Overview
BeamViz allows you to visualize the coverage of a beam of light in plan view. Each beam is a separate Plug-In Object with easily adjustable hanging and focus points. BeamViz will reshape as you move the focus across the drawing, and it will even show hyperbolic and triangular intersection with the face plane. BeamViz can also show how the same beam will hit the floor as well as show the beam in 3D views.
Instructions
- Click on the BeamViz Tool icon
- Click on the drawing in the approximate plan location where you would like the light to hang.
- Drag the beam edge or focus point (indicated by a locus) to the point you would stand when focusing the light. The size and shape of the beam will change accordingly.
- Alternatively, you can insert the beam at its focus point and drag the boxed control point to a hanging position. Your cursor will change to a double arrow when it is over the control point.
- You can also use nudge (shift+arrow) to fine tune the focus point.
- Adjust parameters of the beam in the Object Info palette.
- If you are viewing shutter cuts, you can adjust the shutters in Object Info as well as by dragging the four control points in the drawing.
See the Workflow for more details.
Parameters
The BeamViz parameters can be edited in the Object Info Palette. To set parameter defaults, see the Overview .
If checked, a locus is drawn at the focus point.
| Parameter | Description |
| x, y | The coordinates of the focus point. |
| Z | The height of your floor cut plane. The Face Plane and Additional Cut Plane measure from this height. Your Position Height should not take the z height into account — if you are using the z value to set a deck or trap level, for example, your Position Height should still measure from z = 0, and BeamViz will do the math. |
| Fixed Parameter | Throw & Light Location is similar to the old ‘fixed’ mode. The hanging point remains fixed, dragging will move the light and it’s focus point, maintaining throw. Panning/Tilting will adjust the focus point and the height of the face plane, the fixture remains in place.Throw & Focus Location maintains the focus point and throw distance. Dragging will move the light and the focus point, maintaining throw. Panning/tilting will adjust the fixture location/height around the focus point, the face plain remains fixed.Light Location is the same as Beam Draw’s ‘Dynamic’ mode. Dragging the beam will move the focus point. Panning/Tilting will move the beam as if you were actually focusing the light. The face plain is maintained.Focus Location keeps the focus point fixed, dragging the beam will pivot the light around the focus point. Panning/Tilting will do the same. |
| Focus Point | Select an existing Spotlight Focus Point, and the beam will refocus to that point. You can also set the focus anywhere, and the field will display, “Custom.” |
| Location | |
| Hanging Height | The height of the lighting position. This should be the trim height from the floor (z = 0) to the center of the pipe. |
| Pick up height | This button will change the position height to the z height of any 3D object below the instrument location. This does not change dynamically and will happen when you press the button. |
| Re-Trim position height | This button will change the height of selected beams, maintaining tilt (angle to face). |
| Distance to Clamp | The distance from the hanging position to the source point in the lighting instrument. The height of the beam is computed as Position Height – Distance to Clamp.Use a negative value to overhang the light. If the light is overhung, BeamViz objects will show an indicator next to the instrument location, and when converting to Lighting Devices, the 3D component will be overhung. |
| Instrument X, Y | The coordinates of the lighting instrument. |
| Instrument Distance X, Y | The x and y distances from the focus point to the lighting instrument. |
| Focus Options | |
| Face Plane | The height of the plane on which beams are drawn. Usually 6′-0″ or 5′-9″. |
| Show Floor | If checked, will draw the beam at both head height and as it falls on the floor. |
| Throw | Throw Distance from the unit to the focus point. Can be altered. |
| Throw △X and △Y | The Plan Distance and height from the unit to the focus point. |
| Pan, Tilt Sliders | These sliders will Pan / Tilt the light respectively as if you were focusing it. |
| Optics | |
| Instrument Type | Set the instrument type here, Standard (fixed ellipsoidal), Zoom ellipsoidal, or PAR. Zoom will add a zoom slider, PAR will add a second Beam and Field angle input, as well as a bottle rotation option. |
| Field Angle | The field angle of the beam. |
| Beam Angle | The beam angle of the beam. If you do not want to draw the beam angle, enter a value of 0. If you only want to draw the beam angle, enter it in field angle. |
| Peak Candela | The peak candela of the beam. This is optional and used for computing foot-candles. |
| Correction Factor | The factor used when calculating footcandles using different lamp wattages. |
| Footcandles | The calculated brightness at the focus point. |
| Get Light Info Data | Launches a dialog where you can select beam and field data from the symbols in your document and the symbols in your default file. BeamViz will display the footcandles each unit type will output at the current throw. |
| Focus Area | |
| Orientation | Draws the plan ovals based on Horizontal orientation (typical choice, straight across at the head-high plane), or an Aligned orientation (perpendicular to the focus point). |
| Show Floor | Displays the beam as it lands on the floor plane (z=0). |
| Additional Cut Plane | Draws a cut plane at any level. Useful for checking obstructions or coverage at unusual heights. Use a negative value to view a plane below the floor, for example to cut off the audience below the stage level. BeamViz supports multiple cut planes. |
| Display Options | |
| Show Beam | Show or hide the beam ovals, cone edge lines, and focus vector. If hidden, an arrow at the instrument location will show which direction the beam focuses. Deselecting this option is useful for creating rough plots. |
| Cone Edge Lines | Draws the extents of the beam from origin to focus in Top/Plan view. The cone edge lines adjust to your shutter cuts. |
