Thank you for Stage Cue

AnthonyB

Hi @peter, just wanted to drop a quick thank you for creating Stage Cue.

My band used it live at a gig for the first time and it worked perfectly.

I had done a proof of concept not long after you released it, but then 48 hours before this gig we decided to incorporate a video, synced with an extended audio intro of a song, to open our first set.
I was just using a single video that I MIDI triggered from Stage Traxx and a static background image for before and after the video.

I had never tested the whole iPad HDMI video out to projector stuff before we got to soundcheck 1 hour before doors open. To make matter more nervous for me, the venue's projector input was downstage right, and I am setup upstage left, so I cound't see the iPad and just had to trust everything would work. Thankfully it worked first time, and then 2nd time (to prove it wasn't a fluke the first time) during soundcheck, and so we just ran with it and crossed our fingers. It worked perfectly the time that mattered 🙂

This was the first time the band had incorporated video (albeit, just a small amount to get started) for some extra 'wow factor' and the punters, especially our regulars, commented favourably on it.

So, thank you for building it!

peter

Thanks for your feedback!

I really hope that the app will get some traction with time because as of now the sales numbers are very disappointing. Maybe there are still not enough venues with projectors or screens so that the usage is too limited.

Damir

peter Hi Peter, I am one of those sitting on the fence possible users of Stage Cue , I have two regular venues that have projection capability, and I have all the tools and knowledge to use Stage cue, as a solo performer it would probably benefit me , BUT , the thing is I am also an older performer that has done a lot of things in my life and values TIME.
So for me to spend extra time to create the video footage then to have extra setup on stage then to top it off have two seperate software packages to marry together to make it all work does not add up.
What needs to happen for me to be interested in this is if it all was packaged neatly in one bit of software that was very easy to manipulate.
Basically drag and drop all files in like we have now in ST3 , then a simple timeline , like the audio editor but a video editor where you simply place the video file in to the timeline and move it around to where you need it to start in a song once the video starts it plays to the end or you can place an end to this video in any song , when you come across another video it starts its Xfades you can drag the ending of a video to any part of a song or create multiple video parts within a song, if you want you can let a long video play through multiple songs by disabling an end command within a song , or simply letting it play to the end , also having a looping function to let the video keep playing if required.
Simply put, a very similar setup to Audio segments except it’s VIDEO/photo output.
This all to be within ST as an extra option just like Audio segments, so the learning curve is small the speed of creation is simple and fast , then I would seriously consider this option.
I am pretty sure there are many more users in the same boat.
Things are already very complicated for majority of musicians to cater for them you need to make it very simple to be attractive then they will jump on board.
I like the SC idea on its own but I can’t justify my time and effort to use it with ST, yes others might, but they are a minority that’s why the interest is disappointing, this would quickly change using a different approach.
This should have been the main feature of the new ST4, just like AUDIO SEGMENTING was in ST3.
The best part of ST3 is its ability to jump around a song while performing yet still having your lyrics displayed.
Other software is appearing with this capability but it’s still missing on stage user friendliness.
For ST? To jump ahead again it should incorporate VIDEO/PHOTO display in a very simple to use way .
Hope this feedback helps.

AnthonyB

peter I'm working on a project with my main musical collaborator that we want to launch in 2026. This project will incorporate video is a big way, and at this stage Stage Cue meets the requirements.

As we've had this on the drawing board for 12 months, we've been looking at the live band venues in our area (Sydney, AUS) and been paying close attention to in-house video capabilities. So, aside from the fact that most don't have any AV capabilities beyond in-venue TVs for playing sport that aren't designed for a band to tap into, many of the ones that do have a projector and screen, the screen is at back of stage and the projector is set too low and/or far back for video projection to be just above the performing band. As a result, you'd be projecting through the band, casting shadows on the screen, and adding annoying light in the eyes of the performers. Most of the screens are there for (again) sports event projection, or maybe DJ/Karaoke type stuff where the stage is mostly clear.

