Guides Professional Stage Lighting for VAM: From Simple Single Moving Heads to Concert-Level Lighting Array

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Before We Get Started​

This guide is primarily aimed at creators, but it also aims to help regular players — or players who want to become creators — so everyone can enjoy building their own lighting experience.
Here’s a preview of what you’ll be able to do after reading this guide:

Goal of This Guide​

• Make lighting design simple and fun — turning what used to be a boring, tedious, and even pain-in-the-ass process into something enjoyable.
• Lower the barrier to scene creation — so anyone can easily jump in and express their creativity and imagination in VAM.
• Simplify the complex — reducing what once required deep technical skills and experience to a process where you only need to focus on the design itself.
• Make your scene creation more efficient — helping you build and manage complex lighting systems with ease and speed.
• Take your lighting effects to the next level — dramatically boosting the visual impact and overall coolness of your scenes.

As a side note, although this guide mainly focuses on lighting effects, the same method can also be applied to other aspects of scene creation — for example, controlling body parts such as the waist joints of a character atom to create rhythmic motion that stays synchronized with the music while adding natural randomness. These applications are beyond the scope of this guide, but you’re encouraged to explore their possibilities — it can become a powerful creative tool for your own scenes.

We’ll assume you already know how to use the High Performance Volume Light plugin to create volumetric lighting effects using a light atom or an empty atom.
If not, you can use the preset-based Light Creator I’ve provided to instantly generate various lighting examples — such as simple spotlights, fancy prism beams, more complex laser sweep lights, LED strips, and more.

In order to start creating your stunning lighting effects — whether it’s simple light effects for a lap dance scene, the full lighting atmosphere of a nightclub, or a complex programmed lighting array for a large concert stage — here are the Skills You Need to Know:

1. How to load a plugin onto an atom.
2. How to adjust plugin settings through the plugin panel.
3. How to create and edit triggers
   (You need to know how to use triggers to change light colors, how to use transition triggers to dynamically adjust light intensity, and more — especially for advanced control. For example, if you want to build a full, complex stage lighting setup or dynamically adjust lighting effects through Timeline, mastering triggers is essential.)

Basically, that’s all you need to know — the rest, just be creative.

You’ll also need the following two plugins:

1. High Performance Volume Light (HPVL) by @PluginIdea
2. C&G-STUDIO Audio Visualizer Suite by Shadow Venom in collaboration with @C&G-STUDIO

Once you’ve finished reading this guide, check out the YouTube video tutorial and follow along to build it step by step yourself.

How Things Work​

Just like in the real world — where one device plays the audio source, another controller analyzes it, converts it into digital frequency data, and then sends the categorized signals through data lines to terminal fixtures like moving-head lights — but here, we don’t have to deal with any of those boring technical details.

Simply put, we’re bringing real-world DMX lighting control technology to life inside VAM, in the simplest and most user-friendly way possible.

Building a Basic DMX-Style Setup​

While each component in the C&G-Studio Audio Visualizer Suite plugin suite can be used independently based on your own needs, they work best as a system.
Earlier, we explained how it simulates a DMX-style lighting control system — now, let’s go step by step to build a basic signal flow.

Step 1: Load RhythmReactor and BPMIntervalTrigger​

First, load the RhythmReactor plugin onto the sound atom that plays music in your scene.
Then, load the BPMIntervalTrigger plugin onto any atom. It’s recommended to load BPMIntervalTrigger onto a newly created empty atom — this will give you greater flexibility for quick access and future expansion of its functions.

Step 2: Setting Up RhythmReactor​

RhythmReactor sits at the very top of the entire signal flow — it’s responsible for parsing the audio source. Its core functions include BPM detection (either automatic or manual), audio frequency band analysis, and an emotion state machine.

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A. BPM Setup​

First, you’ll need to set the BPM mode. For the best synchronization results, it’s recommended to set the BPM manually.
In most cases — especially for lap dance scenes where the track is fixed — you can easily find the song’s BPM through a quick search. Once set, assign the BPM target output to the BPMIntervalTrigger plugin, and in the Target Param field, choose Manual BPM.

