Catalyst is Macintosh software that allows the lighting designer to transform and store moving and still images and then cue and play them out to video systems.
Using the power of the lighting console to control cues during the show, Catalyst controls and manipulates video images through DMX to ensure perfect synchronisation between video and performance in live shows. Previous video technologies havenÕt allowed you to do any live manipulation of the footage. In Catalyst all parameters can be altered in real time so that you donÕt have to re-render your content at the last minute.
Source images can be
transformed in real time using a range of parameters such as shape, position,
colour, intensity and speed.
Catalyst plays back
movies and displays images in visual layers. These layers can be mixed to
create new images.


Figure
2 Ð Workflow with full
screen output.
The layers mixed together in Catalyst can be played back full screen through a single video system or different video systems can play back different parts of one or more images.
When using the pixelMad option the images can be mapped to the lighting set up so that each lamp displays one pixel of the mixed image. In this way the DMX fixture colour and intensity level is controlled directly from the video image.
When Catalyst is first run the control window comes up. Here you can set the preferences for the screens, assign the DMX channels and set video and audio input preferences.

Figure 3 - Catalyst Control Window.
Some functions in Catalyst can be accessed from the pull down menus, but to open most of the windows you must enter Full screen mode.
Most versions of Catalyst have two full screen outputs available.
There are 8 hotkeys for opening and closing full screen mode and the HUD (heads up display), 4 for each output.

Figure 4 - Hotkeys.
For output 1, to put the screen into full screen mode press

To get back to the Control window press

Once you are in Full screen mode press

This turns on the HUD Ð The Òheads up displayÓ which gives access to the rest of the software.

Figure 5 - Full Screen Mode.

Figure 6 Ð HUD.
From the HUD click on libraries to choose your footage and visual effects.

Click on Layers to open the window for mixing and manipulating images.

Click on Mix 1 Ð 5 to view more than one image mix on one screen.

Click on pixel Mixes when using the pixelMad application. pixelMad lets you display an image or a movie on a lighting set up so that each pixel from the image is displayed on one lamp from large grids of luminaries.
In the pixel mixes window you can place the image mixes on a graphic representation of your lighting set up and see how the image will look on the lighting fixtures.
Catalyst plays back Quicktime movies, and displays most common image types supported by Quicktime up to a maximum size of 2048x2048.
AppleÕs Quicktime information page is at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/whyqt/
Movies and images are stored in numbered files. All files and folders have a 3-digit number prefix between 000 and 255.
These numbers correspond to the DMX values for the Library Folders and Files within those folders.
For example: File Ò019 fairground old pier
1.movÓ in Folder Ò003 Hi res2048Ó will appear when File DMX value
19, Library DMX
value 3 is selected on the lighting console.

Figure 7 - Library Folders and Files.
Note the hierarchical organisation of files within folders.
You can create 8 separate root folders within which you can place up to 255 numbered folders into which you place your numbered image and movie files.
To set up the image folders select the Library window from the main application menu.

Then click on one of the eight folder location slots.

Figure 8 - Library Folders.
All the folders need to be on the same disc.
Select the folder containing the numbered folders Ð in this case the Library File.

Figure 9 - Choosing the library folder
After selecting the folder click on scan files to create a list of all of your images and movies.

Once the files have been scanned click on the Files tab to see your list of image files.

Figure 10 - Library Files.
You can also scan the files from the Library window accessed from the HUD.


Figure 11 - Image thumbnails after scan.
Click on the libraries button in the HUD in full screen mode to open up the library and choose your movies and images.


Here you can also choose from a selection of Colour FX and Visual FX that can be applied to the images and movies.


In order to make any adjustments to the images they must be patched through to the Layers window.
Open the Layers window from the HUD,


Figure 15 - Empty Layers Window.
Then in the library window click on the image you want to use.

Figure 16 - Choosing an image from the Library.
Click on one of the layers numbered 1 to 8 at the top of the Library window in order to patch the image through to the corresponding layer in the Layers window.

Figure 17 - Patching an image through to a Layer.
Any Visual FX required can be added to the same layer as the image in order to change that image.
Once you have chosen your source footage it can be transformed using the file, colour, shape and intensity parameters in the Layers window.

Figure 18 - Layers Window.
In the Layers window the following parameters alter the
image.

Figure
19 - File Parameters.
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or folder lists
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to locate the source image or movie.



Figure
20 - Colour Parameters.








There are about 100 different visual effects. Each visual effect has two parameters.

Keystoning is done on all four corners of the image but this is only active in some visual effects.
When used with a DMX console all modes and all parameters can be accessed and controlled on all layers.All parameters are controllable per layer via a 40 channel DMX patch. Both 8 bit and 16 bit parameters are used.
After choosing your image or movie from the library and placing it in the layers window you can view it either full screen or in one or more of the five mix windows. If you view the images in the mix windows it is possible to have up to five mixes open on one screen and each of these images can be accessed from a video system by itÕs screen pixel coordinates.
The images in the layers windows can be patched through to two separate outputs each with itÕs own screen.
To show a layer on output screen one set it to mix 1 in the layers window.

To show it on output screen two set it to mix 2 in the layers window.


Figure 22 - Two Full Screen Outputs.

Figure
23 Ð Two Layers Mixed Together in Two
Full Screen Outputs.
You can view the media in one or more of the five Mix windows listed in the HUD. Click on the Mix button to open the window.

Figure 24 Ð Opening a Mix Window.
When you first open the Mix window no image will be displayed. Patch the image through from the Layers window by giving the layer you are working on the same channel number as the Mix window you have opened.

Figure 25 - Patching an image through from the layers window to the mix window.
The layers that are visible in the Mix window are indicated by the illuminated red boxes down the side of the window.

Figure 26 -
Active Layers in the Mix window.
More than one Layer can be placed in the Mix in order to create a composite image.

Figure 27 Ð Four layers played on two mix windows.
The images can be mixed together using a variety of different masks and colour effects accessed from the list starting 0-RGB-arb.

Here the colour saturation is increased in the top image.

Here the top image is used as a mask where the lighter areas on the image in front act as the mask.

Here the top image is used as a mask where the darker areas on the image in front act as the mask.

Here the top image is added mathematically Ð pixel by pixel - to the underlying image.

If you unlock the Mix window you will be able to move it around the screen. Unlocking the window also brings up the position and size coordinates in the window. This information is necessary when using catalyst with video systems on which you can set the screen pixel coordinates from which to take the image.

Figure 28 - Unlocking the mix window to show the pixel coordinates.