The Anonymous 5 Head Flamer 7CH unit is a 5-head flame projector that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   Figure 1 – Anonymous 5 Head Flamer 7CH   The Anonymous 5 Head Flamer 7CH does not have a safety channel.  Its 7-channel DMX personality includes channels for independent control of the five heads, and a macro channel for eight pre-programmed sequences that can be played at several different speeds based on a speed/max duration channel.  Initiating a flame shot requires both the speed/max duration channel and the ON/OFF channel for the flame head to be ON; terminating a flame shot occurs immediately when either the speed/max duration channel or the ON/OFF channel for the flame head is reset to zero.     Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Speed and max duration (1-99 = OFF; 100-120 = ON for 0.2s; 121-140 = ON for 0.5s; 141-160 = ON for 1s; 161-180 = ON for 1.4s; 181-200 = ON for 1.85s; 201-220 = ON for 2.11s; 221-240 = ON for 2.33s; 241-255 = ON for 3s; for macros, the max duration is the time of each individual shot in the macro pattern; these are measured times, which are believed to be more accurate than the times specified in the attached documentation) Part numbers ANON1000 - ANON1047 Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Head 1 ON/OFF (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; set to 0 to reset after automatic shutoff after max duration) Various part numbers in the range ANON1000 - ANON1020 Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Head 2 ON/OFF (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; set to 0 to reset after automatic shutoff after max duration) Various part numbers in the range ANON1000 - ANON1020 Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Head 3 ON/OFF (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; set to 0 to reset after automatic shutoff after max duration) Various part numbers in the range ANON1000 - ANON1020 Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Head 4 ON/OFF (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; set to 0 to reset after automatic shutoff after max duration) Various part numbers in the range ANON1000 - ANON1020 Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Head 5 ON/OFF (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; set to 0 to reset after automatic shutoff after max duration) Various part numbers in the range ANON1000 - ANON1020 Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Fire macro (1-33 = sequence 1>2>3>4>5; 34-50 = sequence 5>4>3>2>1; 51-76 = sequence 1>5>2>4>3; 77-109 = sequence 3>4+2>5+1; 110-136 sequence 1+5>4+2>3; 137-160 = sequence 5>1>2>4>3; 161-179 = sequence 3>4>2>1>5; 180-203 = sequence 3>4>2>5>1; 204-255 = all together 1+2+3+4+5) Part numbers ANON1021 - ANON1047   Instructions To design a show for Anonymous 5 Head Flamer 7CH units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each 5 Head Flamer its own DMX universe, or give each 5 Head Flamer a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical 5 Head Flamer unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture to match the Start Address exactly. Add the Assorted DMX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the Assorted DMX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The Assorted DMX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window.  This catalog contains effects for all types of Assorted fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the 5 Head Flamer positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each 5 Head Flamer fixture requires multiple channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example for 5 Head Flamer fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 5 Head Flamer 7CH fixtures Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-7 2 8 8-14 3 15 15-21 4 22 22-28 5 29 29-35 6 36 36-42 7 43 43-49 8 50 50-56 9 57 57-63 10 64 64-70 ... 73 505 505-511     Table 3 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation Fan Flame Machine.pdf Anonymous 5 Head Flamer 7CH user manual

The Auvi Spark unit is a variable height, vertical sparks machine that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   Figure 1 – Auvi Spark   The Spark has a three-channel DMX personality.   The first channel turns on the heater and enables the effect (Pre-Heat And Safety Channel).  The second channel is the density setting.  The third channel is the height setting and ON/OFF (height = 0 means OFF).   Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Pre-heat on (255 = ON) Part number AUV1018, "AUVSPK [014/0000] With Pre-Heat And Safety Channel" Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Density (0 = OFF; 255 = ON; intermediate values appear to be same as 255) Part numbers AUV1000- AUV1017 Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Sparks off (0 = OFF) or on at varying height (0-99 = a little unreliable; 100 = about 5ft, 255 = about 10ft) Part numbers AUV1000- AUV1017 representing spark fountain effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s   Instructions To design a show for Auvi Spark units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each Spark its own DMX universe, or give each Spark a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical Spark unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture to match the Start Address exactly. Add the Assorted DMX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the Assorted DMX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The Assorted DMX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window.  This catalog contains effects for all types of Assorted fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add spark fountain effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Spark positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   (B)  Also add a "With Pre-Heat And Safety Channel" effect (e.g., part number GFX2018) and adjust its duration to cover the active time range.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Spark fixture requires three channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for Spark fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-3 2 4 4-6 3 7 7-9 4 10 10-12 5 13 13-15 6 16 16-18 7 19 19-21 8 22 22-24 9 25 25-27 10 28 28-30 ... 169 508 508-510   Table 3 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation auvi-spark-user-manual.pdf Auvi Spark user manual

In addition to defining the simulation, the VDL field for DMX effects may require a few keywords that affect the user interface and script exports.  The effects with this requirement are: "Move-In-Black", "Move-To", and "With XXX" for all the modifiers like "With Strobing" or "With Safety Channel".  The requirements are explained in the following table.   Table 2 – DMX implications of VDL keywords Meaning and DMX implications "Nonphysical" keyword "Modifier" keyword "Move-To" keyword Meaning Nonphysical means an effect that you can't see on its own.  Most effects are not nonphysical.  You can see a pyro shell or a DMX light flash, for example, so they are by definition physical.  The DMX effects called "With Gobo" and "Safety Channel" and "With Safety Channel" and even "Move-In-Black" are nonphysical because you can't see them on their own (Move-In-Black is nonphysical because the light is off; With Gobo is nonphysical because you can't see it on its own without a light effect). Modifier means means the effect modifies other effects, like "With Gobo" or "With Safety Channel" or "Safety Channel".  Modifier effects that only affect other effects should also have the Nonphysical keyword so their timeline bars do not interfere with the effects they modify.  However, there are some Nonphysical effects, namely "Move-In-Black", that are not Modifiers. Move-To means the effect interpolates parameters (usually angle parameters) from the previous event.  A typical example is a sequence of two events, (1) Move-In-Black, and (2) Move-To,  in which the first event establishes a starting angle for a moving head light and the second event establishes the ending angle; the beam of light sweeps from the starting angle to the ending angle in the time between the two events. Timeline bar implication Causes the timeline bar to be a dotted line instead of a solid line, so it can overlap other timeline bars for the same fixture without occluding them entirely. Also prevents a timeline behavior that applies only to physical effects, i.e., events that are not-non-physical.  The prevented behavior is: event's timeline bar is set to zero duration if followed by an event that has non-zero "setup" time in its DMX patch.  The intent of this behavior is that the timeline bar between the two events is associated with second event, usually representing the angular sweeping movement from the angle of the first event to the angle of the second event (usually a Move-To event). Prefire interpretation implication The Move-To keyword prevents a special pyro interpretation of short effect prefires (< 0.5sec).  The prevented pyro intepretation is that the short prefire is the "delay before the simulation" instead of the "a parameter of the simulation (usually lift time)." Move-To implication Prevents a nonphysical effect from establishing the "effective setup time" (see The DMX Patch field) and the starting parameter (usually an angle) for the next Move-To event, whose own parameter (its angle) is the ending parameter.  For example, in a sequence of three events, (1) Move-In-Black, (2) With Strobing, and (3) Move-To, the first event should define the starting angle, and the third event should define the ending angle; the second event (With Strobing) has the Nonphysical Modifier keywords to prevent it's angle from being the starting angle of the angle sweep. Overlapping effects Exempts the effect from triggering the "Overlapping effects" warning and from consideration by the "DMX > Detect and fix overlapping effects" function. Simulations Enables the VDL terms DmxStrobing5Hz, DmxStrobing10Hz, and DmxStrobing20Hz to affect the simulation of the effect itself or other effects that the effect overlaps.  An effect like "Strobing Red Flash" would contain a VDL that defined the red flash in addition to the strobing modifier, such as "Par Light Red Modifier DmxStrobing10Hz"; whereas a modifier effect like "With Stobing" would contain the VDL, "Nonphysical Modifier DmxStrobing10Hz".

