Tutorial 9: Firing Cues and Executing Actions – Actions

About This Tutorial

In Tutorial 8 you learned all about the terms fire and execute and how they relate to cues and
actions – with a focus on cues. This tutorial will be expanding on the information you gleaned
from Tutorial 8 with a focus on the execution of actions. There is a considerable amount of
lesson material contained in this tutorial – just to give some idea of how important – and
extensive this topic can be – and is.
Lesson 1: Firing versus Executing
In this lesson you will review those terms that pertain to the execution of actions.
§ The word execute is used only in reference to actions.
§ So you execute actions.
§ The word execute is defined as "to perform indicated tasks according to instructions". With
regards to actions, an action contains a list of instructions for the action to perform.
Lesson 2: Executing actions
To execute an action – or actions – that are contained in a cue, you have two options:
Option 1: To execute the actions within the cue you simply double-click on – or fire – the Cue.
Firing the cue will execute the actions contained within the cue.
Option 2: To execute only the action that is contained within a cue, you simply double-click on –
or execute – that action.

Tip: Double-clicking on a cue fires the cue – which in turn executes the actions that are
contained in that cue.
Observation: When a cue is fired all actions in that cue are executed.
Manual or Automatic
In general, actions are executed automatically – by the firing of cue itself. By double-clicking on
a cue – that is, by firing the cue – you will automatically execute the actions that are contained
within that cue. Another way to consider this is that cues are manual while actions contained
within a cue are automatic.
Lesson 3: Precedence – or order of operation
The order in which actions are executed within a cue is based on their "precedence". And as
you learned in the tutorial on cues, the word precedence simply means, "the order of
operation".
An Example – #1
Take the following as an example:
 Tutorial 9: Firing Cues and Executing Actions – Actions

Observation: In the above diagram, you have a single cue, with a single action. If you fire Cue 1,
the action contained within that cue will be executed.

An Example – #2
Take the following as another example:

Observation: In the above diagram, you have a single cue, with two actions. If you fire Cue 1,
the actions contained within that cue will be executed. The question is – "In what order will
these actions be executed?" The answer is: "Consecutively!"
Consecutive
The word consecutive means "following one after the other in order – successive". It is also
interesting to note that the word consecutive suggests that this following one after the other in
order is "marked by logical sequence of events". So, actions are executed in a consecutive
manner which is marked by a logical sequence of events. Take the following as an example:

Observation: The actions contained in Cue are executed consecutively – meaning that action 1
precedes action 2. However, for these actions – or events – to be truly consecutive, the actions
must be marked by a logical sequence of events. So the order in which the actions are placed
are just as important as what is contained in the action itself. This is what you will consider
next.

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Lesson 4: Consecutive Execution
LiveProfessor consecutively executes actions which are marked by a logical sequence of events.
This section will rely somewhat heavily on the principle taught in the section on Silent Practice
(see Introduction) which was: "The more you can understand and see a thing – the more apt
you are at being able to do the thing". As you will see, actions are executed in the order they
appear in the cue – from top to bottom.
Tip: There is a lot of material to cover here – so, please be prepared to spend a few days on this
material.
Action Timing Reference Guide
This section is being provided under a separate cover – so that it can be used as a reference
guide for actions and timing. Please see section entitled Action Timing Reference Guide.
Lesson 5: Action colours
An important feature of actions is the colour that is used to represent their order of execution.
There are three action colours in total with each colour representing one of the following:
§ Silver: The selected action or the action being executed.
§ Blue: An action that is in a fade state – or is "playing".
§ Orange: An action that is in a wait state.
Lesson 6: Collapsing and expanding actions
In Tutorial 8 you learned about collapsing and expanding cues and though you cannot really do
the same for actions – actions are an element of cues. So, this might help as a review of
learning how to control the display of the Cue list window workspace.
Expanding a cue displays the actions that are contained in that cue while contacting the cue
hides them. To expand a cue – and the actions contained in that cue, click on the "plus" sign. To
collapsing a cue – and to hide the actions contained in that cue, click on the "minus" sign.
Observation: The "plus sign" indicates that the cue is "expanded" while the "minus sign"
indicates that the cue is “collapsed".

