Subs VS Cues

[ChickenLive]

Me and a couple other guys at the school seem to have this fight with our theater teacher. She insists on running shows on just subs. And she is always pressuring us to stay away from cues, even if we backup everything on subs. I personally enjoy cues because of the fact that I know the show will be the same, and how I want it, every time. Also, I like the fact that I can sit back and just press GO to run things (less stressful). I believe that subs are great when needing to create looks and record them for later or setting similar light groups to one dimmer. But, I'm not sure; is she right, are we right, or is it just a matter of preference? Any pros or cons of using either method? Or maybe there is a better method that I don't know.

[SerraAva]

It is all a matter of preference really. Cues are great because as you said, everything looks the same each time you run it. It is also less stressful as well, just hitting 'Go' as oppose to racing to set up each scene in a black out or scene changes with a bunch of faders. What happens if you grab the wrong one by mistake?

Subs are great because they are fast to record. When cueing myself, I will generally record subs for looks for each scene and then go back and cue them. Subs are also great if you don't have time to program, or it is only minor stuff. I would never cue a lights up and down orchestra concert for example.

Other things I really don't cue sometimes are dance concerts depending on complexity and/or time. Sometimes I only get the see a number once, out of order. So I just get a generally idea and go off of that. Each show won't look exactly the same, but it is a good way to keep sharp and use to running things by the seat of your pants.

[SteveB]

Originally Posted by ChickenLive

Me and a couple other guys at the school seem to have this fight with our theater teacher. She insists on running shows on just subs. And she is always pressuring us to stay away from cues, even if we backup everything on subs. I personally enjoy cues because of the fact that I know the show will be the same, and how I want it, every time. Also, I like the fact that I can sit back and just press GO to run things (less stressful). I believe that subs are great when needing to create looks and record them for later or setting similar light groups to one dimmer. But, I'm not sure; is she right, are we right, or is it just a matter of preference? Any pros or cons of using either method? Or maybe there is a better method that I don't know.

Tell your teacher that is the learned opinion of this list (well.... Serra and I so far) that it's perfectly OK to create and run as cues, as it offers greater repeatability of the timing of the fade in's and outs. But that you have subs available as needed.

Also spend some time learning how the console functions to stop/hold, go back and/or advance cues quickly into the next look. Knowing how to run a show with subs and/or cues is important knowledge that will assist your future career in technical theater.

Steve Bailey
Lighting Director
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Brooklyn College

[DaveySimps]

Subs are a great tool for programming, and running on-off type of events or concerts, but recording cues is really the standard for theatre shows. Consistancy is key, so the show does not drastically change from night to night. It sounds like your director might be stuck back a generation or so in lighting technology in the days when only two scene preset boards were standard and may not be comfortable with cueing. This is just a guess though (I have seen it happen many times.)

Cuing a show also helps in an instance when a rugular board operator cannot run the board, in the case of illness, emergency, etc.. If all of the cues are in the board, another crew member can take over and just listen to the stage manager and press go. Although it is not as ideal, this person would not necessarily need to know as much about the board as you do. In many educational setting, there is only one "lighting guy", so this may be a big concern. Replacing someone on a show that is run on faders would not be nearly as smooth of a transition.

~Dave

[Footer]

My opinion is... for a theatre show, you should not be making artistic decisions at the console, it should be programmed into the console already and played back. Now, for one offs, subs all the way. Write cues, it will make life easier for everyone.

[jmabray]

I would be really interested to why your director seems to think that Subs is the way to go. Ask the question. It might give you some insight into why they are thinking that way and how to craft your arguments so that they might see the error to their ways....

[LD4Life]

Wow! I don't think I honestly ever heard of someone using strictly subs for an entire show (other than quick, simple one-offs). I've worked on shows that ended up have a couple hundred cues, each one different from any other. Try remembering the sub positions for that. Sorry, short rant, I'm off my soapbox now. Anywho, as I said, I use cues for anything other than quick, simple shows or concerts. But that's just my 2 cents.

[JD]

Although we are talking about board mechanics here, it is still worth remembering that the terms are for two different concepts:

Cue: A sequence step in a show. "On cue, the actor enters from stage left."

Sub: (or Submaster) A grouping of channels that can usually be called up with one control and have proportional ratios as may be needed.

On modern light boards, an entire show can be set up as a stack of cues, each one having all parameters (Fade up time, etc.) preprogrammed. It guarantees the show will present itself the same way provided the board op hits the button at the right time. By using subs, you set some limitations, such as the number of subs, and that each scene cue requires you to bump a specific sub.
Your teacher may just have gotten into the habit from rehearsals, where you are constantly doing things out of sequence.

[Footer]

Originally Posted by JD

Although we are talking about board mechanics here, it is still worth remembering that the terms are for two different concepts:
Cue: A sequence step in a show. "On cue, the actor enters from stage left."
Sub: (or Submaster) A grouping of channels that can usually be called up with one control and have proportional ratios as may be needed.
On modern light boards, an entire show can be set up as a stack of cues, each one having all parameters (Fade up time, etc.) preprogrammed. It guarantees the show will present itself the same way provided the board op hits the button at the right time. By using subs, you set some limitations, such as the number of subs, and that each scene cue requires you to bump a specific sub.
Your teacher may just have gotten into the habit from rehearsals, where you are constantly doing things out of sequence.

It's probably a "we don't have to to fix it, just make it brighter". One more question, what does this director do during the show? Wouldnt happen to be on com would they?....

[ReiRei]

We've never used subs for a show, only for outside gigs like band concerts and things like that which don't need too much planning. However, subs are a little iffy in my opinion. Someone recently set our board to a 1 to 1 patch and when I tried to bring the house lights out in at the beginning of a show, they wouldn't go out because three of our house dimmers were in different channels.

I wouldn't even dream of using a sub during a show like Beauty and the Beast or Little Shop of Horrors... no way. I guess it's almost a good skill to have to be able to quickly change the right sliders for a scene change or something... but I'd still go with cues... definitely cues.