The MagicFX Flameblazer unit (Standard Fixture ID 025) is a vertical, fixed height flame machine that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   It generates a flame column 6-10 meters high, depending on nozzle used.   Figure 1 – MagicFX Flameblazer   The Flameblazer fixture has a one-channel DMX personality, plus a separately configurable safety channel address.   Since the safety channel address is configured separately from the DMX personality for MagicFX Flameblazer fixtures, you need to create a separate safety channel fixture position with the DMX channel base address equal to the safety channel address for which your fixture was configured.   Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) ON/OFF (0-199 = OFF, 200-255 = ON) See supplier catalog.     Table 2 – DMX channels for safety position (DMX Fixture Type of "MagicFX [017] Safety Channel") DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Safety channel (0-99 = OFF, 100-154 = ON, 165-255 = OFF) Part number MAFX9799, “MAGFX [017/0000] Safety Channel”   Instructions To design a show for MagicFX Flameblazer units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each Flameblazer its own DMX universe, or give each Flameblazer a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical Stage Flame unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture position to match the Start Address exactly.  (D) In the real world configure each physical Flameblazer unit's "Safety Channel Address"; multiple fixtures can share the same safety channel address even if they do not share the same address range for their DMX personalities. (E) In Finale 3D create one or more safety channel fixture positions, and configure their "DMX Channel Base" to match the Safety Channel Address exactly. Add the MagicFX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the MagicFX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The MagicFX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window.  This catalog contains effects for all types of MagicFX fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Flameblazer positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   (B)  Add a "Safety Channel" effect to the safety channel fixture position and adjust its duration to cover the time range of activity.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Flameblazer fixture requires one channel plus the safety channel, configured separately to an independent address.  If you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 3 – Example channel ranges for Flameblazer fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used Safety 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 ... 511 512 512     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation MAGICFX_FLAMEBLAZER_MANUAL_HR.pdf MagicFX Flameblazer user manual

The MagicFX Stage Flame unit (Standard Fixture IDs 021, 022, and 023) is a vertical, fixed height flame machine that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   It generates a flame column approximately 3-6 meters high, depending on whether it is operating in Aerosol mode (Standard Fixture ID021), Gas mode (Standard Fixture ID 022), or Big-flame mode (Standard Fixture ID 023).   Figure 1 – MagicFX Stage Flame   In Aerosol mode and Gas mode, the Stage Flame fixture has a one-channel DMX personality, plus a separately configurable safety channel address.   The Big-flame mode requires two channels, plus the separately configurable safety channel address.  Finale 3D requires the two channels of the Big-flame mode to be consecutive channel numbers.  Thus if you are allocating channel ranges in a DMX universe for Big-flame mode Stage Flame fixtures, you should allocate a pair of channels for each independent fixture. The first channel in the personality specifies the height.  The second channel turns on the effect.  A safety channel effect is also required to enable the fixture.  Since the safety channel address is configured separately from the DMX personality for MagicFX Stage Flame fixtures, you need to create a separate safety channel fixture position and set the DMX channel base to a independent address.  When you configure your physical fixture in the real world using the LED display, you need to set both the safety channel address and the start address for the flame channels.   Table 1 – DMX channels for Aerosol mode and Gas mode (Fixture ID 021 and 022) DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) ON/OFF (0 = OFF, 255 = ON) See supplier catalog.     Table 2 – DMX channels for Big-flame mode (Fixture ID 023) DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) ON/OFF for aerosol (0 = OFF, 255 = ON) See supplier catalog. Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) ON/OFF for gas (0 = OFF, 255 = ON) See supplier catalog.   Table 3 – DMX channels for safety position (DMX Fixture Type of "MagicFX [017] Safety Channel") DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Safety channel (0-101 = OFF, 102-163 = ON, 164-255 = OFF) Part number MAFX9799, “MAGFX [017/0000] Safety Channel”   Instructions To design a show for MagicFX Stage Flame units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each Stage Flame its own DMX universe, or give each Stage Flame a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical Stage Flame unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture position to match the Start Address exactly.  (D) In the real world configure each physical Stage Flame unit's "Safety Channel Address"; multiple fixtures can share the same safety channel address even if they do not share the same address range for their DMX personalities. (E) In Finale 3D create one or more safety channel fixture positions, and configure their "DMX Channel Base" to match the Safety Channel Address exactly. Add the MagicFX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the MagicFX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The MagicFX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window.  This catalog contains effects for all types of MagicFX fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Stage Flame positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   (B)  Add a "Safety Channel" effect to the safety channel fixture position and adjust its duration to cover the time range of activity.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Stage Flame fixture requires one or two channels plus the safety channel, configured separately to an independent address.  If you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 4 – Example channel ranges for Stage Flame fixtures in Big-flame mode (two-channel DMX personality) in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used Safety 1 1 1 2 2-3 2 4 4-5 3 6 6-7 4 8 8-9 5 10 10-11 6 12 12-13 7 14 14-15 8 16 16-17 9 18 18-19 ... 255 510 510-511     Table 5 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation MAGICFX_STAGE-FLAME_MANUAL MagicFX Stage Flame user manual

