MSC Commands From Max/MSP

One of the challenges we faced during The Ascent was dynamically and remotely controlling an ETC ION Light Board via a MIDI Show Control Gateway. We approached this using Max.

The ION Light Board supports a number of different MSC commands outlined here.

For our implementation we originally wished to use 'Set Submaster' commands to control our lighting environment, however we found that the lighting board, for a reason we are as of yet unable to verify, was unable to process these commands. As an alternative we decided to stick to 'Go Cue' and 'Fire Macro' commands.

The Ascent

As you can read up on on my Projects page I was recently involved in a project based out of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

The project involved numerous technologies including automated MSC control of ETC lighting boards, Bluetooth serial communications with Neurosky EEG headbands, OSC control of Stage Tech rigging systems, and all sorts of OSC data flying through the air in general. Most of the programming for this event was done in Max/MSP though a fair chunk of C and Java held on in there as well. Along the way I learned some things and over the coming weeks I plan to zip out the more pertinent or informative bits that I found myself stumbling to find someone else with experience in during our development time.