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B. Frequency Band Analysis​

RhythmReactor also provides audio band analysis. For example, a frequency value around 93 Hz often represents the bass range.
Each frequency band includes an editable transition action, which can be used to dynamically control properties such as light intensity, brightness, or color transitions in real time. In practical use, it’s recommended to keep only the light intensity controlled at this level, as assigning other properties to the next layer or directly to the fixture itself will give you greater freedom and creative flexibility.

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C. Emotion State Machine​

The Emotion State Machine is optional — you don’t necessarily need to use it.
It mainly serves as a template-based high-level control system, allowing you to define lighting presets for different song sections.
For instance, your entire lighting array might use one color scheme and movement pattern during the verse, then automatically (or via trigger) switch to a different preset during the chorus.

TIPS:
Again, although RhythmReactor at the signal source layer provides editable state machines and frequency-responsive transition triggers, it’s best to delegate most of your lighting property controls to the following layers.
The lower the control level, the greater your dynamic flexibility — in other words, if you delegate property control to the lowest possible layers, the number of potential variation combinations becomes nearly infinite. So before you finish this guide and start building your dream stage, it’s strongly recommended that you take some time to plan — how much precision do you need in your control? How much freedom do you want? And how dynamic and versatile do you envision your stage to be?

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Step 3: Setting Up BPMIntervalTrigger​

BPMIntervalTrigger is the second-level controller in the signal flow. Its role is to take the real-time BPM data pushed from RhythmReactor and further divide it into eight independent signal channels (A–H), allowing beat-accurate control over your lighting effects.

Side note:
BPMIntervalTrigger can also function independently without RhythmReactor. If your BPM is fixed and you want your lighting system to follow only the rhythm — without relying on frequency bands — you can remove RhythmReactor entirely and use this plugin as your primary signal source. This also saves some background processing.

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A. BPM Source & Sync Settings​

In this guide, the plugin is set to receive its real-time BPM value from RhythmReactor. Be sure to uncheck “Reset Timer On Change” when using Auto BPM Mode in RhythmReactor — otherwise, every BPM update will reset the timer and cause desynchronization.
You can use the Start Offset parameter to fine-tune synchronization — for example, to compensate if your music file contains a few seconds of silence at the beginning.

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B. Channel Configuration (A–H)​

You can assign each of the eight channels (A–H) a unique beat interval, ranging from ¼ beat to 24 beats.

• ¼ beat intervals are ideal for fast-changing effects such as strobe flashes or high-speed pulse beams.
• 24-beat intervals are best suited for smooth, lyrical transitions like soft fades or slow rotational movements.

You can define each channel based on your music’s rhythm or the vibe you want to express — for example, using shorter intervals for high-energy sections and longer ones for ambient or emotional parts.

Each channel includes a Curve Selector and a Ping-Pong Toggle that control how its phase signal evolves over time:

• Curve Type
  • Linear – The default mode. Produces a constant, uniform progression from 0 → 1, ideal for steady transitions such as dimmer fades or linear motion.
  • Sine – Generates a smooth sinusoidal curve (0.5 – cos(π × p)/2), giving natural acceleration and deceleration, great for breathing-style or oscillating effects.
  • Smoothstep – Creates a soft S-shaped easing curve, smoother than linear but less round than sine, perfect for gradual lighting transitions.
• Ping-Pong Mode
  When enabled, the signal cycles 0 → 1 → 0 instead of simply resetting from 1 → 0. This produces continuous back-and-forth motion, ideal for moving lights, swinging beams, or looping brightness waves.

Each channel also provides two built-in trigger systems:

• Event Trigger – Fires once every time a full interval completes (for example, every beat on a 1-beat channel).
• Transition Trigger – Outputs continuous float values (0 → 1 or 0 → 1 → 0 in Ping-Pong mode) that can be mapped to any property, such as light intensity, color blend, or joint movement.

