Show Editor Enhancement Request

[tlogan]

Maybe I'm the only one that likes to mix new shows every year and run them on the half hour. I use a recorded voice over countdown to announce how many minutes until the show begins to take up any slack in the previous show.  So is it possible to add to the the show editor the length of each sequence and a running total of the run time as sequences are added? That would make it MUCH easier to know exactly how much slack I need in the voice over to get to the next half hour. Yes, I've done it by hand, but being off even a little can throw the show off the half hour by 5 minutes or so (and possibly a LOT more) by the end of the night. If a show restarts before the next half hour because it is slightly less than 30 minutes, that first sequence of the previous show finishes before the next show actually starts, which can put it off by two or three minutes right off the bat and then it compounds over the rest of the evening.

I'm hoping that this really is something pretty easy to do and that this is something that no else thinks they need until they see it. 

[Don]

What is your display doing when a show (of musical sequences) isn't running?

If it's just lights on, then create a 15-20 minute "all on" animation sequence, and have that as your last sequence in the Show. Then schedule shows to run on the 1/2 hour.

[k6ccc]

28 minutes ago, tlogan said:

Maybe I'm the only one that likes to mix new shows every year and run them on the half hour. I use a recorded voice over countdown to announce how many minutes until the show begins to take up any slack in the previous show.

Unless you have a specific reason to have periods of time where there is no show - DON'T.  If people drive by expecting an animated show and see either dark or static, most will just keep on driving and NOT return.

 

[hasslerk]

I 100% agree with @k6ccc...My shows run continuously with no gaps.  At the end of the night it will likely start my static show by cutting off the executing show at the end of a song, but that is what you get for coming so late.  :)

[tlogan]

3 hours ago, Don said:

What is your display doing when a show (of musical sequences) isn't running?

I run a sequence of all on lights with some generic royalty-free Christmas music and a voice over that counts down every minute until the next show starts. So anyone that arrives with static lights on will know within one minute when the next show starts. And it's in the 2-4 minute range between the two different shows.

I can keep fussing with it by hand, but thought there may be others that would find it useful.   

[Aubrey]

This is exactly the schedule my family's display uses - it repeats every 30 minutes (the display is located really close to main streets and constant traffic flow is not an option). I use a spreadsheet to calculate the times, and leave a 2 second buffer each half hour to account for whatever miscellaneous lag is bound to happen. I also set the option in the Show Editor to load all the sequences prior to the show as needed. I'll run that as a test before premiere day, see how many seconds it takes (usually 13 or 14), then set the start time to that much earlier (like 5:29:47). We've opted for signage in the yard that explains when the next show is (every half hour) instead of a Voiceover. 

[tlogan]

1 hour ago, Aubrey said:

We've opted for signage in the yard that explains when the next show is (every half hour) instead of a Voiceover. 

I put a sign out, too, but apparently, no one reads it!