No more typing, proofreading, and worrying about keyboard errors!
I do translation (using my own software) in connection with shows coming in and out of my light booth. I'm pleased to offer this service to others.
Click here for advice on receiving your show translation electronically.
The operation is not at all like recording a disk on a lightboard, but takes several steps, using several pieces of software. The show usually passes through USITT/ASCII text format, so some very machine-specific data, like Effects, are not transferred.
This can also be an opportunity to merge multiple shows, if desired. A variation on the merge theme could be to combine properly plotted (i.e. numbered) cues for moving lights composed on one board (say, an Expression 2X), while the fixed lighting cues were being developed on an Obsession. If the run of the show is long enough, it might be desirable to combine all the cues to run on one console.
Some of the formats that shows can be translated from and to include:
- USITT/ASCII text files, including Trackmaster 2© files
- ETC EOS/Ion
- ETC Obsession© I
- ETC Obsession© II (Cues, Subs, and Groups Only) Note that "backwards" translations, like Obsession© 5.1.0 to 4.4.2 are available.
- Lightwright Patch File
- ETC Expression©, Impression© , Insight© , MicroVision©
- ETC Express©
- Strand® 430-550 Series, LP90
- Colortran® Prestige® 3000
- Compulite® Sabre®, Spark® & 4D line
- I've started development on one-way translation into grandMA and WholeHog II
To find out if the conversion you want to do is practical, send a message with the details to: The Second Cut. It's helpful to know how many show diskettes or files you want to translate, and whether you need it done "yesterday". Mention if the show needs to be re-channeled for the new theater's repertory plot.
In some cases of obsolete formats, if you still own a working lightboard, a show that is worth the effort can be printed to a text file, and the cue printout converted to a contemporary format.
You can expect a single translation job to cost about $250, but that can vary up or down, depending upon the total circumstances. That seems expensive...
This is an unusual service, so I'm happy to list (at the bottom) the other providers I know of who do it.
(This is a collegial referral, not a business arrangement. You'll notice there are no secret identifying numbers in the links!)
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