The Actor panel is where actors can be selected, costumed, made up, positioned and blocked in scenes
Clicking the 2-D Actor button brings up the above open file dialog. Selecting a file will show the image in the view window. These images are attached to a flat panel, the black areas will be transparent. They do not reflect light as realistically as 3D actors.
Clicking the 3-D Actors button brings up the above open file dialog. By selecting a file and then using the up and down arrow keys it is possible to review all the actors in the image box. 3D actors have a separate head and body. It is possible to move the head in relation to the other actors on stage. Costume and make-up are achieved through the following panel.
The character panel allows choice of costume texture for the body and facial texture for the head. Already loaded textures can be reviewed by using the drop down lists. A visible texture can be applied by clicking the Wear or Cast buttons. New textures can be considered through the use of the Find and Audition buttons. New textures will be applied and added to the drop down lists by clicking on the Wear and Cast buttons.
The actors can either be moved around the stage using the mouse or the controls on the above panel. "Height" will move the actor vertically up and down. "Depth" will move the actor from the front to the back of the stage. "Width" will move the actor from side to side of the stage. "Roll" will rotate the actor forward or backward about their feet, "Wheel" will rotate the actor sideways around their feet. "Spin" will rotate the actor around their vertical axis. Entering text in the boxes will more accurately set the actors position if known. Actors can also be moved interactively.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new preset. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected preset, thus allowing you to modify an existing preset. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking on a preset name will take you directly to that preset.
With the "Blocking" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors. "Add" will a create a new blocking cue from the current actor positions. "Reset" will save the current positions into the selected cue, thus allowing you to modify an existing cue. "Align" will save a selected actor's position into all other existing cues. "Insert" will insert a new blocking cue before the currently selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected blocking cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. Clicking on a cue name will take you directly to that cue.
The Prompt Desk is where all the various elements of a stage transformation are coordinated. Individual cue sequences such as Lighting or Flys can be coordinated here into a combined cue where all the elements can work together to create the magic that is a theatre transformation.
A cue can be set up by selecting the relevant red buttons and when ready, initiated by clicking on the green Master. Cues can also be actioned immediately by clicking on the individual green button. Individual cues can be set back by using the spinner to the right of the cue number display. Cues must exist on the panel that the prompt button is referencing.
Individual and combination cues can be saved and run from the "Prompt Cues" option panel. "Save" will add a new cue to the list. "ReSave" will save currently selected red buttons into the selected cue. "Insert" will insert a new cue before the selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. "GO" will put the current cue into motion. Clicking the "GO" button a number of times in succession will initiate that number of cues one after the other. "Set Back" will select the previous cue and reset all individual cues. Clicking on a cue will take you directly to the cue state before.
"ReSave" and "Insert" will also reorder the individual cue sequences which are cascaded into active red prompt cue buttons. To delete a particular cue it must also be deleted in its own cue panel list as well as the prompt cue list.
openStages is not specifically a lighting program. It has been designed to give an overall sense of the technical side of theatre. It is expected that users will use the lighting to develop key lighting ideas in conjunction with all other disciplines of the stage.
Lighting is limited by OpenGL's restriction to eight light sources. The first source is used as a general flood positioned over the stage. This gives a general ambient light. The next seven have to be patched through to their chosen spotlights for the duration of a project. They can be repatched, but it means that all cues in the project are repatched. It is possible to manually repatch part way through a project. There are twenty spotlights hung on Fly Bars and Booms that can be accessed through the Patch Panel.
The spotlights can be moved along a bar. (Select the lamp and use the horizontal position wheel on the scenery panel with the Ctrl key pressed.) Spotlights can also be moved from bar to bar, or boom, using Attach on the scenery panel. The spotlights can only be positioned and focussed for the whole project and not for presets or cues. Colours can be changed per cue.
This is the Lighting Board.
On the left hand side of the panel are the lighting dimmer faders. There are two banks, A & B. A bank can be selected by clicking on the red buttons or fully moving the Master Fader in the centre. Two separate lighting states may be set up, one each in banks A & B. The Master Fader will crossfade between A & B or by selecting the red buttons you will go directly to the chosen state. The left fader of the two banks operates the general flood or ambient light. The group of seven faders operate the spotlights that they are patched through to. The number of the individual spotlight that each fader controls can be seen in the text box directly above each fader. The dimmer level is shown in the text box directly beneath each fader. The right hand panel has the controls for focusing the spotlights. The Selected Lamp text box shows what lamp is selected. The two wheels underneath rotate the selected spotlight. A selected spotlight cannot be rotated unless it has been patched in and is showing in one of the text boxes above a dimmer fader.
