Cues & Playbacks
Recording Cues
Once you have set up a lighting state that you like, by selecting fixtures and adjusting their parameters as described in the previous chapters, you can then record that state into a cue. To see the cues being recorded, it is recommended that the Cues Window is displayed.
To record a cue, press Record and then press the button of the playback you wish to record the cue into (for example, the Master Playback's Go button). The multi-function faders will automatically take you to Playbacks, and you can use the page buttons if you wish to record your cue onto playbacks on another page.
Flashing playback buttons indicate empty playbacks, whereas static playback buttons indicate cues are already recorded on that playback. Pressing the playback button you require, will stop your playback's flashing, the Record button LED will turn off, and your cue is stored.
Subsequent cues can then be set up and recorded using the same method. Remember, you can use the Record Options to choose what gets recorded into your cues.
After recording a cue, one of three things will happen, depending on the Record Options set:
- By default, the cue will not be played back, and your lights will remain tagged and selected. This is because SmartTag is enabled. On FLX, the command line is cleared.
- If SmartTag is disabled, and the playback fader is above the “trigger level”, the cue will be played back, the command line is cleared, the fixture parameters are automatically untagged, but the fixtures remain selected.
- If SmartTag is disabled, and the playback fader is below the “trigger level”, ZerOS will ask you to raise the Playback fader. Once done, the command line is cleared, the fixture parameters are automatically untagged, but the fixtures remain selected.
If you tap Record, and then tap a playback button that is not flashing, you will receive a popup, shown here. The console will state that a cue is already recorded onto that playback, and so will offer you some options:
- Overwrite - this allows to replace whatever was stored on the playback, with the current lighting state.
- Merge - this is an alternative for update - push up a playback first, make your changes, tap Record, tap the playback's button, and choose Merge.
- Create Cue 2 - this allows you to start to create a cue stack onto your chosen playback. Hold View and tap the playback's button to view the cues.
- Create Chase - this allows you to create a chase onto your chosen playback. Click here to find out about Chases.
- Cancel - cancels the record command, after pressing Cancel tap Clear to continue.
After choosing "Create Chase" or "Create Cue 2", you will no longer receive this pop-up when recording another cue onto this playback.
Recording cues with syntax
FLX user have the option to use syntax. There are four possible methods:
Record Enter
This will record the next available cue, within the playback you are currently viewing.
Record 5 Enter
This will record cue 5 within the playback you are currently viewing.
Record Playback Button
This will record the next available cue, within the playback of the Go button you press (this could be one of the MFFs, or the Master Go button)
Record 5 Playback Button
This will record cue 5 within the playback of the Go button you press.
Inserting Cues
“Point Cues” can be recorded in between other cues. For example, to add an extra cue between Cue 5 and Cue 6, you could record a Cue 5.5. “Point Cues” can be defined up to two decimal places, and will be automatically placed into the cue stack in numerical order.
On FLX S, the cue number you require can be defined by tapping Record Z/Shift and using the on-screen number pad to type your cue number. Then, tap the playback's button to record as usual.
It is always a good idea to define the cue number exactly halfway between your existing cue numbers. This means if you then need to insert cues again, you have the most amount of empty cue slots to do so. You can record up to two decimal places, and so can have 99 cues recorded between two whole cue numbers if needed.
As you become more experienced with the desk, you will find the most efficient way of programming cues into playbacks.