StageFlow works closely with Resolume’s output xml format. It takes the data it needs from this file, adds its own data and then saves it all in one handy package. This page describes the ins and outs of that workflow.

Loading

You always start a new show by hitting File > New. StageFlow will load the input map you currently have active in Resolume. As long as you have StageFlow open, StageFlow will keep an eye on this file. Any changes you make to it will be imported and applied the moment you hit Save & Close in big daddy Resolume.

Saving

StageFlow always automatically saves every change you make so there is no Save option. You will see a little disk icon in the toolbar whenever it saves. I don’t know why we still use a disk icon for saving. Nostalgia I guess.

When you start a new show, StageFlow will create a new blank file with the name ‘NewStageFlowDocument’. The previous show is overwritten and forgotten. Life’s too short and we have planes to catch.

You can choose to save your file under a different name using File > Save As… This will make it easier to recall using File > Load. This is useful if you are working on several shows at the same time, or if you want to share your file with others.

StageFlow always saves all the data necessary to rebuild. Even if the orginal Resolume output file is no longer available, StageFlow can still rebuild your showfile.

Relinking

StageFlow also has a Relink option. This is useful in cases where you want to completely replace the Resolume output setup being used with a different one, without losing the work you’ve done in StageFlow.  You would do this when the input or output map has changed so much that you need to use a different version than the one you started with. Relinking will link StageFlow to the new output file in Resolume, while keeping all the layouts and looks in tact.

Let’s say that the pixel map has completely changed last minute and you’ve been supplied a new Resolume output XML file by the LED supplier. It would be too time consuming and error prone to compare and enter changes by hand. Instead, you simply load the new version of the XML in Resolume and hit Relink in StageFlow.

StageFlow will then do its best to relink the slices in your StageFlow file to the slices in the new Resolume file. It checks for several things like name, size and position, both in the input and the output map, as well as some fuzzy logic only known to the justified ancients of Mu. If it finds a unique match, it will relink that slice and use the new input map position for any Focals containing it.

If it can’t find any matches, because new slices were added, or the changes are just too severe, it will create new slices that you can then reposition manually. When using the Relink function, your Focals and existing slice layout will always stay untouched.