My biggest challenge as a gaffer anymore is constantly changing technology. It seems like there is something new in the world of lighting almost every week. There is something new to learn, and another learning curve to overcome.
CRMX has revolutionized the control of lighting. The question has been what software and hardware to use.
My lighting world is relatively small. For example, I've never had a shoot where I needed more than one universe of DMX. If I ever do, I would get a board operator.
For the past several years, I've been using an Exalux Control One. It has worked well for me until Exalux, which promised a future proof controller with constant profile updates, stopped providing updates.
I am now using Sidus Pro on my iPad with a Sidus One transceiver. I am still on the learning curve with it but getting more and more comfortable with it all the time.
I am proficient with the Astera app. I prefer to use it instead of CRMX most of the time. The reason is the Astera app gives me better control with Astera lights. I have more control over colors and pixel effects.
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| Astera Box and Sidus One transceivers |
So the big question is: Can I use the Sidus Pro app at the same time as the Astera app on my iPad?
With limited experience using both, the answer is yes. Sidus Pro is using Wi-Fi. The Astera app is using Bluetooth to communicative with its transmitter, the Astera Box.
Sidus Pro is using Bluetooth, too, for some things, like changing settings in Aputure lights, but it seems to be able to co-exist with the Astera app.
The only issue I have found so far is a running cue will stop if I switch from Sidus Pro to the Astera app on my iPad. Otherwise, lights using Sidus Pro will hold at whatever their settings are when I switch to the Astera app.
The reverse does not happen. Whatever effect Astera lights maybe running, will continue when I switch to Sidus Pro from the Astera app.
I can foresee using Sidus Pro to control Astera lights if I only need to control CCT and intensity. Otherwise, I plan to keep using the Astera app for Astera lights and Sidus Pro for everything else.
PS: When running Sidus Pro, my iPad is disconnected from Wi-Fi Internet. This is a good thing when running the Astera app. My default, even before Sidus Pro, was to have my iPad's Wi-Fi offline anytime I was using the Astera app.
One time during a shoot, I connected my iPad to the Internet. Then, an Astera app update bricked multiple Astera boxes. I was able to limp through the day without the Astera app, using CRMX instead but it could have been a disaster.
I don't know how wide spread the problem was but I have heard many stories later about the day the Astera app stopped working.
More about the glitch:
https://electricgrip.blogspot.com/2024/07/electric-tech-astera-box-glitch.html
PPS: The Exalux scam:
The most expensive paperweight I ever bought!
Years ago everyone with a YouTube channel was promoting the Exalux Control One for wireless CRMX. It was the best thing since sliced bread. Everyone proclaimed it was "future proof." There would always be profile updates for it. I would love to know how many YouTubers were paid or reimbursed for their endorsements.
I "drank the cool aid" and bought one. It was great for awhile. I loved it at first. It was perfect for me; simple CRMX with an easy learning curve.
The first sign it was not the best system was after a couple profile updates. It wasn't easy to navigate though the profile menus which were getting increasingly cluttered with a large number of profiles. There was also an issue with profile names not matching some of the light profile names.
Then the updates stopped. The update page disappeared. Eventually, the Control One disappeared from the company website. Suddenly expensive, future-proof CRMX control was obsolete.
I feel like I was scammed. I paid a lot of money for it but I can no long use it for most work.
All the YouTubers espousing the great Exalux Control One are silent. I haven’t seen anyone who talked so favorably of it, recommending it to gaffers, say one word about how they were wrong.
I’ve done many Google searches trying to find out what happened to the Exalux Control One. It seems that Exalux has abandoned their customers and the product that not long ago appeared on their website as "future proof."
PPPS: The biggest job I ever used the Exalux Control One was the movie Wildcat. It did a great job for me.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the barn loft. There is a base ambience from many S120s on each side of the loft. Sunlight is streaming through spaces in the siding. It dims and brightens like clouds are drift by. The sun was a Mole 20K fresnel on a lift controlled with a wireless dimmer with my Control One. I would manually adjust the dimmer per the direction of DP Steve Cousins using hand signs. It's a beautiful scene.
Historic Union Station in Louisville, KY
This is the train station scene shot night for day. It was one of the largest for me on the movie. There were around 30 lights working in the wide shot. There is a row of S360s and Dyno 1200s behind the diffusion in the balcony. There are numerous lights lighting the entryway and side rooms. Everything was controlled by the Exalux Control One.
We used a ton of Titan tubes on Wildcat. I always used the the Astera app for those.