Lesson 7: About the projects

The projects sections of this tutorial will allow you to test – as well as being a practical review –
of some of the more significant action timings that are to be found in the Timing Reference
Guide. You should have this guide available while you are going through the following sections.
You will be creating a Master project file – Tutorial 9 – then saving that project file under
various iterations – Tutorial 9a, Tutorial 9b, etc. Each iteration will correspond with that section
you are working on at that time.
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Observation: Some projects will use the SWFP plugin while other projects will use the GFader
plugin.
Section A: Create a new project
In this section of the tutorial, you will create a new project and save it as Tutorial 9.
1. Launch LiveProfessor.
2. Go to Project and select New project.
3. Save the project as Tutorial 9.
4. Section A is now completed.
Section B: Adding a plugin
In this section of the tutorial, you will add the SWFP plugin, configure the audio outputs, add a
wave file and finally create two snapshots for this plugin.
1. Go to Add unit and select SWFP.
2. Expand the Audio routing panel.
3. In the Outputs section of this panel, select 01 - Not connected.
4. Select Output 1 - 1 SoundMax HD Audio 0 1.
5. Repeat Step 4 for the 02 - Not connected audio output.
6. Collapse the Audio routing panel.
7. Select the Load Wave file button.
8. Navigate to the Backing Tracks folder and select the acoustic_grt1.wav file.
9. Expand the Snapshots panel.
10. Select Create, rename the snapshot to Off – and select OK.
11. Select the Play/Stop button.
12. Select Create, rename the snapshot to On – and select OK.
13. Disable the Play/Stop button.
14. Collapse the Snapshots panel.
15. Save the project.
16. Section B is now completed.
Section C: Creating a new Cue list and insert a new action
In this section of the tutorial you will create a new cue list and then insert a new action into the
Cue list.
1. In the cue list panel, select the Add new cue list button.
2. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot tool to the Cue List window's workspace.
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3. Release the left mouse button, the Select snapshot window is displayed.
4. Select the Off snapshot and select the OK.
5. Save the project.
6. Section C is now completed.
Section D: Single action with pre-wait
In this section you will have the opportunity of testing the effects of pre-wait on the action and
to observe the results.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9d.
2. Select the Wait time button
3. Enter a pre-wait time of 1s and press Enter.
Observation: The Timing display is updated to reflect the inserted Pre wait value.
4. Enable Play/Stop.
5. Fire the cue.
Observation: Disabling of the Play/Stop button is delayed for 1s – as a result of the pre-wait
time. The Play/Stop button is then disabled immediately. Notice that the action turns Orange –
indicating that the action is in a wait state – in this case a pre-wait state.

6. Save the project.

7. Section D is now completed.
Lesson 8: The progress bar
The progress bar is displayed during the wait and fade states of an action. This bar is only
displayed when there is either a pre-wait, post-wait or fade time timing set and is therefore, a
visual display of these timings.

Section E: Single action with pre-wait and duration

In this section you will have the opportunity of testing the effects of pre-wait and fade time on
the action and to observe the results.
Note: The pre-wait time has already been set in the previous section.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9e.
2. Select the Fade time button
3. Enter a fade time of 1s and press Enter.
4. Enable Play/Stop.
5. Fire the cue.
Observation: Entering a fade time delays the disabling of the Play/Stop button for a further 1s –
so a total of 2s – 1s for the pre-wait time and 1s for the fade time. The Play/Stop button is then

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disabled immediately. Notice that the action turns first Orange – indicating that the action is in
a wait state – then Blue – indicating that the action is in a fading state.

6. Save the project.

7. Section E is now completed.
Tip: To increase the playback of the audio file you could increase the pre-wait time, fade time
or both. Increase both of these timings to 3s and test this for yourself. Return both settings to
1s before continuing, and re-save the project.
Section F: Single action with pre-wait, post-wait and duration
In this section you will have the opportunity of testing the effects of pre-wait, post-wait and
fade time on the action and to observe the results.
Note: The pre-wait time and the fade time has already been set in the previous section.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9f.
2. Select the Wait time button.
3. Enter a post-wait time of 1s and press Enter.
Tip: Use the Tab key to toggle the text fields.
4. Enable Play/Stop.
5. Fire the cue.
Observation: Disabling of the Play/Stop button is delayed for 2s – 1s for the pre-wait time and
1s for the fade time – then the Play/Stop button is disabled immediately – as in Tutorial 9e. The
only difference here is that the action is delayed for a further 1s during the post-wait time.
However, this post-wait time does not affect the duration of the audio playback – as you have
seen. There is a reason for this as you will see.
6. Save the project.
7. Section F is now completed.
Observation: Below is a diagram showing the colours of the actions during the three timing
stages – Orange for a wait state and Blue for a fading state.

