advice wanted on setting up a very basic light control within/from Isadora

Notdoc

...presenting in amateur/informal art spaces without a lighting rig I would like to be able to control a single 'domestic' light source such that I could raise and lower the lighting in the room as a part of the presentation/performance.

Just to be clear: I'm looking for hardware suggestions that can talk with Izzy.

Ideally I want to simply automate a lamp that will fade up when the video fades down, and I want to do this cheaply and in a portable way that could use something like an ordinary home lamp and dimmer switch which I could control through an Izzy patch.

I don't have a theatre background so my knowledge of automated lighting is minimal to non-existent. In my head I imagine a simple standalone MIDI dimmer switch that can just have a lamp plugged in...

UPDATE: reading around, i think this would involve DMX..? Can Izzy directly control a DMX-compliant lamp?

Any suggestions welcome.

DusX

@notdoc said:

Can Izzy directly control a DMX-compliant lamp?

Isadora can work with a DMX interface via USB (serial connection). I use a device from DMXking, they simplest interface they offer is: https://dmxking.com/usbdmx/ult...
This User Actor will help you connect and control DMX: https://troikatronix.com/add-o...
To control a lamp that plugs in normally you will need a DMX dimmer (example: https://www.amazon.ca/Eliminat...)
You will also need a cable to run from the interface to the dimmer pack. DMX cable is best, but microphone XLR should be all you need for a simple use case like this (DMX cable has more shielding and costs more, but both use the same connections, and XLR works well for most small setups).

Notdoc

@dusx

many thanks! that is very helpful.

dbini

what DusX said - there's probably more hacky ways to do this, but DMX is the industry standard way to go, although its going to be quite expensive and it may seem like overkill to buy a DMX setup just to control one domestic bulb. it depends what your future plans are. is there a possibility to rent or borrow a dimmer pack from a local theatre? - most touring companies will have some mobile dimmer packs in storage that they may not be using if they've switched to LED fixtures.

I bought an Enttec DMX Pro and a small 4-channel dimmer block from Thomann recently and I've used them for lots of projects, either together, or paired with other hardware. you could even get a single channel dimmer specifically for this project for around 70€. I recommend the Enttec DMX Pro (don't go down the cheaper Open DMX route - its more difficult to interface with) but it outputs 5 pin DMX - you would need a 5 to 3 adapter to use XLR cable - most cheaper dimmers come with 3 pin DMX inputs and outputs. I use my Pro for controlling a laser from Isadora, which is fun....

Notdoc

@dbini

thanks. A laser sounds cool! I'm exploring a combination of possibilities that include hack, beg and borrow. I'll probably come back to this once I've tried some things out.

jfg

@dusx said:

To control a lamp that plugs in normally

It is possible to dream about a home kit control out from Isadora ?

best
Jean-François

Juriaan

@jfg

Well I made a Philips Hue connection that you can find here

https://community.troikatronix...