MIDI Show Control, or
MSC, is a significant
Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international
Musical Instrument Digital InterfaceMIDI , ) is an industry-standard protocol defined in 1982 that enables electronic musical instruments such as keyboard controllers, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronize with each other...
(MIDI) standard. MSC enables all types of
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
equipment to easily communicate with each other through the process of
show controlShow control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
.
The MIDI Show Control protocol is an industry standard ratified by the
MIDI Manufacturers AssociationThe MIDI Manufacturers Association, also known as MMA is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products. Since 1985 the MMA has produced 11 new specifications and adopted 38 sets of enhancements to MIDI.The MIDI Manufacturers...
in 1991 which allows all types of entertainment control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform
show controlShow control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
functions in live and canned entertainment applications.
MIDI Show Control, or
MSC, is a significant
Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international
Musical Instrument Digital InterfaceMIDI , ) is an industry-standard protocol defined in 1982 that enables electronic musical instruments such as keyboard controllers, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronize with each other...
(MIDI) standard. MSC enables all types of
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
equipment to easily communicate with each other through the process of
show controlShow control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
.
The MIDI Show Control protocol is an industry standard ratified by the
MIDI Manufacturers AssociationThe MIDI Manufacturers Association, also known as MMA is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products. Since 1985 the MMA has produced 11 new specifications and adopted 38 sets of enhancements to MIDI.The MIDI Manufacturers...
in 1991 which allows all types of entertainment control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform
show controlShow control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
functions in live and canned entertainment applications. Just like musical MIDI, MSC does not transmit the actual show media - it simply transmits digital information about a multimedia performance.
How MSC works
When any cue is called by a user (typically a
Stage Manager) and/or preprogrammed timeline in a show control software application, the
show controlShow control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
ler transmits one or more MSC messages from its 'MIDI Out' port. A typical MSC message sequence is:
- the user just called a cue
- the cue is for lighting device 3
- the cue is number 45.8
- the cue is in cue list 7
MSC messages are serially transmitted in the same way as musical messages and are fully compatible with all conventional MIDI hardware, however many modern MSC devices now utilize ethernet communications for higher bandwidth and the flexibility afforded by networks. Other performance parameters are also transmitted such as lighting desk submaster settings using MSC
SET messages.
All cues that a media control device is capable of playing are assigned MSC messages within the Show Controller's cue list and they are transmitted from its 'MIDI Out' port at the appropriate show time, depending on the actions of the user and the show controller's internally timed sequences.
All MSC compatible instruments follow the MSC specification and thus transmit identical MSC messages for identical MSC events such as the playing of a certain cue on the media controller. Since they follow a published standard, all MSC devices can communicate with and understand each other, as well as with computers which have been programmed to understand MSC messages using the
MSC Command Set. All MSC compatible instruments have a built-in MIDI interface and many now follow one of the various MIDI-over-ethernet protocols.
History
To create the MSC spec,
Charlie RichmondCharlie Richmond is an entrepreneur and inventor born January 5, 1950. He was instrumental in the early development of sound design in the 1960s and 1970s. He founded a company in 1972 which continues to be responsible for major innovations and a patent in that field. He was also instrumental in...
headed the USITT MIDI Forum on their
Callboard NetworkThe Callboard Network was an electronic communication network operated by the University of Alberta for USITT in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its purpose was to provide a means by which USITT members around the world, but primarily in the USA and Canada, could easily communicate amongst each...
in 1990, which included developers and designers from the theatre sound and lighting industry from around the world. This Forum created the MSC standard between January and September, 1990. This was ratified by the
MIDI Manufacturers Association (
MMAThe MIDI Manufacturers Association, also known as MMA is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products. Since 1985 the MMA has produced 11 new specifications and adopted 38 sets of enhancements to MIDI.The MIDI Manufacturers...
) in January 1991, and the
Japan MIDI Standards CommitteeThe Japan MIDI Standards Committee is the body that ratifies and proposes MIDI standards within the Japanese manufacturing and developer community. It now operates within the . The JMSC ratifies MIDI as Japanese Industrial Standards through the Japanese Industry Standards Organisation.- External...
(JMSC) later that year, becoming a part of the standard MIDI specification in August, 1991. The first show to fully utilize the MSC specification was the
Magic Kingdom ParadeThe Magic Kingdom Parade is a large theatrical presentation at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World which dates back to the beginning of the theme park....
at Walt Disney World's
Magic KingdomThe Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The first park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1971. The park saw an estimated 17 million visitors in 2008, making it the most visited theme park in the world....
in September 1991.
MIDI Show Control software
See also
- Musical instrument digital interface (Midi)
MIDI , ) is an industry-standard protocol defined in 1982 that enables electronic musical instruments such as keyboard controllers, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronize with each other...
- Show control
Show control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
- Sound design
Sound design is a conceptually creative/technical field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, a music performance or recording, computer game software or any other multimedia project...
- Theatre lighting
External links