What Is Palette-Based Programming in Lighting Consoles?

Palette-based programming is a way of building a lighting show where you store colors, positions, and beam settings as named palettes, then record cues that point to those palettes instead of storing raw DMX values. Change a palette once and every cue that uses it updates.

What a palette is on a lighting console

A palette is a stored set of attribute values for one or more fixtures, saved under a name you can recall: "Red," "Vocal mic," "Tight beam." You select a group of fixtures, press the palette, and the fixtures take those values.

Palettes are usually split by attribute type, so a color palette only touches color channels and a position palette only touches pan and tilt:

Names vary by console. ChamSys, Avolites, and Hog call them palettes. ETC Eos has intensity, focus, color, and beam palettes, where "focus" means position. grandMA calls them presets. The idea is the same in each.

Raw values vs palette references

Say your show has 20 cues that use blue. If each cue stored raw values, changing that blue means editing 20 cues. If each cue points to a "Blue" palette, you edit the palette once and all 20 cues follow.

Positions are where this pays off most. When you move to a new venue, the truss is higher or the stage is wider, and every moving head lands in the wrong place. With position palettes, you refocus each target once (vocal, drums, floor, audience) and update those palettes. Every cue that uses them is fixed in a few minutes, instead of rebuilding the whole show.

Most consoles show the reference in the cue list or attribute display, often as the palette name or number instead of a DMX value. If you see raw numbers where you expected a palette name, that cue is not referenced.

One palette, different fixture types

A palette can hold different values for each fixture type under one name. This matters in mixed rigs:

• On an RGBW PAR, "Red" might be red at 255 and green, blue, and white at 0.
• On a beam moving head with a color wheel, "Red" is the DMX value of the red slot on the wheel channel, taken from the fixture manual's channel chart.

Select both groups, press "Red," and each fixture type gets its own value. The colors will rarely match exactly, because LED mixing and wheel filters look different. Adjust the PAR values inside the palette until they sit close to the wheel color, and every cue picks up the improvement.

Position palettes are stored per fixture, not per type. Each moving head needs its own pan and tilt to hit the same spot, especially when fixtures hang on opposite sides or one is mounted upside down.

Some consoles also let you record a palette that applies to any fixture with that attribute, including fixtures you add later. That is useful for intensity and simple open-white looks. For positions and wheel colors, record per fixture type or per fixture so new fixtures don't inherit values that mean something else on their channel layout.

How to build palettes for a small rig

1. Patch and group first. Make sure every fixture is patched in the DMX mode it is actually set to, then create groups: All PARs, All movers, Left, Right, Back.
2. Focus positions. With the movers in open white and the narrowest beam, put the beam center on each target and record a position palette per target. Include pan fine and tilt fine if the fixtures have them.
3. Build a short color list. Eight to twelve colors cover most shows. Record them in the same order for every fixture type so the pool reads the same way.
4. Add beam palettes. Open, tight beam, two or three gobo looks, and a prism look are enough for a band or DJ rig.
5. Name everything. "Vocal" reads in the dark. "Pos 7" doesn't.
6. Record cues from palettes. Select the group, press intensity, color, position, and beam palettes, then record.
7. Check the cue list. Confirm the cues show palette references, not numbers.

Mistakes that break palette references

• Tweaking after recalling. If you recall "Blue" and then nudge an encoder before recording, most consoles store the nudged raw value, and that cue no longer follows the palette.
• Deleting a palette that cues use. Consoles handle this differently. Some convert the references to raw values, others leave the attribute empty. Check your manual before cleaning up the palette pool.
• Copying cues without their palettes. Importing cues from another show file can bring references that point to the wrong palette or nothing at all.
• Too many near-duplicates. "Blue," "Blue 2," and "Blue new" defeat the purpose. Update the palette instead of making another one.
• Editing live. Updating a palette changes every running cue that uses it, immediately. During a show, make the edit in blind mode or between songs.

What if your controller has no palettes?

Basic 192-channel scene controllers and some lighting apps store raw values in each scene. There is nothing to reference, so a color change means re-recording every scene that uses it.

There are still ways to get some of the benefit:

• Build attribute-only scenes in software. In QLC+, a scene only contains the channels you enable. Make color scenes that hold only color channels and position scenes that hold only pan and tilt, then combine them on Virtual Console buttons. Chaser steps in QLC+ point to scenes, so editing a scene updates every chaser that uses it.
• Keep a value sheet. On a hardware scene controller, write down the DMX values for each color and each position per fixture. When you re-record for a new venue, you work from the sheet instead of guessing.
• Record the same colors in the same scene slots. If scene 1 is always red and scene 2 always blue across banks, re-recording is faster and you make fewer mistakes.

If you rebuild most of your show at every venue, that time is the best argument for moving to software or a console with palettes.

FAQ

Is a palette the same as a scene?

No. A scene stores a complete look with fixed values. A palette stores one attribute type, such as color or position, and scenes or cues refer to it. Several palettes together make a look.

Do chases and effects work with palettes?

On most consoles, yes. Chase steps are recorded like cues, so they can reference palettes. Many effect engines can also use a position palette as the center point of a movement effect. Check how your console handles it.

How many palettes does a small rig need?

For a band or DJ rig with PARs and a few moving heads, 8 to 12 colors, 6 to 10 positions, and 3 to 5 beam palettes cover most shows. Add more only when a show actually needs them.

What is the difference between palettes and presets?

Often only the name. grandMA uses "presets" for what other consoles call palettes. On ETC Eos, presets are a separate tool that can hold several attribute types at once, while palettes hold one type each.