Voice Cues for Manual Firing

Introduction

Some shows are fired by hand — an operator presses buttons to trigger each cue. FWsim can generate audio voice cues: an audio file containing spoken instructions that tell the operator when to fire.

Setting Up a Voice Cues Show

1. Create a new show and select Voice Cues as the firing system.
2. With voice cues, there are no modules. All cues are numbered sequentially starting at 1.
3. Add your cues and music as usual.
4. Click Auto-assign channels to assign cue numbers. The cue number will be displayed in the timeline.

Exporting Voice Cues

In the Export menu, select Voice Cues to generate your audio file. There are two output options:

• Mono — an audio file with voice instructions only.
• Voice Left, Music Right — voice instructions on the left audio channel and music on the right channel. This lets you route voice to the operator’s earpiece and music to the speakers.

Important Constraints

When creating voice cues, keep the following rules in mind:

1. No cues in the first two seconds. If necessary, move the music so it starts later.
2. Minimum 2.1 seconds between cues. The voice instructions need enough time to play.
3. Simultaneous cues share a number. If two cues happen at exactly the same time, they will get the same cue number. When setting up the show, connect them electrically or pyrotechnically.
4. Chain cues for a single impulse. If you want two cues to fire from one command, use the “Chain Cues” feature.