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Electronic Theatre Controls Inc

Recording cues with Link and Follow on Express consoles

When you record a cue, it automatically becomes part of the Cue List. The Cue List is a list of all cues, organized in numeric sequence. Normally, when you press [Go] to execute cues, the console plays them back in the sequence in which they appear in the Cue List. [Link] allows you to modify the sequence in which cues play back. [Follow] allows you to play back multiple cues automatically.

Link

[Link] allows you to play back cues out of sequence by linking them together. If you link cue 10 to cue 1, then cue 10 follows cue 1.

Follow these steps to record a linked cue.46

Keystrokes: Action:
1. Press [Stage] or [Blind] Selects display mode
2. [Cue] [1] Selects cue 1
3. Press [Link]. Prompt reads:
To link to cue, select cue number To link to macro, press ENTER MACRO
4. Press [1][0] [Enter].a Links cue 10 to cue 1. After you play cue 1, press [Go] to playback cue 10

Press [Clear] in this step to remove an existing link.
46 You can also link macros to cues. For more information, see Linking a macro to a cue.

Follow

[Follow] allows you to play a series of cues automatically. The [Follow] time indicates how long the console waits after the cue starts before the next cue runs. [Follow] plays back the next cue on the Cue List unless you use [Link] to specify a different sequence.

Follow times may be expressed in minutes and seconds, or as fractions of seconds, up to 99:59 minutes.

Follow these steps to record a cue with [Follow].

Keystrokes: Action:
1. Press [Stage] or [Blind]. Selects display mode
2. Press [Cue] [7] Selects cue 7 Prompt reads:
Select cue number 
To select cue type, press TYPE
3. Press [Follow]. Prompt reads:
Enter follow time (or press ENTER to confirm default time (Press CLEAR to cancel follow time)
4. Press [5] [Enter].a Records cue 7 with a Follow time of five seconds. After you start cue 7, the next cue in the Cue List plays automatically five seconds later

Press [Clear] in this step to remove an existing follow time.

Create playback loops with Link and Follow

You can use Link and Follow to create cue playback loops in which a group of cues play back automatically and repeat.47

47You may also use effects to create loops. See Running an Effect Cue in Express for more information.

Stop a loop that was created by Link and Follow by pressing GO after the loop has played through at least one time. If you press GO before the loop plays through, you will only advance to the next cue in the loop sequence. If you press GO after it plays through at least one time, you temporarily override the Link sequence and advance instead to a non-loop cue. The non-loop cue that would play is the next one in order after the linked cue. For example, if cue 6 is linked to cue 10 in a loop, the non-loop cue played when you stop the loop would be cue 7.

Follow these steps to create a five-cue loop:

Keystrokes: Action:
1. Create five cues numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Cue list displays cues 1 through 5 Selects the first cue
2. Press [Cue], then press [1], the number of the first cue you want to include in the playback loop. Selects the first cue
3. Press [Follow] [5] [Enter]. Assigns a follow time of five seconds to the first cue
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for cues 2 through 5. Assigns a follow time of five seconds to the remaining cues
5. Press [Cue], then press [5], the number of the last cue in the playback loop. Selects the last cue in the playback loop
6. Press [Link], then press [1], the number of the first cue in the playback loop. Press [Enter]. Creates a loop by linking the last cue to the first cue

Linking a macro to a cue

[Link] allows you to automatically run a macro when a cue runs. If you link macro 6 to cue 1, then macro 6 runs when you play cue 1. If you want the macro to delay before running, one way is to start the macro with a Macro Wait of the desired length.48 You can also delay the macro by assigning a follow time to the cue.49

48 See What is a Macro in Express? for information about creating macros
49 See Recording cues with Link and Follow.

Follow these steps to link a macro to a cue:

Keystrokes: Action:
1. Press [Stage] or [Blind]. Selects display mode
2. [Cue] [1]. Selects cue 1
3. Press [Link]. Prompt reads:
To link to cue, select cue number
To link to macro, press ENTER MACRO
4. Press [Enter Macro] Prompt reads:
To link to macro, select macro number
To link to cue, press CUE
5. Press [7] [Enter] Records macro 7 linked to cue 1. When you press [Go] to play cue 1, macro 7 will run at the same time
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