The Patch panel shows how the seven spotlight source cables at the bottom can be linked to the twenty spotlight sockets at the top. Position the mouse cross hair over an occupied spotlight socket and press the left button. Holding the button down it is possible to move the selected patch cable to another empty socket. Spotlights can be patched to a dimmer source by using the Patch Panel.
The Colour Panel will let you select a colour for a selected spotlight. Colour can be changed per cue. The chosen colour is shown in the box on the right and the dimmer level box in the fader banks.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new preset. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected preset, thus allowing you to modify an existing preset. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking on a preset name will take you directly to that preset.
The Lx Cues Panel will let you save cues with timings for running from this panel or from the Prompt Desk. "Add" will add a new cue at the end of the existing cues. "Reset" will resave the dimmer levels and timing for the selected cue. "Insert" will insert a new cue before the selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. "GO" will initiate the selected cue with timing. "Set Back" will set back to the previous cue. Clicking on a cue name will take you directly to that cue state.
The Lx Equipment Panel is where you can view and select all Lx equipment such as Spotlights, LxBars, Booms and Lx Trapezes. The "Trapeze" button will load a short 600mm Lx Bar that is moveable. A Spotlight can then be moved to the Trapeze from another Lx Bar. This allows more flexibility with the positioning of Spotlights.
Sound is implemented through the DirectX interface and it will only work if DirectX version 7.0 or later is installed. Sound files must be mono and of the WAVE PCM format. The file itself must have its "write" property set. Files taken from a CD will be read only and will need to be made writeable OpenStages cannot read stereo files, if stereo is required then split a stereo audio file into two mono files (using a program like CoolEdit) one for each stereo channel, and load them into either channels A/B or C/D. The two files will then be synchronised when they play. The sound files are streamed, this means that a little bit at a time is read in and played. It is therefore possible to have quite large sound files without any memory problems.
There are four sound source channels, ABCD, and four speakers. The speakers are designated as, "front left", "front right", "rear left" and "rear right". In Proscenium theatres the rear speakers will initially be at the back of the stage and in Studio theatres the rear speakers will be at the back of the auditorium, behind the production desk. The speakers may be repositioned.
The Mixing Desk panel has the four input channels to the left, a Master Fader in the centre and panels for Clips, Cues and Speaker Matrix on the right. Each Channel control group has a Fader on the right, a Red toggle push button at the top and a column of toggle push buttons down the right. The white text box at the bottom shows the name of the sound sample loaded into that channel.
The Red toggle push button is to show what channels are active when recording Cues. There are situations when there is an ongoing background sound and a brief sound is to be played over the top. A seagull over a background of sea for instance. The red toggle button defines which channels are to be initiated for a cue. The Play Button starts a sample playing. The Stop Button stops the sample playing. The Loop Button when depressed causes the sample to repeat. The Stereo Button pairs the channels to AB or CD. This makes sure that when there is a stereo pair of samples they will play at the same time. The Clear Button clears the sample from memory and the text box. The Fader attenuates the sound level. The Master Fader attenuates all sound levels.
The Clips panel is where a list of clips being used is stored and where they can be assigned to a particular channel. The Add Clip button finds and adds clips from the directory. The Remove button removes clips from the list. The four AB CD buttons assign the selected clip to the relevant channel.
The Sound Cues Panel will let you save cues with timings for running from this panel or from the Prompt Desk. "Save" will add a new cue at the end of the existing cues. "ReSave" will resave the fader levels and timing for the selected cue. "Insert" will insert a new cue before the selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. "GO" will initiate the selected cue with timing. "Set Back" will set back to the previous cue. Clicking on a cue name will take you directly to that cue state.
Each of the four sound channels outputs to the four speakers. The Speaker Matrix allows sound levels to be set for each channel through each speaker. Adjust the sound level using the knob where the relevant channel and speaker lines intersect on the matrix
The speakers are standard box enclosures. The sound and object origin is at the centre of the cone which is 575mm above the base. Currently they cannot be attached to bars, but can of course be positioned above the stage as if they have been suspended on spotlines.
The Stage Fit Up panel is where the scenery is placed on the stage.
When a scenic object is loaded its filename and ID are shown in the listing. It can then be resized and placed in position. Clicking on an item's name in the listing will select that item. Items can be given more meaningful names by using the "Rename" button.
The buttons in the "Scenery Store" area will load these items onto the stage. "Search" allows a visual search through the scenery store. "Flat" will place a scenic flat on the centre of stage floor. "Cloth" will hang a cloth on a selected bar. "Gauze" will hang a gauze on a selected bar. "Scrim" will hang a scrim on a selected bar. "Floor Cloth" will place a floor cloth on the stage floor. "Rostrum" will place a rostrum on the centre of the stage floor. "Fixed Bar" will place a moveable and resizeable Scenic Bar at the origin. Cloths, Scrims, Gauzes and Borders can be attached to these Bars. "Scaffold" will place a length of scaffold tube at centre stage. "Timber" will place a plank of wood at centre stage.
