Are you SURE? I mean, are you 100% positive that they are running this all using MyDMX?
Look, I've done wrestling shows, I like watching pro wrestling. I know a lot of pro wrestlers. So, I know what you're talking about.
Let me school you in on a few things, but if you don't give a damn about quality, then please skip this section
(Some don't care about quality)
First off, SOURCE all your music from CD's. PERIOD. No MP3's
Second: Ensure you have a PRO Audio interface, preferably something that has XLR outs, but balanced TRS is fine too. You can get decent USB or Firewire interfaces for very affordable. For your level and what you plan on doing, I don't recommend the added expense of a firewire solution, USB is going to work just fine
MIDI capability might be good too.
(OK, end the quality rules portio)
Look, considering what's going on, and $1000 ain't alot of money for "new DJ gear"(I won't show up with a mixer that cost less than $1000.00), but I'm not gonna get into that.
Due to issues with MyDMX, and considering how it works with MIDI triggering, I really don't reocmmend that you do it all on ONE machine. Seriously. If you're gonna do computer-based audio(and I don't see why not), you have to take a few things into consideration. I even had a custom application written to accomodate wrestlers so I don't need to know what's going on and I can more or less instantly bring up the correct track. The problem you're going to face is that Windows Media Player or even the app I had written is that there is NO MIDI support that would work properly.
Now, let's say you step up to some low end production software, such as Sonar Home 6. It's easy to use and affordable and offers FULL MIDI as well as audio. Now we're getting towards what you want to accomplish. BUT, it's not as smooth and seamles. You've got to load each song and that takes time. Do you have the time between heal/champion walk-on end and face/challenger walk-in? No, you don't. You have to move fast.
Now, let's consider some other things:
I get the whole concept of that you need different scenes for different wrestlers. I definately agree with this sort of "identity". You can build yourself a scene with multiple steps that are timed so you can get the "timing" you want. This is probably your best bet. Run the audio off a different computer, then hit PLAY for the wrestler's music and your wrestler's SCENE trigger on the other laptop's keyboard. While your timing may be a bit off, if you did things right, you should be reasonably close. You're just going to have to use a stopwatch and mind your times and practice on the scenes to ensure your marks are close.
Honestly, and I think Jingles is gonna second me on this, is to to Compu Live. It better supports sync to music, which is really super duper important to what you're trying to accomplish, I'm not sure about how fast it is to load different programs or profiles to "shows" in CompuLive, so I can't comment on that.
Now, you're adding video.... Well, do we go with a DVD with a reference track on PCM Channel 1(left) and SMTPE 29.97drop on PCM 2(Right), then use the SMTPE to go into a MIDI inferface that supports SMTPE to MTC, and then have MTC drive the audio from the computer(such as CompuLive doing the audio and lighting)?
I'm OK until you toss the video into the mix. Hopefully Jingles can throw his 2-cents on this one.
I mean, I CAN do it, via two computers, but NOT work my current MIDI inferfaces on my laptops or PC. I'd have to hunt a bit. I've got no problems with using timecode, but this whole dynamic environment is what I'm worried about.
IF I was you(and I'm not, I don't know how to pro wrestle), this is what I would do:
First, I'd make all the entrance videos. I'd export those to .AVI files. I'm sure you've already synced music to them to make the videos, but now that they are all married into a single AVI file, were good.
Second, I'd take ALL the entrance videos and put them all into one timeline, with maybe 5 seconds between each entrance video.
Why 5 seconds? Well, it can take SMTPE up to 2 seconds to lock up, so we're using that time to roll-out and roll-in and account for the percieved DROPS. Especially since you're going to be skipping around....
What is key is the total timeline. You're going to want to make a new master audio track in something like Cakewalk Sonar. Use "silence" in between tracks. This maintains your timeline and sync.
Render your current AUDIO to a single 16-bit 44.1K stereo audio .wav file. Beginning to end. This will be addressed later.
Generate your timecode, such as an hour of 29.97 dropframe at the start point of your choosing. Save this mono audio and import it into your video timeline. Take your video's pre-existing audio and sum it to left. It's only for reference, we're not concerbed about quality since this is NOT what is meant to be played out the mains.
OR, if you have multi-channel/discrete audio capabilities, use your front L/R for the wrestler's audio and any other channel for your timecode. BUT, you need to ensure you have a DVD player that will export the surround mix via sepparate outputs or you have a box that can decode and break out the channels.
Now, tell your MIDI application(and with SMTPE on the MIDI interface) the start point for SMTPE so it can jam-sync to the incoming SMTPE stream. Drop in that exported stereo 44.1/16 stereo track and you're done. You can add your MIDI triggers later on for scene changes. If you've gotten this much working, then this past bit should be simple.
You did program triggers into MyDMX?
