Getting Started
Welcome! Let's start our journey with a tutorial showing the main features of Lightjams, from patching to the creation of a pixel mapping project.
(NEW!) In the following tutorial, we'll see how to create a 80x12 LED wall and map videos on it. The integrated media server in Lightjams can handle up to 64 media files, including videos and still images. The idea is to use your videos and images as grid's backgrounds.
Coming next, a tutorial showing how to sequence your lighting effects and activate them one at a time using a timer or a MIDI keyboard. In this case we'll sequence 3 scenes using 16 moving heads. This is very similar to a cuelist, where the GO button could be linked to any external input. Download the project file.
Sources And Attributes
A source emits energy. Think about it as a radio emitter. You can use as many as you want and configure them in countless ways to achieve the effects you have in mind. On the receiving end, fixture attributes (dimmer, RGB, pan, tilt...) catch the source's energy and relay it to your real fixtures.
Grids
Grids are your playground, your canvas. Follow your creative flow and use them as you please. Their job is simply to hold the sources and attributes. You can create an unlimited number of grids and put them together to build a logical hierarchy using groups. Groups and grids can represent a simple effect, a scene, a cuelist, a reusable building block... You are the one giving the meaning.
Formulas (Command Line)
This is the second level in Lightjams. At first you don't see any formula - you just click the shiny buttons. Then a time will come when you'll want to customize your experience more and more. At this moment, you'll discover that under every slider hides a math formula waiting to be edited. Don't be afraid. The formula's syntax is pretty simple and if you've used any spreadsheet app like Excel, you already know the drill.
Summary
In Lightjams, great effects are created using clever spacial positionning of sources and attributes with some math formula spices.
Adding Attributes To The Grid
The most important thing to know is that you can select multiple attributes in the list - if you're used to standard Windows list control then you already know how to do it. You have to use a combination of keyboard keys and mouse click:
CTRL-A: Select all attributes
CTRL and click an attribute: Add this attribute to the selection or remove it if already there.
SHIFT and click an attribute: Select all attributes from the last selected to this one.
As the fastest way to select attributes is using the CTRL-A shortcut, it is a good idea to first narrow down the list by typing some keywords in the search box. For example, if you want to select all intensity attributes, instead of selecting attributes one by one, you can type "intensity" (only "int" should do) in the search box and then click the first attribute and press CTRL-A. For more complex selections, you'll come to like giving your fixtures a group name so that you can select them really fast.
Once your selection done, there are two ways to add all attributes on the grid:
"Painting" mode: Click on the grid and hold the mouse button while you move the mouse around. If you want to keep "painting" even after all attributes have been added, you can hold the CTRL key.
Array mode: When multiple attributes are selected, you can click the array mode button. Then you specify the with of your array and just click on the grid where you want the array to begin. If you hold the CTRL key at the same time, attributes will fill all available space from the (0,0) cell up to the clicked cell.
Modifying Attributes' order: Want to reverse the order of your attributes to do a special effect? Select your attributes on the grid and go in the Edit/Attributes menu. You can flip the attributes horizontally, vertically and even randomize the order.
Grid Edition Tips
CTRL+Q: Keyboard shortcut to toggle between source and attribute edition mode. Since you can put a source and an attribute in the same cell, you have to be in the proper mode to select the item you want.
CTRL+Number: Keyboard shortcut to quickly switch between grids. CTRL+1 selects the first grid.
You can select multiple items on the grid by clicking on an empty cell and holding the mouse button while you move the mouse. This creates a selection rectangle. Once the selection's done, you can remove items by clicking on them while holding the CTRL key.
You can move all selected items at once by clicking on a selected item and dragging it.
You can copy/paste the selected items. Mostly useful to create multiple identical sources.
Hue, Saturation and Intensity (HSI) Color Representation
Whatever your fixture color mixing capability is (RGB, RGBW, CMY...), you always end up working with hue, saturation and intensity attributes in Lightjams. This representation is more handy to create lighting effects. In order to see some light, you have to put the intensity attributes on the grid and send them power. Otherwise, the default intensity value is 0%. Note that 50% is full color and 100% is pure white (really intense light) .
If your fixture has a dedicated dimmer channel, then the default intensity value is 50% and the dimmer is 0%, meaning you have in this case to add the dimmer attributes on the grid to see something.