Section G: Dual action with pre-wait and post-wait

In this section you will have the opportunity of adding another action – then testing the effects
of pre-wait and post-wait on the actions and to observe the results.
Tip: In cues with multiple actions, please make very sure that you are working with the correct
action.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9g.
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2. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot tool so that the mouse pointer is just over Action 1.
3. Ensure that the mouse pointer is within Action 1 – with the black line on the bottom of
Action 1 – then release the left mouse button.
4. Select the On snapshot and select OK.
5. In Action 1, select the fade time button.
6. Enter a fade time of 0s and press Enter.
7. Enable Play/Stop.
8. Fire the cue.
Observation: Disabling of the Play/Stop button is delayed for 1s, then disabled immediately
followed by a 1s delay before the execution of Action 2 – enabling the Play/Stop button with
the audio file playing indefinitely.
Section H: Triple action with pre-wait and post wait
In this section you will have the opportunity of adding yet another action – then testing the
effects of pre-wait, post-wait and fade time on the actions and to observe the results.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9h.
2. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot tool so that the mouse pointer is just over Action 2.
3. Ensure that the mouse pointer is within Action 2 – with the black line on the bottom of
Action 2 – then release the left mouse button.
4. Select the Off snapshot and select OK.
5. Enable Play/Stop.
6. Fire the cue.
Observation: The results of this section are identical to Section F above – with the exception of
the additional action. It must be clearly understood that unless there is a something to delay
Action 2, Action 2 will execute immediately, followed by Action 3. Therefore, in order for
subsequent actions to execute – they require a delay to do so in the preceding action. This
important fact will be verified in the next section.
7. Save the project.
8. Section H is now completed.
Section I: Triple action with pre-wait, post-wait and duration
In this section you will test the effects of the post-wait on Action 2 and to observe the results.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9i.
2. In Action 2, select the Wait time button.
3. Enter a post-wait time of 3s and press Enter.
4. Enable Play/Stop.
5. Fire the cue.
Observation: In Action 1, the pre-wait and fade times are redundant – other than allowing for
the audio to playback for 1s during the pre-wait time before stopping. However the post-wait
time does allow for a delay between Action 1 and Action 2. On completion of Action 1, Action 2
executes with a 3s post-wait time – allowing the audio to playback for 3s – before Action 3
executes – which disables the Play/Stop button. This should prove that subsequent actions –
Action 3, in this case – require a wait time before the execution of that subsequent action.
6. Save the project.
7. Section I is now completed.

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Section J: Triple action with post-wait and duration
In this section you will test the effects of only the post-wait and fade time on the actions and to
observe the results.
1. Save the project as Tutorial 9j.
2. In Action 1, select the Wait time button.
3. Enter a pre-wait time of 0s.
4. In Action 2, change the post-wait time to 6s.
5. Enable Play/Stop.
6. Fire the cue.
Observation: In Action 1 the post-wait time allows for a delay between Action 1 and Action 2.
On completion of Action 1, Action 2 executes with a 6s post-wait time – allowing the audio to
playback for 6s before Action 3 executes – therefore disabling Play/Stop. The purpose of Action
1 then is to ensure that the Play/Stop button is disabled prior to the execution of Action 2.
7. Save the project.
8. Section J is now completed.
Tip: A really useful feature of LiveProfessor is the ability to set the post-wait time to the entire
duration of the song, therefore, allowing for an entire song to be played without any
interaction from the performer – other than firing the cue. To demonstrate this feature, change
the post-wait time in Action 2 to 33s – the total playback time of the [Link] file –
enable Play/Stop, then fire Cue 1 and observe the results.
Observation: Play/Stop is disabled, followed by a 1s delay between Action 1 and Action 2.
Action 2 then executes, enabling Play/Stop, delaying Action 3 for 33s to allow for the entire
playback of the wave file. At the end of the 33s, Action 3 executes – disabling Play/Stop.
Tip: Determine the length of each of the wave files and set the post-wait time to reflect this
play-length time. When you then fire the cue, it will play for the entire duration of that wave
file.
Section K: Create a new project (GFader)
In this section you will create a new project – called Tutorial 9k – this time using the GFader
plugin. The procedure used here will be quite condensed – in comparison to the other
procedures you have used thus far. This will give you the opportunity of testing your overall
comprehensive skills of the previous materials.
1. Go to Project and select New project.
2. Save the project as Tutorial 9k.
3. Go to Add unit and select GFader.
4. Expand the Snapshots panel.
5. Select Create, rename the snapshot to 0db – and select OK.
Observation: That is, “Zero” db.
6. Lower the fader to INF.
7. Select Create, rename the snapshot to INF – and select OK.
8. Collapse the Snapshots panel.
9. From the cue list panel select the Add new cue list button.
10. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot tool to the Cue List window's workspace.
11. Release the left mouse button, and select the INF snapshot and select the OK.

