CALLING: calling cues

[britDsm]

hi everyone! im a newbie!

i just have a quick question am i right in saying this
lighting= LX
sound= SQ
Fly= FQ

thanks.

[jspeaker]

I dont use "Q" and I refer to fly cues as rail cues.

[lauria]

Is this as in how you're actually calling it? Or what you're writing in your book?

I say "Lights 23" and Write "L23" (I don't say/write Q either. It takes up time that you may need.

I also say "Sound 54" (Although I prefer letters when possible) and write "S54" \

I think I actually say "Fly Q E" which is probably a waste of time but that was my first show with Flys and I didn't really know what I was doing. :-P I gave them letters (skipping Q) since I had numbers for both lights and sound. "Rail" makes a lot of sense though and I'd probably switch to that myself.

[MatthewShiner]

I write "LX 23"; say "electrics 23"

I write "Sound 48"; say "sound 48"

I write "Auto 12"; say "Automation 12" or "Auto 12" if I am pushed for time.

Usuaing with fly cues, I describe - but I don't call a lot of fly cues "Branches", "Lamps" in my current show.

[loebtmc]

Sometimes, the rail Qs can be done on a cue light which saves one set of calls. I had a really complex show with fly cues, special effects, pyro and a couple of other things in addition to lights, and I was grateful as all get-out to have the fly cues on a toggle, so I cd throw the standby and cue without worrying abt saying anything at all. Of course, that doesn't always happen, but you can find out if that's an option if the light and sound Qs come too fast and furious

[nmno]

Also of interest to you might be the very popular thread: "Lights or Electrics?"

http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php/topic,499.0.html

[kokobear]

often, when the show allows, I'll just lump flies under "deck"

so I'll call "Deck GO" or "Deck # GO" if there are many.

Cue lights are also handy when everybody is sure what cues they actuate

[BalletPSM]

Here is another good example of where personal preference takes a big role.  =)

I color code all cues, and so on the actual Q sticky I don't write anything except the letter/#. 

On the standby sticky I write "LX" for lights (and say lights in my call) and fully write out "sound" (when doing straight theatre) or "audio" when I have audio qs to call for the ballet.  I use #s for the rail, but I only give warnings on those (And I say "warning on rail Q 10) and then the standby and GO are off of a Q light.

Same thing for deck - I just say "warning on deck" and a general idea of the move (e.g., warning on deck, thehouse coming on) and then the standby and Go are just off a light (different from the rail Q light).

Does that help?  You need to work out what works best for you, while taking some industry standards into account (as have been explained pretty well in this thread).

[britDsm]

thankyou people for your advice.
so it really doesnt matter what you say (within reason) to the operator to give his/her cue as long as they know that is what your cueing them with?!
Thanks.

[kiwitechgirl]

thankyou people for your advice.
so it really doesnt matter what you say (within reason) to the operator to give his/her cue as long as they know that is what your cueing them with?!
Thanks.

Pretty much!  Personally I tend to write and say LX# for lights, write SQ# and say "sound q#", write and say "flys #", and write and say "spot q#" for followspots (although sometimes here DownUnder we might say "dome").  Anything else I tend to agree with the operator as to how I'm going to call it. 

[MarcieA]

I am of the old-school trend (I think), writing LQ and SQ. In college I did LGT and SND, but I've since shortened.

The space I'm in doesn't have a fly space perse, so we don't have rail cues, but during Harold and Maude this spring, I did hang an actor. Well, he hung himself. For that we had a carabiner rig and a fake noose, and I called it as such: Line ON (when he did it), Noose ON (when he did it) and when I got the secret signal from him: Ready to hang, the crew (we had two people, one on the line and one on a quick release safety for the prop noose which bore no weight) released the tension on their lines and he jumped.

As I operate my own light board, I only call Standby Lights and Lights GO without #s in tech to the designer sitting next to me, and for my sound cues, I'll give a Standby Sound XX (I too prefer letters, but can't always choose), and the just a Sound GO. If I am giving a Standby Sound XX through ZZ, I will then say Sound XX GO. When there are long breaks between SQ sequences, I'll give a "One Page Warning for Sound." It's a system that seems to work well for me and my ops, and I do check in with each new one to see how they like to get their standbys and calls.

For my current show, Take Me Out, I call each shower individually, but give one big Standby Showers ON, and then a Shower 6 GO, Shower 4 Go...etc.

[BWEEVEED]

I write in my book exactly what I say. For example, I write LX1 where it belongs, then when it comes time for it I say 'LX1 stand by, LX1 go.' For sound cues it's SX# and for rail cues I call RX#.

But whatever works for you. I do it that way so it doesn't confuse me or my crew.

[JDL]

As a designer that SM's, I was taught that Sound Cues should be lettered and Light cues use #'s. This really clarifies to the operators who I am talking to and who should respond. I think it works brilliantly. LX 1 and SD A - GO! If for some reason I can't get out the "lights or sound" before the cue, the operators can still respond. As for fly/rails we resort back to the #'s.

[KMC]

As a designer that SM's, I was taught that Sound Cues should be lettered and Light cues use #'s. This really clarifies to the operators who I am talking to and who should respond. I think it works brilliantly. LX 1 and SD A - GO! If for some reason I can't get out the "lights or sound" before the cue, the operators can still respond. As for fly/rails we resort back to the #'s.

That works great until you have more than 26 sound cues!!

Ideally the designers meet and discuss.  For example if Lights doesn't anticipate more than 200 cues then Sound can start at 5 or 600. 

[Mac Calder]

Lettered sound... works fine, as mentioned, until you run out of letters (I would say 25, not 26, as you should avoid Q IMO - and AA etc is messy). There is also another issue. Automation. More and more shows these days use computerised playback - and most number cues (I have tried most of them - so trust me on this).

I have always used numbers for every cue. I give a department code before my cues, so why should I need to differentiate between different departments by doing different cue numberings.

A further issue is with the popularity of Vision in theatre these days - some shows can end up with vision ops which need cueing as well. So it seems a bit silly to separate one department from all the rest.

It all boils down to personal (and crew) preferences.