By combining interval length, curve shape, and Ping-Pong behavior, you can fine-tune each channel’s output to perfectly match the tempo and expressive flow of your scene.

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C. Period Value Output (Optional Feature)​

As an enhanced function, BPMIntervalTrigger can push a constant period value to any target within VAM’s trigger space.
For example, if Interval A = 1 beat and BPM = 60, the plugin outputs a 1-second value to the selected target.
You can use this to synchronize other systems — for instance, driving the AutoThruster plugin on a character atom to complete one forward-backward motion every second, perfectly in time with the music.

TIPS:
Again, although assigning different property controls across multiple subdivided channels already gives you a high level of flexibility at this layer, it’s still worth careful consideration in practice — remember, the lower you delegate your property controls, especially when aiming for fine-grained adjustments, the greater your freedom and the more combinations of effects you can achieve.

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Setup and Control of a Single Fixture​

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We’ve finally made it through the boring technical prep — now it’s time for the fun part: visualization!​

Let’s hook up those fixture data lines and bring the lights to life!

Now that we have a basic DMX-style signal chain, we’ll connect the “lights” in the scene — whether real or simulated — as endpoints within that chain.
What we need to do next is load the StageMoverMH plugin from the suite onto the light atom, or onto an Empty atom that uses the HPVL plugin to simulate volumetric lighting.

Before we move on, I want you to remind yourself — by loading the StageMoverMH plugin, you’re essentially turning an atom in VAM into a real-world moving head fixture.
Yes, that’s right — thinking this way will greatly help you understand the following sections of the guide and make full use of its capabilities.

Step 1: Fixture Base Position​

Important!!!
When you first load the StageMoverMH plugin, it automatically records the atom’s current position and rotation as its base pose. Under the default preset “Static” (B), the atom’s position and rotation can be freely adjusted. However, once you switch to another preset — you won’t be able to reposition it manually.
If you later decide to readjust the atom’s position or rotation while in the Static preset, you must click “Capture Base Pose” (A) after making your changes.
Otherwise, when the fixture starts running again, it will reset to the previously recorded base pose instead of your new one.

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Step 2: Connect to the Signal Chain​

Although StageMoverMH can operate independently using its built-in cycle counter (B), it’s primarily designed to function as a terminal device within the signal chain.
For this guide, make sure it’s set to Use External Phase mode.
Then, use the dropdown menus to link it to your BPMIntervalTrigger — set the Target Atom and Target Plugin accordingly, and select the desired channel under Target Param (A).
In practice, you can dynamically switch its signal source at any time via triggers to make it follow different rhythmic channels.

Step 3: Define Fixture Type Through Presets​

The StageMoverMH plugin provides a comprehensive suite of 31 motion presets (A) designed to emulate real-world stage lighting behaviors across various fixture types. Its presets range from classic pan/tilt sweeps and wave motions to advanced geometric paths such as circles, spirals, and Lissajous curves, as well as continuous multi-axis spins. Each motion pattern is physically inspired by real fixtures including moving head beams, spots, washes, hybrid units, linear LED bars, and FX or laser-style lights. Through parameter controls for amplitude, speed, easing, mirroring, position motion, and external BPM synchronization, StageMoverMH allows users to reproduce the expressive dynamics of professional stage lighting systems—from smooth audience sweeps to complex concert-grade choreography—directly within VAM. Like all other settings, they can be adjusted at any time through VAM’s trigger system.

I. Basic & Linear Motion​

• Static – Keeps the fixture still at its base position.
• Pan Sweep – Horizontal side-to-side panning motion.
• Tilt Sweep – Vertical up-and-down sweeping.
• Line Sweep (H) – Linear horizontal movement, often for light walls.
• Line Sweep (V) – Linear vertical movement.
• Wave Sweep (H) – Smooth wave-like horizontal motion.

