Post #2001042

2024-05-06 11:29 UTC

This lighting console UI is the result of thirty years of incremental learning on UX for professionals working in a world where time is the single most valuable thing. It is effectively displaying a relational database with dozens of inter- and intra-dependent tables*, using a smorgasbord of visual cues and a completely custom keyboard for recall and access. It can be used by near-novices with a very simple subject-verb-object command line syntax, with graphical feedback. Everything beyond the two most essential tables is effectively hidden until requested, so as your skills, familiarity and requirements grow, you can expand your workspace complexity incrementally. It allows a huge amount of workspace customisation but accessed in such a way that any operator unfamiliar with someone else’s workflow can within a few clicks, get back to the basic screens they are familiar with. I think UI designers could learn a lot from the leading lighting console software.

Replies (7)

@s0@cathode.church 2024-05-06 11:49

Expansion on tables:CuelistsCues (in lists)Channels (& cells)GroupsFixture typesFixture functionsIntensity, colour, beam, focus palettesPresets (another kind of palette)Palettes by fixture typeColour paths (description of how to fade between two colours)SubmastersFadersMacrosEffectsTimecode automation listsMagic sheets (custom visual layouts)Live/manual stateGobos (projected images)Colour wheelsbeam effect typescustom colour calibration curves I’m sure I’m forgetting more. Rows interact within tables in complex ways: cyclic and directional relationships (eg cue cycles and links)hierarchy of simultaneous manual & stored state typesPriority levels including overrideshighest- vs latest-takes-precedence logicpermitted or unpermitted overlapping indiceslive and blind editing workflows (one edits via a manual state and atomic save operations, the latter via direct value modification)dependent transitions & timingchained timing dependenciesintentionally random values at runtimereference (palette) values and by-type referencesEtc. It takes years to learn to operate these consoles to a very high level, but only a few. I’ve spent a far shorter time (overall and by calendar) on one of these consoles than in the Unix shell, for a far greater overall proficiency, and critically, recall and ability to access all features without looking at a manual, after time away. And before you say yeah, hobbyist — my day job involves Linux sysadmin duties. I only work on Lighting design a few times a year.

Open ##2299376
@nyrath@spacey.space 2024-05-06 15:30

@s0@cathode.church It seems to me that someone making a stage set for a scifi starship would do well to base the engine controls on a lighting console

Open ##2299392
@gsuberland@chaos.social 2024-05-06 22:57

@s0@cathode.church definitely agree that there's a lot that can be learned from them. on the flip side, having used MA2, MA3, MagicQ, Avolites, DMXControl, FreeStyler, and QuickShow/BEYOND, there's definitely a wide range of quality in these UX designs, and in general the good UX only really shines once you've got a show file up and running and patched/merged into the ground package - it's far more daunting if you need to set the show file up from scratch and build all your cues/executors or do timecode.

Open ##2299394
@redbassett@toot.cafe 2024-05-06 23:25

@s0@cathode.church And then there's those of us who program on MA...

Open ##2299397
@maxthefox@spacey.space 2024-05-07 02:20

@s0@cathode.church @nyrath@spacey.space This is kinda how I imagine interfaces in my vision of an ideal future to be like. Cold and mechanical, but clean and info-dense and straightforward.

Open ##2299400
@wink@chaos.social 2024-05-07 10:48

@s0@cathode.church Not that I have any facts, but a lot of UIs esp in FLOSS are made by untrained (in UI/UX) software developers and tbh my experience is that unless your project is highly visible it won't just attract UI/UX people either. Enough of those people are self-taught (in both disciplines) but what I hardly ever stumble upon are exactly those breakdowns of how stuff works and why it's awesome for these (commercial) examples. I'm not saying this to blame anyone, but I'm not even surprised.

Open ##2299401
@dfraser@mastodon.sdf.org 2024-05-26 13:57

@s0@cathode.church YouTube pushed me this video about the lighting design for Eurovision 2024… so much automation and complexity! https://youtu.be/_sOl8wgKtHc

Open ##2299402