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Try QLab from Figure 53. It allows sound designers to totally pre-program their show without the hassle of showing their soundboard operators how to run different pieces of equipment and have to teach them decent fades. This software application does it all! With a few extra licenses which are very reasonably priced, one can easily run an entire show including video, fog machines, motors and lights all from one Mac running Tiger or Leopard.

The interface is very intuitive with mostly drag and drop. It is very easy to number cues however a person wants! The best thing is that the software is constantly being updated. QLab’s web site www.figure53.com is continuously being updated with new information for support and case studies. The case studies show some truly amazing setups where designers setup QLab to do some pretty cool things with their shows! One case study that was published showed that a one person performance could be run by triggering cues from a rigged cell phone that beamed commands to the computer! This is of course and extreme example, but for the person who simply wants to run sound cues, it is a great piece of software.

At UW-La Crosse we use a FireStudio 410 FireWire audio interface with QLab which allows us to control eight different speakers at the same time! With eight speakers, one could easily make sound pan all around the room immersing the audience in the scene!

The video license allows one (assuming that they have a powerful enough computer) to drive eight different displays at the same time with full video! I would have loved to have this soft of sophistication in my shows in High School!

A plus is that QLab is not very resource intensive at all. I ran Christmas Carol with many sound effects all happening relatively quickly on a PowerMac G3 with zero problems.

Also, since QLab runs on OS X, its stability is great. I have not had one single freeze when working with QLab.

Rock Solid Stability + Great User Interface + Free = One Great Application!

Check it out today at www.figure53.com

This entry was posted on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Applications, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.