This page shows how to build a complete, working rundown from an empty list. You add your files, put them in order, trim what is too long, set what follows what, and save the list. At the end, you have a file that you can open and run next week.
The page takes the shortest route, and parts 2 and 3 describe each step in full.
Step 1 — Add your material
There are two ways to add material, and the result is the same.
You can drag the files into the list. Select your files in File Explorer and drop them on the cue list. A line shows where the files will be inserted, and this also works inside a group, so you can drop files exactly where they belong.
You can also use the toolbar. Click Media for video and audio, or Still for images. Both buttons open a file dialog that accepts the same file types as dragging.
What you can drop
| What | Result |
|---|---|
| Video and audio files | A media cue for each file |
| Images | A still for each image |
| A folder | A group with the contents of the folder |
A playlist file (.m3u, .m3u8, .pls) | A media playlist |
A shortcut (.url) | The link in the shortcut |
| A web address | A media cue if the address plays directly. Otherwise a web page |
A .playoutgroup or .playoutbundle | The exported group, added to your list |
A .playout file | A complete rundown. The program asks whether to open it or add it as a group |
The program does not add files that it cannot read. Instead, it reports them once, in one message that lists every skipped file. This means that your list never has an unexplained gap, or a cue that plays black because its file cannot be read.
Step 2 — Put the cues in order
To change the order, drag lines up and down. A group moves as one block, with everything inside it.
The numbers follow the structure and update automatically, so you never need to renumber by hand. The top level is numbered 1, 2, 3, and cues in a group are numbered 3.1, 3.2.
Use groups from the start. If you make one group for each part of the show, such as the opening, the notices and the closing, a list of forty lines becomes a list of six, which is much easier to read. Click the heading of a group to collapse or expand it. A collapsed group still shows the status of the cue that is playing inside it.
Step 3 — Check each cue
The program fills in the duration as soon as it has loaded the file, so the list shows the length of the show before you have set anything.
To check a cue, click its line to arm it. The cue appears immediately in the next-cue picture beside the preview, where you can check that it is the correct file and the correct shot, and that it is the right way up. The preview and the output do not change until you press GO.
A clip does not play until you press GO, because video and audio run only when they are live. The next-cue picture shows the first frame of the clip, which is enough to check that it is the correct file. If you also want to hear the clip, put it on air at a moment when nobody is watching.
Step 4 — Trim and set
Four columns control how a cue behaves. You can set all four for a whole selection at once in the right-click menu, which saves a lot of time in a long list.
| Column | What to set |
|---|---|
| In / Out | Where in the file the cue starts and stops. The file itself does not change. |
| Vol | The volume, from 0 to 100 %. |
| Transition | How the cue comes in: a hard cut or a fade. |
| Follow | What happens at the end: hold the last frame, continue with the next cue, repeat, or stop. |
The Follow column determines how much you need to do during the show. Set it to next for clips that must play one after another, and leave it on hold where a person decides when the show continues. The cues on hold are the points where you press GO.
Step 5 — Save
Click Save on the right of the toolbar. The program saves your lists in DocumentsUltimate PlayoutLists as a .playout file, and Open starts in the same folder, so you do not need to search for a list.
A .playout file contains the rundown, which is the cues and their settings. It refers to your media in the location where the files are stored, but it does not contain the media. To give the complete show to someone else, click the arrow beside Save and choose Export as bundle…, which puts the list and all its files in one .playoutbundle.
Opening the list again
To open a list, click Open and select the file.
If a cue refers to a file that has been moved, the program tells you when the list opens. The message shows how many cues are affected, and each affected line gets a warning mark with the full path in its tooltip. Open the list well before the show, so that you have time to correct the problem.
Under Settings → General, you can set the program to open the last list automatically at startup, which is useful on a computer that runs one recurring show.
An example list
If you want to practise, build a list like this one. It contains most of what you will use:
1 Group: Before the start
1.1 Still — welcome slide follow: hold
2 Opening clip follow: next
3 Hold — black follow: hold
4 Group: Notices
4.1 Notice 1 follow: next
4.2 Notice 2 follow: hold
5 Closing clip follow: stopThis list needs four GOs, and everything between them runs automatically.