Control/Dimming - Part Cues

[ajblanck]

I was browsing around the forum here, and I found a few mentions about part cues. I have never really dealt with them. What are part cues used for, and what is the advantage of having parts to a cue as opposed to just a group of cues? Hopefully I'm not asking a question that was asked somewhere else.

Thanks

[xander]

Part cues have many very useful applications, many of which you wont think of until you are in need. A couple basics I can think of now are:

-To fade different channels at different rates--if you were to try to write something like two cues and auto follow them (assuming we are talking a non-tracking board) then once the second cue starts it takes over the fade time of the channels in the initial cue. i.e. you can have channel 1 fade up in a 5 count and channel 2 fade up in a 10 count, both starting at the same time.

-Similarly, you can put a wait on certain channels, i.e. you can have channel 1 fade up in a 3 count while channel 2 waits for 2 seconds before starting to fade up in a 3 count.

All and all it is a very useful tool on non-tracking boards because it allows you to do many things that are inherent on a tracking board.

Once you get a hang of them you will find tons of places to use them.

-Tim

[ajblanck]

Originally Posted by xander

Part cues have many very useful applications, many of which you wont think of until you are in need. A couple basics I can think of now are:

-To fade different channels at different rates--if you were to try to write something like two cues and auto follow them (assuming we are talking a non-tracking board) then once the second cue starts it takes over the fade time of the channels in the initial cue. i.e. you can have channel 1 fade up in a 5 count and channel 2 fade up in a 10 count, both starting at the same time.

-Similarly, you can put a wait on certain channels, i.e. you can have channel 1 fade up in a 3 count while channel 2 waits for 2 seconds before starting to fade up in a 3 count.

All and all it is a very useful tool on non-tracking boards because it allows you to do many things that are inherent on a tracking board.

Once you get a hang of them you will find tons of places to use them.

-Tim

Okay, that makes more sense. But what examples for part-cue usage would you have for a tracking console? Do part cues exist on boards like the Ion just for people who are used to programming on a preset board?

[xander]

Multipart cues do still exist in the Eos syntax, but I don't have a lot of experience with those boards so I can't give you a definite answer. I assume they have many uses, but even if not absolutely necessary, they sure do make for cleaner programming. Any Eos experts want to chime in?

-Tim

[sk8rsdad]

Ion and EOS support part cues. I haven't found a use for them yet, likely because our rig is fairly small but I can see how they could be used to organize different timing to the channels in a cue. They probably become more practical when working with multiple cue lists so you get better granularity when using Assert.

Like most features on an ETC console, you can accomplish the same result using a variety of techniques, like follow/hang, discrete channel times within the cue, links, macros, etc.

[rochem]

I've used a part cue lots of times on an Express to make it behave more like a tracking console, but only once on an Eos. I had to do a series of quick flashes, kind of like lighting, and the easiest way for me was to just record a part cue. I could have accomplished exactly the same thing with two cues and an autofollow, but I just thought it would be cleaner and less confusing with a part cue. I can't really think of anywhere where you'd NEED to use part cues on the Eos - as sk8rsdad said, there are lots of ways to accomplish the same thing.

[soundlight]

Because of the discrete timing available on EOS and ION, the part cues are just there because people are familiar with them and it's an easy way of doing things for those who have used part cues before. With the discrete timing functions, you can tag individual channels and parameters with individual times.

[highschooltech]

In many ways part ques are like autofollows that just happen in the same cue. I found a way to use them on an Ion. During a production of Beauty and the Beast we had a light box for our rose and a couple of times we wanted to take it longer to fade than the rest of the lights. Could have been done with an AF but seemed easier at the time.

[avalentino]

Part cues are often supported in desks that also have discrete channel timing as a way to put individual timing in a cue, but have that timing exposed in the cue list, where the designer can see it. I frequently see Eos/Ion used in a manner such that timing the designer requests is placed in part cues, where timing the programmer adds to clean up ML functions is applied at a channel/parameter level. Both approaches have merit, based on the show and the designer in question.

Anne

Anne Valentino
Eos Product Line Manager
ETC