Zones tab is where you configure the interaction of fixtures with any zones in the chapter.
Zone Settings
Zones in the project can be enabled to interact with fixtures following Trackables. When a Trackable or the beam of a fixture following the Trackable enters a zone, the fixture can be turned on or doused. How fixtures interact with zones is user definable.
Zones can have their interaction with Trackables and fixtures customized in the following ways:
- Douse Out: A fixture will douse when the Trackable it is following interacts with a zone.
- Inside Zone: The fixture will be doused while the Trackable is inside the zone.
- Outside Zone: The fixture will be doused while the Trackable is outside the zone.
- Collision Type: How the Trackable and fixture relationship interacts with the zone.
- Beam collision: When the beam of the fixture following the Trackable is in the zone, the relationship is considered in the zone.
- Note: A reflection of the beam will not count. The size of the beam must be set for Beam collision to work.
- Point collision: When the Trackable is physically in the zone, the relationship is considered in the zone.
- Beam collision: When the beam of the fixture following the Trackable is in the zone, the relationship is considered in the zone.
To enable a zone for a fixture
- In the Chapter widget, select the chapter the fixture is in.
- On the center pane, click on the Trackable the fixture is assigned to.
- On the bottom pane, click on the Fixture Icon to select the fixture.
- Result: The settings of selected fixture are displayed in the Fixture Settings widget.
- With the Fixture Icon selected, go to the Fixture Settings widget and click the Zones tab.
- Result: The Zone Name of the zone where the selected fixture has been assigned is displayed in Zone field after a Zone has been dragged and dropped from the Libraries widget.
- Note: A warning symbol and text tooltip are displayed if errors are detected in Zone settings. Beam collision warning will not appear for conventional fixtures assigned to a Trackable with the same Dynamic Zone (but will appear for Point collision and for moving fixtures). See Zones Issues section below.
- Under the Zone Settings section, select the Zone Enabled checkbox.
- Result: The interaction between Zone and Fixture is active.
- Select which zone you want the fixture to interact with, on the Zones tab in the Libraries widget, select the zone then drag and drop on the Zone field in the Fixture Settings tab.
- Choose how the fixture douses when entering a zone, select Inside Zone or Outside Zone from the Douse Out drop-down menu.
- On the Fade-In Time field, click the Up or Down arrows or type the amount of time the fixture intensity fades-in rather than instantly switch on.
- On the Fade-Out Time field, click the Up or Down arrows or type the amount of time the fixture intensity fades-out rather than instantly switch off.
- Choose how the fixture interacts with the zone, select Beam collision or Point collision from the Collision Type drop-down menu.
- For the changes to take effect, click Apply Changes.
- Note: See “BlackTrax Zones” for more information on creating zones for a BlackTrax project.
Zone Collisions
FIXTURE TYPE | ZONE TYPE | DYNAMIC ZONE TRACKABLE ASSIGNMENT | COLLISION TYPE | RESULTS | NOTES |
Moving | Static | - | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Static Zone. | |
Moving | Static | - | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Static Zone. | |
Moving | Dynamic | Self | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Zone, which is always true because the Zone moves around with the Trackable. | Not recommended |
Moving | Dynamic | Self | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Zone, which is always true because the Zone moves around with the Trackable. | Not recommended |
Moving | Dynamic | Other | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Zone. The Zone moves around with other Trackables. | |
Moving | Dynamic | Other | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Zone. The Zone moves around with other Trackables. | |
Conventional | Static | - | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Static Zone. | |
Conventional | Static | - | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Static Zone, which is always true or never happens. | Not recommended |
Conventional | Dynamic | Self | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Zone, which is always true because the Zone moves around with the Trackable. | Not recommended |
Conventional | Dynamic | Self | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Zone. This is always true because conventional fixtures do not move. | Most efficient way to use Zones with conventional fixtures |
Conventional | Dynamic | Other | Point | Fixture will react when the Trackable touches the Zone. The Zone moves around with other Trackables. | |
Conventional | Dynamic | Other | Beam | Fixture will react when its beam touches the Zone. The Zone moves around with other Trackables. |
Zone Issues
When setting up your zones, you may encounter errors or warning messages.
The following setting combinations will cause errors and/or warnings:
- Enabling Beam collision on any fixture without Beam Control: The fixture is in Automated Mode with neither zoom or iris control enabled. This only applies to moving fixtures as conventional fixtures are always in Static Mode (which supports Beam collision).
- A dynamic zone is patched to the same fixture as Trackable: The fixture and/or Trackable will always hit the Zone, because the Zone is attached to the Trackable the fixture is following. The one exception is for conventional fixtures using Beam collision, as conventional fixtures cannot move to point at the Trackable.
- A static zone is patched to a conventional fixture using Beam collision: Neither a conventional fixture nor a static zone can move, so this combination will either always hit (for example, if the conventional fixture is pointing at the zone), or never hit.