Best way to indicate a pause before a sound cue?

[J Pearce]

Never seen/heard SND used for sound effects.

 

Pretty much standard on all shows I've worked with a DSM. SFX is a bloody mouthful to call!

[Watson]

Never seen/heard SND used for sound effects.

This is the "roomful of experts" effect again. I think the fact that I used SFX must mean I've encountered it enough in the past to make it instinctive. I don't doubt that SND is out there but as I said, I've never encountered it. No offence, Gerry.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Watson

[TomHoward]

Two small notes;

If they go together as a snap, you can write them together.

 

SFX 4 & LX 4 GO. (Wind cuts, lights fade to general wash).

 

How is the lighting controlled? Is it also pre-programmed or manual op? You'd need to licence it but just to point out the obvious that QLab does lighting also if you are touring the control.

 

LX6 - if it's to be fired after the 2nd shot, write the cue first before the detail.

 

LX6 GO immediately after the second gunshot (Slowly fade to black, matching SFX fade).

 

Write the important stuff first - as it sounds like quite a fast sequence put anything you don't really need to read if you didn't have time later in the line.

Edited May 12, 2021 by TomHoward

[sandall]

Never seen/heard SND used for sound effects.

It's something I've always used when 1 op is driving both desks, as it seems so logical ("SouND Q.3, Go" is less of a mouthful than "SFX Q.3, Go" for the DSM) - no chance of confusing with "LX", either visually or aurally. If using separate ops I just write "Q.n" in their scripts (& LX & SND in mine). For broadcast it was, & presumably still is, "Grams".

 

I always try to have the cue numbers & details on the same page as the script - eyes up & down is enough, without adding side-to-side, but more importantly, if you drop the folder & the pages scatter you won't be crawling round in the dark hunting for the page with the next cue written on it.

[J Pearce]

I'll be more blunt. The only place I've heard "SFX" is amdram. In pro theatre I've only heard "Sound".

[Watson]

Two small notes;If they go together as a snap, you can write them together.

SFX 4 & LX 4 GO. (Wind cuts, lights fade to general wash).

That's obviously better; thanks.

 

How is the lighting controlled? Is it also pre-programmed or manual op?

This is a touring show which is intended to play for either single nights or very short runs at different venues, where we will have to use lighting rigs which cannot be re hung - doesn't that make preprogrammed lighting impractical? But having said that, I don't know the details of how QLab handles lighting cues.

 

LX6 - if it's to be fired after the 2nd shot, write the cue first before the detail.

 

LX6 GO immediately after the second gunshot (Slowly fade to black, matching SFX fade).

 

Write the important stuff first - as it sounds like quite a fast sequence put anything you don't really need to read if you didn't have time later in the line.

That's great advice, thanks.

 

I'll be more blunt. The only place I've heard "SFX" is amdram. In pro theatre I've only heard "Sound".

I welcome your bluntness. I just found this example online: it uses "Sound Q" and "LX Q" which is clearly completely unambiguous: Script page

Edited May 12, 2021 by Watson

[J Pearce]

I welcome your bluntness. So are you suggesting I use "Sound" written in full? Or "SND"?

 

Called as Sound, written as either SND or SQ.

[Watson]

Called as Sound, written as either SND or SQ.

Thanks.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Watson

[gareth]

I absolutely agree with the suggestion to use SND as abbreviation for sound. Look at any prompt copy marked up by an experienced professional DSM and that's what you'll see used (either that, or SQ as Jon says above).

 

The apparent trend these days to use SFX, or even SX (yuck!) as an abbreviation for sound really makes my teeth itch. It's bad enough when I see it written - but I've sometimes heard young, inexperienced people calling a show using SX as a spoken 'abbreviation' for sound - why?!?! It's two syllables, and therefore takes longer to say than just saying the word 'sound'; and on a busy comms channel during a noisy show, the potential for SX being mis-heard as LX, or vice-versa, is huge.

[Watson]

Thanks for that, Gareth.

 

[gareth]

Never seen/heard SND used for sound effects.

 

What a sheltered life (in tech theatre terms) you must have led...

 

 

 

I think it's already been mentioned, but I'll mention it again - if you want an LX cue and a sound cue to happen simultaneously, best to combine them into one line with a single 'go'. E.g. - "LX 2 & SND 2 GO - Houselights & preset out, house music fade".

 

(The colour-coding is a good touch, by the way - a big aid to clarity. If I'm ever single-person-op'ing LX and sound on a show from a script printed in black and white, I'll mark every cue with an appropriate highlighter pen to distinguish one from the other.)

Edited May 12, 2021 by gareth

[Watson]

Gareth, thanks for reinforcing the single-line-for-simultaneous-cues point.

 

The colour-coding seemed like a good idea, the only possible practical drawback being that some of Word's highlight colours print far more opaquely than they look on the screen: yellow and green are the best I've so far found. I rather like your use of coloured text.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Watson

[sandall]

I would suggest using highlighter pens rather than printing Word highlight colours, & experiment under coloured light. LED coloured lights (especially RGB Pars used for house-lighting) can have unfortunate effects on your nicely colour-coded script . I suspect that blue "workers" could also give interesting results, depending on the light source or the gel used.

[gareth]

I rather like your use of coloured text.

 

I only used coloured text because there's no way to do text on a coloured background in this forum software! Black text with a coloured highlight is definitely the way forward.

[Watson]

I would suggest using highlighter pens rather than printing Word highlight colours, & experiment under coloured light.

That's something that hadn't occurred to me; thanks.

 

Black text with a coloured highlight is definitely the way forward.

Right, thanks.