DMX Control Lighting for mobile DJ Set Up
Discussion
I realise this is a music forum but a I know a few seasoned DJs reside in these parts from whom I'd be grateful for a little insight on DMX lighting.
My mobile DJing is best described as a hobby for which people pay me for though I do strive for perfection and pitch quite high in terms of overall quality. The one thing I particularly pride myself on is lighting managing to turn the most mundane of venues into what looks like a Miami nightclub. Up until now, I've simply been running them on sound activated settings but have been looking at DMX and equally wished I hadn't but glad I did.
Seems there are some reasonably priced control units out there but also, software options running lighting from a computer seem an option too.
So, where to start?
Any pointers gratefully received.
My mobile DJing is best described as a hobby for which people pay me for though I do strive for perfection and pitch quite high in terms of overall quality. The one thing I particularly pride myself on is lighting managing to turn the most mundane of venues into what looks like a Miami nightclub. Up until now, I've simply been running them on sound activated settings but have been looking at DMX and equally wished I hadn't but glad I did.
Seems there are some reasonably priced control units out there but also, software options running lighting from a computer seem an option too.
So, where to start?
Any pointers gratefully received.
Sorry I only just spotted this!
I co-own a mobile DJ company and I'm the one responsible for all our DMX-ing so I've done a fair bit, but I have a mate who is something of an expert on it so I've kind of learnt everything from him.
The main choice to consider is whether you want to go hardware (DMX controllers) or software (using a usb/DMX dongle). I started out with a controller and found this the best way to learn the basics of the addressing, creating basic scenes/chases etc. However, last year we moved across to software DMX- we use MyDMX2.0 by American DJ.
It shortcuts (or rather 'hides') a lot of the processes behind the user interface, so things like patching fixtures in is much quicker, and you have icons on the screen corresponding to specific controls etc- for instance a colour wheel showing all of the colours, rather than having to know which number range corresponds to which colour.
You can also go a step further and hook up a midi-device to the laptop that runs the DMX software and use that to trigger scenes etc.
On the other hand I certainly wouldn't say it's the most user-friendly system to get started with unless you have a bit of a basic understanding of how/what DMX works/does. Well worth watching some basic videos.
The good thing with DMX is that you can get it to do as little or as much as you want, largely depending on the fixtures you have. For instance, a small basic controller can let you create & set fades between colours on a couple of basic RGB lights and this is an ideal way to understand what DMX is doing. On the other hand, when you get to moving head fixtures things get more complicated as you have things like pan/tilt, gobo change, gobo rotation, zoom, focus, prisms etc all to control.
Every one of these 'features' is typically controlled by a single channel. So for example a basic RGB light may only need 4 channels (1 for each RGB and 1 for dimmer). Whereas the moving head fixtures that we use for example are typically ran in 13-channel mode, meaning we have control over 13 different 'features'.
What this means though, is that the number of DMX channels a fixture uses will determine the number of channels you will need on your controller- some fixtures have more than one channel mode though, our moving heads for example can be run in 13-channel mode or in 8-channel mode. The 8-channel mode simply condenses some of the controls or ignores them completely. This is another benefit of software in that you are not restricted by the number of channels on your controller.
Each channel on a hardware controller will typically be represented by a slider. That slider will go from 0-255, with each number (or range of numbers) representing a different aspect of control. At a most basic level this could be 0-127 = off, 128-255 = on. Taking a look at the manual of any DMX-capable fixture will detail all of these values for you though, and also the different channel modes that are available.
Each time the sliders are moved to a specific position, that position is called a scene (think of it like a step). Multiples of these scenes (steps) can then be linked together into 'chases'. The speed/type of transition between all the scenes within a chase can also be controlled, so it could go faster/slower/smoother/harder etc.
In terms of uses, for a mobile disco DMX is excellent as it lets you run custom colour setups to tie in with the event. For example at weddings we can customize our lighting to suit the couple's colour scheme, or create a custom scene for a first dance (see below)
I apologize for the poor quality pics- I only have access to phone pictures from here at the mo.
It's still daylight in this picture but you can get the idea:
It's also important for moving head fixtures, as due to them having typically 540 degrees of rotation, they will spend more time pointing away from the dancefloor than on it if left to their own devices. With DMX, I've created masses of scenes that have the movers doing sweeps across the dancefloor, crosses, zig-zags, pretty much everything- but all the time focused on the dancefloor and the room in front.
The beauty of DMX is that you can typically access a light's built-in programs or sound-to-light mode within one of the DMX channels, meaning you could for instance switch your lights back onto sound-to-light via the DMX controller at the touch of a button/slider.
As for prices, a decent basic controller would go anywhere from around £50-£150 without getting into the realms of really fancy stuff. I started with a Eurolite DMX Control 512. This has 18 channels and can control up to 28 fixtures, it also has a load of built-in presets which can be useful. It cost around £110 I think.
This is probably more complicated than I'd have gone for as a first controller if I hadn't had someone to explain it all to me, but I went with it on the basis that it gets very highly recommended and had a decent number of channels (18).
For software, the ADJ software we use is free but it requires their dongle which was around £130 when we bought it. There are loads of other free software about, and some cheaper generic usb/dmx dongles but I don't have much experience with them. The two established ones that I've had use with are the ADJ one mentioned above, and ShowXpress by Chauvet which I'd rate as the better program but costs £250 for the box/dongle. MyDMX by ADJ is still technically being worked on so more features etc are being added all the time, and it does have a pretty active community so issues are quickly resolved and advice is pretty easy to come by.