The buttons in the "Control Equipment" area will place controllable objects on the stage. The basic element will be placed in the listing. The controllable part will be placed in the listing of the Stage Control Panel. For instance a "Revolve" rostrum can be placed and resized in the Build Panel, but you must go to the Stage Panel to operate and cue the revolve. "Revolve" will place a revolve at centre stage. "Tab Track" will hang a tabtrack and curtains on a selected bar. "Track" will place a track on the stage floor, scenery items can then be attached to track's spigot for remote movement. "Lift" will place a lift at centre stage. "Truck" will place a track with an attached truck at centre stage. "Door" will place a left or right handed door at centre stage.
The buttons in the "Building Blocks" area will place the relevant basic shapes at centre stage for resizing and positioning.
The Scenery Open File dialog shows images of the items available. Select the item you want and then click on "Open". Your selection will appear at centre stage.
The scenery can either be moved around the stage using the mouse or the controls on the above panel. "Height" will move the scenery vertically up and down. "Depth" will move the scenery from the front to the back of the stage. "Width" will move the scenery from side to side of the stage. "Roll" will rotate the scenery forward or backward about its origin, "Wheel" will rotate the scenery sideways around its origin. "Spin" will rotate the scenery around its vertical axis. Entering text in the boxes will more accurately set the scenery position if known. Scenery can also be moved interactively.
The Size option dialog will reflect the overall dimension in width, height and depth. Altering the dimension with the text boxes or the sliders will show immediately in the scenery item.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new state. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected state, thus allowing you to modify an existing state. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing states. "Insert" will insert a new state before the currently selected state. "Delete" will delete the selected state. "Rename" will rename the selected state. Clicking on a Combined state will take you directly to that state.
The Presets listing can be used for saving scene changes that are not time controlled. A scene preset change happens instantly and is best thought of as a hidden change managed by the stage crew. "Save" will add a new preset to the end of the list. "ReSave" will resave current scene positions in the selected preset. "Align" will save the current position of selected scenery to all presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking directly on the name of a listed preset will cause that preset to take place.
The Stage Equipment control panel is where timed cues are set up with controlled equipment such as revolves and tabtracks.
The listing on the left contains a list of all control equipment used. The centre panel shows the selected type and the wheel will move the scenery within its limits. The distance or angle moved is shown in position text box. The Scene Cues option panel is where the timed cues may be saved. All the different movements may be saved in one cue but they will all have to share the same time. "Save" will add a new cue to the end of the list. "ReSave" will resave current control positions in the selected cue. "Insert" will insert a new cue before the currently selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. "GO" will initiate the selected cue with timing. "Set Back" will set back to the previous cue. Clicking directly on the name of a listed cue will create that cue's state.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new preset. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected preset, thus allowing you to modify an existing preset. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking on a preset name will take you directly to that preset.
The Flys control panel is where heights of all the bars are set and cues with bar speeds are saved.
The listing on the left lists all bars and clicking on a bar's entry will select that bar. "Rename" can be used to indicate what is on each bar. The centre panel is where the bar heights are set. Before the selected bar can be moved by the wheel either the "Fixed" button or the "Cue" button must be depressed. Use the "Fixed" bar for setting the heights of bars that will not be used in cues, such as borders or lighting bars. Use the "Cue" button for bars that will be moved in cues. Clicking on the "Cue" button will add the selected bar to a list of active bars. The text box will show the current height of the selected bar. A new height may entered directly in the text box for immediate and accurate effect.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new preset. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected preset, thus allowing you to modify an existing preset. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking on a preset name will take you directly to that preset.
The Fly Cues option panel is where cues may be saved separately and then run. The text box is where the fly speed is set in unit length per second. For each theatre there is a default maximum speed that cannot be exceeded. "Save" will add a new fly cue to the end of the list. "ReSave" will resave current fly bar positions in the selected cue. "Insert" will insert a new cue before the currently selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. "GO" will initiate the selected cue with timing. "Set Back" will set back to the previous cue. Clicking directly on the name of a listed cue will create that cue's state.
The Scenic Paint Shop is where scenery is painted.
On the left of the panel is where the paint is mixed. When an object is selected its colour will be shown in the two panels "Original" and "New" to the right of the mixing sliders. The sliders will also be moved to reflect the colour. Subsequent changes to the sliders will change the colour and the results will be shown in the New panel. The Original panel will retain the original colour and this can be reapplied by clicking on the UnDo button. Clicking on the Dialog button or the New panel will bring up the standard Microsoft colour dialog from which a colour can be chosen. When the Paste button is clicked the next object to be selected will be painted the current colour.