If it was me, that's how I would do it. DVD player, laptop and a slightly more expensive MIDI interface and a pro audio interface(which may have SMTPE on it, a ProTools 002 or 003 surface would be my choices, firewire in, XLR out, SMTPE in/out, optical IN/out are just a few features). The 002 or 003(or MIDI interface wiht SMPTE) would take the incoming SMTPE from the DVDvstream and do a SMTPE to MTC conversion(that's its job) and then the DVD would drive the whole show.
Taking the MIDI OUT from the MIDI interface, I'd go INTO the MIDI IN on another laptop and another MIDI interface. This second latop would be running MyDMX. The first laptop would be outputting MIDI commands and would be driven by the DVD's timecode track.
Use markers and use this to mark each wrestler's entrance. Have a menu system created. The big issue is that between chapters, you really can't have the DVD software escape out to the menu.
Now, for the "more advanced" method, that I'd graduate to fairly quick:
With the first round of video assembly, I'd start slicing things up. Each entrance video would now be re-exported so you can do each entrance video as its own title. When a song ends, it jumps to a menu screen so you can quick select the next video(as best as possible). This will preserve the time code. This is where it is CRITICAL that you have that time code left alone and that space between tracks, because you're going to need that time to establish the time code being locked to properly. When a song ends, it escapes out to a menu page. You need to have the MyDMX laptop readily available for the operator to punch in the appropriate scene for "in between". Why? What if you don't use the full song? What if something "happens", like a wrestler attacks another wrestler? Or let's say they just get "right into it" and so you have to cut the music and get right directly into entrance lights down and ring lights on.
Am I hitting it?
I got screwed trying to get my truck back from repair(they said 1PM, didn't have it ready until 6PM, and the show was an HOUR away and it would take me 2 hours to load, no way I could do it) and as such, I haven't gotten more wrestling shows. But, I know what needs to be done to make it work.
The bottom line is that it takes money. More than you've just spent. Screens and projectors decent enough for this ARE NOT CHEAP. I'd say at least a 7200-7500 lumens projector and multiple laptops and some other hardware.
Could I do this on one laptop? Probably, except for the video part. But, really, think about it: between entrances, you've got to close the Sonar session to open the next session. Even well organized, it just wastes seconds. If you put them all into one Sonar session file, it takes a bit less time, but still, it's time wasted.
For your first show doing this, keep it simple. 1 scene per wrestler and don't worry about music sync so much. Play the audio via CD and just keep it relatively close. Like, my decks take 2 seconds from pressing play to start, which gives me time to press the trigger on MyDMX.
Get through this one first. You'll have enough to deal with as it is. But, JUST HAVE dedicated production crew. I don't want to wrestle, I just want to do sound and lights. I was gonna get tied into a story line revolving a student wrestler spinning out of control and ranting on the mic and preventing the show from starting. I was suppose to tell him to give me the mic, we got to get on with the show, and he was supposed to super-kick me. Never got the chance to do this, but the company owner liked the idea as it tied into the other storyline stuff of the guy just getting "too big for himself".
If you need more advise, you can hit my web site and annoy me via telephone. I'm injured so I can't even do transfers(I can't move my reel to reel to do those tranfers...), so all I can do is vegetate here. Or hit up my Yahoo or AIM ID's for online chat. Whatever works.
I'm unfortunately in California, so I can't drop by and do this for you. But I can advise you. I'd do it here, but I don't need to prove anything, as I know i can get this to work using existing hardware, but I would need one new bit of gear which I'd have to research, but I'm fairly sure the 002 or 003 interface by Digi has SMTPE in/out. Plus, the tactile surface allows you to also use it as a real-time live mixer, thus saving additional dollars on extra hardware.
I mean, reall, how much audio do you need? 2 channels for music playback, and then anywhere from 2-4 channels of wireless. 1 for the ring announcer and 3 for wrestlers cutting promos, or if you can fly a mic, I'd suggest throwing a super long XLR through the rafters(can be tricky) and then putting a Shure Unidyne II mic(the old Elvis looking mic) that you can raise and lower via old-tech methods(some guy feeding or pulling on the cable). Think "Mr. Kennedy", OK? Or old boxing matches.
Considering you can get a new in the box laptop that will spec out suitable for MyDMX and a low-end audio production package(such as Sonar) for around $250(I know we're not supposed to mention prices), getting a couple of laptops becomes very affordable very quickly.
If Compu Live works with MIDI production packages(as in Sonar for my examples), then this takes a whole laptop out of the equation and simplifies things greatly while giving you the additional control that you definately DO need. The issue later on will come from when yo integrate video into the mix, in which case you need to ensure you have SMTPE capability.
Yes, I know SMTPE sync can drift, but we're talking entrances of on average of less than 3 minutes. We're fine.
Anyhow, just randomly throwing out ideas before the sedative in these damn muscle relaxers kick in. I injured my back and I'm in asbolute agony. And I have a high pain tolerance.(but extremely low BS tolerance)
Ask away. This sounds fun. I might research MIDI/Audio interfaces with SMTPE now.