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Get To Know Spikemark 6

Spikemark software translates your automation ambitions into automated motion.
It is the cornerstone of your moving scenery and the secret to your success.

Spikemark 6 is quick to learn yet powerful enough for any sized show. An intuitive controls layout, quick cue creation workflow, and ultra-flexible playback experience is at your fingertips. Perfect large shows with multiple moving elements with intricate timing and choreography. And easy to deploy for quick, straightforward productions with a handful of axes and cues, but automation remains a critical element.

User-definable administrative controls match permissions with operator experience to ensure everyone in the venue can approach the automation system without hesitation. At show time, automation operators have powerful tools to execute and adjust the motion on stage in real time to match the dynamism of live action. During work calls, facility staff have limited access to move motors for maintenance and presets.
Features like Group Motion, asymmetrical acceleration and deceleration, and Show Control Integration help you add sophisticated motion to your  show painlessly.

Spikemark is not just affordable, but completely free to use. Whether you are experimenting with automated scenery for the first time, learning in a classroom, or  programming your upcoming show, the Spikemark Simulator lets you write cues and "run" a show without any machinery attached.

Grab it today, have fun, and Make It Move.

Download Spikemark

Spikemark 6 Manual

Sample Show Files

  • Quickly Move To Position

    Jog Workspace

    The Jog Workspace is designed to get you moving with 1 machine or 100s of machines quickly. Select any number of machines with Multi-Jog and run them manually or with Move to Position.

  • Program & Run Your Show

    Cues Workspace

    Drag and drop your motors to build your Cue List. Each cue displays what will move and describes the action in clear words ('Deck Winch Tracks to 250' at 20'/ second). Use Tags, Filters, and Search to quickly find the motor you're looking for and add it to the list. When it's time to run the show, load a cue and hit the GO button to Make It Move. Build fancy cues with links, OSC triggers, concurrent cues.

  • Recall & Jump to Any Look

    Presets Workspace

    Don't have time to Jog motors to position? Presets got you covered. Move to stored 'Looks' with a push of a touch-screen button. The perfect workflow for non-technical users that need limited access to reposition automated elements onstage.

  • Pre-Viz & Stage Modeler

    Simulator

    Spikemark includes a Simulator, allowing anyone to experiment with elegant scenic automation on a virtual stage. Your entire show can be cued and run in real-time within the software before you ever go on stage, reducing lengthy tech rehearsals by identifying and fixing cueing problems in advance. Best of all, Simulator lets you get out of the theatre and work on your automation wherever you are, even the comfort of your couch!

  • Execute a cue with mutliple Go buttons

    Mutliple Playbacks

    Why use only one GO button when you could use two, three, four or more? Playbacks allow you to assign specific sequences in cues to specific GO buttons, letting you better choreograph interconnected and overlapping effects. All your deck moves can live on Playback 1 while all your flying automation is controlled with Playback 2. Or your stage right and left cues are separated between Playbacks 1 and 2 and your lifts are on Playback 3.

  • Link access to the operator

    Roles & Permissions

    Create users with unique usernames and passwords and assign them roles to grant or lock down nearly every aspect of operator functionality. Running cues or editing cues? There’s a permission for that. Changing the maximum jogging speed for a motor, but not the minimum? There’s a permission for that. Select near- infinite combinations of the permissions to create unique levels of user access. Predefined roles are packed into every Spikemark installation such as, Admin, Commissioner, Programmer, and Operator.

  • Make Adjustments on the Fly

    Live Speed Control

    Dynamically adjust the speed of a cue in real-time. After you hit the Go button dial the speed down to 75%, 50%, or all the way down to zero — or — crank it up to 200% if you need to speed up the movement. When using multiple Playbacks, the live speed controls let you coordinate your automation like a conductor of a symphony orchestra, adjust the tempo and keep all the pieces in perfect harmony.

  • Two Types of Groups

    Group Motion

    Electronically tie multiple motors together with Free or Locked Groups. Free Groups link motors together but allow each one to have discrete target positions, speeds, and accelerations. Locked Groups enforce a strict synchronization, by automatically matching speed, acceleration, and target positions. In either case, if a single motor deviates from its motion profile, the entire group is halted.

Lightning Fast Cue Creation

Cueing takes minutes, not hours. No spreadsheet-type layouts and tedious coding. Spikemark lets you focus on the motion not the math.

Triggers

Link steps together to create series of complex, coordinated movement. Weave together distinct moves into one seamless chain of motion.