The MagicFX Sparxtar unit (Standard Fixture ID 019) is a vertical, variable height sparks machine that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   It generates spark fountains approximately 2-5 meters high, with variable height specified in the DMX signal.   Figure 1 – MagicFX Sparxtar   The Sparxtar has variable height.  The MagicFX supplier catalog of effects in Finale 3D contains Sparxtar effects for a range of durations and three heights (small, medium, and large).  You can create your own custom duration or height effects as described below. The Sparxtar has a two-channel DMX personality, plus a separately configurable safety channel address.   The first channel in the personality specifies the height.  The second channel turns on the effect.  A safety channel effect is also required to enable the fixture.  Since the safety channel address is configured separately from the two-channel DMX personality for MagicFX Sparxtar fixtures, you need to create a separate safety channel fixture position with the DMX channel base address equal to the safety channel address for which your fixture was configured.   Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Height (0 = about 2m; 255 = about 4.5m) See supplier catalog. Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) ON/OFF (0-63 = OFF; 64-127 = empty heater; 128-255 = ON). See supplier catalog.   Table 2 – DMX channels for safety position (DMX Fixture Type of "MagicFX [017] Safety Channel") DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Safety channel (0-101 = OFF, 102-163 = ON, 164-255 = OFF) Part number MAFX9799, “MAGFX [017/0000] Safety Channel”   Instructions To design a show for MagicFX Sparxtar units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each Sparxtar its own DMX universe, or give each Sparxtar a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical Sparxtar unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture position to match the Start Address exactly.  (D) In the real world configure each physical Sparxtar unit's "Safety Channel Address"; multiple fixtures can share the same safety channel address even if they do not share the same address range for their two-channel DMX personalities. (E) In Finale 3D create one or more safety channel fixture positions, and configure their "DMX Channel Base" to match the Safety Channel Address exactly. Add the MagicFX supplier catalog to your Finale 3D account.  Login to the finale3d.com website.  At the top of the page, go to “My Account > Supplier Catalog Settings” (www.finale3d.com/supplier-catalogs-settings/).  Find the MagicFX supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The MagicFX catalog will appear as one of the available collections in the effects window, which you can choose from the selector at the top of the window.  This catalog contains effects for all types of MagicFX fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add spark fountain effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Sparxtar positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   (B)  Add a "Safety Channel" effect to the safety channel fixture position and adjust its duration to cover the time range of activity.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Sparxtar fixture requires two channels plus the safety channel, configured separately to an independent address.  If you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 3 – Example channel ranges for Sparxtar fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used Safety 1 1 1 2 2-3 2 4 4-5 3 6 6-7 4 8 8-9 5 10 10-11 6 12 12-13 7 14 14-15 8 16 16-17 9 18 18-19 ... 255 510 510-511     Table 4 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation MAGICFX_SPARXTAR_MANUAL.pdf MagicFX Sparxtar user manual

The "Move-In-Black" and "Move-To" effects apply to moving head fixtures, including flames and lights.  Effects in a show that move continuously from one angle to another require two or more events in the show to specify the angles involved.  The first effect specifies the "from" angle as the angle of its trajectory dots in the design view; it is typically a "Move-In-Black" effect, signaling that the effect is off (black) for the setup time in which the moving head moves from whatever angle it previously was at to the "from" angle.  The following effect specifies the "to" angle as the angle of its trajectory dots.  It is always a "Move-To" effect.  The time separation between the effects on the timeline is the duration of the sweeping effect.   Table 1 – Instructions to create a moving effect Step Meaning Step 1 Insert a "Move-In-Black" effect at the "from" time. Step 2 Drag the trajectory dots of the effect to the "from" angle. Step 3 Insert a "Move-To" effect at the "to" time. Step 4 Drag the trajectory dots of the "Move-To" effect to the "to" time.   On the timeline, the "from" and "to" effects will be connected, as shown in Figure 1.  As you drag them farther apart or closer together on the timeline, the line between them expands or contracts.  The duration of the line is the duration of the effect.  "Move-To" effects generally have zero duration in their definition for clarity, since their effective start time is based on the preceding effect yet their effective end time is the end of their own duration.  If you want to lengthen the duration of a "Move-To" effect it is usually easier to drag it to the right on the timeline, but you can also edit its duration, which accomplishes the same goal.   Figure 1 – A "Move-In-Black" (cue flag 105) and a "Yellow Move-To" 5s later define a moving effect, visualized as a yellow bar.   Effect libraries may also contain modifier effects like "With Strobing Fast" or "With Gobo Star".  Modifier effects appear as dotted lines on the timeline, as you can see in Figure 1.  They do not turn on or off the fixture themselves.  They modify any effects that they overlap.  If you want a yellow, strobing, star gobo effect for a moving head light that sweeps from one angle to another, you would insert a "Move-In-Black" effect at the "from" time, and a "Yellow Move-To" effect at the "to" time.  Then you'd also insert a "With Strobing" effect and a "With Gobo Star" effect at the "from" time or just before, and you would adjust the durations of these two modifier effects to cover the duration between "from" and "to", or longer if the strobing or gobo effects are intended to apply to other effects also that you add after the "to" time.   Creating Move-To effects "Move-To" effects require three conditions to appear correctly in the timeline and in the design view, and to export correctly: They apply to fixtures, not pyro positions. The VDL contains the term "Move-To". The prefire, which specifies the maximum separation between the "Move-To" effect and the "from" effect that it reaches back to, is non-zero. Additionally, when creating a "Move-To" effect, you should, Set the Duration field to zero, since the "Move-To" effect extends backward, not forward. Add the DMX Patch field to translate the effect parameters into the fixture's DMX personality (see The DMX Patch field).    

