# The Ten Commandments of the Qlab Computer



## sosayweall (Aug 30, 2015)

I have been using Qlab for six years now. Almost every show I have worked I find a way to integrate it to the show. Learn from my mistakes and enjoy! Let me know if I missed anything.
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Thou shall never run updates during a run of a show.*
Running updates on a dark day between weekends may seem like a good idea…. it’s not. Updates tend to make computers more secure and reliable, well at least that is the intention. Don’t risk a perfectly functioning systems to some unknown variable.
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Thou shall keep the computer off the internet, by any means necessary.*
Preventing the computer from accessing the internet is the only way to stop automatic updates.
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Thou shall only keep relevant show files and assets on thy Macintosh.*
Having two shows on a computer can make things confusing when you are tracking down sound effects, videos, and scripts (the computer programing kind). Imagine if all your shows were still on your computer. Archive old shows on at least 2 drives and leave them off your show machine.

*Thou shall not eat or drink in the presence of thy Macintosh.*
This is self-explanatory.

*Thou shall run regular backups on thy Macintosh.*
Backing up often and on multiple drives is the best way to archive old versions or shows and to better your chances on a speedy recovery on a hard drive death. It’s not about if, it’s about when.

*Thou shall always be honest with thy Qlab license.*
At the time of this writing, there are certain things you can do to use an old rental license out of the period it was written for. I’ve done this a few times to quickly test a theory I had, or when the clock struck midnight and I forgot to ask the “powers that be” to pay for a new rental license.

Renting Qlab licenses is cheap. Buying Qlab licenses is cheap too. Please, be honest and use the program legally. The people at Figure53 have bills, families, and love what they do. Compensate them for the hard work they put into the program.

*Thou shall only have the necessary services and programs installed and/or active on thy Macintosh.*
Trust me when I say, this post on Figure53’s blog can make or break your show when it comes to reliability and stability.
http://figure53.com/notes/2013-10-29-prepare-execute-troubleshoot/

*Thy shall not honor no other God than Electricity.
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This might seem confusing, but stay with me here.

For those using laptops: Always leave your computer plugged in, not matter what. Your battery can’t die in the middle of a show if you keep the computer plugged in. Also, Apple chargers have a horrible lifespan, invest in an extra charger.

For those using desktops: Buy an UPS, also known as uninterruptible power supply. A black out or a brown out can make you lose everything, even if you saved often.
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Thou shall not take control away from the stage manager.

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_Warning: Opinions Ahead._
If you said to me that show control is like “throwing complex solution to a simple problem,” I would not disagree. However, I would inform you that with practices that, show control is nothing more than science experiment.
Let me provide an example from my most recent production, The Wizard of Oz. I was the lighting, projections, and sound designer on that show. As you can imagine, Qlab ran sound and projections. The stage manager and I met to discuss all my cues. As it turns out with a such a busy musical the all the sound and projection cues could line up with a lighting cue. So it became that the lighting console was the master “GO” button. In short, all the lighting, projection and sound cues were called…. except they were only executed from the lighting console.

Show control reduced the amount of operators, not the control the stage manager had.

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Thou shall not take Qlab’s name in vain.*
Most of the problems that occur are between the keyboard and the seat in front of the computer. Don’t blame the program for something that is most likely your fault. I am just as guilty as every, if not more, but saving face at the cost of trashing the reputation and reliability of the program ultimately looks bad on our profession (show control designers).
Next time say something like:
“That cue failed to execute as intended.”
“There is some optimization that still needs working.”
“I do not know answer, but I will fill it out.”


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## Joshualangman (Sep 2, 2015)

I've posted this before, but it seems relevant here.


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