Group Cues
A group cue is a cue that groups … cues. Think of it like having folders for all the files on your computer. Your music goes in this folder, your photos go in this one. You might even organize them further by year, by event, or what ever.
If you’re a student you might categorize your school work by semester, and inside each semester categorize your work by course.
Group cues help do the same thing. In the theatre we might group cues together by act or scene. We can then collapse or expand the group to help clean up the visual space.
Or perhaps we might group several cues in QLab together. All these cues should be called together by the stage manager as one cue, one. Stop the previous scene’s soundscape and start this transition music, two actions, one call.
To add a group, simply drag the group icon from the toolbar into your cue list. To place a cue into a group, simply drag and drop, paying attention that you don’t apply a cue, such as a fade, to a group. Watching the placement line with the ball will help identify where the cue will drop.
Of course, if you’re moving multiple cues, use shift to select a range of cues or hold down command to select individual cues.
Finally, if you have several cues selected, clicking on the group icon in the tool bar will create a new group and place the selected cues into that group.
Assignment
Create a QLab workspace, add several audio cues, and group them together.
Were You Listening?
How do you add a group to your cue list?
Answer
Grab the group icon from the toolbar and drag it into the cue list.