[QLab] Surround Panning

[Andrew Kirkby]

Has there been any thought to include a surround panning option in the next version of qlab?

I have a couple of shows where I've created soundscapes in surround but it would be useful to accurately place files in the cue stack with the option of positioning without having to get pro tools out and bounce again following position changes.

Regards

Andy

________________________________

Andrew Kirkby

Kirkby Sound Engineering

and...@kirkbysound.com

www.kirkbysound.com

[Christopher Ashworth]

Hi Andrew,

I'm not sure I follow -- do you mean something more along the lines of the space map features of LCS? (For the record, the mailing list archives have extensive discussions about space mapping, if anyone is curious to reread them.)

The current fade cues do of course provide a way to do panning, by adjusting crosspoint levels...

Best,
Chris

On Jul 10, 2010, at 5:18 AM, Andrew Kirkby wrote:

> Has there been any thought to include a surround panning option in the next version of qlab?
>
> I have a couple of shows where I've created soundscapes in surround but it would be useful to accurately place files in the cue stack with the option of positioning without having to get pro tools out and bounce again following position changes.

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[Andrew Kirkby]

Yeah, like a surround panner in say logic etc. The process I usually go through involves loading logic up, importing a mono effect and positioning it within the surround panner then bouncing it as a multichannel wave file. It would be handy if I could skip the logic stage and do this in qlab.

I'll have a sift through the archives if it's already been discussed. Where can I find them?

Regards

Andy

Kirkby Sound 

[Christopher Ashworth]

On Jul 10, 2010, at 4:30 PM, Andrew Kirkby wrote:
>
> I'll have a sift through the archives if it's already been discussed. Where can I find them?

http://lists.figure53.com/pipermail/qlab-figure53.com/

Searching for "space map" should bring up a bunch of results.

-C

[Andrew Kirkby]

Ok, read that up now. Yeah I'm sort of looking for that only in a less complicated way. Just a way to take a file and position it between a set of 5.1 speakers for instance. Admittedly that would become heroically complicated with a high number of outputs but the reason I use QLab instead of Cue Station / Matrix 3 is that my setup is (usually) a lot simpler than what's required of Meyer's Matrix3 system.

What I'm used to within logic is defining what position the speakers are in so that for instance a front left speaker would be mapped to output 1, 2 to front right, 3 Centre, 4 sub, 5 rear left, 6 rear right for example and then the panner would increase the signal sent to each output and decrease others when positioned within a circle with the 5 speakers on it. The sub is controlled from a separate pot for LFE. Stereo sources are a little more interesting as there is a width control so you can place stereo tracks around the audio landscape for instance making the front right and rear right speaker the source from left and source from right.

I'm not sure how complicated this would be to implement but I would certainly be interested in paying for some sort of upgrade if it was available and would open up a lot more possibility for multichannel effects in the same way QLab has enabled the unthinkable in comparison to CD / MD based effects systems..

Anyway, just a thought!

Regards

Andy

Andrew Kirkby

[Leon Rothenberg]

Without opening a can of worms....

You will also find that setting very steep crossfades in your fade cues will get you a very smooth movement between speaker locations as well.

It takes a moment to set up all your fades but works quite well.

-Leon

[Leon Rothenberg]

You can also set position simply by using the built in matrix and master faders in the QLab Audio Cue. By adjusting the relative levels of say your Main Left and Surr Left fader, you can effectively move the image between your two sources and get some pretty accurate positioning. Add a little surround Right and now you can move your sound into the middle of the room.

Only difference is that you are positioning in the space with your ears rather than on the grid of a surround panner. In the end, that's probably the important measurement anyway.

And that QLab endorsement is coming from a guy who's /responsible/ for features currently implemented in spacemaps! :-)

-Leon

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[Andrew Kirkby]

Thanks for your help, as much as this is great advice it's all about speed in a tech environment, I'd like to be able to very quickly put the audio exactly where it needs to be. The visual panner for me isn't really aiding the design its just an easier way of moving several faders at once..

Thanks for the suggestion though

A.

Andrew Kirkby

Kirkby Sound Engineering