II. Artistic & Geometric Paths​

• Hold-at-Ends – Sweeps with a short pause at each endpoint.
• Stepped Scan – Moves in discrete steps, creating a rhythmic chase.
• Segmented Bounce – Multi-section bouncing with overshoot for impact.
• Step Scan (Pan) – Horizontal three-point jump (left, center, right).
• Step Scan (Tilt) – Vertical three-point jump (up, center, down).
• Square Path – Draws a square motion pattern in space.
• Triangle Path – Triangular looping path.
• Arc Sweep – Semi-circular sweep motion.
• Dot Chase (3-pt) – Three-point chasing motion pattern.

III. Curved & Patterned Motion​

• Circle – Classic circular orbit around a center point.
• Ellipse – Elliptical path with off-center movement.
• Lissajous 2D – Complex dual-frequency sine pattern.
• Figure-8 – Infinity (∞) shaped continuous loop.
• Star Polygon – Rotating multi-point star pattern.
• Star Burst (5) – Five-point starburst explosion effect.

IV. Dynamic & Random Motion​

• Random Walk – Organic, noise-driven wandering motion.
• Oscillate Swing (Pan) – Gentle left-right oscillation.
• Oscillate Swing (Tilt) – Gentle up-down oscillation.
• Orbit + Burst – Circular orbit combined with pulse-like bursts.
• Spiral Up – Rising spiral motion over time.
• Spiral Down – Descending spiral motion.

V. Continuous Rotation Series​

• Spin X – Continuous rotation along the X-axis.
• Spin Y – Continuous rotation along the Y-axis.
• Spin Z – Continuous rotation along the Z-axis.
• Spin XYZ – Simultaneous triple-axis spinning motion.

Together, these 31 presets replicate the expressive behaviors of real-world stage lights — including moving heads, beam and spot fixtures, wash and hybrid units, linear LED bars, and FX or laser-style fixtures — making StageMoverMH a complete motion toolkit for both synchronized rhythmic effects and cinematic ambient lighting design.

Step 4: Other Functions & Settings​

A. Position Motion​

The position function allows the fixture to move along the X, Y, or Z axis according to the rhythm defined by the input channel.
When Enable Position Motion is turned on, the fixture will shift within the distance specified by Position Amplitude.
If Position Edge Smooth is set to 0, the light will jump sharply between positions (you can think of this as the effect often seen in large-scale stage shows, where hundreds of lights in a massive array switch on and off in rhythmic groups).
Increasing this value makes the movement smoother, resembling the behavior of a track light gliding along a rail.

TIPS:
When used wisely, the position motion feature can create the illusion of having hundreds or even thousands of lights in your scene — all simulated by just a few actual atoms.
From a performance optimization standpoint, this is one of the most powerful techniques you can take advantage of.

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B. Mirror Controls​

When working with paired or grouped lights, you can use the Mirror Pan, Mirror Tilt, and Mirror Position (X/Z) settings to make one fixture behave as a mirror reflection of the other.
This is useful for creating symmetrical lighting rigs — for example, two moving heads sweeping in opposite directions or mirrored spotlights crossing each other perfectly in sync.

C. Fine-Tune Controls​

The plugin also provides a variety of fine adjustment parameters, many of which are designed for specific presets.
In most cases, you won’t need to modify them manually — they’re mainly there to let you fine-tune motion details, such as subtle wobble, pan/tilt center offsets, or step-based movement smoothness, when creating custom or experimental lighting behaviors.

TIPS:
As repeatedly suggested earlier, it’s generally better to place most of your lighting property controls at this terminal level, using its transition triggers to drive the effects.
Of course, this isn’t an absolute rule — it depends on your overall design, the effects you want to achieve, and the level of convenience you prefer in control.
Ultimately, how you design your stunning lighting array is entirely up to you.

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LED-Type Fixture Simulation Based on CUA​

LEDEmissionFXController can be applied to any CUA asset with an emissive material, turning it into a signal-driven LED fixture or other self-illuminated light source.
It works seamlessly with RhythmReactor and BPMIntervalTrigger, allowing your lighting effects to dynamically respond to music rhythm and control signals in real time.

