Obsidian_first_vault_working
title: "Framing Blades"
source: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95aVH30KDIg"
playlist: "MagicQ Feature Videos"
channel: "ChamSys Ltd"
tags:
- MagicQ
- ChamSys
- training
- transcript
- feature-video
date: 2025-07-09
type: transcriptFraming Blades
📺 Watch on YouTube · Playlist: MagicQ Feature Videos · Channel: ChamSys Ltd
Framing Blades Window Overview
The Framing Blades window is a new visual tool for controlling framing shutters, introduced in MagicQ version 1.9.7.2 and later. It is designed primarily for profile-style moving light fixtures equipped with framing blades, and works with any manufacturer's fixture that has DMX-controllable framing shutters.
Previously, framing shutter control was handled through Beam page 5 using the eight encoder wheels. This approach was ambiguous because different fixtures use different control methods — either two-corner blade positioning or an in-and-swivel system — and the encoder labels alone do not make this clear.
Accessing the Framing Blades Window
To open the window, navigate to the Beam window and select View Blades from the top soft buttons. This replaces the encoder-only workflow with a fully visual interface for positioning framing shutters.
Visual Blade Control
Inside the window, each of the four blades can be grabbed and dragged directly on screen to bring them in or out and set their angle. This makes positioning intuitive without requiring knowledge of the underlying DMX control method the fixture uses.
The blue ring around the view allows rotation of the on-screen window to match real-world orientation — useful for aligning the blade view to match what is visible on stage. This is separate from rotating the gate inside the fixture itself.
The blue ring rotates the MagicQ window view to align with reality. The blue arrow in the centre of the window rotates the physical gate inside the fixture itself. These are two distinct functions.
Encoder Integration
The encoder wheels update dynamically to reflect blade-specific controls such as blade position and rotation. Visual indicators on the encoders show clearly whether a given channel moves the blade in/out or swivels it.
Switching to soft button page 2 reassigns the encoders to more commonly needed controls while using the visual window, including zoom, focus, pan, tilt, frost, and rotation.
Blade Modes and Utilities
Several blade modes are available via the top soft buttons:
- Zero Blades — pulls all blades fully out and resets them
- Multi Blade — mirrors paired blades, bringing them in symmetrically
- All Blades — grabs all four blades simultaneously for quick square framing
- Blade Shift — shifts blade assignments by 90° increments, cycling control between blades 1–4 in either direction
On-Screen Control Arrows
Enabling control arrows overlays directional arrows on each blade in the window. Combined with the zoom function, these allow precise blade adjustment without touching the encoders:
- Straight arrows pull blades in and out
- Angled arrows control per-blade rotation
A second click on the control arrows option switches to a corner-style mode, where dragging controls two adjacent blades simultaneously along a shared edge.
Zooming into the Framing Blades window makes the control arrows larger and easier to interact with, especially on touchscreen MagicQ consoles.
Recording Framing Information
All blade adjustments are written into the programmer as standard attribute data. This means framing shutter positions can be recorded directly into beam palettes for later recall, exactly like any other beam attribute.
- The Framing Blades window, available from MagicQ v1.9.7.2, provides a visual drag-and-drop interface for controlling framing shutters on any DMX-capable profile fixture.
- The window offers two rotation controls — one for the on-screen view alignment and one for the physical gate — along with multiple blade modes and optional on-screen control arrows.
- Framing shutter positions are stored as standard programmer attributes and can be saved as beam palettes for quick recall.