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Martin TrackPod 2.0
Page 23
Manual calibration
If for some reason automatic calibration of followspot fixtures is not
possible, you may directly enter the data for each fixture by physically
measuring its position and orientation in relation to the centre of your
stage. This information can be entered directly in the inspector of each
fixture or in the appropriate spreadsheet cells in the fixture set-up
screen.
Tip: the only times that you might use the manual method are: a) if you
already know the position and orientation of the fixture (e.g. reading it
from a previous configuration file), b) if you can’t power up your
fixtures but still need to set-up, and c) if you must calibrate in bright
sunlight and you cannot see the light beam.
Start using the system!
Once TrackPod and fixture calibrations have been completed you can
start using the system right away. Press 1 in the TrackPod controller to
start playback. Now press 1 and OK to load all the calibrated
followspots. Finally, move the first fader to bring up the dimmer. To
load different fixtures press the up and down arrow to browse through
the fixture list and press OK to load a selected group or fixture. To
unload all fixtures press 0 and then OK.
Of course, at this point you may want to load and unload fixtures
directly from the console, in which case you have to connect your
console to the TrackPod card’s DMX IN and set your console to use
DMX channels 498 to 512 to control the TrackPod system (for more
information see the section on the console driver p. 31).
Followspot set-up
recommendations
• Choose the right fixture for the job. A PAL FX fixture is better than the
profiling one because it has an adjustable iris. Moving mirror lights are
faster than moving yoke lights but the latter are smoother.
• Place the fixture keeping in mind that the smoothest response will be
obtained when only pan or tilt is moving and not both. So, for example,
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