So you've bought several Tools, now what?

OR, WHAT DO I NEED TO START?

So you took the plunge and are eager to get to work creating your first show set?  You went full speed ahead and bought everything you think you'll need.....but...where and how do you start?  In what order should you learn the tools?   ​We were recently asked this question and thought more could benefit from a full answer.  

First, things first.  It's fine if you buy them all at once, but DON'T try to learn them all at once!  In fact, we recommend you start small.  The minimum for a good stage set is really a mover system and an animation HUD.  Which of those you buy depends on what you want to do.   

Don't worry if you've already bought them all!  You WILL use them all, we promise!

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WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? 

Do you want to start with dancing a group of people or just yourself?  You can dance yourself and others with both dance HUDs and you can move yourself and others around the stage with both mover systems!  It's just HOW you do it that is different.  Look at both of these pages and figure out which you want to start with. 

Compare Dance HUDs

Compare Movers

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OK, NOW WHAT? 

Hopefully you've decided what you want to do first!  Now, for ease of making a logical list here, let's assume you've got several (again, no need to!).  Again, for a good stage show, you'll need a MOVER system and a DANCE HUD. 

You can use 3rd party Dance HUDs or mover systems with all but our Performance Director.  We highly recommend you use our Spot On systems together as they work together seamlessly and we cannot guarantee how 3rd party systems will behave. 

JOIN THE GROUP!  We have a lot of helpful dancers who will gladly answer your questions.  Just be sure to phrase your questions as specifically as you can.  If there is an error message, copy and paste it into group chat, etc. 

Let's start....

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1.  SMOOTH DANCER (DANCE HUD):

This is all-purpose dance HUD and you'll be using it much more than just on a stage!  Of the two dance HUDs, this is the easiest to learn and has the added benefit of recording a sequence that you can use in it or later in a Performance Director HUD.  It helps you learn the timeline.  You can also use it later to identify which dances you'd like to use in your dance sets to put into your Performance Director.  If you are a dancer, you will use this HUD every day, everywhere!   You can use Smooth Dancer without any mover system. 

2.  GROUP FORMATION SYSTEM (MOVER SYSTEM):

Really a drop and go system for 3 to 10 (or more!) dancers.  Drop the controller, rez the movers, hop on and go!  It may be easy to use, but it is very powerful!  You can use Group Formation System with any brand of animation HUD. 

3.  CHOREOGRAPHY DESIGN SYSTEM (MOVER SYSTEM):

You'll need to learn at least the beginnings of this system (videos and web) so that you can properly configure a mover to work with Performance Director.  Be sure to go back and watch all of the videos AND go through all the web links so that you know what it and YOU can do.  The system is very powerful and not hard to learn.  It even does math for you!

4.  PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR (DANCE HUD):

Actually it's much more than a dance HUD.  You can control the entire scene with it!   You and your dancers must be standing on properly configured movers, either Group or Choreography systems, to be animated so learning one of the mover systems is essential here. 

​The next two are in no particular order but we suggest you learn them after learning the systems above. 

5.  COSTUME ASSISTANT:

Add or remove outfit pieces to you and your dancers!  EACH dancer will need to be wearing one. 

6.  STAGE MANAGER (SET PACKER/REZZER):

All set and ready to go?  After building your set, pack it up and rez it at the venue. In fact, rez it correctly at any venue you will dance at just by "marking" the stage.  No, not like a cat would mark its territory, like a professional who can rez their set and be ready to start in seconds!