The Showven Sparkular Jet, Standard Fixture ID 086, is a vertical sparks jet 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 bursts approximately 5-10 meters high using compressed air to loft the sparks.   Figure 1 – Showven Sparkular Jet   The Sparkular Jet has a two-channel DMX personality.   The first channel opens the aperture and triggers the spark jet.  The second channel turns the "Pre-Heat" mode on.  In Finale 3D, Sparkular Jet "Sparks" effects will control the first channel.  The Sparkular Jet "Pre-Heat" effects will control the second channel. The height of the burst of sparks is not controllable over DMX.  The user configures the fixture to produce spark jets of a certain height, and then triggers them with the DMX commands.  The Finale 3D Showven effect library for this fixture includes three sizes of spark jets, small, medium, and large, but all three of them have identical DMX outputs. The fixture requires a configured delay of 0.5s to 1.0s between the trigger event and the burst of sparks.  The user configures this delay on the fixture itself.  The effect simulations in the Finale 3D Showven effect library include a 1.0s delay between the trigger and when the effect becomes visible, to match a configuration of 1.0s delay on the fixture. Additionally, the fixture requires a separation interval between firings of 6s to 15s to prepare the compressed air, depending on the height.  Finale 3D does not enforce or warn about this separation requirement, so the user must take care during the design process to ensure the firings of each fixture are sufficiently far apart. Since the fixture produces bursts of sparks instead of a continuous fountain of sparks, the duration of the effect is not that significant.   The user's manual recommends using a duration of at least 0.2s.  The effects in the Finale 3D Showven effect library have a duration of 1.5s, accommodating the 1s delay plus 0.5s time after the delay for the burst of sparks to come to fruition. You do not need the "Pre-Heat" effect if you are operating your Sparkular Jet in "Automatic" mode, which heats up automatically when you turn the machine on.  You only need the "Pre-Heat" effect if you are operating your Sparkular Jet in "Manual" mode, in which case you use "Pre-Heat" to turn on the heater during specific periods of activity.   Table 1 – DMX channels DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Sparks on/off (0 = OFF; 255 = ON) Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Pre-heat on (255 = ON).  You can ignore this channel if you are operating your Sparkular Jet in "Automatic" mode.   Instructions To design a show for Showven Sparkular Jet 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 Sparkular Jet its own DMX universe, or give each Sparkular Jet a channel range in a shared DMX universe.  (B) In the real world configure each physical Sparkular Jet 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 Showven 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 Showven supplier catalog in the table, and turn the switch to ON.  Then launch the Finale 3D application and synch to network.  The Showven 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 Showven fixtures currently supported in Finale 3D, together. Add spark jet effects to the show.  (A) Right-click on the Sparkular Jet positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects.   You can adjust the durations of the effects on the timeline after inserting them.  (B)  If you are operating your Sparkular Jet in "Manual" mode, then you also need to add a "With Pre-Heat / Safety Channel" effect and you need to adjust its duration to cover the time range you want the pre-heat mode ON; you do not need "With Pre-Heat / Safety Channel" effects in "Automatic" mode.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each Sparkular Jet  fixture 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.  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 Sparkular Jet fixtures 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 3 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation 8137_sparkular-jet-en.pdf Showven Sparkular Jet user manual SPARKULAR JET parameters.pdf Showven Sparkular Jet parameters chart

The "Rack Type" field in the script window controls the matching between racks and effects when you add racks with the "Racks > Add racks for show..." function, as described in Using “Rack Type” to control what types of racks are used for what effects.  The standard "Rack Type labels" usage for the Rack Type field involves adding a matching label to the Rack Type of effects and racks that go together.  The Rack Type acts as a filter for the rack options when adding racks.  If an effect has a Rack Type of "Banana", then only racks with Rack Type of "Banana" will be suitable candidates for it. "Rack Type part numbers" are another usage of the Rack Type field.  You can put part numbers of racks directly in the Rack Type field of effects, to force the effects into that specific kind of rack.  This usage is similar to  Rack Type labels except: The effect's Rack Type field should contain the part number of the desired rack. The desired rack's Rack Type field should be blank. The effect's type will automatically become compatible with the rack no matter what kind of rack it is -- e.g., you can put a single-shot into a mortar rack or a shell into a single-shot rack. The effect's effective size will automatically become compatible with the rack no matter what the rack's size is. Rack Type part numbers cannot reference an EASYRACK. The major difference between the Rack Type labels usage versus the Rack Type part numbers usage is that the matching labels are purely a filter that limits what racks an effect can go into, whereas Rack Type part numbers automatically resolve any compatibility issues between the effect and the rack with respect to type and size.   Examples A common use case for Rack Type part numbers is putting a slice cake into a single-shot rack.  Normally, a slice cake wouldn't be compatible with a single-shot rack, because the single-shot rack only holds single-shot effects.  But if you put the part number of a single-shot rack in the Rack Type field of a slice cake, the slice cake will become compatible with the rack. Another use case for Rack Type part numbers is putting a single-shot in a cake rack.  In the physical world, some kinds of cake racks are pieces of plywood ("display boards") that you can nail anything to, not just cakes.  So you may want to put single-shots on that type of cake rack.  Rack Type part numbers are the way to do it.   Addressing dialog sort and constraint options Although a Rack Type part number will make an effect's effective type or effective size compatible with the rack, it doesn't change the size or type of the effect with respect to the sorting criteria and constraints in the addressing dialog.  For example, if you use Rack Type part numbers to force a 50mm single-shot into a 3" mortar rack, the effect's size is still 50mm with respect to sorting against other effects. Since the type of the effect isn't changed by Rack Type part numbers, the properties that stem from the type also are not changed (see Why is ‘Type’ so important? What depends on it?).  Cakes, for example, are not considered rotationally-symmetric in Finale 3D, since fan cakes look different depending on their orientation.  Single-shots are considered rotationally symmetric, since they are shot out of a tube without a defined orientation inside the tube. Single-shot racks generally care only about the firing direction of the tubes in the rack but not the orientation of the items in the tubes, since the items are generally single-shots.  But, if you use Rack Type part numbers to force a slice cake into a single-shot rack, the orientation of the slice cake does matter, because the slice cake obviously needs to align with the rows of the rack, physically: a long, skinny slice cake fits into a long, skinny row.  Thus the when the "Racks > Add racks for show..." function adds a single-shot rack to hold slice cakes, it may need to rotate the rack 90 degrees to get the rows to line up with the direction the cake is facing, plus or minus 180 degrees.  The actual requirement is that the sum of the cakes' PAN and SPIN angles is required to match the orientation of the rows in the single-shot rack they are sleeved into, plus or minus 180 degrees. Similar to the sorting fields, the constraints of the addressing dialog, such as "Each module is restricted to a single XXX", refer to the actual type or size of the effects, not to the effective type or size as adjusted by the Rack Type part numbers.   Figure 1 – A Rack Type part number doesn't guarantee the effect goes into the rack, if another effect gets assigned to the rack first!   Rack Type part numbers do not guarantee that the effect goes into the rack.  The Rack Type part numbers automatically ensure the most common compatibility requirements are met, but racks can have other constraints that also come into play, like the size range or fixed angle tubes, or the "Max usable row length" constraint.  If you assign a Rack Type part number to an effect and then when you address the show the effect doesn't end up in the the rack you had assigned it to, one explanation is that the addressing function assigned a different effect to the rack first, taking its spot.  The addressing function assigns firing system addresses and rack tube in the sort order specified in the addressing dialog.  If you want to make sure your Rack Type part number effects get first dibs on the racks you have assigned them to, add the "Has Rack Type Part Number" term to your sorting criteria.  That will guarantee your Rack Type part number effects get the first chance.   Order of collections that Rack Type part numbers can refer to Any single effect collection cannot contain multiple effects or racks with the same part number; they are forced to be unique.  However, when you add racks with the "Racks > Add racks for show..." function, you may be adding racks from any of the loaded effect collections, or from multiple of those collections.  Since part numbers are only forced to be unique within a collection, it is possible and even likely that multiple collections will contain racks with the same part numbers (per-show effects almost always has duplicates from other collections!).  When multiple collections have racks by the same part number, there is a question of which rack a Rack Type part number refers to. Usually, it doesn't matter, because usually when multiple collections have racks with the same part numbers, the rack definitions are the same, but since it is possible that the rack definitions are different, it is important to understand what Rack Type part numbers refer to if you need to troubleshoot racking questions.  The Rack Type part numbers refer to the first matching part number from all collections, sorted by order of: Per-show effects, Generic Effects, My Effects, any loaded effects files, any network inventory that you subscribe to, including Finale Inventories.    

The Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight 16CH fixtures, Standard Fixture ID 085, are available from vipih.com (SKU: L001-A031-US).  The capabilities include gobos in addition to the moving head with a color wheel.   Figure 1 – Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight   The fixtures have a 16 channel DMX personality.   Table 1 – DMX personality choices DMX personality ("DMX Channel Mode") Supported in Finale 3D 16CH YES   Instructions To design a show for Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight fixtures, please follow the steps in DMX basic instructions and Light fixtures basic instructions.  If you don't already have a compatible firing system or controller capable exporting a DMX script, please refer to Supported firing systems and controllers (DMX) for the list of available hardware options.   Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures Each 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 11-channel fixtures.  Some DMX firing systems and controllers only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.   Table 2 – Example channel ranges for 16-channel fixtures in a DMX universe Fixture DMX Channel Base Channels Used 1 1 1-16 2 17 17-32 3 33 33-48 4 49 49-64 5 65 65-80 6 81 81-96 ... 32 497 497-512   Technical details The following tables show the technical specifications of the fixtures, as tested by the Finale support team.   Table 3 – DMX channels for 16CH personality DMX Channel Meaning Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) Pan Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) Tilt Channel 3 (DMX Channel Base + 2) Pan fine Channel 4 (DMX Channel Base + 3) Tilt fine Channel 5 (DMX Channel Base + 4) Motor speed (0 = max; 255 = min) Channel 6 (DMX Channel Base + 5) Foggy Channel 7 (DMX Channel Base + 6) Shutter/Strobe (see table below) Channel 8 (DMX Channel Base + 7) Dimmer (0 = OFF; 255 = max) Channel 9 (DMX Channel Base + 8) Color (see table below) Channel 10 (DMX Channel Base + 9) Color animation Channel 11 (DMX Channel Base + 10) Gobo (see table below) Channel 12 (DMX Channel Base + 11) Shake Channel 13 (DMX Channel Base + 12) Focus Channel 14 (DMX Channel Base + 13) Prism Channel 15 (DMX Channel Base + 14) Prism rotation Channel 16 (DMX Channel Base + 15) Reset   Moving head effects are implemented by setting the motor speed based on the "from" and "to" trajectory angles and the span of time between the "from" and "to" effects.  The speed channel value is calculated from the inverse of the degrees-per-second-for-speed-channel-value function.  Figure 2 shows the measured degrees per second for various speed channel values between 0 and 255, and the curve chosen to fit those values.   Figure 2 – Motor speeds *** IN PROGRESS ***   Table 4 – Shutter values for strobe as measured (different from manufacturer documentation) DMX Value Shutter/Strobe 0 Closed, beam not visible (Finale 3D never uses values in this range; see programmer note below) 10 Slow strobe 40 Medium strobe 60 Fast strobe 255  Open, beam visible   Table 5 – Color wheel values DMX Value Color 0-7 White 8-15 Red 16-23 Dark Yellow 24-31 Cyan 32-39 Green 40-47 White 48-55 Beige 56-63 Pink 64-71 Light Yellow 72-79 Purple 80-87 Medium Blue 88-95 Orange 96-103 Lime 104-111 White 112-119 Dark Blue 120-127 Other 128-255 Rainbow effects   Table 6 – Gobo patterns *** IN PROGRESS *** DMX Value Finale 3D Identifier Image 0-7 NoGobo 8-15 Ring 16-23 Dandelion 24-31 BubbleStar 32-39 Shale 40-47 Bubbles 48-55 WaterWheel 56-63 Mica 64-127 Shaking, no gobo 128-255 Other options   Programmer notes The color and gobo mechanisms of these fixtures require careful programming of the DMX Patches.    Programmers who are implementing effect libraries for Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight fixtures may benefit from these notes: The fixture's shutter channel requires an initialize/reset fixture effect at the beginning of the show to set the shutter channel to 255, opening the shutter fully.  The "Flash" effects in Finale 3D do not write to the shutter channel; the "With Strobing" effects do. DMX Patches for one-shot "Flash" effects set the color in setup phase because the color wheel needs to move to the correct rotation in advance of the effect to be prepared.  Otherwise the audience sees the color wheel spinning to the correct color at the beginning of the effect.  The setup phase in the Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight DMX Patches is a luxurious one second by default, but since it compresses against any previous effect rather than overwriting the previous effect, the luxury has no consequence. Since the fixture requires an initialize fixture effect, its fixtureDef needs to identify it for the error checking and user facing warning messages.   Table 7 – Example files and downloads Download link Explanation Beam 230w 7r user manual.pdf Beam 230 7R Moving Head Gobo Spotlight User Manual

The VDL language makes it possible to create an almost infinite array of effect simulations simply by typing words and phrases. To create an effect in Finale 3D, go to "Effects > Create effect". Table 1 below contains a list of the effect terms that are supported by VDL, along with definitions, sample phrases, and videos. Some terms are marked as 'Not tuned'. These terms are recognized VDL terms, but they have not been fully implemented and therefore will not produce good visual simulations.   Table 1 – Glossary of VDL Terms VDL Term and Description Example VDL Phase Above Specifies a layer of stars in a mine is above another layer to create a multi-layer mine effect. 3" Gold Mine w/ Blue Above w/ Green Above Aerial For effects that could be either shells or comets/stars, the term 'Aerial' to declare the effect is an aerial shell. For example, using the VDL, 'Red Crossette Cake' will produce a cake with red crossette comets, whereas 'Aerial Red Crossette Cake' will produce a cake with red crossette shells. 1" 15s 10 Shot Aerial Red Crossette Cake Air Burst (Airburst, Air Burst) A stationary close proximity pyrotechnic device that contains a break (i.e., burst) of colored stars or report composition. Unlike a shell that is launched, an air burst is suspended from above by its e-match wire. Not tuned. And A term used to combine colors that are part of the same multicolor effect, or individual parts of a multipart effect. When used in a VDL phrase, 'And' is translated to '&' or '+' depending on the context in which it is used. See '+' or '&' below. + Combines shots of a cake, candle or chain. 3" 1s Red Peony + White Peony + Blue Peony Chain Of 3 & Combines colors that are part of the same multi-color effect. 3" Red & Blue Peony Aniseed An aerial shell that breaks into different clusters of colored stars with gold trails. Not tuned. Aqua An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Aqua Comet Artillery (Multi Salute, Artillery) An aerial shell that breaks into salute inserts. Not tuned. Barrel A break pattern of 5 or 6 rings that make a barrel shape in the sky. Not tuned. Bees (Bee, Bees) A type of stars that are self-propelled, which causes them to turn and accelerate in random directions, like tiny unguided rockets without fins or sticks. 4" Bees Big (Large, Big) A term used to expand the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Big Blue Chrysanthemum Blue (Sapphire, Blue) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Blue Comet Bombette (Bombettes, Bombette) A small aerial shell commonly used as an insert effect in roman candles. 45mm Red Bombette Bottom Half The bottom half of a spherical break pattern of stars, referenced independently from the top half so that its characteristics (e.g., color) can be described. 5" Green Peony Bottom Half Bouquet Another term for 'Mine'. Often used to describe mine stars fired along with aerial shells or bombettes from the same tube. 3" Red Peony w/ Blue Bouquet Bowtie An aerial shell break pattern with stars that travel out conically in opposite directions, like an hourglass. 4" Gold Bowtie Bowtie Rings (Bowtie Ring, Bowtie Rings) An aerial shell break pattern with two parallel rings that travel apart in opposing outward directions. 4" Purple Bowtie Rings Bright A term used to increase the brightness of stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Bright White Mine Brocade An aerial shell effect with stars that emit long trails of gold glittering sparks. 