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Timecode shows

The problem

Some moments are too complex to play live and too good to leave to chance. The last bars of a build-up where the beams fan out, the washes change colour on every snare roll and everything snaps to full on the drop. That involves several executors, fader moves and button presses in exact order, and it should look the same every time the track plays.

A cue list gets you part of the way. A cue stores values, and its CMD column can fire commands at other executors: start them, set a fader to a level, double a speed. But each command is a jump at one moment; a cue can't reproduce a fader movement the way your hand made it. For that you want a way to record what you did with the executors and replay it. Which of the two fits better depends on the moment; see Timecode show, cue list or macro? below.

The idea: a recording of executor actions on a timeline

A timecode show (in the timecode pool) is exactly that: a timeline of executor actions. Go, Goto, Off, and also fader positions and fader movements, on any number of executors. You record it by playing, then edit it in the timecode editor (tracks, events, moving events in time), and play it back.

Despite the name, it doesn't need an external timecode signal. Each timecode show chooses its time source:

Internal (the default)
The show has its own clock. Start it with Go Timecode 3 (or from the timecode pool), and it runs from wherever its time marker is. It can loop a set number of times or endlessly (Runs).
External (a timecode slot)
The show follows SMPTE/LTC or MIDI timecode from a playback system, or the console's own generator. This is how live acts sync lights to their backing tracks: track 3 always looks the same, frame-accurate.

There's also a simpler use of timecode: a Timecode trigger on individual cues, with the time in the cue's Trig Time. That needs a sequence linked to a timecode slot and only triggers cues. A timecode show records and replays everything you do to executors, so this page is mostly about shows.

How recording works

Store a new timecode show in the pool, select it, press Record in the timecode encoder toolbar, and play your executors. Everything you do to executors is recorded. One detail matters: a Go is recorded as a Goto to that cue number, so playback lands on the right cue even if the sequence was somewhere else.

Options in the timecode show:

  • Switch Off: when the timecode show is turned off, either turn off the playbacks it started, or keep them running.
  • Status Call: when started in the middle, jump to the state it should be in, or wait for the next event.
  • Consider not recording the master fader track, so you can still adjust the level while the show runs. The manual mentions this as a matter of preference.

Timecode show, cue list or macro?

Four tools can play a programmed routine across several executors. They differ in what they can do and in what clock they follow:

Timecode show Cue list with CMD Macro Chaser with CMD
Made by recording your playing, then editing the timeline writing commands into the CMD column of cues writing command lines writing commands into the chaser's steps
Fader movements yes, recorded as curves only jumps (Fader 5 At 50) and the cue's own fades only jumps only jumps
Own light values no, it only plays executors yes, each cue is also a look no (only via commands) yes, each step is also a look
Clock seconds (internal) or external timecode your Go, or Time/Follow in seconds, or BPM/Sound triggers Follow, wait times in seconds, or halt until Go the speed master: beats
Editing timeline in the timecode editor sequence sheet, one row per step Edit Macro, one line per command sequence sheet
Best for complex, exactly repeatable moments; songs on a backing track step-by-step routines you push forward yourself reusable actions (setups, resets, "prepare the drop") beat-locked routines

Some details behind the table:

  • Commands in cues run when the cue is triggered, optionally after a CMD Delay. Several commands in one cue are separated by ;, or split into cue parts with small CMD delays. Anything you can type can go there: Go Executor 1.5, Off Executor 1.7, Fader 1.6 At 100, DoubleSpeed Executor 1.10, Macro 3. The commands run as the user logged in on the master station, which only matters in multi-user sessions.
  • Macros run line by line. Each line has a wait: Follow (go on immediately), a time in seconds, or Go (halt until the macro gets the next Go). The manual's main warning is timing: the console is multitasking, so a line that depends on the previous one may need a small wait (start with 0.1 s). Macros are building blocks, called from a button, a cue's CMD, a chaser step or a timecode show; the manual recommends them especially to manage several timecode shows (select the show, change the page, set the play mode, switch everything off).
  • Timecode shows are the only tool that records what you did, including how fast you pushed a fader. That's their strength and their limit: a recording in seconds.

To verify in onPC: check 15

Practice

In a busked DJ set the tempo isn't known in advance, so a recording in seconds drifts. Which of these tools still works there, and the same build-up done three ways, is on Timecode in a DJ set.

Which tool when

You want Use
a story, moment by moment, triggered by you cue list
cues fired at exact times from a backing track cue Timecode triggers, or a timecode show on external timecode
a recorded routine of fader moves and button presses across many executors timecode show
a routine across many executors that you push forward phrase by phrase cue list with CMD (cues triggered with Go)
the same, but locked to the beat chaser with CMD steps on a speed master
a fixed set of actions you need from several places macro
a looping pattern on fixtures effect or chaser
cues fired by the music itself, live cue Sound or BPM triggers (see Let the music fire cues)

When it matters, and when not

  • Busking DJ sets: only for short routines; see Timecode in a DJ set.
  • Live acts with backing tracks: external timecode is the professional standard. Each track is a timecode show.
  • A routine of a few steps: a cue list with Follow/Time triggers usually does the job.

Sources