Control Enttec LED Mapper (ELM) With An Akai APC40 Original/MK2

[Mathieu]

Here are two sample projects to control ELM (https://www.enttec.com/product/software-pixel-mapping/) via MIDI using Lightjams as a MIDI to Art-Net converter. You'll see that Lightjams do much more than a simple 1-to-1 mapping between MIDI and Art-Net. The Lightjams project files contain a lot of logic allowing to:

- Control up to 8 video layers (called stages in ELM) by using the clip launch buttons to select the media.

- Record and play back clip sequences, all synced to the tempo or using a manual go/back button.

- Grand master.

- Color presets.

- Strobe.

- Hue and intensity shift effects.

- Full MIDI feedback sent to the APC40 to see what's going on without looking at the computer's screen.

- much more!

Setup instructions:

in ELM:

- Go in the settings/Remote tab

- Select the DMX/Art-Net remote mode

- Select network adapter=127.0.0.1, universe=0, address=0, fixture mode=basic, DMX value mode=percent

in Lightjams:

v510 needed: https://www.lightjams.com/history.html

- Go in the view/configuration menu

- In the MIDI tab, make sure the APC40 is in use for input and output (output needed to receive MIDI feedback from Lightjams)

- In the Art-net tab, select the 127.0.0.1 network adapter for the output

APC40 original/mk2 mapping:

CLIP STOP 1-8: select the current layer (stage) for editing

CLIP LAUNCH (40 buttons): select the clip for the current stage 1-40. You can set the clip offset for each stage in Lightjams by going in the view/Sliders menu and changing the corresponding sliders.

SCENE LAUNCH: select the color preset for the current stage. You can change the color/gradient in Lightjams by going in the view/Color palette and editing the first 5 colors.

    -> Move on the color gradient using the slider at the bottom-right.

ACTIVATOR: activate/deactivate the stage

SOLO: solo a stage

RECORD/ARM: when activator is off and record/arm is on, the remote control is completely disabled for this stage, so that ELM takes back the control with the audio reactive mix or playlist.

Sliders 1-8: intensity of each stage

MASTER slider: grand master

TRACK CONTROL knobs 1-8: media playback speed adjustment for each stage

SHIFT: press and hold to strobe

TAP TEMPO: set the tempo. SEND C or Metronome for the mk2 blink in sync with the selected tempo. The media playback speeds and the sequence playback speeds are synced to the tempo.

NUDGE +-: adjust the tempo a little

BANK SELECT up/down: stage media playback speed bumps

TRACK SELECTION = 1, DEVICE CONTROL contains the effects:

    1: strobe speed

    2: hue shift

    3: intensity shift

    6: hue shake effect

    7: intensity shake effect

TRACK SELECTION = 2: DEVICE CONTROL knobs for each stage transition time

Sequence recording and playback:

    REC: start the recording for the current stage. Wait one second until the CLIP STOP button blinks faster and then press the CLIP LAUNCH buttons of the clips you want. You need to press and hold the REC button on the original APC40.

    Play/stop: press the CLIP STOP button to toggle a layer between the playing and stopped state.

    STOP ALL CLIPS: stop the playback on all stages

    TRACK SELECTION = 3: DEVICE CONTROL knobs to select a tempo for each layer, from tempo/16 to tempo*4

    PAN or USER (for the mk2): when active the playback is in manual mode using the BANK SELECT left/right

That's it! Look around in the Lightjams project as there are many things you could reuse to control DMX lighting!

If you don't already have the original APC40, consider getting the mk2 version. It is more compact and feels really solid.

[abwchan]

Hi Mathieu,

Thanks for the great tips!

I am indeed much interested in making a project of the low resolution pixel mapping with tungsten lights and dimmers and APC40 MK2, very similar to the Parcan effect by Oliver Kulpsoo on your website. However, the Enttec product seems not supporting DMX dimmers. Any tips on the ArtNet controllers required, and modifications to the setup and mapping for such a low-res dimmer mapping based on your sample? Thanks a lot!

Amy

[Mathieu]

Hi,

Enttec LED Mapper supports simple DMX dimmers. Select the "white" type when adding fixtures. To output DMX, you use a one universe Art-Net node like the Enttec ODE or the DMXKing eDMX1.

[abwchan]

Thanks, Mathieu!