Regia

Lights

Regia controls lights like a console: fixture patch, programmer, looks with tracking, effects, live faders. It outputs DMX through a USB interface or over the network with Art-Net and sACN. Without outputs you see everything in the plot preview.

The workflow

  1. Patch: tell Regia which fixtures you have and which DMX address they answer to.
  2. Plot and programmer: select fixtures and set intensity, colour, position, beam.
  3. Record what you see as a look on the timeline, inside a cue.
  4. During the show, GO fires the looks with their fades.

Patch

In the Patch tab press Add fixtures:

  • pick the type from the generic ones (dimmer, LED RGB, RGBW, RGBA, RGBWAU, PAR with dimmer and strobe, CMY wash, tunable white LED, fresnel, spot, wash and beam moving heads, strobe, blinder, fog machine, hazer, UV bar, generic channel) or from the Library: over 1,000 models from hundreds of brands from the Open Fixture Library (searching needs a connection; the chosen model stays in your show);
  • choose the Mode (how many channels the fixture uses, as set on its menu), How many, the Universe and the Start address;
  • press Add: Regia works out the addresses one after another and places the fixtures on the plot.

Import loads QLC+ files (.qxf), GDTF (.gdtf), Open Fixture Library (.json) or a whole patch from a table (.csv). The table can have name, model, universe, address, mode and number columns; an address can also read 2.101 (universe 2, address 101).

In the patch table you change each fixture's number, name, mode, universe, address and Dimmer curve (linear, square law, S-curve, inverse: for dimmers that rise too fast or too slow). If two fixtures overlap, the number of fixtures with overlapping addresses shows in red and their circles on the plot turn red. For moving heads, the arrows button at the end of the row opens Invert pan, Invert tilt and Swap pan and tilt: use them for fixtures hung upside down or sideways, so positions and presets stay the same for all.

Plot and programmer

The Plot and programmer tab has three parts.

Left

  • Groups: click a group to select its fixtures (Shift+click to add them to the selection). Group from selection creates a new one.
  • Select: all, none, odd, even, invert, previous and next.
  • Highlight: the selected fixtures at full white, for focusing in the room.
  • Blind: edit the programmer without sending anything out. Useful during the show to prepare the next look.
  • Move on plot: drag fixtures to draw the plot as it really is.
  • Clear programmer.

Centre, the plot: click a fixture to select it, Shift+click or Ctrl+click to add more, or drag a box. Each circle shows the current number, colour and intensity.

Right, the values of the selected fixtures:

  • Intensity with a fader and quick buttons (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, FL);
  • Color: colour wheel, colour presets and faders for each emitter (red, green, blue, white, amber, UV, lime, cyan, magenta, yellow, colour temperature) or the fixture's colour wheel;
  • Position for moving heads: pan and tilt pad, precise values, position presets and Fan the pan;
  • Beam: zoom, focus, iris, frost, gobo and gobo rotation, prism, shutter, strobe, speed, fog, fan, macro. For gobo, prism and shutter pick from a list with names taken from the fixture's profile.

What you set goes into the programmer, which wins over everything else until you clear it.

Recording a look

Below the values, in the Record section:

  • New look on the timeline: creates a light look with the programmer values in the selected cue, at the blue cursor;
  • Update “look name”: if you selected a look on the timeline, merges the programmer values into it;
  • + Color, + Position, + Beam: save a preset from the programmer values.

A look's inspector also has Load into programmer (to edit it), Record from programmer (replaces it) and Merge programmer values.

Looks on the timeline

A light look works with tracking, like theatre consoles: it keeps its values until another look on the same track changes them. If look 2 only changes the colour of the front lights, their intensity stays as look 1 left it.

In a look's inspector:

  • Blackout: all intensities to zero, with the chosen fade;
  • Fade and curve;
  • Split times: different time and delay for intensity, colour, position and beam (colour changes in 3 seconds, position in 5 after a 1-second wait);
  • Move in dark: moving lights that are off reposition and recolour before this look, so they come on ready;
  • the list of fixtures with their values, removable one by one.

Several lights tracks work together: for intensity the highest value wins, for everything else the latest look.

Presets

The Presets tab holds named colours, positions and beams. Looks reference them: fix the “Midnight blue” preset and every look using it changes. Click a preset to load it into the programmer for the selected fixtures.

Effects, chases, reactive lights

Add them as elements on a lights track.

Light effect: pick the effect (breathe, wave, chase, rainbow, blink, strobe, sparkle, fire, candle, TV, lightning, police lights, circle, figure eight, custom), the Fixtures (also from selection on the plot), Speed (or On tempo, following tap tempo), Size, Base level, Spread (0 = all together, 100% = one after another), Direction and Colors. With Custom you choose the attribute and the wave shape.

Light chase: a series of steps, each recorded from the programmer with Add a step from the programmer. Each step has a time and a fade; steps run forward, backward, bounce or random. With On tempo the times become beats.

Reactive lights:

  • Music: lights follow the volume of all audio or of one track, on the frequencies you choose (all, bass, mids, highs). Decide what it drives (intensity or colour) and the Sensitivity.
  • Video: each fixture takes the video colour at its spot on the plot. Lay the plot over the image and the room lights become an extension of the screen.

Live desk

The Live desk tab has faders to move by hand during the show: One fader per group creates one for each group, Fader from programmer creates one with the programmer values. Each fader has a FLASH button (full while you hold it) and a key field: click it, then press the key that will flash it. Faders add to the show: for intensity the highest value wins.

At the top right of every lights tab you always find:

  • tap tempo (the button with the musical note and the BPM): tap along with the music, or press T, and tempo-synced effects follow;
  • the grand master (GM), which scales every intensity;
  • Blackout, which switches everything off and back on with a second click.

DMX outputs

In the DMX outputs tab each universe has its output:

  • USB interface: Enttec DMX USB Pro, Open DMX (FTDI) and DMXKing. Press Connect interface and pick the port. Works in Chrome and Edge, without extra drivers on recent systems.
  • Art-Net or sACN: networked lights, nodes, consoles, LED walls. You need the Bridge and the node address (empty = everyone). Find Art-Net nodes finds them for you.
  • None (preview only).

Add a universe for more; DMX rate sets how many times per second Regia sends the values (40 Hz by default). The Monitor shows the 512 channels of a universe with live values and the fixture each channel belongs to. Click a channel to park it at a fixed value: it wins over everything, blackout included, until you release it by leaving the field empty or you close Regia. Handy to keep the hazer or a work light on while you test the rest.

Warning: Regia sends DMX only with Regia Pro. Without a subscription, lights show in the plot and the monitor but do not go out.