The Explo GX3 Power Flame unit is a high powered vertical flame projector that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   Figure 1 – Explo GX3 Power Flame   The fixture has a four channel DMX personality, shown in Table 1.  The fixture does require a safety channel effect in Finale 3D, in addition to a "flame enable" effect that indicates whether recharging is required.  The safety channel is part of the DMX personality, so it should be added to the same fixture position in Finale 3D as the flame effects themselves, not a separate safety channel fixture position.   Table 1 – DMX channels for DMX personality DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Ignition (0 - 253 = OFF; 254- 255 = ON) Part numbers GFX9112 - GFX9117 representing flame effects with durations from 0.1s to 1s. Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Duration (0-255 = duration from 0.5s to 2.5s ) Part numbers GFX9112 - GFX9117 representing flame effects with durations from 0.1s to 1s. Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Flame Enable And Recharge ( 0-84 = pilot flame only; 85-170 power flame enabled with recharging; 171-255 power flame enabled without recharging) Part numbers GFX9119 - GFX9120 to enable the flame with or without recharging; the user must insert one or more of these effects into the show and adjust their durations to cover the periods of activity, overlapping the flame effects on the Finale 3D timeline. Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Safety ( 0-49 = disabled; 50-200 = ON for duration; 201-255 = disabled) Part number GFX9118, the safety channel effect, which the user must insert into the show and adjust the duration of to cover the periods of activity, overlapping the flame effects on the Finale 3D timeline.   Unlike most other flame fixtures, the GX3 Power Flame requires the user to add both a safety channel effect and also a flame enable effect.  The flame enable effect indicates whether automatic recharging should take place.  If the user wants recharging for some parts of the show, and no recharging for other parts of the show, the user can insert flame enable effects back to back, covering the period of activity with recharging or not, as desired.   For further information about the GX3 units, see the Explo website (www.explo.at). Instructions To design a show for Explo GX3 Power Flame units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each GX3 its own DMX universe, or give each GX3 a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical GX3 unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture to match the Start Address exactly. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the GX3 positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.  Also add a safety channel effect and flame enable effect with or without recharging.  Edit the durations of the safety channel effect and flame enable effect to cover all the flame shots on the timeline. Make your own, or modify existing flame effects.  The GX3 effects come in a few example durations in Generic Effects, but you can also create your own variations that have arbitrary durations.  (A) First copy the original effect by selecting the effect row in the Generic Effects, then right-click copy (or control-C).  (B) Then paste into your My Effects or any of your other effects collections.  (C) After copying it to your own inventory, you can modify its parameters.  Simply edit the duration field to change its duration.  The 3D simulation and the DMX Patch will automatically incorporate your change.  You can also adjust the height field to change the height of the flame simulation, though doing so has no bearing on the exported DMX script.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each GX3 fixture requires four channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 2 shows an example.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for GX3 fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-4 2 5 5-8 3 9 9-12 4 13 13-16 5 17 17-20 6 21 21-24 7 25 25-28 8 29 29-32 9 33 33-36 10 37 37-40 ... 128 509 509-512     Table 3 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation GX3 Power Flame v1.3 EN.pdf Explo GX3 Power Flame user manual

The Explo GX2 Flamer unit is a vertical flame projector that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.   Figure 1 – Explo GX2 Flamer   The fixture has two different DMX personality configuration options, 1CH and 2CH.  Neither configuration requires an explicit safety channel effect in Finale 3D.  The single channel configuration doesn't use a safety channel.  The two channel configuration combines the safety with the duration channel that is set automatically by Finale 3D for each effect.     Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Number of channels 1CH 1 2CH 2   In Finale 3D you will select which DMX personality configuration you want as you configure the position/fixture.  At any time you can change the personality configuration with the menu item, "Change DMX fixture and convert effects" from the right-click menu on the fixture.  The single channel personality will yield slightly smaller script files, but the two channel personality is safer since it is less susceptible to spurious DMX values triggering the flame.   Table 2 – DMX channels for 1CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) On/Off (0 - 253 = OFF; 254- 255 = ON) Part numbers GFX9106 - GFX9111 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s.     Table 3 – DMX channels for 2CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Ignition (0 - 253 = OFF; 254- 255 = ON) Part numbers GFX9100 - GFX9105 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s. Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Duration And Safety ( 0-10 = Disabled; 11-200 = ON for duration; 201-250 = ON continuously; 251-255 = Disabled) Part numbers GFX9100 - GFX9105 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s.   In the two channel configuration, Finale 3D sets the value for Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) to 225  (i.e., ON continuously) for the duration of the effect, and returns the value to 0 at the conclusion of the effect.   For further information about the GX2 units, see the Explo website (www.explo.at). Instructions To design a show for Explo GX2 Flamer units, please follow these steps:  Set up.  (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems.  Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each GX2 its own DMX universe, or give each GX2 a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical GX2 unit's "Start Address" to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the "DMX Channel Base" of the fixture to match the Start Address exactly. Add flame effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the GX2 positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.  No safety channel effect is required. Make your own, or modify existing flame effects.  The GX2 effects come in a few example durations in Generic Effects, but you can also create your own variations that have arbitrary durations.  (A) First copy the original effect by selecting the effect row in the Generic Effects, then right-click copy (or control-C).  (B) Then paste into your My Effects or any of your other effects collections.  (C) After copying it to your own inventory, you can modify its parameters.  Simply edit the duration field to change its duration.  The 3D simulation and the DMX Patch will automatically incorporate your change.  You can also adjust the height field to change the height of the flame simulation, though doing so has no bearing on the exported DMX script.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each GX2 fixture in the 2CH configuration requires two channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn't overlap with others.  A DMX universe has channels 1-512.  If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient.  Table 4 shows an example for GX2 fixtures in the 2CH configuration.  Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 4 – Example channel ranges for GX2 fixtures in 2CH configuration in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-2 2 3 3-4 3 5 5-6 4 7 7-8 5 9 9-10 6 11 11-12 7 13 13-14 8 15 15-16 9 17 17-18 10 19 19-20 ... 256 511 511-512     Table 5 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation GX2 v2.0 (ENG).pdf Explo GX2 Flamer user manual