6" Brocade Bundle A collection of roman candles bound together and ignited at the same time. Not tuned. Butterfly A bow tie break pattern of stars, plus two stars representing antennae. Not tuned. C Shape A cake firing pattern in which every row of a cake is fired from center-to-outside. See Cake descriptions and Firing patterns for cake and slice rows. 35mm 1s 13 Shot Blue Gold Comet C Shape Cake (1 Row) Cake (Cake Box, Cake) A pre-loaded, multi-shot effect made from multiple cardboard or plastic tubes secured and fused together as a single device. 2" 15s 10 Shot White Flashing Peony Cake (1 Row) Candle A pre-loaded, multi-shot effect made from a single cardboard or plastic tube. A candle has a single point of ignition and the timing is controlled by the internal pyrotechnic fuse or delay composition. 50mm 10s 7 Shot Aqua Comet to Lemon Bombette w/ Pink Bouquet Candle Chain (Finale, Flight, Flt, Finale Chain, Chain) A selection of aerial shells connected together by a pyrotechnic fuse, and typically ignited by a single e-match. 3" 2s Silver Crown Chain Of 6 Charcoal A type of stars that emit fine tails of long, dense, deep amber colored sparks. See VDL colors. 4" Charcoal Willow Charcoal Glittering Willow An aerial shell effect with stars that emit long, dense trails of dimly glowing amber sparks mixed with bright, sparse glittering sparks. 3" Charcoal Glittering Willow Charcoal Tip A charcoal star that does not leave a trail of sparks. 4" Charcoal Tip Chase Crackling A type of stars that emit a bright, dense crackle trail that is slightly delayed, causing it to appear to "chase" behind the burning stars. 50mm Chase Crackling Mine Chrysanthemum (Crys, Chrys, Chrysanthemum) An aerial shell effect with a spherical break pattern, like a peony, but with stars that leave trails of sparks. Chrysanthemum stars can have colored tips, and will have gold trails, unless another trail color is specified. 3" Blue Silver Chrysanthemum Chupacabra Not tuned. Coconut (Coco, Coconut) An aerial shell effect, similar to a palm, characterized by relatively few, large stars that leave bright, thick, short duration trails. 3" Gold Coconut Comet A single star, fired as a rising effect from a tube or mortar. A comet may appear as a single point of colored light, or it may produce a trail of sparks, or both. 40mm Magenta Gold Comet Concentric Rings (Concentric Ring, Concentric Rings) An aerial shell effect with a break containing a smaller ring inside a larger ring, like a bullseye. 5" Green & Purple Concentric Rings Core (Center, Core) A pattern of stars in the center of an aerial shell break, like a pistil. 3" Orange Peony w/ Violet Core Crackle Flowers (Sakura, Small Flowers, Crackling Flowers, Crackle Flowers) A type of crackle stars that begin with a dark phase and terminate in bright crackle flashes accompanied by short duration orbs of dim amber sparks. The same as 'Tight Crackle'. 3" Crackle Flowers Crackling A kind of stars that emit a loud, energetic, crackling trail of sparks. 2" Crackling Comet Cross Rings (Cross Ring, Cross Rings) An aerial shell break pattern consisting of two orthogonal rings, like longitude and latitude circles on a globe. 4" Gold Cross Rings Crossette (Crosette, Xette, Xettes, Crossettes, Crossette) A kind of star that splits into four pieces mid-way through its life to form an X pattern. 4" Blue To Yellow Crossette Crown A spherical break pattern with longer duration stars that droop toward the ground at the end of their life. 5" Brocade Crown Cyan An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Cyan Comet Cycas An aerial shell effect featuring a relatively small number of very large stars, like a Dahlia, but characterized by stars that transition from a bright thick trail of sparks to bright colored tips. 4" Purple Cycas Cylinder (Italian, Cannister, Cylinder) A type of aerial shell, in contrast to a spherical ball shell. Not tuned. Dahlia An aerial shell effect with a relatively small number of large, bright stars with no trails. 4" Pastel Colors Dahlia Dandelion Not tuned. Dark (Black, Dark) A kind of star composition does not give off light as it burns. 5" Dark To Multi-Color Peony Degrees A term to specify total angle of effects in a fan cake. 35mm 13 Shot 100 Degrees Blue Comet Cake Fan (1 Row) Dense A term used to increase the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Dense Green Peony Diadem Not tuned. Dim A term used to darken the stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Dim White Mine Double Half Rings (Double Half Ring, Double Half Rings) An aerial shell effect featuring two half-rings side-by-side, like the sides of a bridge. 3" Pink & Lemon Double Half Rings Double Rings (Double Ring, Double Rings) An aerial shell effect featuring two parallel rings. 3" Aqua & Peach Double Rings Dragon Eggs (Dragons Eggs, Dragoneggs, Dragonseggs, Dragon Eggs) A kind of stars that emit a loud, energetic, crackling trail of sparks. 3" Dragon Eggs Ear An aerial shell break pattern with stars that are ejected in a cone shape from one end of an insert tube. 40mm Silver Ear Eight Times Not tuned. Falling Leaves A soft-broken aerial shell effect that contains lightweight sheets of substrate, coated with colored star composition. The construction of the falling leaves causes them to fall slowly and irregularly through the air as they burn and glow for a long duration. 4" Green Falling Leaves Fan (Firing Pattern) A cake firing pattern in which the shots are angled. See Cake descriptions and Firing patterns for cake and slice rows. 25mm 15s 49 Shot Red Strobing Willow Cake Fan (7 Rows) Farfalle (Butterflies, Farfalla, Farfallas, Farfalles, Farfalle) An aerial cylinder shell effect containing insert tubes arranged in a ring pattern. The inserts are filled with spark producing composition, plugged at the ends, and cross drilled so that they spin as they fly through the air. 5" Farfalle Fermata Not tuned. Fireball (Cremora Fireball, Fireball) A ground effect utilizing a black powder lift charge and a high fat content powder such as coffee creamer or calf milk substitute to create a rolling ball of fire. 12" Fireball Five Times Not tuned. Flame Projector (Flame, Flame Projector) A special effect created using a flame machine that shoots a flammable compressed gas or liquid fuel through a nozzle. Not to be confused with a colored pyrotechnic flame called a 'Ground Flare'. Not tuned. Flash Tray (Flashtray, Flash Tray) Not tuned. Flashing A type of star that oscillates between light and dark as it burns. Similar to 'Strobing', 'Shimmering' and 'Twinkling', but with a slower blink rate. 3" White Flashing Flying Fish (Fish, Flying Fish) A soft broken aerial effect made from pieces of fast burning fuse that emit a short trail of sparks as they burn and energetically fly around randomly in all directions. 1" Flying Fish Fountain A ground effect made from a tube that emits sparks from one end through a nozzle. A fountain is similar to a gerb, except that it produces longer duration sparks that cascade back to the ground. 25mm 5m 10s Gold Fountain Four Times Not tuned. Fresh Yellow An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Fresh Yellow Comet Fuchsia An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Fuchsia Comet Gamboge A type of stars that emit a fiery reddish trail or sparks. See VDL colors. 6" Gamboge Gamboge Tip A gamboge star that does not leave a trail of sparks. 6" Gamboge Tip Gerb A ground effect made from a tube that emits sparks from one end through a nozzle. A gerb is similar to a fountain, except that it produces shorter duration sparks that burn out while traveling upward. 25mm 5m 10s Silver Gerb Ghost An aerial shell effect featuring stars that are designed to color change at slightly different times to form complex patterns. For example, a shell with stars that transition from one color to another in segments from one side of the shell to another. By contrast, in a standard color changing shell, all the stars change from one color to another simultaneously. 6" Green To Purple Ghost Girandola (UFO, Girandola) A type of wheel that is mounted horizontally, that spins and flies up into the air under the power of attached tubes, called "drivers", that emit sparks and create thrust. Not tuned. Glittering (Flitter, Glittering) A trail of sparks that blink on and off. This term applies only to a trail, not to the tip of the star itself. A glittering trail can be Gold, Silver, Charcoal, or Gamboge. Other colors, if specified, apply to the star tips. 2" Red Silver Glittering Go Getter (Go Getter, Gogetter, Go Getters, Gogetters, Moving Star, Moving Stars, Swinging, Swinging Star, Swinging Stars, Swimming, Swimming Star, Swimming Stars, Dancing, Dancing Star, Dancing Stars) A type of star that is made by loading fast burning color composition into small tubes. This process causes the stars to burn from only part of their surface area, making them self-propelled. When used as a comet, or as inserts in a mine or shell, go-getter stars accelerate in random directions, like tiny unguided rockets without sticks. 