Atom Operator Manual
Quickstart Tutorial
LSC Lighting Systems (Aust) Pty. Ltd.
12
5.0 QUICKSTART TUTORIAL
It is assumed that you have your Atom connected and turned on as described earlier and that you are familiar
with basic lighting terminology. If not, then terminology is explained in Appendix C.
5.1 Reset
When the Atom is switched on, it displays an initial message on the display and then configures itself exactly
as it was when it was last switched off. All the scenes, chases, patches, mode etc will be exactly as they were.
Note: This feature is extremely useful in the case of unexpected power failures. As soon as the power
is restored, you may immediately continue with your show.
When you start a
new lighting session
it is preferable to perform a TOTAL RESET of the Atom so that you
are not confused by any previous recordings or settings that may have been made
.
A TOTAL RESET will
erase
everything
that has been “RECORDED” into the Atom and select Preset mode. If the current
recordings are needed in the future, you should save them onto the floppy disk (if fitted) before resetting.
To perform a TOTAL reset;
Press and hold [FUNCTION], tap, [S/A] (RESET).
Release [FUNCTION]
The display asks you, “System Reset ?”. Press [NO].
The display asks you, “Total Reset ?”. Press [YES].
The display asks you, “Do it ?”. Press [YES].
All memories are erased, the opening message scrolls through and Preset mode is selected.
5.2 Controlling Lights
Creating A “Look” On Stage
Pull every fader on the Atom to its lower limit. Now fade up the Yellow Preset master to maximum (top). Fade
up channel 1 on the Yellow fader bank. The fixture(s) connected to dimmer output 1 fades up on stage. Fade
up channel 3 on the Yellow fader bank and the fixture(s) connected to dimmer output 3 come on. You can
“balance” the look that you are creating by adjusting the intensities of the individual channels. This is done by
setting the positions of the individual channel faders of the yellow preset. The brightness of the red indicator in
each channels S/A key also gives you a visual indication of that channels intensity. You have now created
your first lighting “look”. You can control the overall level of this look with the Yellow Preset master.
Presetting The Next Look
The next look can now be “preset” on the Red preset which in “Preset mode” provides a
duplicate
set of
channel faders. As the Red Preset master is faded down, any channels that are faded up on the Red preset
will not be revealed on stage. Fade up channels 2 and 5 on the Red preset and set them to the levels that you
desire.
Crossfading To The Next Look
To perform a crossfade from the Yellow preset to the Red preset, simply fade UP (in) the Red Preset master
and, at the same time, fade DOWN (out) the Yellow Preset master. Channels 2 and 5 will fade up on stage
whilst channels 1 and 3 will fade down.
As the Yellow Preset master is now down, the next look may be preset on the Yellow channel faders without
being revealed on stage. On the Yellow preset, fade down channels 1 and 3 and fade up channels 4 and 7.
Crossfade to this new look by fading UP the Yellow Preset master and fading DOWN the Red Preset master.
In this manner, whilst one preset is faded UP, a new look can be created on the preset that is faded DOWN
and then the crossfade to the next look is performed with the Preset masters. The entire show may be
performed by fading between the varying looks on the red preset and the yellow preset.
Hint: You can obtain different effects by simply varying the timing of your IN fades and OUT fades. If
you fade IN fully before commencing your OUT fade, you will have a period where both looks are on at
the same time. If you fully fade OUT before commencing your IN fade, then the stage will dip to black
between the two looks. The most pleasing crossfades are often accomplished by starting with the IN
fade, then commencing the OUT fade when the incoming look is just starting to become visible on
stage.
