Hi fellow addicts,   How would you simulate the Ricasa 44mm “Red|Green|Yellow|White Lightning” single-shot effect with VDL? I’ve been trying all kind of options without getting close.   Starting at 1:04 or so.     Thanks.

No problem, here’s a video that demonstrates how to control the order of assignment for addresses. In other words, how to add modules to positions in the order you want them.

Drew, can you explain how to change all modules numbers to start from left to right and front to back?

UPDATE: Finale 3D now generates timecode! It’s no longer necessary to use another application to add timecode to your soundtrack – just go to ‘File > Export > Export soundtrack…’. In the export soundtrack dialog, set the left channel to ‘Music mono’ and the right channel to ‘SMPTE 30 fps’.   ———-   Sure thing! Here’s a video that demonstrates how to export your soundtrack from Finale 3D and add (Cobra compatible) SMPTE time code using Audacity:

Does anyone know how to add SMPTE time code to your audio file in the Finale 3D program, and then export the audio file with embedded time code?

Great question. Your instinct to not “chain” effects in Finale 3D that are not actually chained together using pyrotechnic fuse in the real world is exactly correct. Here’s a video that demonstrates how to put multiple e-matches on the same firing system pin:

What would be the proper way to combine effects in the script to share a que? I’ve been chaining shells with time delays and have that sorted but what would be the best way to input say five comets all firing together at in the same position that will be wired together so as to share a que?  

Worked like a champ! Thank you Drew!

Here’s a quick video that demonstrates how to use a shared input description to re-create an effect in Finale 3D.

I hadn’t thought of reports, but yes, we get “timeline notes” reports for free with this implementation, since you can make a report template from any of the table windows including this window.  It is easy to make a template for the camera key frames table window.  The template could filter for the timeline notes, excluding camera keyframes, looping keyframes, and any others.   Creating reports that draw from multiple table windows, combining the keyframes rows with the script rows, is more difficult, since report templates are tied to a specific data set.  I don’t see a good way to do this.  The best I can think of at this time is that you print a chronological script report and then also print a timeline notes report, resulting in two reports.   The next major project we are working on, starting in a couple weeks, is improving reports.  One of the improvements seeks to combine reports together in “books” templates that enable you to print a “book” with a single click that contains a pre-defined set of reports and diagrams within it.  Even this improvement, though, as currently conceived, does not combine table data sets in a single report; it is more like stapling together multiple printed reports one after the other.