3" Red Go Getter Gold (Golden, Gold) A type of stars that emit a gold trails of sparks. See VDL colors. 3" Gold Gold Tip A star that has a gold tip. Without the word 'tip', gold implies the star has a trail of sparks. 3" Gold Tip Grass Green (Ocean Green, Sea Green, Grass Green) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Grass Green Comet Green An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Green Comet Ground Flare (Bengal, Flare, Flamepot, Flame Pot, Ground Flare) A ground effect that emits a long duration colored flame. 25mm 5s Blue Ground Flare Ground Flash (Flash Pot, Flashpot, Maroon, Ground Flash) A ground effect that emits a single, instantaneous bright flash of light. 25mm Red Ground Flash Ground Photoflash (Photon, Photoflash Pot, Photoflashpot, Ground Photoflash) A ground effect that emits a single, instantaneous bright flash of light. 25mm Red Ground Flash Ground Strobe (Strobe Pot, Strobepot, Ground Strobe) A ground effect that emits bright flashes of light over a sustained duration. 25mm 30s Green Ground Strobe Half And Half An aerial shell break pattern consisting of two half-spheres of stars. 4" Blue & Orange Half-And-Half Peony Half Ring An aerial shell effect featuring a pattern of stars forming a half-ring. 4" Pastel Colors Half Ring Heart Shape An aerial shell effect featuring a pattern of stars forming a heart. 5" Red Heart Horsetail An aerial shell effect that breaks softly before reaching apex and releases long duration stars that briefly travel upward from momentum and then arch over and cascade down. 4" Brocade Horsetail Indigo An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Indigo Comet Intense Crackling A type of stars that emit long, dim charcoal trails of sparks mixed with bright pops of crackle. 4" Intense Crackling Jet (Jets, Jet) A short-duration gerb; a quick spurt of sparks. 20mm Silver Jet Kamuro (Nishiki Kamuro, Kamuro) An aerial shell effect with stars that emit long trails of gold glittering sparks. 4" Kamuro Lace An aerial shell effect, most common in smaller calibers, that begins with a dark phase and terminates in gentle flashes of color accompanied by delicate, dim amber sparks. 1" Red Lace Lancework (Lance Work, Lance, Lancework) A word or image formed by a pattern of colorful miniature flares affixed to a lattice. Not tuned. Laser Comet (Laser Comets, Laser Comet) A very bright, very fast comet that burns out while still traveling at high velocity. 35mm 30m Pink Laser Comet Lavender An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Lavender Comet Lemon (Canary Yellow, Lemon) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Lemon Comet Lilac Not tuned. Lily Not tuned. Lime (Lycopodium, Lime) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Lime Comet Long A term used to increase the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Long Red Chrysanthemum Magenta An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Magenta Comet Maltese Ring An aerial cylinder shell effect made from many parallel rings, giving the overall ring a three dimensional appearance, like a donut. 50mm Red Maltese Ring Not tuned in larger calibers. Meteor A type of comet that burns as a single point of light without leaving a trail of sparks 40mm Blue Meteor Midnight Snow Not tuned. Mine A ground effect containing stars or inserts, fired as a rising effect from a tube or mortar. 50mm Chase Crackling Mine Mixed A VDL term indicating that all specified colors apply to each insert effect, as opposed to one color per insert effect. For example, each subshell of a 'Red & White & Blue Mixed Shell-Of-Shells' will have all three colors, whereas each subshell of 'Red & White & Blue Shell-Of-Shells' will be one color. 6" Red & White & Blue Mixed Shell-Of-Shells Mobiles (Mobile, Aeolean Bells, Mobiles, Windbell) A soft-broken aerial shell effect that contains lightweight, long duration burning material connected by filament that twirls gracefully as it falls through the air. Not tuned. Multi Color (Color, Colorful, Multicolor, Multi Color) A VDL term to indicate that the shots or shells within an effect have multiple colors. The colors are Red, Yellow, Green, Orange, Purple. 3" Multi-Color Peony Nautical (Aquatic, Water Shell, Water, Nautical) An effect that is designed to be launched and then land and perform while floating on water. Nautical effects include shells that burst after landing in water, flares, gerbs or fountains that float on water, mines and comets that shoot up after landing in water, or even small shells that land on water and then burst after being launched to a low height. Not tuned. Nine Times Not tuned. No Trail A VDL term that removes the trail of sparks from an effect that would otherwise have a trail. 3" Silver Farfalle w/ Blue Tail No Trail Octopus An aerial shell effect featuring a break pattern with stars arranged in clusters (also called "arms" or "branches"). Similar to Stained Glass, except that all clusters of stars in an Octopus are the same color. 5" Blue Gold Octopus One Time Not tuned. Orange An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Orange Comet Other (Subtype) (Other) Not tuned. Outer (Exterior, Outer) Not tuned. Palm An aerial shell effect, similar to a coconut, characterized by relatively few large stars that leave bright, thick trails. 5" Palm Parachutes An aerial shell effect that breaks into slow falling, burning color composition suspended by parachutes. Not tuned. Pastel Colors (Pastels, Pastel Colors) A term to give the shots or shells within an effect a mixture of five pastel colors. The colors are Aqua, Fresh Yellow, Lime, Orange, and Lavender. 4" Pastel Colors Dahlia Pattern Shell (Pattern, Pattern Shell) A shell whose stars break into a pattern. Not tuned. Peach An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Peach Comet Peanut Shell (Peanut, Peanut Shell) An aerial shell effect with two breaks that are launched from a single mortar tube. 3" Purple Chrysanthemum Peanut Shell Pearl (Pearls, Pearl) A type of comet that burns as a single point of light without leaving a trail of sparks 40mm Aqua Pearl Peony An aerial shell effect featuring a spherical break pattern of stars that do not leave trails of sparks. 3" Red Peony Photoflash (Flash, Photoflash) An aerial effect that produces a single bright white flash. 3" Photoflash Pink An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Pink Comet Pistil (Pist, Pistill, Pistil) A pattern of stars at the center of a larger break, like the pistil of a flower. 3" Blue Peony w/ Red Pistil Placeholder A term used as a stand-in for another effect. 1" 15s 10 Shot Placeholder Cake Plate A pre-loaded, multi-shot effect made from multiple cardboard or plastic tubes secured and fused together as a single device, like a cake. 35mm 10s 8 Shot Pink Comet Plate Plum An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Plum Comet Polyp Not tuned. Popcorn Crackle (Popcorn Crackling, Popcorn Crackle) An aerial shell or mine effect with stars that begin with a dark phase and terminate in bright puffy bursts of crackle. 2" Popcorn Crackle Prefire (PFT, Pre Fire, Prefire) A VDL term used to specify the time from firing system ignition to the effect time that is synchronized to the music. For aerial shells, the prefire is usually the same as the lift time. See Prefire. 2.5" 2 PFT Blue Peony Purple An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Purple Comet Rainbow A VDL term to indicate that the shots or shells within an effect have multiple colors. The colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. 4" Rainbow Peony Ramillete Not tuned. Red An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Red Comet Relampagos Not tuned. Report A small explosion that produces a flash and audible sound at the end of the life of a star or insert. 