# Help understanding Concert/club lighting and timecode



## LivinLights (Oct 25, 2012)

Hello everyone, first post in control booth!

I am fairly new to programming using magic Q, and so far i love it. When I go to clubs (or big concerts) for a random EDM DJ performance, the music and lighting are perfectly in sync. So my questions are how does the house lighting programmer get his lighting set to be in sync with any DJ:

1) Does the house LD/Programmer have the DJ's tracklist/set so that he is able to trigger the lighting cues on every beat using Timecode, almost like a theatre performance? If this is true than its sad that the DJs arent doing live mixing =(

2) Is the DJ gear somehow hooked up the console so they get perfectly sync lighting cues? If this is the case how do you do it?

3) The lighting programmer is just manually triggering the cues and effects with the DJ beats?

Sorry if the questions are confusing, but this has been a subject that boggles me =/ Thanks for all the help guys


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## Focus (Oct 25, 2012)

In most cases the cues are manually triggered. Even if the LD/board op does not know the music particully well, music is mathematical and fairly easy to anticipate, even when "punting." Most concert lighting is still manually triggered, if a band does not use any tracks, there is no time code to sync with. Although, a lare portion of major acts have at least some tracks, I have not seen very many shows that were completly automated.
I think that SlipKnots LD has a completly timecoded show, he even has prerecorded his spot cues, that are triggered and played back From a computer through the intercom, so he does not have to talk to the follow spot ops. 
There are audio input option on many consoles, but they are not great. The most advanced ones you can link frequency and volume to a cue stack, but there is not much else you can contol. With DJ music, it might work alright with the heavy bass, but i have never bothered to try; if im being paid to do lighting, I press the buttons.


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## LivinLights (Oct 25, 2012)

Thank you for the informative info Focus. I guess its good to know all the different techniques and technology for concert lighting. 

I hope to hear some more feedbacks from programmers!


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## Brandofhawk (Oct 25, 2012)

Well, I have a few DJ friends who would go into a party with a set list, or maybe just like a small set group of 5 songs or so, that they feel work really well to mix into each other. 

It's not already mixed, they are still working on it live, and in that way they can mix in a guests request. One DJ I work with has about 12 little chauvet ministrip bars that he has synced together to a controller with a number of different looks that he plays with during songs to change the mood and do funn stuff with... but often he just sets them on a setting and leaves it at that.

But if you are working for a DJ or at a club to design lights, I'd try to get a few of the songs the DJ knows that he is going to play and make some special chase effects or actions or something for those numbers, and maybe as you get more experience with it make some other fun chases for songs at a certain BPM. For songs where you don't have something already, make it up with the beat.


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## abomb123 (Oct 26, 2012)

Artist like Owl City (if you're an LD you have to see the show!!!) use ableton to send out pre programed music with the band to play with to give it a full sound, they also have Ableton live set up to send out MIDI tempo signals to all midi devices on stage. on top of that there is a MIDI track that sends out MIDI singals to the light board. the light board than corisponds each cue or cue list with a midi note. in face there is a person that tours with Owl City that just works there click track (AKA Ableton live) and makes sure everything is synced. 

A band called bread of stone uses this as well (amazing show!) they also found a way to have pre recorded and live video controled as well (camara's are on stage and the software bounces between camaras without a video crew)


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## DrZboczek (Jul 17, 2013)

*Re:*

Thanks for that topic, I find it very interesting.


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