Graphics

Here is our situation:

Normal setup:

Overdrive

XPression rundown controller

2 XPression machines - no operator

Last night's setup:

Overdrive shut off

XPression rundown controller still on, no manual CG building, me calling up CGs from the MOS-generated sequence

We had shut off the Overdrive and operated the show manually, there was an election and we wanted to be ready for anything to happen. The newsroom staff entered in CGs into the newsroom software as normal, and the CGs were supplied via the Xpression rundown controller, and I selected the CGs from the sequence and hit Take Next to call them up.

I was able to scroll up and down through the MOS-generated sequence to find CGs, when circumstances dictated that we go out of order during the show. I put in dummy CGs into the commercial breaks so that I could tell one segment from another.

One thing I had forgotten about but that was handy with other CG systems was being able to hammer in a 4 digit number into the keypad and press Enter, to instantly call up specific pages out of order. Is there a way to do this with the XPression sequence, that I have missed?

Is there anything else anyone can suggest to make my life easier next time we do something like this?

I understand that there are mobile situations where you have 2-3 hours to preload your CGs into a sequence, and you can make different sequence items different colours to make it easier to determine what's what. However with the MOS-generated rundown, you kind of get what you get.

You can enabled the "Fast Recall" button at the top of the sequencer. This allows you to type in the ID using the Numpad and use Enter in the numpad to call it directly to air.

In the preferences I like to click the "Disable Fast Recall Input Timeout" option; otherwise if you are slow typing the ID in it thinks you are done and will preview the ID right away. I prefer to disable this timeout and use the * key in the numpad to indicate the ID is complete and it will preview that ID in the preview. Then Enter to take it to air.

Ctrl+I is a good shortcut too; if you want to add a new graphic to the sequencer and you know the Template ID of the graphic you want to base it on, you can hit Ctrl+I then type in the Template ID. This will add that template to the sequencer then you can just fill in the template data.

#XPression

Thanks, those both look like useful options. That's handy to be able to see a preview before taking it to air!

I also noticed that you can change the size of the sequencer font. That will help me a lot next time.

#XPression