CUES WINDOW

The Cues window is a powerful tool for finding and editing cues that already exist on your timelines.

OVERVIEW

The Cues window can be opened from the main menu of Producer. Locate Windows and select Cues.

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At the top of the Cues window, in what is referred to as the cue list, all cues in the show is displayed in chronological order. By default the cue list does not care if the cue properties, it will display all cues in the show regardless of their type or on what timeline they exist. However, the default behavior can be changed inside the filter section of the dialog. In this part of the dialog you can:

  • Search for specific cue names.
  • Control what type of cues that should populate the cue list.
  • Control what type of media that should populate the cue list.
  • Have the list react to selections occurring in other dialogs.

To make it easier to switch between different type of filters the dialog also provides the possibility to save the filters to presets.

USE CASES

In this section we outline a few of the scenarios where the Cues window is helpful.

ASSIGN NEW ASSETS

In this scenario you have recieved new assets from an artist and now you need to update the show so it can make use of the new assets. For each new asset you need to:

  1. Find cues that needs to be updated:
    • Provided you know the name of the cues you want to update you can open the filter section of the Cues window and type the name of the cue. This will limit the cue list to only show the cues with the matching name.
  2. Make sure all cues are selected in the Cues window
    • Ctrl-A.
  3. Update the cues referring this asset:
    • Select the new asset in the Asset Manager and drop it to the cues in the cue list.

FIND CUES USING A VIDEO WITH A SPECIFIC DURATION OR START TIME

In this scenario you are managing a large show with 500 timelines. In one of the timelines there is a 30 min video where you want to add a blur effect, but you have forgotten which timeline it is. To solve this you open the Cues window and click the Duration column. This will sort all cues according to their duration. Next you scroll until you find cues with a duration of around 30 minutes, and within a few seconds you are able to find the cue.

The same approach could be used to find a cue with a specific start time. Just click the Start column to sort the cues according to that.

MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Media snapshot, which can be accessed from the Cues window menu, provide a way to set up and store different cue to media associations. By activating and deactivating these media snapshots you can dynamically change what media a cue is playing without the need to load another show.

For instance, you might have a WATCHOUT show at a museum that must be accessible for people speaking different languages. By using media snapshot you can change media, like text or images, depending on who is currently experiencing the show.

Another example is a WATCHOUT show that changes its content based on the time of the day. During day time the show could display animals that are active during the day and during night time the show could switch to a different snapshot displaying animals and sounds that are more common during night time. There are many ways in which media snapshot can help creators build more immersive experiences.

The media snapshot are created and configured from the Cues window menu or by right clicking a cue in the Cues window.

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  • New allows you to create a new media snapshot.
  • All allows you to activate or deactivate all snapshots.
  • <Preset Name> allows you to activate or deactivate the snapshot.
    • Update an already existing snapshot.
      • This will overwrite an existing snapshot with the current cue to media association.
    • Delete a snapshot.
    • Copy ID allows you to copy the ID of the snapshot so it can be used in the external protocol.
  • Delete All snapshots.
    • Make sure to use this with great care.

All media snapshots that have been created for a show can be found in the Cues window menu under the Media Snapshot section.

To create a new media snapshot of the current cue to media association you need to:

  • Open the Cues window.
  • Select the cues you want to create a media preset for.
  • From the Cues window menu (or right click menu), select Media Snapshot and then select New.
  • Enter an appropriate name for the media snapshot.

To activate a snapshot you need to click the checkbox next to its name in the media snapshot menu. This will display the snapshot name in the top bar of the Cues window. If there are multiple active snapshots affecting the same cue, the preset which was activated last will decide what media the cue will use. A warning icon will also be displayed, in the top bar of the Cues window, to give you a hint that there are overlapping snapshots.

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