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[Rogi Ocnorb]

Wanted: Versatile Windows-based Playlist Editor/Player

[BubbleBoy]

Most people that I know will use an electronic keyboard (piano) to play sound effects and loops. He should have his cues written down on his script as well as his counts for each effect.

Transitions are more the responsibility of the stage director. If you are having transitions problems I would suggest that the sound guy and stage director talk amongst themselves and work out what amount of time is good for them.

During the show the stage director, lighting and sound should be in constant contact with each other. So if the light needs to come up early or if a transition is running longer than normal (wardrobe malfunction) there is someone there to tell the appropriate people to hold.

Transition music should be based on counts and the stage crew needs to know these counts and either do their job or find a new career in striking the stage.

Timing will come with practice. But if you want something that is handy and will allow the sound guy to quickly get to a sound or quickly cut one off, a keyboard is a great tool for that.

Sorry for the theatre rant...

[Rogi Ocnorb]

It's an all-volunteer production. We had our first performance, tonight and it welt fairly well 'cause we split the mics and effects/music between 2 people.

Well, that, and all the talent and stage crew stepped it up a notch and mostly made their marks.

So... About that player... Any suggestions?

[jamesi]

Have you looked at DJ software? I dabbled with PCDJ in my youth, but I found it to have a steep learning curve, plus it costs. Perhaps try some of these: http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/software.php/id/7027/audio/DJs/

(Yay, finally broke the 2k post barrier!)

[Rogi Ocnorb]

Thanks, jamesi!

Though I know virtually nothing about this type of software, Imo try Zulu Professional , see how it works, and go from there.

I appreciate your using your 2,000th post for this!

Update: Removed the link to the crappy program that serves no purpose other than as a stealth installer for their other (paid/trial) products.

CD Looper almost fit the bill, but not quite.


It'll be easier to just roll my own with a word doc and embedded clips or an Access db.

[Euchre]

I know it probably is too late and sounds unlikely, but the latest Winamp should allow multiple playlists to be mixed, so that you might be able to repeat a track in loop fashion in one playlist before skipping on to the next with normal breaks and tracks. There's also a dogpile of plugins to allow you to do things like use mulitple instances of Winamp simultaneously, crossfade them, etc. If this is something you are going to do a lot, I'd suggest giving it a shot, especially since you might find it to be something of a swiss army knife where you can choose from an array of tools to suit each production.