cool newer effects features that will be available to you with a new update to your Lightshark. You’re able to take these and put them onto faders through your “preferences” which you will find in the menu as well.
Double Clear
The double clear feature allows you to go in and have your clear mode to be set to either single or double. If you’re used to working on other lighting consoles then you may be used to clearing multiple times. In the new version of Lightshark in double mode it allows the first time you press “clear” to only deselect the fixtures. The second time you press it will be a full clear. This helps speed up programming because if you want to deselect a few lights you don’t have to go into the pallet screen and fixtures tab and go through the process of finding and deselecting lights and reselecting what you want without clearing.
Closing
There are many other features and improvements now available to you to make using Lightshark even easier and more convenient. It is definitely worth taking the time to explore all of your new options for yourself and get a good handle on what you now have at your disposal.
Taking time to get to know the ins and outs of your console helps you to be a better and more efficient programmer so that you can focus on enjoying the creative aspect of your display without added stress.
