There are various ways of calculating Timings for your Episode (Rundown and Script).
See Which Timings are available to use in an Episode (Script)? for a more general overview of all available Timings in Cuez.
Continue reading below to find out how you can use the different Timings:
Episode (Script) Timings
(1) Live versus Recorded
Depending on the type of Episode you are creating, different Timing information may be needed. In this dropdown menu you will be able to select either 'Live' or 'Recorded'.
'Live' will result in the option to enter 'On Air time' (2) and 'Off Air time' (3).
'Recorded' will remove these options as these will not be relevant in the case of a recorded show.
(2) On Air Time
If the 'Live' option was selected (above), you can now enter the On Air Time for your Episode. This represents the time you are planning to go live, start your broadcast,…
This value is entered as hours:minutes:seconds.
(3) Off Air Time
If the 'Live' option was selected (above), you can now enter the Off Air Time for your Episode. This represents the time you are planning to go off air, end your broadcast,…
This value is entered as hours:minutes:seconds.
(4) On Air Duration
The On Air Duration represents the total duration your Episode will (or should) be.
If, for example, you are planning to make a 45 minute show, then you will enter '00:45:00' for the On Air Duration.
This value is entered as hours:minutes:seconds.
(5) Over/under Duration
The Over/under Duration represents the amount of time you will be over or under your On Air Duration, based on the Estimated Durations of all Parts / Items / Blocks in the Episode.
This value is calculated, and updated, automatically for you by Cuez and is shown as minutes:seconds. This means that, once you have all your Estimated Durations for the different elements (Parts, Items, Blocks) in your Episode, you will immediately see the over/under at the top of the Episode. No need for you to do any manual calculations.
The Over/under Duration changes color depending on the result:
Green: you are perfectly on time, the over/under is 00:00
Orange: you are under time, the over/under is a negative value
Red: you are over time, the over/under is a positive value
Part / Item / Block Timings
To enable the different Timings available, click the plus-button (1), then check the box for 'Timings' (2). You can now select which Timings you want to add to your Episode from the menu (3). Each type of Timing will be shown as an extra Column in the Episode - this can be done in both the Rundown view as well as the Script view.
Estimated Duration
In Cuez you can either manually enter an Estimated Duration for a Block, have it be calculated automatically for you, as well as overwrite an automatic calculation.
Manual: For all Block types, you can click the Timing cell in the Est. Duration Column and enter the value you want/need. This Timing is then visible in blue.
Next to the blue Timing, you will also find a small icon - this gives you the option to reset the Timing back to its automatically calculated value (or zero values).
Automatically: For all Block types that use automatic calculation, the calculated value will be shown in black.
Text Blocks: For all Text Blocks (default or custom created) you can configure whether or not the text field should be included in the automatic calculation. For the some of the default available Text Blocks this is enabled, but you can disable this as needed. For custom created Text Blocks you can choose to enable this when creating or editing your Block Template.
Cue Blocks: For all Cue Blocks (default or custom created) you can configure whether or not the media field should be included in the automatic calculation. For the some of the default available Clip and Audio Blocks this is enabled, but you can disable this as needed. For custom created Cue Blocks you can choose to enable this when creating or editing your Block Template.
Overwriting: When using the automatic calculations as explained above, you will always have the option to overwrite the calculated value with your own. Simply select the calculated time and overwrite it with your new value.
When not using automatic calculations, you can also enter your own value by clicking in the empty space for the Estimated Duration and entering your value.Blocks: Estimated Duration for blocks can be overwritten, the Estimated Duration for the 'parent' Item and Part will update accordingly.
Items: Estimated Duration for Items can be overwritten, the Estimated Duration for the 'parent' Part will update accordingly. This does not affect the underlying Block durations, but will grey out all Block timings as these will no longer have any effect on the Item or Part Timing.
Parts: Estimated Duration for Parts can be overwritten. This does not affect the underlying Item or Block durations, but will grey out all Item and Block Timings as these will no longer have any effect on the Part timing.
Front Time
The Front Time shows the estimated start time of each Part, Item or Block, and is based on the (Episode) On Air Time plus the Estimated Duration of the Part, Item or Block. As a user, you can overwrite the Front time.
Part Front Time:
First Part: The Front Time of the first Part in an Episode is the same as the (Episode) On Air Time.
Following Parts: The Front Time of the following Parts in an Episode are based on the Estimated Duration plus Front Time of the previous Part.
Item Front Time:
First Item: The Front Time of the first Item in a Part is the same as the Front Time of the Part it belongs to.
Following Items: The Front Time of the following Items in a Part are based on the Estimated Duration plus Front Time of the previous Item.
Block Front Time:
First Block: The Front Time of the first Block in an Item is the same as the Front Time of the Item it belongs to.
Following Blocks: The Front Time of the following Blocks in an Item are based on the Estimated Duration plus Front Time of the previous Block.
End Time
The End Time shows the estimated end time of each Part, Item or Block, and is based on the Front Time plus the Estimated Duration of the Part, Item or Block.
Back Time
The Back Time shows the time we should start a Part, Item or Block if we want to end our show on time, based on the (Episode) Off Air Time. As a user, you can overwrite the Back time.
Part timer
The Part timer shows a countdown of a Part, spreading the Part timer duration over the underlying Items based on their Estimated Durations.
The Part timer value can be filled in with a custom value, which can then be used as a countdown when cueing as well. When a Part timer value is filled in, the cueing of that Part will use the Part timer value instead of the Part's Estimated Duration value.
Actual Duration
The Actual Duration shows the real time duration of a Part, Item or Block as it was cued using the cueing option.
Actual start time
The Actual Start Time shows the real time when a Part, Item or Block was cued via the cueing option.
Actual end time
The Actual End Time shows the real time when a Part, Item or Block stopped being cued via the cueing option. This can be by stopping the cueing for the Part, Item or Block, or when cueing the next Part, Item or Block.