The "DMX Patch" field of an effect definition is one line of computer code that translates the parameters of the effect into the DMX channels of the fixture, taking into account the duration of the effect, the angle of the trajectory, and other parameters if applicable.  You can unhide the DMX Patch field in the effects window to examine it.  Here are a few examples of DMX patches for certain kinds of effects. A red flash of an EasyDancing par light has the DMX patch, [beginEndPatch 0 32 0 1 255 255 2 0 0 3 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 0] A red flash of the light beam of a Tomshine moving head spotlight fixture has the DMX patch, [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 0 :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 1 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 2 0 0 0 3 0 255 0 5 12 12 12] A "Move-To" animated light beam for the Tomshine moving head spotlight fixture has the DMX patch, [setupBeginEndPatch :effectiveSetupPlus1000Ms 0 :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 1 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 2 :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1 3 255 255 0 5 12 12 12 :defineFunc1 :power 250 1 1.6] These three examples cover a range of simple to complicated DMX patches.  The reason the first DMX patch is simple is that par lights don't have very much interaction with the user interface.  A par light doesn't animate; it just turns on and off in various colors, and maybe strobes.  Thus the user interface for adding a flash of a red par light to a show involves nothing more than inserting the effect and possibly changing its duration on the timeline.   The numbers after the term beginEndPatch in the first example are the instructions to set the DMX channels to turn the light on with the color red for the duration of the effect. The second example is more complicated because after inserting a light beam effect for a moving head fixture, the user can drag the dotted line trajectory in the 3D view or use functions like "Fan" to change the angle of the light beam.  The DMX patch has to translate the angle of the dotted line that the user specified into the DMX channel values for the moving head fixture, which are typically specified as pan and tilt values.   The extra parameters after the setupBeginEndPatch term provide for that translation. The term setupBeginEndPatch also introduces the concept of "setup time".  A moving head light fixture doesn't move instantaneously, so if you want to flash a beam at a particular angle at time T, then you need to start moving the head angle of the fixture prior to T so it is pointing the right direction at the time you want it to flash.  The setupBeginEndPatch specifies the DMX channel values that apply at the beginning of the setup time, and also at the beginning of the visual effect (the effect time), and also at the end of the visual effect (the effect time plus the effect duration).  The concept of setup time also applies to gobos and color wheels, which need to rotate to the desired angles in advance of the effect turning on. The first parameter of the setupBeginEndPatch is the "ideal setup time", which may be a constant number of milliseconds or may refer to a setup time definition like nominal setup time or effective setup time.  The "nominal setup time" refers to the event's "Prefire" column in the script.  In DMX patches, the nominal setup time is mainly used in the calculation of the effective setup time as the maximum lookback interval for a Move-To event to connect to a preceding event that defines the "from" angle.  The "effective setup time" is the shorter of (a) the nominal setup time and (b) the time interval between the effect time of the event and the effect time of the nearest preceding event that whose VDL does not contain the keyword "Modifier".  The VDL keyword "Modifier" is used for effects like "With Strobing" that modify other effects but do not have a visual appearance on their own.  The "per-channel setup time" is calculated for each channel of the DMX patch independently.  For each channel, the per-channel setup time is the shorter of (a) ideal setup time, and (b) the time interval between the effect time of the event and the event's backstop from the nearest preceding event that whose DMX patch specifies a value for the channel.  An event's "backstop" from its previous event is the previous event's effect time if the event (not the previous event) has a non-zero nominal setup time; and is the previous event's end time otherwise.  The "nominal duration" is the value of the Duration field in the Finale 3D event with which the DMX command is associated. The third example specifies an animated light beam that moves to the angle that the user specifies by angling the dotted line trajectory in the 3D view, animating from the angle specified by the dotted line of the effect preceding it.  Based on the amount of time in between the preceding effect and the Move-To effect, and the difference of the dotted line trajectory angles, the fixture's moving head will need to rotate during that time at a particular speed to reach the goal angle at just the right time.  The additional parameters in this third DMX patch example define the formulas for calculating the motor speed DMX channel of the fixture.   Triggering fixtures' pre-defined macros Some fixtures, like the Explo X2 Wave Flamer, have pre-defined macros, or programmed sequences, that are triggered by initially setting a DMX channel specifying the macro number and then setting the DMX channel to turn the ignition ON to play the macro.  To re-trigger the macro to play again, the DMX channel of the ignition must be turned OFF before being turned on again. If pre-defined macros are scripted back to back, there is no time between the end of one event and the beginning of the next event to turn off and on the ignition.  For the next event to trigger successfully, the ignition channel must be turned off prior to the end of the earlier event.  The setupBeginEndPatch provides a mechanism to guarantee the ignition channel turns off between events, as illustrated by this DMX Patch for one of the pre-defined macros of the Explo X2 Wave Flamer, [setupBeginEndPatch 100 1 0 0 0 2 0 255 0 3 0 0 0 4 :customPartFieldExploX2 :customPartFieldExploX2 :customPartFieldExploX2] The effect with this DMX Patch must also have a non-zero "Prefire" value so that the "backstop" definition relating to the "per-channel setup time" is the beginning of the previous event, not the end of the previous event.  The Explo X2 Wave Flamer's ignition DMX channel is channel offset 2.  In this example patch, the ignition channel at offset 2 will be set to zero at "per-channel setup time" before  to the start of an event (100 ms) even if that time overlaps the duration of the previous event. In contrast with the pre-defined macros for which turning off and on the ignition is vitally important, effects that employ setup time only if it is available after the end of the previous event, like the red flash example above, should have a zero "Prefire" which causes the "backstop" to refer to the end of the previous event, not the beginning.   Functions The examples illustrate the beginEndPatch and setupBeginEndPatch functions.  There are only four DMX patch functions in total, shown in Table 1.  All of these functions have same basic syntax: they are the first term in a list of terms in square brackets.  The remaining terms in the list are the parameters to the function.  The first example above had a beginEndPatch term followed by 18 parameters.   Table 1 – Functions used in DMX Patches Function name Meaning Parameters beginEndPatch Defines the DMX channel values to occur at the beginning of the effect and at the end of the effect. A list of 3 * N parameters, for N channel specifications; the first three parameters specifying the channel offset, begin-value, and end-value of the first channel specification, the next three parameters specifying the channel offset, begin-value, and end-value of the second channel specification, etc.  Additional optional parameters may follow if entailed by earlier parameters such as :defineFunc1. setupBeginEndPatch Defines the DMX channel values to occur at the beginning of the setup time, and at the beginning of the effect, and at the end of the effect. A list of 1 + 4 * N parameters, for N channel specifications; the first parameter specifying the ideal setup time in milliseconds, evaluated independently for each DMX channel in the DMX patch; the next four parameters specifying the channel offset, setup-value, begin-value, and end-value of the first channel specification, the next four parameters specifying the channel offset, setup-value, begin-value, and end-value of the second channel specification, etc.  