Interval/Cue Timer for E firing

[PyroGyro]

I bought a cheap Chinese 36 cue firing system to get my feet wet before spending $1k on a Cobra. It does not have scripting/automation, so I started thinking about ways to create a cue sheet, but a computerized one where I could create a list of timers, name them(Channel 1 Cue 1 for example) and also have it countdown for me to the next Cue visually and with audio(text to speech).

I discovered this Phone App called "Seconds -Interval Timer for HIIT & Tabata" It costs $5

I have never so much as fired electronically yet but check it out, I think this might actually be cool. Let me know your thoughts. pros and cons.

You can create a countdown to the start of the show and name the countdown what you want, even give it a screen color.
You can create a timer for channel 1 cue 1 and specify the length of the cue/timer, even give it a screen color.
You can create a timer for channel 1 cue 2 and specify the length of the cue/timer, even give it a screen color.

It also allows you to play audio at the start of a timer, which means in theory you could use this to start the play of your fireworks music, if you have a premade mpeg stored on your phone.

Here is a demo video I created.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fdVGEp_e-g

[BeerGuyEd]

Nice demo and I like the idea behind this. I am going to explore this idea further as well. I did my first E fired show this year and I know I need something better than a set sheet to keep me on track.

[PyroGyro]

Nice demo and I like the idea behind this. I am going to explore this idea further as well. I did my first E fired show this year and I know I need something better than a set sheet to keep me on track.

It gets even better. There is a feature that will tell you (audio) the name of the next timer event/cue at 8 seconds before it occurs and will tell you the length of the cue as well. It will say "Up next, Channel 1 cue 2 for 1 minute", then once it reaches 3 secs until that cue it will then do a 3-2-1 countdown. This is awesome. new video here https://youtu.be/pzGcWqUaysc

[Robbro097]

Seems like a great inexpensive way to keep your timing tight and let you enjoy more of your show without having to stare at a stop watch and cue sheet. Great outside the box thinking

[PyroGyro]

Seems like a great inexpensive way to keep your timing tight and let you enjoy more of your show without having to stare at a stop watch and cue sheet. Great outside the box thinking

Thanks, this app was created for workouts, I'm sure the app developers weren't thinking it could be used for something like this. I'm definitely going to try this out in my first E firing shoot next month. I discovered other cool features as well. You can prevent your phone screen from locking/screensaver mode while the timer is running and also, you can also set it to lock the screen once you start the timer, which prevents accidental finger presses on the apps buttons while the timer is running. I also tried the audio feature as well. You can set it up so that you can play music starting at a certain cue and running through all cues, or you can play a separate piece of music for each cue.

[Robbro097]

U may wanna consider a earpiece/headphone bluetooth speaker or something fireworks may overpower phone i don't remember what it was (think it was some dominator pro) but i was near 300ft away and something broke so loud it left my ears ringing for a bit

[mb_pyro]

I've used this app the last 2 years. Love it. Some great features to use for this. 1 nice thing is if a cake ends early you can just click the next cue(exercise) and the timer jumps with you.
I also love it vibrates the last 3 seconds before the next cue. This way my deaf self doesn't have to worry about missing it.

[PyroGyro]

I've used this app the last 2 years. Love it. Some great features to use for this. 1 nice thing is if a cake ends early you can just click the next cue(exercise) and the timer jumps with you.


And THAT is another great feature! Bottom line is this should help keep my eyes on the show vs a cue sheet and a stop watch. I plan to use bluetooth earbuds so I can hear the audio cues coming from the app. I will know the upcoming channel and cue # along with having a 3-2-1 audio countdown to the cue. Beautiful!

[mb_pyro]

And THAT is another great feature! Bottom line is this should help keep my eyes on the show vs a cue sheet and a stop watch. I plan to use bluetooth earbuds so I can hear the audio cues coming from the app. I will know the upcoming channel and cue # along with having a 3-2-1 audio countdown to the cue. Beautiful!

Exactly. The show is a lot more fun when you can actually watch it. We usually do 25 or so cues so this is perfect.
I personally wouldn't use the earbuds. I would rather hear the show and the crowd. I am usually pretty familiar with the product I'm shooting so I could shoot by sight but this is a great reminder for what is next and to keep me from getting too carried away.

[CozmicRooster]

Looks pretty awesome. I am also considering the cheap Chinese multi-cue system as I’m not ready to invest the $$ required to do what I want to pull off for next year. I come from 18 years of live sound production so I am used to cue sheets and timing already, but this will be a nice tool to simplify the process. Thanks for the tip.

[PyroGyro]

Looks pretty awesome. I am also considering the cheap Chinese multi-cue system as I?m not ready to invest the $$ required to do what I want to pull off for next year. I come from 18 years of live sound production so I am used to cue sheets and timing already, but this will be a nice tool to simplify the process. Thanks for the tip.

I didn't even think of that use. I'm a former live sound/FOH mixer myself, and could've used this back in the day.

[mb_pyro]

Last year when I looked into this app I downloaded the free trial version. It did everything the I wanted however it does not save the script. I would recommend to anyone interested get the free version play around with it and see if it works for how you shoot.

[PyroGyro]

Last year when I looked into this app I downloaded the free trial version. It did everything the I wanted however it does not save the script. I would recommend to anyone interested get the free version play around with it and see if it works for how you shoot.

The free version gives u access to all the features, however, you can only playback your script once. Once you back out of the script screen and go back to it again there will be a popup about paying. The script is saved, it's just not playable a second time until you pay.

[rfgonzo]

Looks like a good idea. But one of the reviews says the timer gets delayed if you have android.

[mb_pyro]

Looks like a good idea. But one of the reviews says the timer gets delayed if you have android.

If it helps last year I used it on a samsung galaxy S5 and this year an LG G7 both android with no issues.

[rfgonzo]

If it helps last year I used it on a samsung galaxy S5 and this year an LG G7 both android with no issues.

good to know, thanks

[PyroGyro]

If it helps last year I used it on a samsung galaxy S5 and this year an LG G7 both android with no issues.

I have a S8 plus and ran a script a few times and noticed no hickups.