Hexagonal Close-Packed

Meyer LCS

Working on Gulls with Martin Carrillo is my second exposure to LCS (”Level Control System”), and this time it’s much more in depth.  Or, at least in depth enough to warrant a blog post about it.

My initial response after a week of LCS programming is that LCS makes other digital consoles look old-fashioned.  The level of sophistication and precision of programming allowed by LCS is impressive.  The design of the system moves audio engineering away from emulating analog mixing boards and toward a full-fledge digital programming environment.

While the learning curve for this system is steep, once you understand the LCS environment, it essentially allows you to do anything at any time given any circumstances.  Last year for Paradise Lost, Martin had LCS reading timecode from our DJ, and syncing up and triggering most cues automatically.  That doesn’t sound that impressive (SMPTE timecode has been around for awhile), but when you consider that at a given instant he could program a single input, output, DCA (called “VGroup” in LCS-lingo), bus, etc. to change any parameter (matrix, dynamics, level, label, whatever), you realize how powerful it is.  In addition to the full automation you get with a traditional digital console, you also get all of the scripting (python!) and control-level precision of a computer.

One fun trick I got working for this show was installing sharing an ssh key between my MacBook Pro and the linux LCS machine.  Then, as part of cues, I have LCS move my computer to the next page of my script automatically (i.e. automatic turning pages).

Another thing that I messed around with was a trigger cue light.  There are input pins on the back of the Matrix3 unit that I ran to a light switch.  Then, when the stage manager triggers the switch, I’ve programmed a light on my console to light up, and then when she flicks it off (i.e. “Go”), it changes color and text to say “GO!” before turning off.

While those are just goofy little things, I just post them here because they, a) Entertain me, and b) Show how customizable and open LCS feels compared to the standalone boards I’ve used.  Most of what we’re doing at this point for the current show involves turning mics on/off and changing matrix levels to pan actors to where they are onstage.  Matrin’s also having fun playing with VRAS, sound effects, orchestra tweaking, and some lower-level stuff that hopefully I can learn before the run begins.

Anyway, for more information check out the web site, and ignore the scary dude in the graphic.