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FEEDING THE MACHINES
P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
By BradSchiller
The Grand Poobah of the Console
Fred Flintstone was a member of the
Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge
#26 and was continually trying to
gain leader status of this group by becoming
the “Grand Poobah.” This high-ranking
position would have allowed him to rule
over all others and reign supreme over
the group’s members. Much in the same
manner, the grand master on your lighting
console rules over all other masters and
has supreme control over the intensities of
your fixtures. Believe it or not, this slider
and its associated DBO (Dead Black Out)
button can be extremely useful during the
programming and playback of automated
lighting.
How It Works
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The grand master behaves in the same
manner on most lighting consoles (but always
consult your manual to understand
how it operates on your console). Generally,
the grand master adjusts the highest
possible intensity for all fixtures. When
the grand master is at 100 percent, then
all fixtures can achieve 100 percent intensity
if programmed to do so. However
if the grand master is at 50 percent, then
all programmed intensities will be half of
their programmed values. For instance, a
programmed value of 80 percent will become
40 percent when the grand master
is at half.
The grand master has great control
over intensities coming from most elements
of the lighting console. This means
that it not only takes effect on other playbacks,
but also on data in your programmer
or editor. In addition, the grand master
will not affect values that are parked,
nor will it affect RGB LED fixtures (unless
it has a virtual intensity value). Remember
also that the grand master only limits intensity
values at the output; none of your
data is actually changed.
Most consoles also have a DBO button
associated with the grand master. This
button may be momentary or it may lock
on. When activated, it will instantly bring
all intensities to zero until it is released or
activated again. Most consoles have LED
or on-screen level indicators for the grand
master and the DBO state. Usually the
LEDs will flash if the grand master is not
at 100 percent, because in most circumstances,
you want it at 100 percent nearly
all of the time.
Generally, the grand master adjusts the
highest possible intensity for all fixtures.
The Biggest Mistake
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At some point in everyone’s lighting
career, they will find themselves sitting at
a lighting console not able to figure out
why there is no output from the desk. You
will troubleshoot for minutes or hours trying
to determine why nothing is coming
up. Eventually you look across your desk
and realize the grand master is at zero.
Don’t worry, this happens to everyone at
least once! (Guilty! —ed.)
The grand master can be very useful to
ensure that the lights are not used by others
who do not understand the console.
For example, if you need to walk away from
the desk for a period of time, you might
leave the grand master at zero so that others
who get button happy do not end up
turning on fixtures. When you return, however,
you must remember the level of the
grand master; otherwise you will become
confused by no console output.
A Very Special Fader
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What makes the grand master so special?
At any time, I can reach over and completely
dim out all the intensities of my
lights. I have been on productions where
the director was asking about a light spill
rig without having to create a special button
to do so. However, I must be conscious
of the fact that the grand master controls
all intensities on the desk. So this means
that any media servers, smoke machines,
non-dims, etc., will also be turning on and
off. In some cases, use of the grand master
may not be desirable simply because it
does control all fixtures in the desk.
I was once programming a show for an
LD and during a performance he began
flashing the DBO to the beat. Suddenly he
looked at me and yelled for help because
he had managed to mash the button into
the desk, locking it in permanent blackout!
I had to quickly decide if I was going
to switch to the backup console or see if I
could pry the button loose. Luckily there
were followspots illuminating the band
and I was able to pry the button loose
within a few seconds, like MacGyver, with
my Swiss Army knife.
What makes the grand master so special?
At any time I can reach over and completely
dim out all the intensities of my lights.
and I could quickly bring down the grand
master to prove it was not coming from
my desk. Or I can use the grand master to
lower the output to provide better lighting
for a television camera. I also have
brought down the grand master when the
LD wanted to see only the followspots, or
the rehearsal had ended.
The point is that the quick ease of
blacking out or dimming down at any
given moment provides extreme power
without having to determine what to dim.
If during a rehearsal a band stops playing
mid-song and the lights are strobing
in their eyes, I can quickly dim this look
without losing my place in the playback.
Then when they are ready to continue, I
can bring the grand master back up and
continue.
Let’s Go Live
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In a live show, when playing back onthe-fly
(busking, winging it, or punting), I
find using the grand master and DBO button
very helpful. I will often ride the grand
master fader up and down with the beat of
the song or flash the DBO key accordingly.
By doing so, I can flash or pulse the entire
A Custom Grand Master
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Some consoles let you define fixtures
affected by the grand master. In the patch
configuration screen there will be a toggle
to determine if the grand master has
any affect on the intensity of each fixture.
In addition, many consoles have “inhibitive
submasters,” which is a special type
of master that behaves just like a grand
master, but only for the fixtures you store
within it. For instance, you can store only
your floor fixtures in a specific inhibitive
submaster. Now, when this fader is at 100
percent, your floor fixtures will have the
ability to go to 100 percent. But if this fader
is lowered, then so is the relative intensity
of all the fixtures stored in the fader.
Inhibitive submasters are extremely
useful as they allow you to define the
exact control of the master. Some consoles
even allow you to create inhibitive
submasters based on specific conditions,
such as a position palette/preset. In this
case, you can have a master that only
affects fixtures that are currently in the
“Singer” position. This is invaluable when
your artist says the lights are too bright
in his eyes.
Vote for Fred!
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Fred Flintstone wanted to be the
Grand Poobah so he could exercise control
over all his subjects, and your console
gives you this ability with the slide of a
fader. Feel free to use it as you will, but do
not forget the power within. When used
improperly, it can cause you heartache or
worry, but most of the time you will find it
very useful. Lighting control manufacturers
make this feature available on almost
all consoles, and with proper understanding,
you too can get the most out of its
power and become the Grand Poobah of
your console.
E-mail Brad, the Grand Imperial Poobah, at
bschiller@plsn.com.
38 PLSN DECEMBER 2010