The **Scenes** screen is where lighting designers build, capture, and organize static lighting states, atmospheric color moods, and selective parameter presets. 

Unlike dynamic animations or audio-reactive node graphs, a Scene represents a stable, reproducible visual picture on stage. Whether you need a warm acoustic ballad wash, a high-contrast theatrical spotlight on a lead singer, or a blackout, scenes serve as the foundational building blocks of your show.

![Scenes and Color Calibration](https://unilighter.cc/info/docs/scenes/screen_scenes_4ed86048.png)

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## 🎨 Scene Anatomy & Selective Parameter Capture

A common pitfall of early lighting consoles was "all-or-nothing" recording: storing a cue recorded every single DMX channel, forcing operators to fight unwanted pan/tilt resets when they only wanted to change colors.

In Unilighter, scenes support selective parameter capture:

### 1. Full Rig Looks
Captures the complete physical state of all patched fixtures:
- **Dimmer & Strobe**: Master intensities and flash rates.
- **Color**: Perceptual HSV coordinates and motorized gel wheel slots.
- **Position**: Pan, Tilt, and fine coordinates.
- **Beam Optics**: Zoom, Focus, Frost filter, Gobo wheels, and Prism rotation.

### 2. Selective Presets & Palettes
You can record scenes that only govern specific parameter groups:
- **Color Palettes** (e.g. *Mood Deep Blue*, *Sunset Amber*): Stores only color attributes. Firing this scene transforms the entire stage's color palette without altering moving head positions or turning off dimmers.
- **Position Focus Presets** (e.g. *Drum Solo Focus*, *Vocalist Center Stage*): Stores only Pan and Tilt coordinates.
- **Beam FX Presets** (e.g. *Breakup Gobo + Prism*): Stores optical parameters while leaving color and intensity under live fader control.

## 🧩 Rapid Parameter Selection

The New Scene selector remembers the parameter types you chose most recently. After selecting a fixture or tag, click another fixture or tag to inherit matching parameters that are available on the new target. This makes it quick to build a selective scene across a mixed rig without reopening the same parameter list for every fixture.

- Hold **Shift**, **Ctrl**, or **⌘** while selecting a fixture or tag to select all available parameters instead of inheriting the previous selection.
- Hold **Alt** to select a fixture or tag without inheriting the previous parameter set, then choose parameters manually.
- Refine the result with the individual parameter toggles. **Snapshot All** selects every available parameter for every fixture, while **Deselect All** clears the scene selection.

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## ⏱️ Crossfade Timing & Transition Curves

Every scene features independent transition timing:

- **Fade Time (ms)**: The duration over which parameters glide from their current live values to the scene's stored targets. A slow theatrical evening fade can be set to `5000ms`, while a lightning strike or dramatic blackout can be set to `0ms` (instant snap).
- **Split Fade (In / Out)**: In theatrical stacks, incoming fixtures can fade up on a different timebase than outgoing fixtures fading down.
- **Priority Assignment**: Scenes default to normal playback priority (`0`). Setting higher priorities ensures critical override scenes take precedence over background animation chases. Read more in the **[Control Priorities & Layering Guide](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/priorities.md)**.

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## 🌈 Unified Color Science & Calibration

Unilighter features a unified, perceptual color engine that translates HSV coordinates into optimal physical diode outputs across RGB, RGBW, and motorized gel wheels.

For in-depth mathematical RGBW strategies (`blend`, `combined`, `desaturate`, `saturation`), diode hardware calibration multipliers, and white balance matching across mismatched LED batches, see the dedicated **[Color Engine: Science, RGBW Strategies & Calibration Guide](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/colors.md)**.

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## 🚀 Live Triggering & Playback Integration

Saved scenes integrate seamlessly into every operational surface of the console:

- **Direct Triggering**: Launch looks directly from the Scenes Manager with visual active indicators.
- **Live Dashboard**: Place scenes on color-coded buttons inside a **[Function Widget](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/dashboard/widget-function.md)**.
- **Theatrical Screenplays**: Embed scenes as clickable cue tags inside actor dialogue using **[Theater Cue Lists & Scenario Script Mode](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/cuelists.md)**.
- **Physical Hardware**: Bind scenes to velocity-sensitive MIDI drum pads or keyboard hotkeys via **[Assign Mode](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/bindings.md)**.

Read more in the **[Console Interface & Screen Reference](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/screens-guide.md)** and the **[UI Controls Overview](https://unilighter.cc/info/for-ai/docs/controls.md)**.