4" Silver Farfalle To Report Ring (Circle, Ring) An aerial shell effect featuring a pattern of stars arranged in a ring. 2" Gold Ring Rising For effects that could be either shells or comets/stars, the term 'Rising' declares the effect is a rising effect. For example, using the VDL, 'Green Crossette' will produce a shell with crossette inserts, whereas 'Rising Green Crossette' will produce a green crossette comet. 1" Rising Green Crossette Rising Flowers Not tuned. Rocket Not tuned. Roman Candle (Rc, Roman Candle) A pre-loaded effect made using a single tube that contains multiple shots fired in a sequence - typically comets, mines, or bombettes. 50mm 8 Shot Pink Bombette w/ Green Mine Roman Candle Ruby (Cardinal, Cherry, Ruby) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Ruby Comet Salute An aerial shell effect that produces a bright flash and a loud concussive sound. 3" Salute Same Color A VDL term used to specify that each star in an effect with variegated (i.e., multi color) stars should remain the same color after a transition that could otherwise produce a different color. 4" Variegated To Same Color Crossette Saturn Not tuned. Scattering A type of insert effect that ejects a single star from each end of a small tube. When used in an aerial shell, scattering stars begin with a dark phase, then appear as individual stars shooting out in opposite directions from each insert. 5" Red Scattering Sea Blue (Ocean Blue, Sea Blue) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Sea Blue Comet Serpents (Serpent, Serpents) Not tuned. Seven Times Not tuned. Shell A device that is launched from the ground and bursts in the sky, and contains pyrotechnic composition in the form of stars, inserts, or other effects. Shell Of Shells (Thousand Flowers, Shell Of Shells) An aerial shell effect that contains smaller shells that are disbursed by the initial break and then subsequently appear as many smaller breaks. 8" Green Shell-Of-Shells Shimmering A type of star that oscillates between light and dark as it burns. Similar to 'Strobing', 'Flashing' and 'Twinkling' but with an extremely rapid blink rate. 3" White Shimmering Very Short A term used to shorten the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Short Red Chrysanthemum Shot A term used to specify the number of shots in a cake or candle. 18mm 30s 100 Shot Blue Comet Cake Shuttle A type of insert effect that ejects a single star from each end of a small tube. When used in an aerial shell, scattering stars begin with a dark phase, then appear as individual stars shooting out in opposite directions from each insert. 4" Blue Shuttle Silent A term used to remove sound from an effect. Not fully implemented. Silver A type of stars that emit silver trails of sparks. See VDL colors. 3" Silver Silver Tip A star that has a silver tip. Without the word 'tip', silver implies the star has a trail of sparks. 3" Silver Tip Single Shot (SS, Single Shot) An effect that is pre-loaded in a single tube. 35mm Aqua Comet w/ Magenta Mine Single Shot Six Times Not tuned. Sizzle Crackling A type of star, most common in smaller caliber effects, that emits bright bushy crackle and a long, thin trail of dim charcoal sparks. 2" Sizzle Crackling Sky Blue (Skyblue, Sky Blue) An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Sky Blue Comet Slice (Single Line, Slice) A cake with a single row of tubes. 30mm 13 Shot Silver Comet w/ Red Strobing Mine Fan Slice Cake (1 Row) Slightly Big A term used to expand the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Big Blue Chrysanthemum Slightly Bright A term used to increase the brightness of stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Slightly Bright White Mine Slightly Dense A term used to increase the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Dense Green Peony Slightly Dim A term used to darken the stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Slightly Dim White Mine Slightly Long A term used to increase the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Long Red Chrysanthemum Slightly Short A term used to reduce the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Short Red Chrysanthemum Slightly Small A term used to reduce the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Small Blue Chrysanthemum Slightly Sparse A term used to decrease the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Slightly Sparse Green Peony Slightly Thick A term used to thicken the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Slightly Thick Gold Comet Slightly Thin A term used to thin out the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Slightly Thin Gold Comet Small A term used to reduce the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Small Blue Chrysanthemum Smiley Face (Smile, Smiling Face, Smiley Face) An aerial shell effect featuring a pattern of stars arranged with an outer ring with eyes, nose and mouth, forming a smiley face. 4" Smiley Face Smokeless A VDL term used to remove the smoke produced by an effect. 25mm Smokeless Red Strobe Pot Spangle A trail of sparks that blink on and off. This term applies only to a trail, not to the tip of the star itself. A spangle trail can be Gold, Silver, Charcoal, or Gamboge. Other colors, if specified, apply to the star tips. 4" Spangle Sparse A term used to decrease the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Sparse Green Peony Spider Not tuned. Spike Not tuned. Spinners (Spinner, Spinners) Not tuned. Stained Glass (Kaleidoscope, Stained Glass) An aerial shell effect featuring a break pattern with clusters of different-color stars. Similar to Octopus, except that the clusters of stars are different colors. 5" Stained Glass Strobing A type of star that oscillates between light and dark as it burns. Strobing stars have faster blink rate than 'Flashing' and 'Twinkling' stars, but a slower blink rate than 'Shimmering' stars. 3" White Strobing Strobing Willow A type of stars that emit both long trails of amber charcoal sparks and colored strobing micro stars. 4" Red Strobing Willow Stutata Not tuned. Sunflower (Daisy, Sunflower) Not tuned. Sweeper Ghost An aerial shell effect featuring stars that are designed to color change at slightly different times to form complex patterns. For example, a shell with stars that transition from one color to another in segments from one side of the shell to another. By contrast, in a standard color changing shell, all the stars change from one color to another simultaneously. 6" Green To Purple Ghost Tail (Tl, Tail) A VDL term for a star that is attached as a rising effect to a shell. 3" Blue Dahlia w/Gold Tail Ten Times Not tuned. Thick A term used to thicken the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Thick Gold Comet Thin A term used to thin out the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Thin Gold Comet Thirty Times Not tuned. Three Times Not tuned. Tiger Tail Not tuned. Tight Crackle An aerial shell effect with stars that begin with a dark phase and terminate in bright flashes of dense crackle. 3" Tight Crackle Tight Crackling A type of crackle stars that begin with a dark phase and terminate in bright crackle flashes accompanied by short duration orbs of dim amber sparks. The same as 'Crackle Flowers'. 2" Tight Crackling Time Rain (Timerain, Time Rain) An aerial shell effect, characterized by a relatively few number of large stars that leave long, thick, crackling trails of sparks. 4" Time Rain Titanium (Ti, Tit, Titanium) Not tuned. Titanium Report (Ti Report, Tit Report, Titanium Report) A small explosion that contains bright titanium sparks and produces a flash and audible sound at end of the life of a star or insert. 3" Red to Titanium Report Titanium Salute (Ti Salute, Tit Salute, Titanium Salute) An aerial shell effect that produces a bright flash with a dense cloud of silver sparks and a loud concussive sound. 3" Titanium Salute To A term used to define the phases (i.e., transitions) of color changing stars. 3" Red to Blue Peony Top Half The top half of a spherical break pattern of stars, referenced independently from the bottom half so that its characteristics (e.g., color) can be described. 5" Green Peony Top Half Tourbillions (Flying Dragon, Flying Dragons, Tourbillion, Tourbillions) An aerial cylinder shell effect produced using a ring of small tubes filled with spark producing composition, typically gold or silver. The tubes are plugged at the ends, and cross drilled so that they spin as they fly through the air. Similar to Farfalle but with a more erratic flight path. 5" Tourbillions Trail Not tuned. Tremalon Not tuned. Triple Concentric Rings An aerial shell effect featuring three rings of different sizes aligned in the same plane, like a bullseye. 