After going through the tutorials and searching the forums, I've not found anything on this. If I've missed it, please forgive.
Is it possible to write backwards from an "impact" set? For example, I know what my first big hit needs to look like in the opener, and I'd like to write from that set backwards to the opening set? Is this possible, and if so, what's the best way to do it?
Thanks in advance!
Writing Backwards
Re: Writing Backwards
Hi Kanderson,
Yes it is possible to work backwards in EnVision. EnVision has more or less a direction agnostic workflow. What I mean by that is that EnVision works equally well forwards and backwards. It works by moving performers on a set and the previous and next paths are automatically adjusted so you don't have to worry about which direction you are writing. That being said, a lot of EnVision's tools are skewed for writing forward such as the Revert Tool which automatically assumes you want to revert the performers on the current set to have the same positions as on the previous set. But the Revert tool can be used to revert both forwards and backwards just by moving the multi-use timeline markers (blue and purple) or by changing the source set in the tool itself.
So, theory aside, you have a couple options on how to actually work backwards.
1. Create the sets first: In this scenario you would create sets from the beginning of the show to the impact but just don't fill in the positions of the performers on those sets. Then create the impact set and work your way back to the beginning. Remember that you can add or remove sets as you go so don't feel trapped once you put in sets of certain counts at the beginning. I find that in general it's easier to create big sets and add smaller sets in between as necessary. i.e. Create several sets of 16 counts and add in sets of 8 counts as necessary. Pressing the "Add Set" button in the timeline while on count 8 of a 16 count set will insert a set on that count, creating 2 sets of 8.
2. Don't create the sets first: In this scenario set 1 would be the Impact set. Then as you want to move backwards, press the "Prefix Set" button. This will create a new set before the first set so you can create the sets as you go.
Both are equally good but I tend to prefer option 1. I suggest you give both a try and see which one fits your writing style better.
Have a great day!
William
Yes it is possible to work backwards in EnVision. EnVision has more or less a direction agnostic workflow. What I mean by that is that EnVision works equally well forwards and backwards. It works by moving performers on a set and the previous and next paths are automatically adjusted so you don't have to worry about which direction you are writing. That being said, a lot of EnVision's tools are skewed for writing forward such as the Revert Tool which automatically assumes you want to revert the performers on the current set to have the same positions as on the previous set. But the Revert tool can be used to revert both forwards and backwards just by moving the multi-use timeline markers (blue and purple) or by changing the source set in the tool itself.
So, theory aside, you have a couple options on how to actually work backwards.
1. Create the sets first: In this scenario you would create sets from the beginning of the show to the impact but just don't fill in the positions of the performers on those sets. Then create the impact set and work your way back to the beginning. Remember that you can add or remove sets as you go so don't feel trapped once you put in sets of certain counts at the beginning. I find that in general it's easier to create big sets and add smaller sets in between as necessary. i.e. Create several sets of 16 counts and add in sets of 8 counts as necessary. Pressing the "Add Set" button in the timeline while on count 8 of a 16 count set will insert a set on that count, creating 2 sets of 8.
2. Don't create the sets first: In this scenario set 1 would be the Impact set. Then as you want to move backwards, press the "Prefix Set" button. This will create a new set before the first set so you can create the sets as you go.
Both are equally good but I tend to prefer option 1. I suggest you give both a try and see which one fits your writing style better.
Have a great day!
William
Re: Writing Backwards
Excellent information, William. Thanks!
Re: Writing Backwards
I recently tried this. Although I made a key mistake that I would like to prevent others from repeating. Not sure if this is a bug or not, but when creating the drill, I loaded an mp3 file to serve as the music. But when I created prefix sets in order to work backwards, I could not get the beginning of the mp3 file to move to the beginning of the drill every time I created a new prefix set. The music would only start playing at the impact set. Removing the music from the file and reloading music didn't fix the problem. Eventually I had to rewrite the entire drill on a separate file and load the music when I was finished in order to make it work correctly. Lot of time wasted.
Re: Writing Backwards
Hi AdrianJM,
I can see where you would have gotten frustrated with that situation. There is however a way around it. You can move set flags relative to the music right from the timeline, including the first set. This would allow you to move any sets that are before the start of the music to after the music and from there you could sync them to the music using the sync music tool.
Admittedly this is a poor way to resolve this issue so I'm going to mark this comment down as a feature request: Create easy way to move all sets so that they are within the music.
In the mean time here are the steps that you need to do to move the sets on the timeline.
1. Unlock the timeline. This button is in the timeline tool area and looks like a little lock. This allows Sets and Subsets to be moved. Note that when you unlock the timeline the sets will appear to jump to a different count. This is because when moving sets they are positioned on count 1 of the move to line up better with musical cues but when the timeline is locked they are lined up with the last count of the previous set to better line up with direction changes.
2. Optionally toggle the "Snap to Count" option and the "Adjust all Following Sets" option. Snap to count will attempt to keep the same number of counts while moving the set. For example if you had 2 sets with counts 8 and 16 you could move the middle set flag so that you had two sets each with 12 counts. The "Adjust all Following Sets" option allows you to move one set and have all the following sets move relative to that one. This is useful if you have added music to the beginning of your production so your sets no longer line up with the music but they are still all the right length. You can move the first set back to where it should be and all the following sets will move along with it so they should all end up in the right position. Without this option enabled each individual set will move between the previous and next set without affecting them.
3. Move your sets! Moving the first set actually appears to move the music and other sets relative to your mouse so it takes a second to get accustomed to but it in effect works the same as moving any other set.
Hope that helps!
William
I can see where you would have gotten frustrated with that situation. There is however a way around it. You can move set flags relative to the music right from the timeline, including the first set. This would allow you to move any sets that are before the start of the music to after the music and from there you could sync them to the music using the sync music tool.
Admittedly this is a poor way to resolve this issue so I'm going to mark this comment down as a feature request: Create easy way to move all sets so that they are within the music.
In the mean time here are the steps that you need to do to move the sets on the timeline.
1. Unlock the timeline. This button is in the timeline tool area and looks like a little lock. This allows Sets and Subsets to be moved. Note that when you unlock the timeline the sets will appear to jump to a different count. This is because when moving sets they are positioned on count 1 of the move to line up better with musical cues but when the timeline is locked they are lined up with the last count of the previous set to better line up with direction changes.
2. Optionally toggle the "Snap to Count" option and the "Adjust all Following Sets" option. Snap to count will attempt to keep the same number of counts while moving the set. For example if you had 2 sets with counts 8 and 16 you could move the middle set flag so that you had two sets each with 12 counts. The "Adjust all Following Sets" option allows you to move one set and have all the following sets move relative to that one. This is useful if you have added music to the beginning of your production so your sets no longer line up with the music but they are still all the right length. You can move the first set back to where it should be and all the following sets will move along with it so they should all end up in the right position. Without this option enabled each individual set will move between the previous and next set without affecting them.
3. Move your sets! Moving the first set actually appears to move the music and other sets relative to your mouse so it takes a second to get accustomed to but it in effect works the same as moving any other set.
Hope that helps!
William