Triggering lighting cues via MIDI

[tcgass]

I'm working on a QLab setup for a theatre show where QLab is primarily used for audio cues. For all lighting cues the theater uses a "Jester zero 88" DMX lighting console connected to a DMX interface backstage which controls the analog lights via switches/dimmers - however all lighting cues on the Jester are triggered manually. There are a bunch of LED stripes on stage that should be switched on/off very precisely to the music track, most of the times very rapidly on the beat and you can't do that manually...

I'm not a lighting engineer and don't have much knowledge about this, but what I saw so far is: The Jester has a MIDI In - the audio interface connected to QLab has a MIDI Out. Would it be possible to program all lighting cues for the LED stripes on the Jester, put them in a group cue and trigger them via MIDI cues from QLab? If yes, how is this done? Do I need special harware between audio interface and Jester?

Thanks for all your hints and input on this,

Thomas

[Gareth Risdale]

This is certainly possible, and seems to work reliably on those desks - I did it recently for a show that ran for a month without incident. This was a Jester ML24, but they're principally the same in terms of midi operation. You just need a standard midi cable to connect the MIDI out of your audio interface to the MIDI in of the lighting desk.

There are a couple of ways to control the Jester over midi, which are explained very well in the manual and are easy to use. Essentially, you can either send midi notes to set the level of submasters, or send MSC commands such as GO CUE # to recall your programmed cues. I did that latter, so the all audio and lighting cues were neatly controlled from the one "go" button. You could do this for the specific cue you want to get the timing right for, or for every lighting cue in your show - one of the benefits being that you can have very clear cue descriptions on the Qlab list (the screen on the Jester is a bit of a mess by comparison).

Have a look at the section in the manual and give me shout if you get stuck.

Gareth.

[tcgass]

That's perfect news, Gareth! Thanks for all your information about this subject - I will dive into the Jester manual and try to set everything up to our needs.

Have a great day and thanks again!

Thomas

[tcgass]

Hi Gareth

just a short note to let you know that everything worked out great! Thanks to your input QLab is triggering lots of lighting cues, but also other DMX cues (electro magnets, van der Graaf generators and much more) and it's a pleasure that the combination of QLab and Jester is a great go!
Thanks again for your help and input!

Thomas