Posted on 25 Jan 2021 by shootmachineadmin

Automation workflows with Monogram

The following was done with Monogram Creator (beta) and a set of the new Monogram Creative Console Studio tiles, in C1 v20.

This week I was lucky to enough to get hold of the new Monogram kit for evaluation. We sometimes get clients looking for a simple “push this big button -> do workflow” for reducing C1’s somewhat idosyncratic techincal cruft, and so I wanted to see if it could be a useful solution.

For the uninitiated, Monogram could be equated to a sort of modular “midi controller”; buttons and dials that can be assembled together into a custom controller panel.

Full disclosure, I have Tangent gear, which I love. Two reasons for looking at this set was:

Lower price point makes it easier to approach if you only need a few buttons

Desktop footprint is tiny, and more suited to some environments that don’t want full editing solutions (like eCom)

The kit I recieved included a new module (Orbiter) which can be used for color grading (different execution, but similar result to how the Tangent balls work) – otherwise the buttons, sliders, and knob modules from the previous generation kit return (albeit redesigned).

New is the LED illumination on each panel (nice for insinuating function) and the colors are configurable via the new Creator application. The Creator software integrates well with Capture One’s editing tools and is pretty responsive. It also has the ability to emulate shortcuts.

I’m not doing a full run down of what it does when editing, how it does it or why/if you need it. This is not a review post.

This post is simply about how best to create a bridge between the devices and the automation capability of C1.

Launching scripts

Ideally I just want to press a button and run the automation, but there isnt native support for “run this script” in the Creator app. If C1 is focused you can of course emulate the shortcut to the menu item in C1, but if it isn’t, then a small change up in webbing the stuff together is needed.

As scripts can be exported as an “.app”, and as scripts can be made to run “on open”, I found a solution:

My script saved as an .app

A shortcut – potentially global (one that works at any time from any app) to “open application”

Configure the button in monogram to emulate said shortcut.

As per previous posts on making applets and custom shortcuts the scripts are complied as apps and saved in Capture One’s scripts menu. They still work just like scripts – and can be invoked with your custom shortcuts.

BUT – by saving the scripts as an app, they can ALSO be copied into the applications folder and launched just like a “real” application (as long as the script logic is within the “on run” handler).

This also means you you get an extra benefit in that can launched like an application at any time by adding them to the dock. This is great if you don’t have CO focused – you just drop down the cursor to the dock and click-to-run.