Additional optional parameters may follow if entailed by earlier parameters such as :defineFunc1. beginForeverPatch Defines the DMX channel values to occur at the beginning of the effect and to persist forever or until the interrupted by a subsequent effect. A list of 2 * N parameters, for N channel specifications; the first two parameters specifying the channel offset and begin-value of the first channel specification, the next two parameters specifying the channel offset and begin-value of the second channel specification, etc.; no channel changes occur at the end of the event.  Additional optional parameters may follow if entailed by earlier parameters such as :defineFunc1. endForeverPatch Defines the DMX channel values to occur at the end of the effect and to persist forever or until the interrupted by a subsequent effect. A list of 2 * N parameters, for N channel specifications; the first two parameters specifying the channel offset and end-value of the first channel specification, the next two parameters specifying the channel offset and end-value of the second channel specification, etc.; no channel changes occur at the beginning of the event.  Additional optional parameters may follow if entailed by earlier parameters such as :defineFunc1.   Parameters The parameters available for DMX Patches are a mixture of general parameters and specialized parameters that support various calculations.  If you are adding effects for a fixture that is not yet supported in Finale 3D, you may run across a need for a new calculation to support your fixture.  If so, please email the Finale support team to have it added to the DMX Patch language. The most general parameters are just numbers.  Channel offsets are integers beginning with 0.  Channel values are integers from 0 to 255.  All other parameters, shown in Table 2, are symbols beginning with colons that evaluate to calculated values for channel offsets, channel values, or durations.  As a simple example, the parameter :duration10 evaluates to the duration of the effect in 10ms units (hundredths of a second).  If the DMX Patch requires a channel to be set to the duration in hundredths of a second, this parameter produces the right number. The parameter :duration500MsTo2500Ms is also a duration parameter but its calculation maps effect durations from 500ms to 2500ms to integers 0 to 255 (clamped at the ends).  As you can guess from these two examples, many of the calculated parameters are specialized for the needs of of specific fixtures.  If a fixture requires a duration in the range 0-255 for effect durations 500ms to 2500ms, the :duration500MsTo2500Ms parameter is just right.  If the requirement were for 1000ms to 2500ms then a different parameter would be required, and if it weren't yet defined then you would need to reach out to Finale to have it added. The DMX Patch has a maximum length of 256 characters.   That's barely enough for some of the most complicated effects, so some of the long parameter names in Table 2 have optional shorter synonyms that take fewer characters.  The third example above uses :spdFrmESetupF1 in place of :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 to save space.   Table 2 – Parameters used in DMX Patches Parameter name Evaluates to Meaning :duration10 0-255 channel value Effect duration in hundredths of a second :duration500MsTo2500Ms 0-255 channel value Effect duration from 500ms to 2500ms, mapped to 0 to 255, clamped at the edges :customPartFieldExploX2 0-255 channel value The value ( 2 + X * 255.0 / 100.0 ) rounded to the nearest integer, where X is the Custom Part Field value of the effect, read as an integer; this calculation converts the Explo X2 pre-defined macro numbers to the DMX channel value range 0-255 :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 (or :spdFrmESetupF1) 0-255 channel value A speed value in the range 0-255 calculated from (1) the "effective setup time" (as defined earlier) and (2) the angle delta in pan or tilt (whichever delta is greater) between this event and the nearest preceding event whose VDL does not contain the keyword "Modifier", and (3) the function defined by the optional parameter :defineFunc1 (see Table 3) :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc2 (or :spdFrmESetupF2) 0-255 channel value Like :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 but using the function defined by :defineFunc2 :defineFunc1 N/A Defines a function to calculate the speed parameter for a fixture based on the effect duration and angle interval; useful for moving head fixtures (see Table 3). "Move-To" effects need to calculate a "motor speed" parameter based on the angle sweep delta and the duration of the sweep. It would be nice if the speed calculation was simple, such as: speed = angle delta / duration. Unfortunately the motor speeds on different fixtures are not linear, and their min/max speeds are different from fixture to fixture. So Finale 3D's DMX Patch in the effect needs to define a function to calculate the speed based on the angle delta and duration. That is what :defineFunc1 does. :defineFunc2 N/A Like :defineFunc1 :effectiveSetupPlus1000Ms Integer for first parameter of setupBeginEndPatch Integer milliseconds suitable for the first parameter of of the setupBeginEndPatch function; "Move-To" effects make channel changes to visible attributes at a time that reaches back by the effective setup time to connect with the preceding effect (such as a "Move-In-Black (MIB)" effect), but if a "Move-To" effect has a gobo, the gobo channels need to be set even in advance of the effective setup time in order to be fully rotated at the time the visible attributes change; the extra 1000ms provides a time point for the DMX Patch to set the gobo channels or color wheel channels. As an example, imagine you begin at time t=10sec with the head aiming straight up, turned OFF.  Then from time t = 20s to time t = 22s you want to do an angle sweep from -45 degrees to 45 degrees with the head turned on RED.  The event at time t = 20s would be the "Move-In-Black" effect.  The event at time t = 22s would be the  "Move-To" effect.  The "Move-To" effect needs to turn the light ON at t = 20s with the color RED, but if the fixture uses a color wheel, the color wheel takes some time to rotate to the correct color, so the color wheel channel parameter needs to be set in advance of t = 20s so that when the light is turned on at 20sec the color wheel is already at the correct rotation to show the color RED.   Thus the  "Move-To" effect at time t = 22s needs to reach back 2s + some extra time to set the color wheel rotation. :effectiveSetup10 0-255 channel value The effective setup time in hundredths of a second :effectiveSetup Integer for first parameter of setupBeginEndPatch The effective setup time in milliseconds :nominalSetup Integer for first parameter of setupBeginEndPatch The prefire time of the effect definition in milliseconds (from the Prefire column in the effects window) :p0, :p1, :p2, :p3, ...:p15 0-255 channel value The nth number in the DMX Parameters field of the script row, which can hold a single number, as in "128", or an array of numbers enclosed in brackets, as in "[128 0 0 60 255 255 0]".  The parameter :p0 refers to the number if the DMX Parameters field holds a single number, or to the first number in the array if the field holds an array of numbers.  If the array is shorter than the parameter index, the value zero is implied. :pan540 0-255 channel value The pan angle of the effect (right hand rotation around Up-axis), mapped from 0-540 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Pan in Finale 3D converted to 0-360 degrees" * 127.5 / 270 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :rPan540 0-255 channel value Like :pan540 except calculated from the negated Pan angle in Finale 3D, converted to 0-360 degrees. :rTilt230 0-255 channel value Like :tilt230 except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :rTilt244 0-255 channel value Like :tilt244 except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :rTilt270 0-255 channel value Like :tilt270 except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :rTilt180 0-255 channel value Like :tilt180 except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :rTilt180z5 5-250 channel value Like :rTilt180 except clamped to the range 5 to 250, supporting fixtures for which 0 or 255 values have special meaning. :tilt210 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -105 to 105 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 127.5 / 105 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :rTilt210 0-255 channel value Like :tilt210 except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :tiltL76R255 76-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, mapped from -90 to 90 degrees to the value 76-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 89.5 / 90 + 165.