Lighting Desk Basics: Patching, Submasters, Cues and Playbacks

In this guide:Patching · Intensity and attributes · Submasters · Cues · Playbacks · Picks · FAQ

Lighting consoles look wildly different and work on the same four ideas. Learn the concepts on one desk and you can find them on any other, which is the opposite of the impression the manuals give.

This guide is deliberately generic. Brand-specific range guides, such as the Avolites Titan guide, cover which model to buy.

Patch: telling the desk what is out there

The desk does not know what fixtures you own. Patching is the process of telling it: this DMX address is that model of fixture, and I am calling it number 3.

Two things happen at once. The desk reserves the right number of DMX channels for that fixture, and it loads a personality or fixture library entry that tells it what each channel does, so that a colour wheel is a colour wheel rather than channel 7.

• Address the fixture physically first, then patch to match. Addresses must not overlap unless you want two fixtures to behave identically.
• Use the correct library entry, and the correct mode. Many fixtures have several DMX modes with different channel counts, and the wrong one produces very strange behaviour.
• Keep a patch list on paper as well as in the desk.

The addressing side is covered in DMX explained.

Intensity, and everything else

Every fixture has an intensity, and most have attributes: colour, position, gobo, focus, shutter. Desks treat these separately, because intensity is what you ride live and attributes are what you set up.

On a simple desk each channel is one dimmer level. On a desk designed for moving lights, you select fixtures, then set attributes, then record the result. That difference is the main reason a console that handles a tungsten rig feels wrong with movers, and vice versa.

Submasters: a look under a fader

A submaster is a stored look assigned to a fader. Pull the fader up and the look comes in, proportionally.

It is the simplest and most robust way to run a small show. A handful of submasters, one per state, run a school production perfectly well and can be operated by someone who has never seen the desk before.

• Build a submaster per state, not per fixture.
• Label them, physically, with tape on the desk.
• Keep a warm general and a blackout on known faders.

Cue stacks: a show in order

A cue stack is a list of looks in sequence, with a fade time on each. Press Go, and the desk fades from the current state to the next one over the stated time.

This is how anything with a script is run. The operator follows the book and presses Go, which is far more reliable than finding four faders in the dark.

• Fade times matter more than the looks. A slow fade reads as a change of scene, a snap reads as an event.
• Number cues with gaps, so you can insert one later without renumbering the book.
• Record a blackout at the end, and a state for the walk-in and the walk-out.

Playbacks and busking

On a desk built for moving lights, playbacks hold anything from a static look to a chase or an effect, and the operator combines them live. That is busking: running a show without a script, by combining stored elements to the music.

The skill is in the preparation. A well-built set of playbacks makes busking easy, and a badly built one makes it impossible however good the operator is.

Frequently asked questions

What does patching a light mean?

Telling the console which fixture is at which DMX address, and what type it is, so the desk knows what each channel controls. It is the first thing to do on any rig.

What is a submaster?

A stored lighting state assigned to a fader, brought in proportionally by raising the fader. It is the simplest way to run a small show.

What is the difference between a cue and a submaster?

A cue is a step in a sequence with a fade time, advanced with a Go button. A submaster is a look under a fader that you bring in manually. Scripted shows use cues, and simpler or improvised shows use submasters.

Do I need a moving light console for LED PARs?

Not necessarily, but LED fixtures have colour attributes as well as intensity, so a desk that only does channel levels will be awkward. A desk that understands fixtures rather than dimmer channels is much easier.