We do a lot of automations to help make things easier and improve the overall experience. No automation system can be perfect or functional all of the time, and as such, we want everyone that serves on our teams to understand what's going on "behind the scenes" in our automation process so that any issues that may arise can be handled in a timely manner.
In this section, we're going to cover some common issues that could arise, things we automate, and show you how to control the devices we automate manually.
The most common issues that happen when we automate are:
- User Errors — These often occur when something that is automated occurs before they were supposed to occur. For example, a screen may be set to switch inputs or shutter due to a button press and that button press may occur at the wrong time. When these problems occur, it's important that we know how to reverse what happened in that automation.
- Software Issues — Sometimes the software we use to help automate devices fail due to either bugs or configuration issues. Most of the time these issues can be fixed before inside a production or live environment by completing pre-service checklists.
- Network and Connectivity — Almost everything that is automated is connected via network. Network issues often times effect the entire system and anything depending on that will fail. When these types of issues arise, often times the only recourse is to try another connected computer or use physical controls or remotes the equipment may have.
¶ Companion Standards
All automations that receive commands from another device should be on pages 80-89, unless they are also used generically (such as projector controls). These pages should be accessible to users for testing purposes only.
These buttons should be documented as to what they do if they do not follow the below standard naming conventions.
Typically all actions are at the beginning and in ALL CAPS and what's being controlled in on a new line with the device name.
All text should be either black or white. Only the button background color should change.
Since Companion does not have an icon for the play emoji, use STOP and PLAY, other transport controls can be labeled with their emoji.
- PLAY K2 C2 — Starts playing the K2 C2
- STOP K2 C2 — Stops playing the K2 C2
- REC 8am — Records a service clip into C1 and loads it to C2, and adds the date and hour the recording started to the end of the clip
- PLAY DE — Starts playing the DE
- STOP DE — Stops playing the DE
- ON Banner On — Turns banner off
- OFF Banner Off — Turns banner on
- ON All MA — Turns all projectors on
- OFF All MA — Turns all projectors off
- SHUTTER Down — Unshutters the dropdown, shutters the center
- SHUTTER Up — Shutters the dropdown, unshutters the center
- PAUSE Banner — Shutters banner
- UNPAUSE Banner — Unshutters the banner
- FEED K2 C2 — Switch the "FEED" input on the switcher to K2 C2 output
- FEED DE — Switch the "FEED" input on the switcher to DE output
- FEED KiPro — Switch the "FEED" input on the switcher to KiPro output
- FEED Live — Switch the "FEED" input on the switcher to Fujitsu/Decoder output
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The Production Central website also has a few things that are automated.
- Recap Reminders — Service recap reminders are sent at 3:30pm and 9pm for Sunday AM and First Wednesday services. If a campus does not submit their recap before the reminders are sent, they will receive an email reminding them to submit their recap.