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer and clamped to the valid range. :rTiltL76R255 76-255 channel value Like :tiltL76R255except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D, converted to -180 to 180 degrees. :tilt90x200 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -45 to 45 degrees to the value 28 to 228; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 100.0 / 45 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer and clamped to 28 - 228 :tilt45ToChannelOffset0To4 0-4 channel offset A channel offset 0-4 representing best nearest match fixed angle fixture head, for fixture heads at -45, -22.5, 0, 22.5, 45 matching the tilt angle of the effect :tilt45ToChannelOffset1To5 1-5 channel offset Like :tilt45ToChannelOffset0To4 except offsets beginning at 1 instead of 0 :tilt45ToChannelOffset1To3 1-3 channel offset Like :tilt45ToChannelOffset1To5 except for three fixture heads at -45, 0, and 45 degrees :rTilt45ToChannelOffset0To4 0-4 channel offset Like :tilt45ToChannelOffset0To4 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :rTilt45ToChannelOffset1To5 1-5 channel offset Like :tilt45ToChannelOffset1To5 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :rTilt45ToChannelOffset1To3 1-3 channel offset Like :tilt45ToChannelOffset1To3 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :tilt40ToChannelOffset0To4 0-4 channel offset A channel offset 0-4 representing best nearest match fixed angle fixture head, for fixture heads at -40, -20, 0, 20, 40 matching the tilt angle of the effect :tilt40ToChannelOffset1To5 1-5 channel offset Like :tilt40ToChannelOffset0To4 except offsets beginning at 1 instead of 0 :tilt40ToChannelOffset1To3 1-3 channel offset Like :tilt40ToChannelOffset1To5 except for three fixture heads at -40, 0, and 40 degrees :rTilt40ToChannelOffset0To4 0-4 channel offset Like :tilt40ToChannelOffset0To4 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :rTilt40ToChannelOffset1To5 1-5 channel offset Like :tilt40ToChannelOffset1To5 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :rTilt40ToChannelOffset1To3 1-3 channel offset Like :tilt40ToChannelOffset1To3 except except calculated from the negated Tilt angle in Finale 3D :tilt180 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -90 to 90 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 127.5 / 90 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :tilt180z5 0-255 channel value Like :tilt180 except clamped to the range 5 to 250, supporting fixtures for which 0 or 255 values have special meaning. :tilt230 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -115 to 115 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 127.5 / 115 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :tilt244 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -122 to 122 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 127.5 / 122 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :tilt270 0-255 channel value The tilt angle of the effect, i.e., bending forward/back or left/right (right hand rotation around Pan-rotated Right-axis), mapped from -135 to 135 degrees to the value 0-255; the calculation is, ("Effect's Tilt in Finale 3D converted to -180 to 180 degrees" * 127.5 / 135 + 127.5 ) rounded to the nearest integer. :timeFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 (or :tmFrmESetupF1) 0-255 channel value A time value in the range 0-255 calculated from the "effective setup time" (as defined earlier) and (2) the angle delta in pan or tilt (whichever delta is greater) between this event and the nearest preceding event whose VDL does not contain the keyword "Modifier", and (3) the function defined by the optional parameter :defineFunc1 (see Table 3) :timeFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc2 (or :tmFrmESetupF2) 0-255 channel value Like :timeFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 but using the function defined by :defineFunc2   Optional parameters The functions of Table 1 are followed by a list of required parameters and optional parameters following the required parameters.  The optional parameters, which begin with :defineFunc1 or :defineFunc2, define functions that can be referred to by required parameters, such as :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1.  The purpose of the function is to provide a user-defined calculation for a motor speed channel value of a moving head fixture. The parameter :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 does just that -- it evaluates to the DMX channel value for motor speed that will make the head rotate at the correct rotational velocity in degrees per second to cover the Move-To angle over the effective setup period of time.  Unfortunately, the motor speed DMX channel values of most fixtures do not correspond to rotational velocities in a simple linear equation, so the only way to figure out what the correspondence actually is is to measure it, as in Figure 1.   Figure 1 – Motor speeds for Tomshine moving head fixtures   The X-axis in Figure 1 represents the channel values, going from 0 to 255.  The Y-axis represents the observed rotational velocity based on measuring the time it takes for the head to move some number of degrees with a stop watch.  You can construct a graph like Figure 1 using a lighting desk and your fixture with the following procedure: 1) set the fixture's DMX channel for speed to a value between 0 and 255, 2) move the head angle to 180 degrees, 3) start the stop watch and simultaneously quickly change the DMX channel value for head angle to aim it back at zero degrees, 4) record the time it took to travel 180 degrees, 5) the degrees per second is thus 180 / measured time. Based on your measurements you can connect the dots to make a curve, and then you can define a mathematical curve that approximates the measured curve with the parameters of the :defineFunc1 or :defineFunc2 functions, as shown in Table 3.  When referenced by parameter :speedFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 the result of the function :defineFunc1 is interpreted to be "speed" in degrees per second.  When referenced by :timeFromEffectiveSetupAndFunc1 the result is interpreted to be "time" in seconds.   Table 3 – Parameters of the functions defined by :defineFunc1 and :defineFunc2 Parameter index Meaning Values +0 Name of interpolation function: :power means Y=(Y1-Y0)* ((X-X0)/(X1-X0))^C+Y0 :rpower means Y=(Y0-Y1)*((X1-X)/X1-X0))^C+Y1 where X0=the DMX channel value 0, X1=the DMX channel value 255, Y0=Degrees/sec at DMX channel value 0, Y1= the function value (e.g., degrees/sec or seconds) at DMX channel value 255, C=exponent defined in parameter +3 that affects the shape of the curve :power or :rpower +1 The function value for the DMX channel value 0 (Y0 in the interpolation function) float +2 The function value for the DMX channel value 255 (Y1 in the interpolation function) float +3 The constant exponent C of the interpolation function (C = 1.0 means linear interpolation) float +4 (optional) Min valid DMX value on the X-axis if not zero (to restrict value range to reliable values for the fixture; e.g., Explo X2 Wave Flamer does not work reliably for values < 25 or > 128) integer 0-255 +5 (optional) Max valid DMX value on the X-axis if not 255 integer 0-255   The parameters define the function as an interpolation between the speed at 0 and the speed at 255 (parameters +1 and +2) by way of the function chosen by parameter +0 with exponent C from parameter +3, the result clamped by optional parameters +4 and +5.  If C is 1, then the function is simply a straight line.  If C is 2 then the curve is a parabola.  Other values of C, including fractional values, produce different curves with different bends.  You can choose :power or :rpower and find a value for C that yields a decent approximation to your measured values by graphing the functions in Excel and adjusting the values to find the best fit. The third example from the beginning of this article included the defined function for the 80W Tomshine fixture of Figure 1: :defineFunc1 :power 250 1 1.6 From Table 3, you can see this function begins with 250 degrees/sec at DMX speed channel value = 0, ends with 1 degree/sec at DMX speed channel value 255, and uses the power C = 1.6.  That produces the yellow line in Figure 1.  The knee of the curve is closest to DMX speed channel value = 0.  If you want the knee to be on the other end, at 255, then try the function :rpower instead.  