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Step by step to make a 4-bar instrument


Sebastiaan

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  • 1 month later...

The trick is to use symbols when you build the multi-circuit instrument not lighting devices. There should be NO lighting devices in the final symbol. Just nested symbols. 

You will need to rebuild the symbol as editing it and ungrouping them will not work. The process is highly prescriptive I'm afraid. 

 

I just tried with your file and that works fine with this method

 

Mark

Edited by markdd
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42 minutes ago, markdd said:

The trick is to use symbols when you build the multi-circuit instrument not lighting devices. There should be NO lighting devices in the final symbol. Just nested symbols. 

You will need to rebuild the symbol as editing it and ungrouping them will not work. The process is highly prescriptive I'm afraid. 

 

I just tried with your file and that works fine

 

Mark

Can I convert a lighting device to a symbol that I can use to do this or do I make something from scratch?

 

 I tried making a basic hybrid symbol with a simple shape for the 3d light and I was able to create a 4 bar that was treated as 4 lighting devices as you show however the lights do not tilt to line up with focus points.

4bartest.jpeg

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You can accomplish this by making it a blue symbol (or group symbol) during symbol creation. This will allow you to include plug-in objects (Lighting Instruments) within the symbol.

 

1. Draw your 4 Lighting Devices and bar

2. Select them, Create Symbol, and check "Convert to Group" in Other Options

 

bluesymbol.thumb.png.c2399a62fb7539154a04c74ae8b7c753.png

 

Now if you look at the symbol you created in the Resource Browser, the symbol name will be blue. When you insert a new instance of this symbol in the file, it will insert as a group. Ungroup it and you'll have four Lighting Instruments and a bar!

 

test-4-bar-2.vwx

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  • 1 year later...

I'm trying to make a 6 bar as done in the video. I can give each par64 his own channel number and patch. But I can not give each par 64 his own focus point. When I attach an focus point to one of the par's i get a red line indicating the focus direction from the centre of my 6 bar..

I'm working in 2021 can this be a bug? 

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9 minutes ago, EJ Berendsen said:

I'm trying to make a 6 bar as done in the video. I can give each par64 his own channel number and patch. But I can not give each par 64 his own focus point. When I attach an focus point to one of the par's i get a red line indicating the focus direction from the centre of my 6 bar..

I'm working in 2021 can this be a bug? 


there is a new workflow for multicell fixtures in VW 2021. You can find explanation about the new function here. 
 

https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2021/eng/index.htm#t=VW2021_Guide%2FLightingDesign1%2FConcept__Multi-cell_lighting_devices.htm&rhsearch=Multi cell&rhhlterm=Multi cell&rhsyns=

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Thank you Sebastiaan for the link.

 

I have followed the workflow. But without any luck.

I have created a pipe with 6 par cans (no lightning devices). Select everything and create a group. It's acting like a multi cell fixture for the fields Color, Patch, Channel. But I can not focus each par to an other focus point. So if I set par 1 at focus point A, then all the others go to focus point A. When I set par 2 at focus point B, then all the others go to focus pont B. I have tried to make 6 different Par64 symbols for the nested symbols, by duplicate them and give them other names Par64_1, Par64_2 ect ect. Maybe I oversee something but it worked on previous builds of Vectorworks......... when you followed the earlier video of Mark. 

 

Hope somebody has a solution for this.

 

 

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Basically things have changed since I made the video. 

 

As of 2021, Multi-cell instruments now move as one unit so any individual Pan and tilt will not work.

 

Since you posted a couple of days ago I have been trying to dream up a better workflow for adding 6-bars. The simplest I can come up with is if you make the Symbol as you would the multicellular version but with all of the 6 symbols converted to lighting devices. In the Symbol options of the Symbol you make, make the symbol add as a group. (Blue Symbol). You will get 6 Par Lighting devices (or any other instrument type) added to the Rigging object you choose.

 

For me this is absolutely fine and works well. The only drawback for me is that the Automatic Numbering doesn't number the lighting devices in the same way as a Multicell instrument. 

 

There is another workflow I am exploring which uses the Rigging Loads tool as well, but that's for another day!

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