5" Yellow Triple Concentric Rings Triple Cross Rings (Atomic Ring, Atomic Rings, Triple Cross Ring, Triple Cross Rings) An aerial shell effect featuring three rings at different orientations, like the symbol for an atom. 5" Aqua Triple Cross Rings Triple Half Rings (Triple Half Ring, Triple Half Rings) An aerial shell effect featuring three half-rings side-by-side. 5" Orange Triple Half Rings Triple Rings (Triple Ring, Triple Rings) An aerial shell effect featuring three parallel rings. 5" Purple Triple Rings Tulip Not tuned. Turquoise An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Turquoise Comet Twenty Times Not tuned. Twilight Glitter Not tuned. Twinkling A type of star that oscillates between light and dark as it burns. Similar to 'Strobing', 'Flashing' and 'Shimmering', but with slower blink rate and more gentle, gradual fading between light and dark. 3" White Twinkling Two Times Not tuned. Ultrafast A very bright, very fast comet that burns out while still traveling at high velocity. 35mm 30m Pink Ultrafast Comet Umbrella Not tuned. V Shape (Firing Pattern) A cake firing pattern in which every row of tubes is fired either left or right. See Cake descriptions and Firing patterns for cake and slice rows. 25mm 10s 60 Shot White Strobing Willow Comet Cake V Shape (6 Rows) Variegated (Varios, Varg, Variegated) A VDL term to indicate that the shots or shells within an effect have multiple colors. 3" Variegated Peony Very Big A term used to expand the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Big Blue Chrysanthemum Very Bright A term used to increase the brightness of stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Very Bright White Mine Very Dense A term used to increase the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Dense Green Peony Very Dim A term used to darken the stars and their trails of sparks. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 50mm Very Dim White Mine Very Long A term used to lengthen the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Long Red Chrysanthemum Short A term used to reduce the duration of stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Short Red Chrysanthemum Very Small A term used to reduce the size of the shell break or mine spread. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Small Blue Chrysanthemum Very Sparse A term used to decrease the number of stars in an effect. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 3" Very Sparse Green Peony Very Thick A term used to thicken the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Very Thick Gold Comet Very Thin A term used to thin out the trail of sparks emitted by stars. See VDL effect adjustment terms. 40mm Very Thin Gold Comet Violet An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Violet Comet W Shape (Firing Pattern) A firing pattern in which all rows fire in a trident pattern with tubes angling left, up, and right. 15mm 10s 120 Shot Gold Comet W Shape Cake (12 Rows) Waterfall An aerial shell effect that breaks softly before reaching apex and releases long duration stars that briefly travel upward from momentum and then arch over and cascade down. 4" Brocade Waterfall Waterfall Lance (Fall, Falls, Ground Fall, Ground Falls, Ground Waterfall, Ground Waterfalls, Waterfall Lances, Waterfall Lance) A ground effect like a fountain, but without a choke or nozzle, that produces a shower of sparks when mounted upside down from a fixed height. Not tuned. Wave An aerial shell effect featuring a spherical break pattern of stars that transition from a fast burning gold or silver composition to a colored composition without trails. Not tuned. Wheel Not tuned. Whirls (Whirl, Whirlwind, Whirlwinds, Whirls) An aerial cylinder shell effect produced using a ring of small tubes filled with spark producing composition, typically gold or silver. The tubes are plugged at the ends, and cross drilled so that they spin as they fly through the air. Similar to Farfalle but with a more erratic flight path. 5" Whirls Whistles (Whistle, Whistling, Screamer, Screamers, Whistles) An insert effect made from small tubes that contain a composition designed to produce a whistle sound as they fly through the air. 3" Whistles White An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm White Comet Willow An aerial shell effect with stars that emit long trails of bright gold sparks. 6" Willow With (w/, With) A term used to distinguish between and combine unique parts of a more complex effect. 4" Blue Peony w/ Red Strobing Pistil X Shape (Firing Pattern) A cake firing pattern in which alternating rows fire from outside-to-inside and inside-to-outside, making an 'X'. See Cake descriptions and Firing patterns for cake and slice rows. 25mm 8s 100 Shot Green Strobing Willow Comet X Shape Cake (10 Rows) Yellow An effect color. See VDL colors. 40mm Yellow Comet Z Shape (Firing Pattern) A cake firing pattern in which alternating rows fire from left-to-right and right-to-left, making a 'Z'. See Cake descriptions and Firing patterns for cake and slice rows. 20mm 25s 80 Shot Orange To Sea Blue Crossette Z Shape Cake (10 Rows)  

Move-To effects for moving head DMX fixtures animate the PAN and TILT angles of the moving head, interpolating from the dotted line trajectory angle of the previous effect to the dotted line trajectory angle of the Move-To effect.  The animation will be smooth if the interpolation involves changing PAN or TILT, but in general the animation will not be smooth if the interpolation involves both PAN and TILT moving simultaneously.  Move-To effects that would animate both PAN and TILT are usually errors. The function, "DMX > Detect and fix PAN problems with Move-To effects" identifies these likely errors, and automatically fixes a class of minor errors that occur frequently while designing.  The function displays the dialog shown in Figure 1, indicating the number of minor, fixable errors, and the number of other errors that you would have to fix manually.   Figure 1 – The function can fix minor problems automatically; it highlights other problems so you can fix them manually.   Figure 2 shows the script that yields the dialog of Figure 1.  The yellow rows represent the problems, of which one is a minor, fixable problem, and the other six require manual fixes.  In this example, you can see that all the yellow rows have different PAN and TILT values from rows above them.  Those are the seven likely errors that the dialog refers to.   Figure 2 – Look at the PAN and TILT of consecutive rows.  If a Move-To event has a different PAN and TILT from the previous row, it is probably an error.   The part numbers in this script contain "MT" if they are Move-To events.  They contain "MIB" if they are Move-In-Black events.  By quick inspection, you can confirm that the yellow rows are  Move-To events that would animate the PAN and TILT angles.   Minor, fixable errors Row #8 is the only yellow row that has a blank (zero) TILT value.  That is what makes it a minor, fixable error instead of an error that requires manual fixing.  TILT of zero is special because when tilt is zero, the head is aiming straight up.  When the head is aiming straight up, you can't tell the difference between PAN values by looking at the beam (ignoring the inconsequential exception of beams with gobos).  The PAN values just spin the beam on its axis. Since the PAN value can be anything when the TILT is zero, problems like row #8 can be fixed by simply changing the PAN value to match the PAN value of the previous row or next row.  That's exactly what this function does if you choose to fix the minor problems.   Problems that require manual fixes The other yellow rows animating both the PAN and TILT angles cannot be fixed so easily.  Consider row #2, for example.  It is a Move-To that changes both PAN and TILT from the row above it, row #1.  Since TILT of row #1 and row #2 are both non-zero, neither PAN can be changed without changing the appearance of the beams.  For problems like this, the function doesn't attempt a fix since there is no way for it to know what you want.   If the problem is indeed an error, then you should change one of the PAN or TILT values to eliminate the error, or introduce an additional Move-To in between the two rows as an intermediate "knee" that divides that animation into two steps, one that animates the PAN and the other that animates the TILT.    

