--- title: "Effect Cues: Combine Movement & Beam Effects - DMXDesktop" lang: en source: /knowledgebase/effect-cues --- # Effect Cues ## What is an Effect Cue? Unlike traditional lighting cues that store static looks or single actions, an Effect Cue in DMXDesktop is a powerful tool that lets you: - Combine multiple dynamic effects (movement & beam) into one package - Assign different effects to different fixture groups - Trigger complex multi-effect shows with a single click ## Key Features - Group-specific effects - Mix movement and beam effects - Select single or multiple beam or movement effects, and specify how frequently they are rotated. - Customizable timing and transitions - One-click activation - Save and reuse your favorite effect combinations ## Auto Pilot: Hands-Free Effect Cues Auto Pilot is a simple way to run your Effect Cues automatically. It listens to live audio energy and beat to choose, blend, and time cues for your stage. - Designed primarily for Live Audio - OS2L can provide BPM if you prefer - When beat info is available, effects stay synced - Not the same as DJ Mode, which is a deeper autonomous system Learn more about Auto Pilot → ## Common Use Cases 1. Create dynamic looks combining movement patterns with color effects 2. Set up different effects for front lights vs back lights 3. Build complex shows with minimal live operation 4. Save your favorite effect combinations for quick access ## Effect Cue Playback When played back, the Cue will activate every Effect defined for each group simultaneously, and keep them in sync. Effect Cues can also be set to be timed, so they will run only for a set period, or to run indefinitely. This is good if you want to match Effects to a specific track or event. At the end of a timed Effect Cue, it will then jump to the next Effect Cue in the list. Alternatively, you can set the Cue to have an infinite run time, meaning you have to stop or skip to another Cue manually. Inside the Effect Cue you can define different configurations per group, if you organise your fixtures well this can allow you to have extremely powerful control over your lighting effects, with the option to keep it as simple or make it as complex as you desire. ## Strobe on Peaks You can enable this feature to allow the Cue to trigger the Strobe on audio Peaks. The setting when set is by Cue, not by Group. You may also override this setting globally via the Audio Configuration tab on the Settings page. This feature will only work when Direct Audio Detection is Enabled and active. ## Select Beam Effect(s) You can select as many or as few Beam Effects as you wish, or you can even select none. If you select none, then the Fixtures in the Group will be dark. If you select multiple Effects then the Effects will be rotated, how frequently they rotate depends on the setting you apply to "Effect Frequency" slider at the bottom of the Cue configuration. 0 = Never, and 100 = Every Minute and the values in between are proportional. ## Move Effects Similar to beam effects you can also set up Move effects, and again you can select one or many, they will also be rotated based on the same time frames as per Beams set in the "Effect Frequency" when multiple are selected. You can apply move effects to a group, even if that group does not contain any fixtures with Movement functionality, so in case in future you do decide to add a moving head type fixture to the group the previously defined effect cue would work on that fixtures movement, if none are found it will silently take no action. ## Color Theme Here you can select the colour(s) to use for the group, there is a long list of different colours including multi-color effects. Some fixtures only have fixed colours, for example those with colour wheels in this scenario colours cannot be mixed and as such they will be static or rotating depending on the colour theme selected. If you select a theme without any colours matching your device then they will default to white or open. ## Settings **Fade In:** When set the lights will fade in over the period of time defined on startup. **Fade Out:** When set the lights will fade out over the period of time defined on stop. **Effect Frequency:** When multiple effects selected for move or beam effects, this will define how often they rotate (0=Never, 100=Every 1 minute) **Dimmer:** Overloads the dimmer for the Group. It is proportional to the Master Dimmer. e.g. if Master dimmer is set to 100% but the group is set to 50% then the output will be DMX Value 127 (or 50% of the master dimmer value of 255) **Background:** Defines a minimum threshold below which the lights cannot go, in proportion to Dimmer and Master Dimmer. This can be used to create a background light effect and lights will never go dark. **Beam Speed** : the Speed of the lighting effects will be looped. **Mover Speed** : The speed at which the movers will execute the selected effect. **Fan Rate** : Only applies to Mover Effects which contain a Fan option, and is used to fan in or out the moving heads. **Phase** : Applies a delay to the moving heads, so they move more or less in or out of phase. **Gobo Frequency** : How often the Gobos will be rotated, if Gobos are ENABLED. Similar to Effect Frequency, 0=Never, 100=Every 1 minute, and all values in between are proportional. **Prism Frequency** : Same as Gobo Frequency. **Randomize Effects** : When you have select multiple Move or Beam effects for the Cue, the order in which they are triggered will be randomized. **Enable Gobos** : Enable or disable Gobos (if available) for the Group. **Enable Prisms** : As per enable Gobos. **Dark On Silent** : Shuts off the lights when the music stops, and resumes when the music restarts. **Dynamic Energy:** Will adaptivly change the speed and impact of the Cue based on the live audio input. ## Linked Groups By default, each fixture group in an Effect Cue runs its own independent effect. For example, a Chase cue with 3 groups produces 3 separate chases - one per group. With **Linked Groups**, you can merge multiple groups into a single unified effect. That same chase would then run across all the fixtures from the linked groups as one continuous chase. ### Setting Up Linked Groups 1. Open the Effect Cue editor (create a new cue or edit an existing one). 2. Look for the small link icon (chain link) on each group tab. 3. Click the link icon on the group you want to be the **leader** - this is the group whose effect settings will be used for all linked groups. 4. A popup will appear listing all other groups in the cue. Check the boxes for the groups you want to link. 5. Click Apply. The linked groups' tabs will display a "Linked to [Group Name]" banner, and their beam and movement controls will be greyed out since the leader's settings are used instead. ### What Stays Independent Even when groups are linked, the following settings remain per-group and fully active: - Gobo cycling selections - Prism cycling selections - Auxiliary values (Focus, Iris, Zoom, Frost, etc.) ### Unlinking Groups To unlink a group, click the Unlink button in the banner on any follower tab, or click the link icon on a follower tab. When unlinked, the group's original settings are preserved and restored, and it will return to running its own independent effect. *Note: Linked Groups is a paid feature.*