That's a basic overview of what it does etc, but if you've got any more specific questions I'd be happy to assist if I can!
I co-own a mobile DJ company and I'm the one responsible for all our DMX-ing so I've done a fair bit, but I have a mate who is something of an expert on it so I've kind of learnt everything from him.
The main choice to consider is whether you want to go hardware (DMX controllers) or software (using a usb/DMX dongle). I started out with a controller and found this the best way to learn the basics of the addressing, creating basic scenes/chases etc. However, last year we moved across to software DMX- we use MyDMX2.0 by American DJ.
It shortcuts (or rather 'hides') a lot of the processes behind the user interface, so things like patching fixtures in is much quicker, and you have icons on the screen corresponding to specific controls etc- for instance a colour wheel showing all of the colours, rather than having to know which number range corresponds to which colour.
You can also go a step further and hook up a midi-device to the laptop that runs the DMX software and use that to trigger scenes etc.
On the other hand I certainly wouldn't say it's the most user-friendly system to get started with unless you have a bit of a basic understanding of how/what DMX works/does. Well worth watching some basic videos.
The good thing with DMX is that you can get it to do as little or as much as you want, largely depending on the fixtures you have. For instance, a small basic controller can let you create & set fades between colours on a couple of basic RGB lights and this is an ideal way to understand what DMX is doing. On the other hand, when you get to moving head fixtures things get more complicated as you have things like pan/tilt, gobo change, gobo rotation, zoom, focus, prisms etc all to control.
Every one of these 'features' is typically controlled by a single channel. So for example a basic RGB light may only need 4 channels (1 for each RGB and 1 for dimmer). Whereas the moving head fixtures that we use for example are typically ran in 13-channel mode, meaning we have control over 13 different 'features'.
What this means though, is that the number of DMX channels a fixture uses will determine the number of channels you will need on your controller- some fixtures have more than one channel mode though, our moving heads for example can be run in 13-channel mode or in 8-channel mode. The 8-channel mode simply condenses some of the controls or ignores them completely. This is another benefit of software in that you are not restricted by the number of channels on your controller.
Each channel on a hardware controller will typically be represented by a slider. That slider will go from 0-255, with each number (or range of numbers) representing a different aspect of control. At a most basic level this could be 0-127 = off, 128-255 = on. Taking a look at the manual of any DMX-capable fixture will detail all of these values for you though, and also the different channel modes that are available.
Each time the sliders are moved to a specific position, that position is called a scene (think of it like a step). Multiples of these scenes (steps) can then be linked together into 'chases'. The speed/type of transition between all the scenes within a chase can also be controlled, so it could go faster/slower/smoother/harder etc.
In terms of uses, for a mobile disco DMX is excellent as it lets you run custom colour setups to tie in with the event. For example at weddings we can customize our lighting to suit the couple's colour scheme, or create a custom scene for a first dance (see below)
I apologize for the poor quality pics- I only have access to phone pictures from here at the mo.
It's still daylight in this picture but you can get the idea:
It's also important for moving head fixtures, as due to them having typically 540 degrees of rotation, they will spend more time pointing away from the dancefloor than on it if left to their own devices. With DMX, I've created masses of scenes that have the movers doing sweeps across the dancefloor, crosses, zig-zags, pretty much everything- but all the time focused on the dancefloor and the room in front.
The beauty of DMX is that you can typically access a light's built-in programs or sound-to-light mode within one of the DMX channels, meaning you could for instance switch your lights back onto sound-to-light via the DMX controller at the touch of a button/slider.
As for prices, a decent basic controller would go anywhere from around £50-£150 without getting into the realms of really fancy stuff. I started with a Eurolite DMX Control 512. This has 18 channels and can control up to 28 fixtures, it also has a load of built-in presets which can be useful. It cost around £110 I think.
This is probably more complicated than I'd have gone for as a first controller if I hadn't had someone to explain it all to me, but I went with it on the basis that it gets very highly recommended and had a decent number of channels (18).
For software, the ADJ software we use is free but it requires their dongle which was around £130 when we bought it. There are loads of other free software about, and some cheaper generic usb/dmx dongles but I don't have much experience with them. The two established ones that I've had use with are the ADJ one mentioned above, and ShowXpress by Chauvet which I'd rate as the better program but costs £250 for the box/dongle. MyDMX by ADJ is still technically being worked on so more features etc are being added all the time, and it does have a pretty active community so issues are quickly resolved and advice is pretty easy to come by.
That's a basic overview of what it does etc, but if you've got any more specific questions I'd be happy to assist if I can!
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Wednesday 6th January 15:06
wjwren said:
Sorry to revive old thread but would a DMX controller have built in programs already in it for moving head lights? thanks
I'm only just learning but no, not in my experience.The controller doesn't know what fixtures you have or what channels they operate on or how you have them set up and what the scenario is. Too many variables basically.
Once you have the basics down regarding terminology then it's actually pretty simple to get some basic scenes set up.
I'm still experimenting and learning but I use a program called freestyler http://freestylerdmx.be/ and a cheapo usb dongle/controller I got from ebay. I'm sure there are easier/more user friendly ways but this was very cheap.
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