DMX effects are generally not designed to overlap.  Adding a "Red Par Light" effect and a "Blue Par Light" effect over a simultaneous time range might result in purple light for LED fixtures, but that's not a guarantee.  The effect libraries are generally designed with the expectation that if you want a purple light, you'd add a "Purple Par Light" effect -- no overlapping required. There are two main exceptions: 1) modifier effects like "With Strobing" or "With Safety Channel", and 2) multi-head fixtures for which a per-head effect like "Head 2 Standard Flame" sometimes can apply in parallel with other per-head effects like "Head 3 Standard Flame", depending on the fixture. The function "DMX > Detect and fix overlapping effects" helps identify and fix overlapping effects that shouldn't overlap.  It is an important function, because improperly overlapping effects might appear one way in the simulation and another way in real life.  The function is available in the menu item of Figure 1.   Figure 1 – It is a good idea to use this function for DMX shows to ensure the simulation represents what you will see in real life.   If you choose "Fix" in the dialog of "DMX > Detect and fix overlapping effects" shown in Figure 2, the function will truncate DMX effects that overlap later effects on the same fixture by shortening the durations of the earlier effects to make them line up back to back with the later effects.  DMX effects of type "sfx" and "light" have adjustable duration, so shortening their durations is not a problem.  DMX effects of type "flame" have non-adjustable durations, though, so in order to change their durations, the function also needs to change their type to "sfx". Changing the type to "sfx" is nothing to be afraid of.  Flame effects could have type "flame" or "sfx" without much difference.   The list of differences is in: Why is ‘Type’ so important? What depends on it?.  The reason flames generally have type "flame" is that designers tend to think about flame effects as having a specific duration, similar to pyro, in contrast with DMX light flashes whose durations are more fluid.  The non-adjustable durations of type "flame" enforce that expectation and avoid the possibility of ending up with a "Long Flame" effect whose duration is actually short.   Figure 2 – The function may need to change the type of "flame" effects to "sfx" in order to adjust their duration.   Exemptions As mentioned above, modifier effects like "With Safety Channel" effects, and multi-head fixture effects may legitimately overlap.  They are exempted from this function.  The specific list of exemptions is: Effect ID is 0000 (safety channel) or 1201 (initialize fixture). Effect description contains the subphrase "AFETY" or "afety". The fixture definition contains the attribute "supportsOverlappingEvents", with value = TRUE.  This field corresponds to the checkbox "Fixture has multiple heads" on the "Create DMX effect..." dialog. Effect VDL is blank. Effect VDL contains the subphrase "odifier". Aside from these exemptions, the function will detect and fix all overlapping DMX effects.  

Background images are imported photographs projected onto a backdrop or curved "sky dome" surface or ground plane in the simulation to give the illusion that the contents of the photograph are part of the 3D scene itself.  The sky dome and ground images are explained in Sky dome, trompe l’oeil, and ground images; this section discusses the backdrop images, which are the easiest and most versatile kind of background image, and which are available in all versions of Finale 3D.   Backdrop images The diagram in Figure 1 shows how backdrop images work.  Backdrop images are so convincing that you have to look at them from the side view to understand what is going on.   The standard "Front" view in Finale 3D positions the camera, or point of view, at location (A) in the figure, aiming in the direction of the backdrop image like a giant drive-in movie theater. The point of view at location (A) is about 10 meters off the ground, aiming slightly upward from horizontal.  If the point of view were aiming strictly horizontal, then the horizon in the scene would be exactly half way up the projected scene.  That may be right for some scenes, but typical outdoor pyrotechnics photography shows more sky than ground, to leave room to the fireworks. The backdrop image is generally imported perpendicular to the point of view (which is slightly upward from horizontal), meaning that the backdrop image leans forward slightly forward, as you can see in Figure 1.  For most realistic results, the horizon in the photograph should align with the horizon in the simulation.  The horizon in the photograph can be anything, depending on what the photographer chose.  In the Figure 1 example, a nearby mountain range comprises about half of the image but the true horizon is only the bottom 20% or so of the photograph.  The photograph height extends from (B) to (D), but the region from (C) to (D) is set below the ground when the image is imported. The ground rendering in Figure 1 is turned ON, with the grass texture.  It therefore occludes, or clips off, the bottom 20% of the sunken backdrop image photograph in the figure.  The import dialog has an option to turn the ground rendering OFF, and OFF is the standard setting so the full background image can be seen in the simulation, including the below ground area between (C) and (D) that is not visible in Figure 1.  The fireworks launching from the ground in the simulation would launch on an invisible ground plane that intersects (C), and the bottom edge of the photograph visible in Figure 1, and the ground point just under (A).   Figure 1 – The backdrop image is like a giant drive-in movie theater, shown here from the side.   Backdrop image adjustments When you import a backdrop image, the dialog of Figure 2 comes up with the numerical fields pre-calculated based on the dimensions of the photograph.  You can recognize the first field, "Fraction of image below horizon" as the proportion of C-D to B-D in Figure 1.  This numerical field you may need to adjust for your image, because Finale 3D cannot discern where the horizon is in the image as well as you can.  The next four fields, including "Fraction of image billboard that is underground", are calculated precisely such that the image fills the field of view in the standard "Front" view.  Since the image proportions may not match the view screen proportions, the projected image may extend beyond the view in either the horizontal or the vertical dimension. The last of these four numerical fields, "Fraction of image billboard that is underground", sounds a lot like the first field but is subtly different.  The figure "Fraction of image below horizon" is intrinsic to the photograph itself; it does not depend on Finale 3D or backdrop image settings or anything else.  You can just look at the image and determine what the number should be. By contrast, "Fraction of image billboard that is underground" designates how deeply the backdrop itself will be sunken into the ground in the 3D scene.  For backdrop images that represent scenery in the far distance, you should set the underground fraction to be the same as the below horizon fraction, because they match up in the photograph.  However, for backdrop images that represent nearer objects in the scene you may choose to use other values.  For example, if you have an image of a building or wall, you probably want the exact base of the building or wall to align with the ground plane in the simulation, even though the horizon may be substantially higher than the base of the building or wall in the photograph. The last numerical field, "Direction of image billboard in degrees", rotates the image billboard position around the origin counter-clockwise by the given degrees.  By default this field is zero, but you may need to set it to align an image with Google maps or for some other reason.     Figure 2 – The numerical fields fill in automatically based on the dimensions of the photograph.   Transparent color The transparent color field is useful when you want a simulation that includes effects both in front of and behind the backdrop image.  For example, if you were making a simulation of the Disney castle, you may want some fireworks appearing in front of the castle, and others in back.  The transparent color field gives you a way to do that with an imported backdrop image. The field is simply an RGB color in the format RRGGBB where RR, GG, and BB are two hexadecimal digits from 00 to FF.  When importing the image, Finale 3D will replace this specific color with transparency.  Thus, for something like the Disney castle, you would need to prepare your photograph by filling in the area behind the castle with an RGB color that is not used in the castle itself, and then import that picture while indicating the RGB color that is to be considered transparent.   Darkening The darkening fields provide a quick way to convert a daytime photograph to an evening or night time scene by applying darkening gradients on the edges and at the horizon.  A little bit of experimentation with these numbers pays off.   Applying the right gradients can produce a remarkably realistic transformation, as you can see in Figure 3, which is the same photograph as Figure 1 but with darkening applied and with the ground plane set to reflective water.   Figure 3 – Example of darkening settings that look good.    