| Show Coverage |  Shows the full coverage of a beam from one cut plane to another. Showing from Face Plane to Floor Plane, for example, will show you the area of full body coverage. The options are:None Face to Floor Face to Additional Additional to Floor |
| Show Focus Point | Draws a locus at the focus point (center of beam at the face plane). The focus point can also be shown at the floor. The indicator can be changed to a symbol by using the drop-down. |
| Show Focus Vector | Draws a line from the source to the focus point. Applies to both 2D and 3D views. |
| Show Figure when Selected | Draws a 3D Figure from the floor to the focus point (at the face plan) |
| Show Focus Labels | Displays focus labels / text at the focus point. |
| Focus Text | Text to be displayed at the focus point, multiple parameters (channel, purpose, etc.) can also be displayed via the Edit button. The labels can also be offset. |
| Indicate Inst. with | A box or locus at the instrument location. Applies to both 2D and 3D views. |
| Display Field Angle | Displays the Field Angle next to the unit |
| Show Instrument Lables | Displays any Light Text beside the instrument. |
| Light Text | Similar to Focus Text , multiple parameters may also be displayed beside the lighting fixture. This info may be offset as well. |
| Shutter Cuts | |
| Show | Select for the ability to specify shutter cuts. If you hide cuts, the shutter parameters will still be retained. |
| Shutter % Depths | The percentage to push in a shutter. 100% is at the focus point. You can also use control points in the drawing to drag shutter cuts or the sliders in the Interactive Shutter Alignment dialog. |
| Shutter Angles | The angle of each shutter |
| Use Screen Angles | The default option of Screen Angles allows you to specify shutter racks based on the top / plan angle you want for the cut. Disabling the option shows you the angle of the cut with respect to the actual gate, providing more accurate previzualization of your shutter cuts. |
| Interactive Shutter Adjustment | The Interactive Shutter sliders let you control shutter depths and angles. |
| Reset Shutters | Pulls out all the shutters. |
| Gate Rotation | A slider will allow you to rotate the entire gate of the unit. +/- 45º. More rotation can be entered manually. |
| Iris | A slider will adjust the size of the beam based on percentage,100% is open. |
| Resolution | |
| Resolution | Select “Low” to simplify geometry. Because BeamViz uses ovals and NURBS curves, you will rarely see a benefit in reducing the resolution. |
| Factor | Set the resolution for the Low Resolution option. 180 is a fairly full resolution. 4 should be the minimum. |
| Rendering Options | |
| Add Light | Includes a rendering light that matches the beam’s parameters. The Light is also accessible in the Visualization Palette. The rendering light will be shaped by any shutter cuts, though elliptical beams are rendered as round. When the Add Light option is enabled, beams render as transparent. The light will only show as a pool of light using Renderworks rendering.*Note the light must be hitting a solid 3D object in order to be seen when rendering. The cone of light can be seen if “lit fog” is enabled through the Visualisation Palette. |
| Light Only | Displays only the added 3D render light. The drawn BeamViz beam will be hidden. |
| Soften Shutters | Visible only when rendering, this option slightly softens the shutter cuts. |
| Project Gobo | Select an image to use as if the unit had a gobo. OpenGL renders gobos as inverted, Renderworks displays them correctly. The gobo can be scaled and rotated. |
| Simple 3D | Simple 3D will draw the beam as cut planes and cone edge rays instead of a solid beam. |
| Gel | A gel color can be input and will apply to the rendered beam. Color will be seen more clearly if you chose the Light Only option. |
| Paperwork ID | |
| Show Paperwork Info | Shows options to indicate a channel and purpose to keep track of your beams. |
| Channel | The channel number will show at the focus point if the beam is shown or at the instrument location if it is hidden. The channel can be used to create a Beam Draw Magic sheet object. The channel will also transfer when a beam is converted to a Spotlight lighting device. |
| Purpose | The purpose will transfer when a beam is converted to a Spotlight lighting device. |
| Focus Area | Focus Area will append the Purpose, ie Front US . |
| Computed Info | |
| True Distance | The actual distance between the instrument and focus point. Useful for finding the light’s intensity at the face. Do not edit this field as it is computed by the object script. |
| Angle to face | The angle from the face to the light. Straight top light is 90°. |
| Pan | The degrees from straight up on the page (US, North, etc) |
| Tilt | The degrees from straight down. |
| Maximum Width | The maximum width of the beam at head height. |
| Foot-candles | The computed intensity of the light. |
| Classes | |
| Auto-Class | This option will create sub-classes based on the object’s overall class, and assign those classes to component parts. Beam Draw will only create new classes for component parts that are enabled to draw. |
| Class Settings | The following parts can be individually classed or be set to use the same class as the overall object:Floor Oval (2D and 3D)Face Oval (2D and 3D)Additional Plane Oval (2D and 3D)CoverageFocus Point (2D and 3D)Focus Vector (2D and 3D)Cone EdgeInstrument Location (2D and 3D)Field Angle TextChannel Text |
| Settings | Set the default base class and layer prefix. You have the option to save defaults for all new documents. |
| About | See Beam Draw version and license information. |
PAR Objects
| Parameter | Description |
| See Beam Draw Parameters, with the following exceptions | |
| Barndoors | PAR Objects can have barndoors. just as the shutter option with ellipsoidals. |
| Field Angle H | The horizontal field angle |
| Field Angle V | The vertical field angle |
| Beam Angle H | The horizontal beam angle |
| Beam Angle V | The vertical beam angle |
| Bottle Rotation | The angle of bottle rotation. The bottle can also be rotated via a control point in the drawing. |
| Get Light Info Data | Will show and return H & V field and beam angles. |