Actions

Cue-able configurations changes to adjust axis attributes, functions, and properties scene by scene. Change your show file with a Go button.

Speed Limit Zones

Set the max speed of an axis based on its position. If a motor zooms into a safety zone at too high of speed, it’s instantly stopped.

Spikemark is the intelligent force behind your gear.

  • Spikemark 6 include dozens of new features.

  • 8x faster encoder status update delivers smoother UI, consistent linking, and better show control integration.

  • Integrate your show with OSC cue triggers & position output to talk to lighting, media servers, and more.

  • Organize your show with Filter, Search, and Tags.

Dynamic Spikes
Cue the next position with a simple formula. Turntables made easy.
Addressable E-Stop
Identify status of any e-stop button
Cue List
Simple contextual cue information
Load Sensing
Monitor & protect against unexpected load changes
Show Control Integration
OSC, UDP, PSN, Modbus, Watchout
Multi Jog
Select & Jog any number of machines simultaneously
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Download Spikemark 6

The most intuitive and easiest to learn stage automation software on the planet.
Professionals and novices both will quickly be at home building cue lists, managing Spikes (stored positions), and loading & running cues.

Whether you are controlling dozens of axes or just one, Spikemark effortlessly commands any size show with ease. Take control of performance automation like turntables, deck winches, and spot hoists on a show-by-show basis. Or use Spikemark to control your permanently installed lineset hoists and apron lift with quick-to-use Presets and Spikes.
Spikemark Tutorials
Spikemark 4.x Review
Connect Machines
Scaling & Soft Limits
Motor Tuning
Stage Model
Basic Cues
Advanced Cues
Running Cues
Tech Tip: Turntables
Tech Tip: Position Scale
Tech Tip: IP Addresses
Tech Tip: Log Viewer

Latest Controller Firmware

How to Update Firmware

Stagehand v5 (Pro & Apprentice late 2021) rev 502
Stagehand v3 (Pro 2018 & Apprentice late 2016) rev 302
Stagehand v2 (Pro 2013) rev 202
Stagehand v1 (Classic 2004) rev 102
Stagehand FX (2008) rev 5

Legacy Stagehand Pro 5

Legacy Stagehand Pro 3

Legacy Stagehand Pro 2

Legacy Stagehand Apprentice

Legacy Stagehand Classic

Download Spikemark 6

Read The Spikemark Manual

Download Legacy Spikemark

Spikemark is the brains behind our automation systems. It is a free download so you can experiment, design, cue, and run all the automation you want in your show.
To upgrade from a previous version of Spikemark, uninstall your current version and then download this file.  Your show files will not be disturbed. Please note:
  • Spikemark is now 64bit only
  • Spikemark runs on Windows PC’s. Spikemark is tested on Windows 7 and above and has touch-screen features for Windows 8 and above.
    • We recommend at least 8GB of RAM.
  • Spikemark now requires .Net Framework 4.6.  You may need to be connected to the Internet during installation in order for the installer to update Windows to the latest version of Microsoft’s .Net Framework.
  • Stagehand Firmware rev. 101 or higher is also required. Spikemark can update the firmware in your Stagehands if required.

Ready To Get Moving

Buy - Rent - Consultation - Support

Contact Us

MotorCalc

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  • Set Your Specs

    Bring Your Own Motor

    Plug in the specs for what you have and it will tell you what your machine can pull.

  • Designing your own machine?

    Check Your Math

    If you’re still spec’ing your components, double check your math.

  • Dial In Your Specs

    Make sure your motor, speed reducer, and other components match your needs

Go To Motor Calc

Log Viewer

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  • Look Under the Hood

    Easy Troubleshooting

    Sometimes you may encounter a few glitches during your performances or tech rehearsals (turntables don’t spin correctly, networks may fall apart, etc.). While we’re continuously working to avoid these setbacks, Creative Conners also wants to make troubleshooting as easy as possible. Our log viewer application is an online tool that allows you to analyze how your automation performed.

  • Check Motor State Change

    Time Stamped Details

    During a show, Spikemark automatically logs an entry each time a motor changes state, a cue runs or a link executes. Each time-stamped entry lists the name of the motor, cue or link — along with a description of what happened. You can review these notes using our online Log Viewer application to assess what went wrong during the performance.

  • Give Us a Shout

    Need Help?

    Need help sifting through your logs? As always, we’re here to assist you with any problems or questions you have. Feel free to contact us at 401-289-2942 or support@CreativeConners.com.

Go To Log Viewer