Creating Cue Sequences with “Start All” Groups
Personally, my favorite group cue mode is “Start All Children Simultaneously” or, a “Start All” group as I like to call it. All the cues inside this group will start … you guessed it … simultaneously, together, all at once.
I like this cue mode so much that after watching rehearsal, once I’ve created a cue list on paper, the first thing I’ll do is to create a “Start All” group for each cue. This is my skeleton, my framework. These are holders placeholders for all the different cues that I’ll need to build the moments I hear and have planned as a designer.
Now, instead of using continue modes on each cue, I’ll simply apply a pre-wait to cues that want to be delayed.
Going back to our example of an audio cue, an establishing fade up cue, and a quieter fade down cue; here’s the same sequence using a “Start All Group”.
Here are two more examples of the same structure, but with soundscapes composed of three different sound effects. With this mode of group cue, adding or removing a set of sound effects and fades is easy and doesn’t require the alteration of all the other continue modes in all the other cues.
Assignment
Try creating a cue sequence with an audio cue, an establishing fade up cue, and a quieter fade down cue. This time, use a “Start All” group.
Were You Listening?
What happens to cues in a “Start All Children Simultaneously” group?
Answer
The cues all start simultaneously, all at once.