Your first show

This tutorial takes about fifteen minutes and has two parts. First you go through the setup that opens the first time you start ArenaDirector, which connects the app to your media, your screens and your speakers. Then you build one hot button and fire it.

Work through it once before you read other pages. Where a step has more to it, it links to the guide with the full procedure.

What you need

• ArenaDirector, installed.
• One audio or video file on this computer.
• Speakers or a second screen. A laptop's built-in speakers are enough.

1. Start the setup

Open ArenaDirector. The startup screen shows each step as the app loads, and then setup opens on the Welcome step, with the list of setup steps on the left.

The Privacy options start out cleared. Select Get started. If you want to send crash reports later, see Change app settings.

2. Sign in

The License step opens.

1. Select Sign in….
2. Sign in in your browser.
3. Go back to ArenaDirector.
4. In Choose a subscription, select your subscription.
5. Select Activate and continue.

If you do not have a subscription, select Continue with Free. The Free plan has everything this tutorial needs. For details, see Activate a license.

3. Skip the import

The Import from EMM step copies hot buttons from EventMusicMachine 2. You do not need it for this tutorial.

• Select Skip import.
• If the step shows No EventMusicMachine 2 data on this computer, select Continue.

To import later, see Migrate from EventMusicMachine.

4. Name the venue

The Venue step shows the screens and speakers that ArenaDirector found on this computer. Each one becomes an output of your venue.

1. In Venue name, type the name of your venue.
2. Make sure that your screen and your speakers are selected.
3. To hear which speakers an output uses, select Test tone.
4. Select Create venue and continue.

5. Add your media folder

1. In the Media step, select + Add folder….
2. Select the folder that has your media file.
3. Keep Analyze audio and make thumbnails after setup selected.
4. Select Continue.

The folder row shows a file count, which goes up while ArenaDirector reads the folder.

Screenshot pending

first-show-01-setup: the Media step of setup with one folder and its file count. Tracked in website/SCREENSHOTS.md.

6. Make a canvas and a bus

The Canvases and buses step shows the show on the left and the outputs of your venue on the right. Your show plays pictures on canvases and sound on buses.

1. Select the button that starts with Create from outputs.

   ArenaDirector makes one canvas for your screen and one bus for your speakers. A cable connects each one to its output.

2. Select Continue.

Screenshot pending

first-show-02-canvas-bus: the Canvases and buses step of setup with one canvas and one bus, each connected to an output. Tracked in website/SCREENSHOTS.md.

7. Finish the setup

The Done step shows Ready to play and one row for each step.

Select Open ArenaDirector. Setup closes, and the hot button grid opens.

Setup only runs once. You can change any of its settings later in Configuration.

8. Build a hot button and fire it

The grid already has hot buttons on it, so you configure one of them instead of creating a new one.

1. Right-click a hot button to open Edit Hot Button.

2. On the General tab, type a short name in Description.

   This name is the label on the button, so Goal Horn works better than Goal horn sound effect final v3.

3. Select the Sources & triggers tab.

4. Select Add source.

5. Select your file.

6. At the bottom of the tab, set Output buses to your bus.

7. If your file is a video:

   1. Select the source row to expand it.
   2. Select Targets.
   3. On your canvas, select Show here.

8. Select Save.

9. On the grid, find the hot button and select it.

The button pulses while it plays, with the sound going to the bus and the picture to the canvas. To stop and rewind, select the button again.

Screenshot pending

first-show-03-fire: the hot button grid with one configured hot button lit and pulsing. Tracked in website/SCREENSHOTS.md.

Where to go next

• To add a background program, see Build a sequence.
• To use a controller instead of the mouse, see Connect a controller.
• If you have perimeter boards, continue to Your first rotation.
• For how all of this fits together, read How playback works.