A. External Data Interface & Signal Input​

Start by connecting the plugin to your control system via the External section:

• External Atom / Plugin / Param define the data source (e.g., VLS/BPM Interval → plugin#0_BPMIntervalTrigger → [F] Phase E (0..1)).
• The selected channel determines how fast the intensity or color changes.
• You can enable external control for light intensity (UseExternalForIntensity) or color lerp (UseExternalForColorLerp) independently.

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B. Renderer Selection & Application​

When loaded, the plugin automatically detects the Renderer that uses an emissive material.
If your asset has multiple emissive materials or sub-objects, you can manually choose one from the Renderer dropdown.

• ApplyToAllRenderers – Apply the same settings to all renderers in the asset.
• Material Index (-1 = All) – Select which material slot to affect.
• Apply Now / Refresh Renderers – Instantly apply or refresh the assigned renderers.

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C. Intensity Control (Emission Intensity)​

Controls the overall brightness of the emissive light:

• EmissionIntensity – Base brightness level.
• EnableIntensityVariation – Enables animated intensity variation.
• Intensity Lerp (0–1) – Current transition stage (0 = dim, 1 = full).
• Intensity Speed – Speed of the brightness transition.
• MinIntensity / MaxIntensity – Range of the brightness variation.

When external intensity control is enabled, these values are driven by incoming data (e.g., a float output from BPMIntervalTrigger). You still need to set the MinIntensity / MaxIntensity for the light intensity.

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D. Color Control (Emission Color)​

Controls color transitions between two emission states:

• BaseEmissionColor – Starting color of the light.
• EnableColorLerp – Enables color lerping (color transition).
• TargetEmissionColor – Target color to transition to.
• Color Lerp (0–1) – Current interpolation stage.
• Color Speed – Speed of the color transition.

TIPS:
When both external intensity and color control are enabled, the light’s color and brightness respond directly to rhythmic signals — just like a DMX-style audio-reactive LED bar.
If external control is disabled, the plugin uses its internal ping-pong animation to automatically loop through the brightness or color transitions.

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In short, LEDEmissionFXController transforms any emissive CUA asset into a BPM-driven LED fixture, fully synchronized with the rest of your stage lighting system through the unified signal chain.

Linear Animation Controller (Modified Version)​

MacGruber_LinearAnimation_Mod is an enhanced version of MacGruber’s original LinearAnimation plugin, redesigned and extended to integrate seamlessly with the Audio Visualizer Suite signal system.

It can be used to animate any type of object — not only lights or stage elements, but also props, characters, cameras, or UI components.
This makes it both a valuable complement to the rich fixture presets offered by StageMoverMH and a powerful creative tool that expands your design possibilities far beyond lighting control.

A. External Transition Control​

This section allows the animation to respond to an external float parameter, such as a phase value from BPMIntervalTrigger.

• Enable External Control – Activates external data input for the transition.
• Force Unidirectional (External Only) – Converts incoming Ping-Pong data (0→1→0) into a unidirectional 0→1 motion, ideal for forward-only effects.
• Target Atom / Plugin / Param – Defines where the control data originates (for example: VLS/BPM Interval → plugin#0_BPMIntervalTrigger → [F] Phase E (0..1)).
• Refresh Lists – Updates atom, plugin, and parameter lists when the scene changes.

When enabled, the animation synchronizes with external rhythmic signals in real time, mapping beat phases directly into smooth, continuous movement.

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B. Transition & Motion Setup​

The Transition slider represents the animation’s current progress (0–1).
When linked to external data, it updates automatically, but you can also adjust it manually for testing or fine-tuning.

Curve Options:

• Linear – Constant, even-rate motion.
• Sine – Natural easing with acceleration and deceleration.
• Smoothstep – A soft S-shaped transition, perfect for subtle or cinematic effects.

