I’ve been programming Eos almost since it came out and I had no clue how to add Lamp Controls.  I assumed it would be like every other attribute- you select Lamp Controls in the same place you select Intensity or Red and then fill in the details.  Though Eos will allow you to do this, you cannot view or use all the hard work you just did.  So how do you do it?  You look in the Soft Keys.

Start in Patch.  I was trying to add all the new-ish control data to a Creamsource Vortex 8, so we’ll do that.  Touch Type.  From the Show tab at the bottom, you can then choose Edit. 

This brings you to the list of your profiles.  Obviously, if you haven’t started building your profile, do it now.  I’m just going to find my OG Vortex profile (provided by David Kane when I was new to film- thanks again) in the list on the left. 

I’ve already expanded the profile (it’s a Multicell).  We want to choose the Master (or Parent) portion of the profile.  That brings up this data on the right.   

The parameter that you want to add in Lamp Controls (as near as I can tell) needs to be present in here.  For this light, it’s the Locked Value assigned to the 2nd DMX address in the Parent fixture. 

Look to the Soft Keys.  I never noticed the Lamp Controls key on SK3.  Press it.

This little dialogue box opens up.  And it also reveals the reason you can’t just (successfully) add lamp controls in the “usual” way- Time.  Lamp commands need to be held for a time to apply.  In the case of the Vortex, for 3-5 seconds.  The DMX is NOT an absolute address- the only options on this light are DMX 1 or 2.  Why?  Because of the Offset that gets used between Parent and Cells in a Multicellular fixture.  I’ll use 2, since that is the correct offset address for this profile.  Lastly- Level is in DMX value (0-255), not 0-100.  

Click the plus and we’ll do the first line together. 

This is a bit of the data I’m going to input.

Press Label to name the new control.  I’m starting with DMX Smoothing Mode- Off.  Since the range of time needed to apply the control, I’m going to go with 4 seconds.  Selecting a midpoint in control channels, whether it be time or value is usually a good idea.  Select DMX 2 by double clicking All Offsets and entering 2.  Level- the range is 10-19, so I’m selecting 15. 

That’s all there is to it.  Keep clicking the + on the left to add more.  When you’re finished- don’t forget to click the green Save Fixture!  You’ll be sad otherwise.

What other hidden functions have you searched for in Eos?  Hit me in the comments.

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Mark LaPierre is a programmer in film and television based out of Albuquerque.  He grew up in live entertainment and has been a designer/programmer for musicals, concert dance, live music, circus and corporate.  Mark is a proud member of IATSE, an ETC Eos trainer and an enthusiastic trainer of many other platforms and subjects.  He offers Zoom console training as well as in person.  If you enjoy his content, please consider commenting on his posts on the website to appease the Algorithm.