Composition Settings
Composition settings are the parameters that belong to a single composition: its name, duration, frame rate, behavior when playback ends, comment, and per-channel color filtering for fixtures. Every composition in the project has its own settings, and they are saved together with the project. Fixtures, layouts, and the size of the working area are shared across the whole project — they are not part of the composition settings.
How to Open the Settings
- Open the Compositions window.
- Double-click the composition you need — it becomes the current one and opens on the Timeline.
- Its parameters appear in the Properties window — the General and Color Filtering sections.
If the Properties window currently shows the parameters of an effect, a fixture, or a layout, you can bring the composition settings back by double-clicking the composition again in the Compositions window.
Some settings are duplicated elsewhere so you don't have to open the composition again for them:
- Right-click a composition in the Compositions window → Set Duration — opens the duration window for that composition.
- F2 or right-click → Rename in the Compositions window — rename directly in the list.
- On the Timeline playback panel, next to the current time, there is a loop button, an underlined duration value (clicking it opens the same duration window), and an infinite playback button. These three elements refer to the composition that is currently open.
The comment and color filtering can only be set in the Properties window — there is no other place to change them.
The "General" Section
| Parameter | What It Sets |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the composition. It also becomes the cue file name on export. |
| Duration | A button showing the value in the format hours:minutes:seconds:frames. Clicking it opens the Set Duration window. When Infinite is enabled, it shows 00:00:00:00. |
| Infinite | The composition's playback never ends. The duration value is not shown in this mode, and Loop is disabled. |
| Loop | When the composition reaches the end, it starts over from the beginning. Enabled by default. |
| Comments | A free-form note about the composition, a multi-line field. |
Composition Name
The name must be unique within the project: if you set a name that is already taken, the program adds a number to it. The name length is limited — it must be shorter than 40 characters; a longer name will not be accepted, and the previous one stays in the list.
The reserved characters / \ : ; * ? " < > | # @ ! $ % & ( ) + , { } [ ] ^, the apostrophe, and the backtick are not kept in the name — the program strips them automatically. This restriction exists because the composition name is used as the file name: in the Export window, the file Name.cue is automatically filled in for the composition. Rename the composition, and the export file name changes as well.
Duration and Frame Rate
Both settings are set in the same window — Set Duration. Its title shows the name of the composition you are configuring:
| Field | Values |
|---|---|
| Hours | from 0 to 24 |
| Minutes | from 0 to 59 |
| Sec | from 0 to 59 |
| Frames | from 0 to the "frames per second" value minus one |
| Frames per Second | from 1 to 999 |
The OK button or the Enter key applies the values, Esc closes the window without changes. A duration shorter than one second cannot be set: the program rounds it up to a second.
A new composition is created with a duration of one minute. Its frame rate is taken from the last composition in the list, and for the very first composition in the project, it comes from the Frames per Second for Project field in the project creation window; the default is 40 frames per second.
Many things depend on these two values:
- the length of the Timeline ruler equals the composition's duration — shorten the composition, and the tail of the timeline disappears;
- the number of frames in the cue file equals the duration multiplied by the frame rate, so changing either of these parameters recalculates the approximate file size in the Export window;
- the frame rate determines animation smoothness: the higher it is, the smoother the motion, and the larger the file size and the rendering load.
Shortening the duration irreversibly changes the composition's contents. Effects that started after the new end are deleted, and those that run through it are trimmed at the new end. Restoring the previous duration is not enough — you will have to place the effects again.
It also makes sense to set the same frame rate for every composition in the project and not change it once the effects have been placed in time.
Infinite and Loop
Loop is the usual mode for light shows: on reaching the end, the composition immediately starts over and plays in a cycle. If the option is disabled, the composition plays through to the end once, stops, and the time cursor returns to the start.
Infinite is a mode for compositions that run in real time and are not built for a specific duration. Playback in this mode never ends: the duration value becomes unavailable and is shown as 00:00:00:00, and Loop is disabled as unnecessary. In the list in the Compositions window, such a composition shows an infinity symbol instead of a duration. Effects that are stretched to the very end of the timeline keep playing after it ends; effects that finish earlier play once and go dark.
Infinite only affects playback inside the program. The composition's set duration does not disappear anywhere: it is still shown in the Export window, and the cue file is calculated based on it. Turn Infinite off, and the composition returns to its previous duration.
Color Filtering
The Color Filtering section consists of four sliders: Red, Green, Blue, and White. Each one works as a multiplier for the corresponding fixture channel: a value of 1 (default) passes the channel unchanged, 0.5 halves it, and 0 mutes the channel completely. Values range from 0 to 1 in steps of 0.01; you can also enter an exact number to the left of the slider.
The White slider acts on the white channel of RGBW fixtures: the program calculates the white channel itself from the pixel color, and the filter reduces the resulting value.
The main thing to know about this setting: the filter is applied to the signal sent to the fixtures — both when Art-Net is sent from the program and when the composition is exported to a cue file. It does not affect the image in the Mapping and 3D View windows: the color on screen stays the same, only what the fixtures actually receive changes.
This setting is useful when fixtures "lie" about color — for example, giving a white that is too cold or too red — or when a single composition needs to be toned down in a particular channel's brightness without redoing its effects. The filter is set separately for each composition, so you will need to adjust the values in each one.
If you need to dim everything at once rather than a single composition, there is a general master opacity slider for that, located on the right side of the panel above the timeline. It is not part of the composition settings; if the slider is not visible, enable it via right-click on the playback panel → Show Master Opacity.
Good to Know
- Composition settings are saved with the project and travel with it; the cue file contains the already calculated frame sequence, not the settings themselves.
- The comment is not shown anywhere except the Properties window — it's a note for yourself and for colleagues working on the project.
- If color filtering is turned all the way to 0, the composition will look normal in the program, but the fixtures will stay dark. This is the first thing to check if the animation is visible on screen but not on the physical object.
- It's convenient to set the duration before placing effects: that way you won't need to re-fit them in time afterward, and you won't lose effects at the end.