The "Emission" slider sets the luminosity of an object. Objects such as light bulbs, television screens and projections produce their own light. This allows the simulation of such objects.
The "Transparency" slider sets the opacity of an object
| A
Note on Transparency |
Objects using transparency have a particular problem. 3D objects are kept in a series of lists and shown in order. List 1 will show all its objects in order and then list 2 and so on. If an object has transparency, only those objects listed before the transparent object in the list can be seen through the object. For example if an actor is standing in front of a fence and the actor is semi transparent, the portion of the fence behind the actor will only be seen if it comes before the actor in the display lists. If the fence comes after the actor, the fence will be seen either side of the actor but not through the actor. It will look as if there is an actor shaped hole in the fence. The three buttons on the "Layering" panel help to rearrange the order in which objects are listed and drawn on the screen. |
There are three ways of using transparency:
| Slider | The transparency slider will impart a degree of transparency to the whole of a selected object even if it has a texture. |
| Mask Button |
The Mask toggle buttons on the Rendering panel act on the selected texture. The black Mask button will make any completely black areas of a texture transparent and the white Mask button will do the same to any completely white areas. The buttons are mutually exclusive so it is not possible to have both black and white areas transparent in the same texture. This facility can be used for creating holes, such as doors or window, in scenery that has the texture applied to it. See the example below where the doorway of the image is black. If this image is applied to a flat and given Mask transparency then the actual doorway will appear open. |
| Trans. Button |
The Trans. toggle buttons on the Rendering panel act on the selected texture. The black Trans. button will grade the transparency of a texture according to its brightness. The black areas will be most transparent and the light areas the most opaque. The white Trans. toggle button will do the reverse, the light areas will be most transparent and the dark most opaque. This facility can be used to create a smoky room by putting a cloth in front with an image of smoke that has been modified with the black Trans. button. The transparency slider can also be used to make the effect more subtle. |
The Layering buttons will change an object's position in the display lists. All flown items are ordered so that the furthest displays first and the nearest last. Objects such as scenery or actors can be put on the lists before any flown items, click on the "Back of Cloths" button or after, click on the "Bring to Front" button. The "Send to Back" button will move objects to first on the list but after all flown items such as cloths. Experiment with this to understand the rules properly.
The Rendering panel is where textures are found and loaded. Clicking on the Find button will bring up the Select Paint Texture dialog seen below. The Apply button will apply the chosen texture to the selected object and add it to the drop down list. The drop down list is where all loaded textures are listed and can be chosen for applying to objects. The Clear button will clear the chosen texture from the list.
The Select Paint Texture dialog shows available textures. Click on a texture and then move backwards and forwards using the up and down arrow keys to see what is available.
The Stage Properties panel is where small props, furniture and weapons are cared for.
Clicking on the Small Props button brings up the "Select Small Prop from image" dialog panel below. Selecting a file will show an image of the objects on the right.
The Furniture and Weapons buttons will bring up similar dialogs. The Box, Ball and Can buttons will load equivalent basic shapes on to the stage. All loaded items ID and name will be listed in the central listing. Items can be selected by clicking on them directly with the mouse pointer or by selecting from the props listing.
Props can either be moved around the stage using the mouse or the controls on the above panel. "Height" will move the prop vertically up and down. "Depth" will move the prop from the front to the back of the stage. "Width" will move the prop from side to side of the stage. "Roll" will rotate the prop forward or backward about its origin, "Wheel" will rotate the prop sideways around its origin. "Spin" will rotate the prop around its vertical axis. Entering text in the boxes will more accurately set the prop position if known. Props can also be moved interactively.
The Size option dialog will reflect the overall dimension in width, height and depth. Altering the dimension with the text boxes or the sliders will show immediately in the prop item.
With the "Combined" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the actors, prop settings, the current lighting state, current fly bar positions, control systems positions and scenery positions. "Save" will a create a new preset. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected preset, thus allowing you to modify an existing preset. "Align" will save a selected object's position into all other existing presets. "Insert" will insert a new preset before the currently selected preset. "Delete" will delete the selected preset. "Rename" will rename the selected preset. Clicking on a listed preset name will take you directly to that preset.
With the "Settings" option panel it is possible to save the positions of the props. "Save" will a create a new Settings cue from the current prop positions. "ReSave" will save the current positions into the selected cue, thus allowing you to modify an existing cue. "Align" will save a selected prop's position into all other existing cues. "Insert" will insert a new settings cue before the currently selected cue. "Delete" will delete the selected settings cue. "Rename" will rename the selected cue. Clicking on a cue name will take you directly to that cue.