If the observed motor speed essentially stops before reaching the maximum DMX channel value, you may find it useful to specify a negative value for parameter +1 or +2 to make the curve cross the X-axis at the right DMX channel value.   End value optimizations The end value for DMX channels specified in the setupBeginEndPatch and beginEndPatch (but not beginForeverPatch and endForeverPatch) code segments may be changed to zero in some circumstances to facilitate optimizations that reduce the size of the script file for certain firing systems.  If the specified end value is X, that means, "X, or optionally zero if the next event that sets this channel sets it to zero."  These semantics enable the DMX script exporter to use a feature of some firing systems that automatically sets the value of a channel to zero after a given duration without requiring an additional script row to set it to zero. In some cases, DMX Patches need to work around the end value optimizations to avoid visual ramifications.  The MARQ moving head fixture's shutter channel value range of 0-3 corresponds to closed, beam not visible.  The DMX Patch for the initialize fixture effect sets the shutter to remain with an "end" value of 255 ("open, beam visible"), but "end" values in DMX Patches may be changed by the exporter to 0 as a valid optimization if the following event begins with the value 0 for the same channel.  Consequently, if an event begins with shutter channel value of 0 it could affect a previous shutter value (for instance, changing the "end" value of the initialize fixture from 255 to 0).  To prevent this unfortunate side-effect of the shutter channel value of 0, the MARQ DMX Patches simply never use the shutter value of 0; the values 1-3 are equivalent and do not cause end value optimizations.   Move-In-Black and Move-To For moving head fixtures, the DMX Patches for Move-In-Black effects set the dimmer value (or RGB values directly if dimmer is combined with strobe on the same channel) to zero (OFF) instead of leaving it unchanged, for reasons that are a little complicated.  Move-To effects begin their nominal interpolation period at the effect time of the previous non-modifier event on the fixture (modifier events like "With Strobing" or "With Gobo" contain the word "Modifier" in their VDL to avoid affecting the Move-To interpolation periods).  While the nominal interpolation period extends back to the effect time of the previous non-modifier event, each affected DMX channel's interpolation period extends back to previous time the DMX channel itself was set.  If the Move-In-Black effects don't set the dimmer value to zero, then a Move-To effect that follows the Move-In-Black effect will cause the dimmer to be ON beginning prior to the Move-In-Black effect! For precisely the reasons that Move-In-Black effects do set the dimmer value, they do not set the color wheel parameter or gobo parameter for fixtures with rotating wheel mechanisms, because a Move-To effect that follows the Move-In-Black effect does need to cause the wheel parameters to be set prior to the Move-In-Black effect time, so the wheels have time to rotate properly before the effect turns on visibly at exactly the Move-In-Black effect time. You can string multiple Move-To events together, e.g., Move-In-Black, Move-To, Move-To, Move-To, etc.  It is clearer to begin a Move-To sequence with a Move-In-Black, but users may begin them with a Flash effect instead.  It is imperative that the DMX Patch of a Flash effect sets the motor speed to full speed, just as the Move-In-Black does.  Otherwise a Move-To effect following the Flash effect will likely cause the motor speed to be set to a slower speed prior to the Flash effect, sabotaging its ability to achieve the desired pan/tilt angle by the time of the Flash effect. Table 4 and Table 5 provide patch templates for fixtures with color wheels (Example: YF [081] Beam 230 Moving Head 16CH), and fixtures with RGB LEDs an independent dimmer channel (Example: U `King [029] Moving Head RGBW 11CH).  Some fixtures with LEDs combine the dimmer and strobe on the same DMX channel (Example: Betopper [090] DJ Mini Moving Head 9CH).   Patches for such fixtures use the RGB channels rather than the strobe+dimmer channel to turn the lights on so the strobe+dimmer channel can be used to control strobing independently, essentially ignoring its application as a dimmer.  These patches are described in Table 6. Multi-function fixtures that combine LEDs and lasers using a single dimmer channel globally for both the LEDs and the lasers may need to use patches similar to those in Table 6, essentially ignoring the dimmer channel so the LEDs and lasers can be turned on independently (Example: U `King [089] Pocket Moving Kaleidoscope/Laser 15CH).   Table 4 – Flash, Move-To and Move-In-Black patch templates for fixtures with color wheels Type Of Effect Patch Red Flash [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 COLORINDEX COLORVALUE COLORVALUE COLORVALUE DIMMERINDEX 0 255 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Move-In-Black [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 DIMMERINDEX 0 0 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Red Move-To [setupBeginEndPatch :effectiveSetupPlus1000Ms PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 COLORINDEX COLORVALUE COLORVALUE COLORVALUE DIMMERINDEX 255 255 0 SPEEDINDEX :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1]   Table 5 – Flash, Move-To and Move-In-Black patch templates for fixtures with RGB LEDs; and with dimmer that is not combined with strobe on the same channel  Type Of Effect Patch Red Flash [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 RINDEX RVALUE RVALUE RVALUE GINDEX GVALUE GVALUE GVALUE BINDEX BVALUE BVALUE BVALUE DIMMERINDEX 0 255 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Move-In-Black [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 DIMMERINDEX 0 0 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Red Move-To [setupBeginEndPatch :effectiveSetupPlus1000Ms PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 RINDEX RVALUE RVALUE RVALUE GINDEX GVALUE GVALUE GVALUE BINDEX BVALUE BVALUE BVALUE DIMMERINDEX 255 255 0 SPEEDINDEX :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1]   Table 6 – Flash, Move-To and Move-In-Black patch templates for fixtures with RGB LEDs; and with dimmer that is combined with strobe on the same channel  Type Of Effect Patch Red Flash [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 RINDEX 0 RVALUE 0  GINDEX 0 GVALUE 0 BINDEX 0 BVALUE 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Move-In-Black [setupBeginEndPatch 1000 PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 RINDEX 0 0 0  GINDEX 0 0 0 BINDEX 0 0 0 SPEEDINDEX 0 0 0] Red Move-To [setupBeginEndPatch :effectiveSetupPlus1000Ms PANINDEX :pan540 :pan540 :pan540 TILTINDEX :rTilt230 :rTilt230 :rTilt230 RINDEX RVALUE RVALUE 0  GINDEX GVALUE GVALUE 0 BINDEX BVALUE BVALUE 0 SPEEDINDEX :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1 :spdFrmESetupF1]   With XXX By convention, effects that modify other effects and do not have a visual effect on their own are named "With XXX" where XXX is a description of an effect modification that applies for the duration of the effect.   These are called "modifier effects".  Examples are "With Strobing" or "With Safety Channel".  As described in Table 2 of  Creating or modifying DMX effects for existing fixtures, the VDL of modifier effects should contain the term "Modifier" and "Non-Physical" to make them appear correctly on the timeline and to prevent them from interfering with the effective setup time for Move-To interpolation.   Reset Fixture Some fixtures require a "Reset/Initialize Fixture" effect to set certain DMX channels to initial values.  It is most common for DMX channel values of 0 to correspond to natural default values, but that's just not the case for some fixtures.  The 30W Tomshine moving head fixture’s “no gobo” pattern does not correspond to the DMX gobo channel value of 0; it corresponds to values between 16 and 23!    The flash effects for this fixture do not themselves set the gobo channel, in order to allow "With Gobo" effects to apply the gobo as a modification.  Thus if the gobo channel value of 0 corresponds to a gobo, the user is in for a surprise unless the user adds a "Reset Fixture" effect that sets the gobo channel value to a number between 16 and 23 to nullify the gobo pattern. The fixtures requiring a "Reset/Initialize Fixture" effect are listed in Table 1 of Supported light fixtures (and Standard Fixture IDs).   Table 7 – Example files Download link Explanation dmx_patch_functions02.xlsx Excel worksheet for defining functions