Organise the rig
A rig of a hundred fixtures needs some order. FlexViz has three ways to organise one, and they mean different things. Two of them travel with the plan, one is just for you.
Three ways, three meanings
- Layers
- The drawing structure: what kind of thing it is. Rig, Fixtures, Scenery. Goes out in the MVR. See Layers
- Positions
- Where things hang, in the words your crew uses: Front truss, FOH. Goes out in the MVR. See Positions
- Groups
- A working convenience: "these belong together for me". Stays in FlexViz. See Groups
An object has exactly one layer, at most one position and at most one group, and the three are independent of each other. A Sharpy can be on the Fixtures layer, on the Front truss position and in your group Key light at the same time.
If the next tool down the line has to know about it, make it a layer or a position. Layers and positions are written into an MVR export, and an MVR import brings the file's own. Groups never leave FlexViz.
Numbers
Every fixture also carries a number, the one a programmer types into the console. It is not a way of organising so much as the name the console knows a fixture by, and it is worth setting deliberately before a plan goes out. See Numbering the rig.
In this section
Layers — the working layer, moving things between layers, hiding.
Positions — naming where things hang and putting them there.
Groups — a selection you keep for later.
Numbering the rig — Number rig and Renumber….