New Quick Solver: Disto to EASE Focus

The PA Parameter quick-solver spreadsheet available from the Resources tab has gotten another upgrade. This one will translate laser disto shots into the necessary parameters to create the geometry in EASE Focus 3. It is based on the same underlying math as the “2 Point Toe” calculator which is a simple Polar to Rectangular conversion, but goes through the extra step to translate that data for direct entry into Focus.

From the project Datum (0,0), you can input offsets for Laser Z height (which is the same as the stage height, if you’re using the downstage edge as Datum) and also an offset for the height of the seat, if shooting to the top of the seat back instead of the floor plane itself.

Next, take a shot from datum to the front of the audience plane and enter the values (Distance and Inclination) into the “Shot to Front” section.

Repeat for the “Shot to Rear” for the last of the audience plane.

The blue Object Properties box will then populate with the translated parameters to enter into the corresponding Object Properties box in Focus. Note that you should enter them in the order they appear in the solver (from top to bottom) in order for Focus to calculate them in the correct way. The “Angle” field acts as a “check” field, as if you entered all the parameters properly - and in the proper order - it should agree with the Angle value displayed in Focus.

The solver originally included a visual display of the seating rake section view, but the chart would corrupt when exported into Excel format. However, feel free to re-insert your own chart using the coordinate data from the Cartesians read-out if you like.