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12. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot so that the mouse pointer is within Action 1, with the
black line on the bottom of Action 1.
13. Release the left mouse button, select the 0db snapshot and select the OK.
14. Drag the Recall a plugin Snapshot so that the mouse pointer is within Action 2, with the
black line on the bottom of Action 2.
15. Release the left mouse button, and select the INF snapshot and select the OK.
16. Save the project.
17. Section K is now completed.
Section L: Wait and Fade Time – Triple Action
This next section will determine the effects of 0s Pre-wait, Post-wait and Fade times – using
three actions.
1. Save the project at Tutorial 9l.
2. Raise the fader to 0db.
3. Fire the cue.
Observation: The fader immediately goes to INF giving you the impression that nothing is being
executed – or apparently so.
4. Save the project.
5. Section L is now completed.
Note: Though you are not actually seeing the execution of Action 1, you must remember that
actions are executed in the order they appear in the cue – from top to bottom – or
consecutively. Action 1 must therefore be executed before Action 2 and Action 2 must be
executed before Action 3. You must also remember that when there are two or more actions,
there must be a timing set in the previous actions to give each action the opportunity – or the
time, to execute. In this manner, the timing allow you to actually see the events that occur
within the actions.
Section M: Wait and Fade Time – Triple Action
This next section is identical to Section K – only that timings will be set for the Pre-wait, Post-
wait and Fade times.
1. Save the project at Tutorial 9m.
2. Raise the fader to 0db.
3. Select Action 1 and set a post-wait time of 1s.
4. Select Action 2 and set a post-wait time of 1s and a fade time of 3s.
5. Select Action 3 and set a fade time of 3s.
Observation: The Cue list should look as follows:

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6. Fire the cue.
Note: Before continuing with the observation – try and imagine what the above timings will do
to the actions contained in the cue. Actions 1 and 2 each have a post-wait time of 1s. Why? A
post-wait time will delay the execution of the actions that follow. Actions 2 and 3 each have a
fade time of 3s. Why? This fade time will allow a particular parameter – in this case, the channel
fader – to change over time. If you really have done your homework properly, you should be
able to determine what effect these timings will have on the cue beforehand.
Observation: The fader immediately goes to INF, followed by a 1s delay before Action 2 is
executed. When Action 2 is executed, the channel fader gradually rises to 0db within 3s, holds
that position for 1s then immediately executes Action 3, which gradually lowers the channel
fader to INF within 3s.
7. Raise the fader to 0db, fire the cue again and observe the results.
8. Save the project.
9. Exit LiveProfessor.
10. Section M is now completed.
Note: The purpose of Action 1 is to ensure that the fader is set to INF before the fade-in begins.
Then Action 2 executes with the 3s fade-in and then holds for the time set by Post wait. After
the Post wait time has completed, the fader then fades to INF within 3s.
Summary
Well! You have indeed covered a lot of ground here and have learned a great deal about
LiveProfessor and how to create and manage cue and actions. The Timing Reference Guide
should be of inestimable value to you – as this guide endeavors to cover some of the various
ways in which actions can be managed and used.
As mentioned above, if you really have done your homework properly and have really
understood what this tutorial have been endeavoring to show you, you should be able to
determine beforehand, just what effect these timings will have on the cue itself. If it does –
Great! If it does not – then you need to review what the pre-wait, post-wait and fade time
timing actually do to the events contained within an action within a cue.

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