Wave Studio Beta 0.3 — First Guide

A five-part video tutorial script with image guides

Wave Studio is a pocket reference and virtual rehearsal lab for the Explo X2 Wave Flame. This manual is the first guide a new user should read or watch. It is written as five spoken tutorial scripts, each paired with annotated screenshots, plus the navigation and ergonomics notes you need to move around the program efficiently.

Everything in Wave Studio is visual only. Nothing in this program ever sends a signal to a flame unit, an igniter, or a fuel valve. Rehearse freely.

How to use this manual

Callout numbers in the text — written like 3 — match the orange numbered badges on the images in images/.

Table of contents

Supporting files:

• images/ — 29 annotated screenshots (p1-… to p5-…) and marks.json (callout coordinates, useful if you re-render the overlays).
• Source project and in-app help: the Reference & Notes button and the ? shortcut list inside the studio repeat most of what is here.

Quick reference

Where everything is

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ HEADER   Wave Studio · Beta 0.3 · Contribute · Credits · VISUAL ONLY ·           │
│          Reference & Notes · Shortcuts · Light/Dark                               │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ MODE BAR Presets | Virtual Faders | Live Input · status · Vista / Receiver        │
│          Settings · Settings · Multi-Screen · Refresh · AI Assist · Chat ·        │
│          Test Checklist · Camera                                                  │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ WORKSPACE BAR  Customize Workspace · Revert · Layouts · Add Panels ·              │
│                Collapse All · Full Screen · Screenshot                            │
├──────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┤
│ LEFT COLUMN      │ MAIN COLUMN                          │ RIGHT COLUMN           │
│ Clock*           │ Fixture & File Controls              │ Sequence Information   │
│ Timecode*        │ Fuel Estimates                       │ Virtual Rear Panel     │
│ Sequence Library │ Layout (stage) + Layout Controls     │ Virtual Faders         │
│ Flame Scale      │ Macros*                              │ Invert                 │
│ Angle Limits     │ Bank Master*                         │ Virtual Armed State    │
│ Unit Selection   │ Cue Recorder*                        │ Nozzle Direction       │
│ Unit List        │ Cue Stack*                           │ Home Position          │
│ Nozzle Type      │                                      │ Notes                  │
│ DMX Patch        │                                      │ Fixture Position & Name│
│ Virtual DMX Mon. │                                      │ Preview Guides         │
│                  │                                      │ Screen Settings        │
│                  │                                      │ Bank & Mapping Controls│
└──────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘
* = minimized in the shipped default layout; click its title bar to open it.

Keyboard shortcuts

Ergonomics — set yourself up once

1. Pick a theme. Light / Dark is in the header. Dark is easier on the eyes in a show environment; the screenshots in this manual use Dark.
2. Open the panels you use, minimize the rest. Every panel has a − button pinned top-right; a minimized panel collapses to a one-line bar you can click to restore. Collapse All on the workspace bar clears the deck in one click.
3. Turn on "Follow When Selected" on the panels that should jump to whichever unit you click — Nozzle Direction, Virtual Faders, Sequence Information. Leave it off on panels you want to stay put.
4. Rename panels by clicking their title. "Virtual Faders" can become "Angle & Arm" if that is how you think about it.
5. Customize Workspace (workspace bar, or hold Ctrl + Shift) lets you drag panels between columns, Float them as separate windows, Copy a panel so the same tool appears twice, and change Size. Revert Customize undoes a session of changes.
6. Save the layout. Fixture & File Controls → Save Layout writes a JSON file that contains the stage, favourites, cues, stacks and your panel arrangement. Default Layout restores the shipped arrangement; Reset Layout clears the stage. The studio also autosaves.
7. Multi-Screen. Float the stage onto a second monitor and keep the Sequence Library and Cue Stack on the first.
8. Full Screen (Ctrl + Shift + F) hides the browser chrome for rehearsal or recording.

Safety and scope notes you should repeat on camera

• Wave Studio is visual only. It does not output DMX, Art-Net, sACN, serial or USB to any device. The header badge says so and the Live Input page says so again.
• Fuel figures are estimates based on Explo's published sequence sheet; they are planning aids, not metering.
• The Windows receiver is a local receive-only bridge: it listens for sACN from Vista on the same PC or LAN and feeds the simulator. Nothing travels back out.
• Prototype storage: layouts and sessions saved through the local backend sit in an unencrypted SQLite file on your machine. Treat them like any other project file.
• Camera / chat features use WebRTC, which exposes participant IP addresses to each other, as with any video call.

A suggested first week