The "Positions > Rename positions..." menu item, the "Rename" context menu item from right-clicking on a position, and the "Positions > Edit properties..." menu item are the standard ways to rename positions.  You can also open the Positions window and edit the position names directly in the table, but doing that will break the references from the effects in the script, which are linked to the positions by name.   Figure 1 – Type a name stem like "Front" or "Pos" into the Rename Positions dialog if multiple positions are selected.   The rename function applies to all selected positions.  If multiple positions are selected, then you should type a name stem like "Front" or "Pos".  The rename function will automatically add numbers after the name stems like "Front-01", "Front-02", "Front-03", etc.  If you include a number in your name stem, then the rename function will copy your formatting.  For example, if you type "Front-0001" then the first position name will be exactly that, and the next will be "Front-0002", and so on.  If you type "Front3" then the first position name will be "Front3" and the next will be "Front4".  When you specify a number in your name stem, the rename function starts counting from that number.   Sorting  When you rename multiple positions, the numbers added to the name stems will be in the order defined by the sort selector shown in Figure 1 and  Figure 2.  The default order is the alphabetical order of the existing position names.  If the position names contain numbers with different numbers of digits then you may prefer the "Alphabetical for letters and numerical for digits" option, which sorts position names like "Pos-8" and "Pos-9" and "Pos-10" in the order that most people would consider correct instead of putting "Pos-10"first because its "1" digit is alphabetically before "8". The "Left to right" and "Right to left" options refer to the left and right of the screen.  You could argue that having both functions is unnecessary because a single function could provide both results if you are willing to orbit the camera around 180 degrees.   Your argument would be correct.   Figure 2 – Sorting options include a solution for names with embedded digits like "Pos-8" and "Pos-9" and "Pos-10".   Arranging positions around a stadium or arena Renaming positions comes into play if you are arranging positions around a stadium or arena, as shown in Figure 3.  The easiest way to get positions into the right locations on the model is to drag them, since they stick to the walls of the model when you drag them.  Begin by inserting the first position (control+L or "Positions > Add > One position"), and then clone-drag the position by holding control while clicking on the position to clone it and simultaneously drag the clone to the next location around the arena.  You can arrange positions in a matter of a couple minutes.  When you are done, select all the positions and right click in the center of the stadium for the menu item, "Aim positions at this point" to get all the position arrows to point in the right direction.  But there's a catch -- the positions still have cloned names that don't sort well and that are probably not the names you want.   Figure 3 – Clone-dragging with the control key creates positions conveniently but with terrible names.   The sorting option in the Rename Positions dialog called "Clockwise, starting with alphabetically first" will rename the positions in a sequence around the stadium or arena, beginning with the position whose existing name is alphabetically first.    

Effect descriptions in English and other languages often employ the terms And, + and & to mean the same thing, as in "Red And Blue Peony" and "Red & Blue Peony" and "Red + Blue Peony". Making matters more complicated, in some languages With means the the same thing as And, as in "Red Peony And Tail" in comparison to "Red Peony With Tail". In VDL, however, these terms have different meanings, making it possible to interpret complex effect descriptions that use multiple colors and multiple effects unambiguously.   Table 1 – Conjunctions that sound alike, but are different in VDL Term Meaning Example And Not a VDL term + Combines shots of a cake, candle or chain Red Comet + Gold Comet Cake & Combines colors that are part of the same multi-color effect Red & Blue Peony With Combines an effect with a mine, petal, tail, or other stars mixed in Gold Comet With Red Mine   The first question people ask is: Why is And not a VDL term? The second question they ask is: If effect descriptions in my inventory use the term And anyway, what happens? Ironically, the reason And is not in VDL is precisely to make sure the right thing happens if you use the term in your inventory. VDL is designed to encompass existing effect inventories, to make their meanings explicit, and to enable people to adjust their descriptions when necessary to get the exact meaning they want. The problem with And is that it is used pervasively in existing effect inventories, with different meanings. Thus, if VDL chose any specific meaning for And, that meaning would be the wrong interpretation for a lot of effects in people's inventories. By leaving And out of VDL, the designers of VDL sought to give more latitude to software programs that interpret effect descriptions to create simulations automatically. If And had a defined meaning in VDL, then software programs would be forced to create simulations according to that specific meaning (even if it is obviously wrong). If And is not part of VDL, then software programs are free to determine the best interpretation for it based on the other terms in the effect description. Software programs can usually guess right, which is a better outcome than necessarily being wrong for one set of effects or another. So, if your effect descriptions use the word And, that's probably just fine. Software programs will interpret And as + or & or With, as smartly as possible. If you don't like the result, then change the word And to one of the other three, which all have defined meanings. The two symbols + and & are easy to differentiate.  The + symbol combines effect descriptions for shots of a cake, candle, or chain in circumstances in which the item's shots are not all the same.  Here are some examples, 20 Shot Red Peony + Blue Peony Cake Red + White + Blue Chain Of 6 8 Shot Red Comet + Blue Comet Roman Candle All three of these examples have multiple shots that are not all the same.  The cake in the first example has two kinds of shots: Red Peony, and Blue Peony.  This cake description doesn't specify how many of the 20 shots are red peonies versus how many are blue, nor does it specify the firing order, but it does make clear: The cake shots are one color or the other.  (See articles on cake effect descriptions for instructions to specify the firing order, timing, etc., in effect descriptions). The ampersand symbol & in VDL combines the colors of a multi-color effect.  Compare the chain example above with this chain: Red & White & Blue Chain Of 6 Can you see the difference?  In this effect description that uses ampersands, the chain has six identical shells, each one of them a multi-color shell with stars of three colors. The term With in VDL combines an effect with an additional mine, petal, tail, or other stars mixed in, as in these examples: Gold Comet With Blue Mine Gold Palm With Red Ring Gold Kamuro With Tail Gold Chrysanthemum With Blue If the With-phrase includes the term Mine or Bouquet, then it adds a mine to the original effect, usually representing a shot consisting of lose mine stars underneath one or more shells or bombettes that are lifted together. If the With-phrase includes a term that defines a flower or shape (e.g., Palm, Ring, etc.), then the phrase adds a petal to the original effect. If the With-phrase just describes characteristics of a star, then it indicates the original effect includes stars of that description, mixed in with the other stars.

For aerial shells, the prefire time defines the lift time of the shell if the prefire >= 0.5.  The prefire of cakes applies to the first shot of the cake (details here).   If prefire is < 0.5, then it defines the "delay before simulation," making the launches occur a fraction of a second later than the ignition time.   Cakes of comets or other ground effects will generally have a prefire < 0.5, but cakes of shells will generally have a prefire equal to the lift time of the first shell.  Since changing the prefire of a cake of aerial shells to any value >= 0.5 changes the lift time of its first effect, some people ask, "How can I create a cake of aerial shells with a prefire that I specify without affecting the lift times?".   Would prefire < 0.5 work? (EASIEST ANSWER) Prefire values < 0.5 do not affect the lift time of the shell, so if you want to change the prefire to a small value, you don't need to worry.  A prefire < 0.5 results in "normal" lift times and a firing pattern for the cake that begins after a small delay (the prefire) from when the cake is ignited.   Add LFT to fix the lift time after setting prefire >= 0.5 (GOOD ANSWER) Prefire values >= 0.5 define the lift time of the first shell, but if that's not what you want you can explicitly specify the lift time of the first shell in the cake or any other shell in the cake (or any shell, actually) by adding LFT to the cake's VDL, as in, 1" 2.0s 10 Shot 1.75 PFT FNR Cake Blue Peony 1.50 LFT Since the prefire of this cake > 0.5, it would specify the lift time of the first effect in the cake (the Blue Peony), but that effect includes the LFT term to specify its lift time explicitly, which takes precedence.  So in this example, the prefire does not affect the simulation at all.  So why would you care about the prefire?   Notwithstanding the simulation, the prefire determines the delay between the firing system's ignition time and the "effect time" that the choreographer synchronizes to the music, represented by the little blip on the timeline bar.  In this example, the choreographer might want to synchronize to a time point a little after the break of the first shell, giving the stars a chance to blossom.  By setting the prefire time to 0.25 seconds after the actual lift delay of the shell, the choreographer gives his shells more time to develop.   Would the "Delay Default" field work instead? (SOMETIMES THE RIGHT ANSWER) If your reason for setting the prefire to a value that does not correspond to the shell's lift time is that you have a long fuse in front of the device, like for example a Pyro-Clock fuse or a Visco fuse on a cake, then the "Delay Default" field in Finale 3D may be better suited to your purpose than "Prefire". The Delay Default field in Finale 3D is an external delay between the ignition of the e-match and the ignition of the effect.  The column is normally hidden in the effects window and the script, so click the blue gear menu in the upper right of those windows to unhide it.  In the effects window, the column is called "Delay Default" whereas in the script window it is called "Delay" (the internal column name in the script window is "externalDelay").  The reason it is called "Delay Default" in the effects view is that when you insert an effect the "Delay Default" is copied by value into the script's "Delay" field.  Once it is copied into the script, you can edit the Delay in the script on a row-by-row basis, as you might need to do if you were adjusting the length of the delay fuses on an item by item basis in the physical world.  Thus the "Delay" in the script can be different for different occurrences of the same effect.