PangoScript and VLJ

R

RobG

Active Member
You know when you right click the VLJ button you can select how many beats each cue should run for. I can't find a command to set and/or change that value with sliders or buttons. Is it possible? I am new to PangoScript. I have been programming like crazy for a controller that Pangolin has no template for. This question is basically the last piece of learning I need to do (for now) :).

If anyone can tell me today I can program it before my event tomorrow. If not, I will have to pull Beyond up on the screen and change it that way.

Thanks,
Rob
 
Hey Rob,

Good question. The answer is - if you know how to do PangoScript then you do not need to mess around with VDJ. Really, just think for a second. PangoScript is in Advanced version, what means Universe give you sliders, button, and PangoScript tab give you pool of remote scripts. Simple command like StartCue is actually simplest way to make cue clicker. Loop will take 3 commands: StartCue, WaitForBeat, Restart. Simplest way is constants. If you want to use sliders from universe - check out Obect Tree window, and you will see all universe pages, components and properties. Script in PangoScript tab is a final state machine, with own variables, etc. There are commands like StartCode for starting external script, StopCode for stop. If you have Ultimate - even easier. ProTtrack1 is your cue player. In fact, you have 8 separate cue players that can be controlled from script, This is like 8 VLJs.

OK, the answer is - you cannot control VLJ from script, but you can make script that will work as VLJ.

Alexey.
 
Wow Alexey, thanks for the response. I must admit that at the moment some of it goes a little over my head. Here's the thing: I am a wedding DJ who uses a laser, not a laserist. For me the goal of moving up from QuickShow to Beyond Advanced was that I wanted to program a midi controller to do what I wanted done and not have to have Beyond displaying on a monitor at all. Universe looks very cool but it seems to me it's based on creating a screen, like with other LED lighting programs, that you control things from. Now I may be completely wrong but Universe doesn't seem to me something you want to dive into if you don't even want the software displaying on your monitor screen. Am I wrong?

Right now, while very simplistic, I actually have Beyond and my MPD226 midi controller doing everything I need it to do for what I use it for, with the exception being the ability to change the beat count for VLJ. VLJ is actually perfect for someone like me who is actually DJ'ing, MC'ing, and run a whole score of lights in addition to doing some laser effects.

If I could just set something up so that I could control the beat count for changing cues within VLJ I would have everything I need, at least for now. Sure I would love to dig further into the product and exploit more of it's capabilities but for now that one additional function is all I am trying to learn whether I can do it or not. If I could just control whether VLJ changes cues at either 8 beats, 16 beats, or 32 beats, etc, I would be a happy guy.

At that simplistic level, is there a way I could program that using PangoScript and my midi controller where I don't need the product on a monitor?

Thanks,
Rob
 
So why mot multiply or divide the current BMP?

Would that not do the same thing?

Code: 
setbpm master.BPM *2     //  multiply current bpm by 2

Code: 
setbpm master.BPM /4    //  divide current bpm by 4

Code: 
SetBpm 120  // set bpm to 120
 
Great suggestion. That was just the kind of quick tip I was looking for. Thank you so much for the suggestion. I'm off to program it now :)

Rob
 
So I have been playing with this and it basically works but I have a question: Say I have a page of shows. These shows are of all different lengths. Rather than setting a fixed time for each cue to play using VLJ, I want each cue to play until it's logical end and then I want the next cue to begin, and so on. I tried setting a slow BPM, thinking that if a cue ended earlier than the VLJ timer, it would scroll to the next cue. But instead I had dead time with nothing playing until the full assigned VLJ time had elapsed.

Can I get a suggestion of how to script PangoScript to start the first cue, play until finished, then move to the next cue. Some help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Why do this in pangoscipt? we have a playlist function for that. And even PangoScript commands to trigger and advance the playlist.

The BIG advantage of this is that you do not overload the workspace.

If you put all shows inside your workspace in cue's, all will be loaded completely into memory which will cause problems. The cue grid is meant for anything that cannot be pre-cached.


( If we can anticipate the next frame, (which we can with a timeline based event/show), use the playlist for playback to conserve memory.)


Screen Shot 2018-07-31 at 18.18.07.png
 
Bob, until recently I have only used QuickShow to go to a page and start VLJ. That's all I did. In fact all I used were the cues that came with the product. As mentioned I am a DJ, not a laserist. So the vastly rich features of Beyond Advanced are completely new to me. Thanks to you I am slowly learning the initial things I need to get up and running the way I want to using this great software. I will look into playlists and see how I can use them.

Is there a place where I can watch tutorial videos about Beyond. I have the time to watch and perhaps that's what I need to start doing.
 
Hi Rob,

Its no problem at all, we love if you ask questions cause we love to see DJ's work with BEYOND and help explaining what BEYOND all can do. So certainly ask any questions you like. The only stupid questions are the ones, not asked!.

The video.. yes we might have 1, 2 or 76 video's on BEYOND alone on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/user/PangolinShows/playlists ( I advice you to choose a playlist m if you did not watch the QuickShow Video's Just yet, start with these).

QuickShow gives you the best base to advance in BEYOND.
 
OK so I am playing with a playlist. It looks good and each show runs to completion and is followed by the next show. What I can't figure out is how do I save that playlist and then create another one so I can have a selection of playlists to pull from?
 
Yes, I didn't recognize the term "show list". I was looking for "Save Playlist" I guess.

Is it possible to build a playlist that is just regular cues (not shows) and just set how much time you want each one to play? In other words, instead of using VLJ, can I make a playlist of all the cues on a page and set a time for each one to play? Or do I have start with a timeline and create a show out of it?
 
you mean like :

Code: 
startcue 1,2
waitfortimerbeat 5
startcue 1,3

There are dozens of triggers where you can wait on.
Just search for Wait in the command list.

Screen Shot 2018-08-02 at 01.39.47.png

Do note, the delicate part is keeping your workspace in sync. :).
 
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