Isadora’s scene-based structure allows for easy cueing, complex layering, show control, and more.
Isadora uses a “scene”-based approach to show control. Just like a play has scenes to break up the action of the show, Isadora defines Scenes to break up the content and cues for a performance. Scenes appear along the bottom of the main application window horizontally in the Scene List because most shows run in a linear, start-to-finish fashion. However, you can between Scenes in any nonlinear way you like using a number a different methods, including Isadora’s Jump actors, your mouse, a custom Control Panel, or MIDI Show Control sent from other software or hardware.
Scenes offer “bumps” (zero-second transitions) and “crossfades” (transitions with individually set fade out and fade in times) to give you the tools you need to cue your show with the timings you need. Isadora also allows you to move from Scene to scene easily using customizable keyboard shortcuts, with the Spacebar being intuitive and practical default for taking you to the next Scene. Each Scene is constructed using layers, just like your favorite image editing software. In advanced situations, you can even intertwine layers between Scenes, creating complex, composited transitions. Combining Scenes with Isadora’s drag-and-drop media import allows you to create all the Scenes you’ll need for your show in just minutes.
Scenes can be used to control logic in more complex pieces involving interactive elements. Isadora also offers Background Scenes, which allows you to have multiple Scenes active (even at different intensities), allowing for a truly flexible approach to creating your show, your way. Blind Mode allows you to edit inactive Scenes while your active Scenes are still outputting audio and video. This is a powerful option allows you to keep building and editing cues without interrupting the rehearsal onstage, or, in an emergency, modify the upcoming cues during a live performance.
It’s simple to integrate Isadora’s Scenes with other show control interfaces by using one of the many available communication protocols available. OSC can be used to send commands from many industry-standard lighting control consoles and other cueing software to Isadora for playback synchronization. DMX, Art-Net, MIDI, MIDI Timecode (MTC), MIDI Show Control (MSC), TCP-IP, and PJLink are a few more of the options available to you for building and triggering your cues in Isadora.
By putting all of these possibilities at your fingertips, Isadora provides you with numerous flexible and powerful ways to create cues and make a unified control system that can be as simple or complex as you need them to be.