ZoneTools
A zone file that used to take me a full day now takes ten minutes.
This is where the day goes before you program a single song.
- Before the creative work starts, you need a zone file that matches the projector layout. In BEYOND, that means naming the zones, assigning projectors and visualization fixtures, then building the preview geometry with size and position controls. As the projector count grows, so does the repetition.
- Once you can see the layout, you still have to build the routing groups. Pairs and stage-left or stage-right groups are straightforward; interleaved groups take more thought, especially on an irregular layout. Then come the invert looks: changing projectors, watching the sweep, and revising the pattern until it reads. Each look takes long enough that you may build only two or three.
- Mutes can take longer still. Every button in BEYOND Universe needs its own PangoScript for the zones it controls, along with the logic connecting individual, group, and master buttons. A sophisticated mute grid can become a day of work on its own.
- The work is necessary, but it is not the part of the show anyone came to see. When you have a week and a fixed set of songs to program, every hour spent building the zone file is an hour you cannot spend programming to the music and polishing the show.
ZoneTools keeps the decisions yours and takes care of the repetition.
Build the zone list and preview together.
Enter a section name, zone prefix, count, and row or column arrangement. ZoneTools creates and names the zones, assigns their projectors and visualization fixtures, and gives them initial preview geometry. From there, you can distribute, align, aim, adjust spacing, or drag the layout into place without working through every zone separately.
Start with groups determined by geometry.
The Group Generator uses the grid coordinates to suggest symmetrical pairs, sides, interleaved groups, and larger sections of the layout. You can review the memberships and change anything that does not suit the show, without creating every blocked routing zone and building its Also To list from the beginning.
Turn one prepared effect stack into six invert looks.
Build the six-effect stack once in BEYOND, assign the effects to six channels, and save it as a Quick Effect you can paste into every zone. Once that stack is in place, ZoneTools uses the projector geometry to unmute the required channel effect in each zone for six deterministic movement patterns. The setup stays visible in BEYOND, and each look no longer requires another pass through every zone.
Calculate every pixel-map slice at once.
Select the zones that should carry the map and ZoneTools calculates the left, right, bottom, and top bounds for each slice. The table gives you the values to enter into BEYOND's Window-and-Resize controls, replacing the calculator or spreadsheet.
Build the mute grid once, then run it from the same layout.
Projector buttons start in the same positions as the 2D layout. In Edit mode, marquee-select the areas that should mute together and add master buttons for larger sections of the layout. ZoneTools creates the button relationships and PangoScript behind them; Live mode gives you the finished controls for the show.
Two people can zone the same file at the same time.
Zoning happens overnight or on show day, usually from a laptop or tablet connected to the BEYOND machine through Remote Desktop. That leaves one person driving the file while everyone else waits. With ZoneTools, two remotes can connect to Node 1 and divide the projectors between them. When one operator opens a zone, Node 1 keeps it from being changed by the other, so both can keep working without overwriting each other's corrections.
BEYOND PC #1 · FOH
Hosts the session, keeps track of who has which zone open, and sends every operator’s changes to its own BEYOND.
BEYOND PC #2 · FOH
Joins the session and drives its own BEYOND. Changes aimed at these projectors go through this machine.
Stage left · P01–P20
Zoning from the floor. While a zone is open here, nobody else can move it.
Stage right · P21–P40
Zoning from the floor. While a zone is open here, nobody else can move it.
Buy it once and own it for good.
One license covers up to 2 BEYOND machines, which covers most setups. A stadium zone file can take me a full day to build directly in BEYOND. The $799 license is roughly what I would bill a client for that day. On comparable large builds, it gives you that programming day back.
If you are running more than that, add a license for every 2 extra machines. The app tops out at 10 machines, so 5 licenses covers the largest system it supports.
Everything is included
- +Every workflow tool: Layout, Invert Helper, Spatial Order, Map Slicer, Zoning, Mutes
- +2 BEYOND machines per license
- +Unlimited remote operators, at no extra charge
- +Multi-machine sessions with no zone conflicts between operators
- +Direct Talk TCP and OSC connection to BEYOND
- +3 concurrent activations, so a spare machine is already covered
- +Free updates within your major version
Beta operators decide
what gets built next.
This is a closed beta for working laser operators and programmers. You get every feature unlocked, and you get me directly, which means the edge cases you run into are the ones I fix next.