I was lucky with the venue I played on the weekend in that it had high ceilings (even above the stage), the projector was ceiling mounted and literally at the front of stage, and with a 5m deep stage, the bottom of the projector image was just clipping our drummers head.

For live bands playing in the 100-250 head size rooms in my neck of the woods, it is definitely a challenge!

ginacc

peter Hi Peter - I've been using Visibox for our video solution (with of course using ST3 for our tracks.) Can you sell me on why switching to StageCue might be better? So far Visibox has been super easy and intuitive, but I trust you as a developer so I'm always interested in your take.

Damir

AnthonyB that’s exactly the problem I found , the projectors are at the front of stage shooting on to a back of stage wall , I am lucky being a solo performer I can squeeze in on either side of stage , a band has no chance.
The best solution I can think of is having your own projector that can be either stand mounted on side or at the bottom of the back wall that can project very close to the screen so it is behind the band , these are specially designed projectors I believe.
This I would purchase if I had a nice bit of software to drive it with that is all in one so all I need is a small compact projector that needs power and a video input , a cable to go to my iPad that feeds it and an audio output that feeds my audio mixer , that’s as far as I am willing to go as far as tacking on stuff.
In my dream setup I would want wireless connection to my mixer which I have this capability already using the QC18T and a wireless video connection to my projector.
This then becomes very attractive, at the moment the software is my snag and I haven’t done any research in projectors for that reason.

peter

Thanks for the insights to you both.

My take on this was that what you see on big stages with led backdrops will slowly trickle down into smaller venues as the technology will get cheaper, lighter and easier to use. I don't think that projectors have a future for these applications. They are too limited in regards to placing and also the brightness they deliver. But I guess we are still too early for this to happen on a bigger scale.

AnthonyB

peter I certainly hope so. I'm only seeing LED screens/backdrops in larger (500+ pax) venues, or bands are hiring and bringing in themselves (out of my price bracket!).

AnthonyB

I found someone had setup a GoPro camera at front of stage so I can share a video clip of how we used Stage Cue to open our show. The audio is distorted because it's sitting right in front of speakers.
This was very much a last minute idea, and was originally going to be an audio only intro, but 48 hours before the gig we thought we'd throw caution to the wind and throw together some video to go with the audio and test out Stage Cue.... because who doesn't love testing new tech AT A GIG??? ;-)

https://youtu.be/UEeaWxJWwSY

peter

Wow, that's so cool. Thanks for sharing!

AnthonyB

ginacc interesting question! I wasn't aware of Visibox so just checked out their website and YouTube vids.

On face value, I'd suggest Visiobox does everything Stage Cue does, and a bit more, with one caveat - Stage Cue runs on iOS and MacOS while Visibox runs on MacOS and Windows. So if you want something that runs on an iPhone/iPad - only SC will do that.

Visibox looks like it's been around for at least 3-4 years so it has had more time to develop than SC. There are definitely some features in Visibox that I'd like to see in SC over time, e.g.

Live camera streams (I love the idea of being able to take a live camera stream AND put an effect on it)
The option (because it won't suit all scenarios) to define songs, and then define the videos/fx within those songs. This could just be a way to organise workflows, rather than folders of actual video content (i.e. a video could be reused in multiple 'songs')
More video playback behaviours (see Visibox Clip retriggering and end behaviours - https://manual.spaceage.tv/3.6.0/adding-clips)
Some general video output controls - rotate, flip, round corners (see here - https://manual.spaceage.tv/3.6.0/performance)
A few more globals actions - e.g. Play Next Video, Play Previous Video, etc. (ref - https://manual.spaceage.tv/3.6.0/midi)
There are other features it had (e.g. Elgato Stream Deck support), but these were the ones that jumped out at me as being good solid additions to SC over time.

peter

ginacc I'm not familiar with Visibox. And if that solution works for you, there is no reason to switch.

Visibox seems to have more features than StageCue. If you need those features, you need Visibox. If not, you might get along with StageCue for much lower costs.