Coordinate Space:

Select whether animation operates in World or Local space.

• Local (default) – Follows the parent atom’s transform, ideal for stage rigs or nested setups.
• World – Uses global coordinates, maintaining its absolute position.

Animation Points (0–4):

Define up to five transform points (Start, optional intermediate Points 1–3, End).
Each point records position and rotation, allowing precise path-based or multi-stage animation.
Use the Set / Unset Point buttons to record or remove poses directly from the atom’s current state.

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C. Editable Transition Trigger​

The plugin provides an editable transition trigger, allowing you to create transition-based events for secondary control — such as adjusting an object’s size, color, brightness, or any other property — and to link it interactively with other objects in the scene.
This makes it a versatile coordination tool that bridges movement, timing, and reactive design.

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Advanced Features​

• Force Unidirectional Mapping: Ensures external Ping-Pong signals always move forward, preventing oscillation when driven by rhythmic data.
• Local/World Space Compatibility: Defaulting to Local for easy parenting and subscene usage.
• Multi-Stage Interpolation: Supports up to five points for layered, non-linear motion paths.

TIPS:

• Use LinearAnimation_Mod to animate anything — from moving lights and rotating props to camera sweeps or UI transitions — all synchronized to the same BPM signal chain.
• Combine it with StageMoverMH and LEDEmissionFXController for unified control of both motion and emission, achieving complex yet perfectly timed stage effects.
• Try layering multiple LinearAnimation instances for independent control over different axes or attributes, building intricate yet performance-friendly choreography without keyframes.

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Designing and Controlling Large-Scale Stage Lighting Arrays​

Well... I feel this part is more related to scene design and construction — and more importantly, to optimization techniques.
It might be easier to demonstrate with a demo scene, so if there’s interest, I’ll find some time to complete this section later.

However, here are a few tips that may help when you start building more complex lighting arrays:

1. Always assign a parent atom for each atom or group of atoms.
   For example, if your fixture is Empty A, nest it under another Empty atom as its parent.
   Treat the parent atom as an anchor point — this allows your lights to take full advantage of local/self positioning, making your setup more flexible and scalable.
2. The HPVL plugin itself supports group-level volumetric light control.
   The principle is the same as above: when HPVL is loaded onto a parent atom, all child atoms will inherit its lighting properties automatically.
3. Always plan ahead before you start — having a blueprint, even if it only exists in your mind, will make it much easier to turn your vision into the dream design you want.

The nesting approach mentioned above might seem redundant at first glance, as it introduces more atom objects. However, this method isn’t just a matter of design — in many cases, it’s also an essential optimization technique for performance.

I’ll go into more detail about the reasoning and practical applications of this method when I share how to build large-scale lighting arrays while still maintaining high scene performance in a future update.

How Can I Change Something with a Trigger?​

This plugin suite exposes all adjustable parameters — everything you see in the plugin’s UI, as well as some internal parameters that may be useful — to VAM’s trigger system.
You can easily locate and modify them through triggers whenever needed.

YouTube Video Tutorial​

Now you’ve finished reading this guide, check out the YouTube video tutorial and follow along to build it step by step yourself.

Note on Credits​

First and foremost, special thanks to @C&G-STUDIO for their collaboration in developing this plugin suite. Without their long-term exploration of lighting and stage effects in VAM, I might never have discovered the joy of “light pollution” that first drew me into VAM.
I’d also like to thank @hazmhox and @HAL9001 — @hazmhox ’s original VAMAudioAnalyzer and @HAL9001 ’s subsequent BeatIt plugin provided the solid foundation on which the RhythmReactor component of this suite was built.
And finally, a heartfelt thanks to @MacGruber — his Utils plugin made development of this entire suite far more streamlined and efficient. This suite also includes an enhanced and improved version of the LinearAnimation plugin, which is part of his LogicBricks suite.

A very special thanks to @PluginIdea , who brought volumetric light simulation into the world of VAM.