Remote Trigger for Sound FX on the cheap! (And, there is NO coding required!!!!)
So I have been reading around a few places, and have noticed that there is a lot of interest in doing remote SFX (Sound Effects) triggers. That is, having the sound cue go on the action of someone other than the A1/Sound Technician. Normally, this would be a VERY bad idea to divide control of critical show cues. But, sometimes you need to. Perhaps the action is dependent on an action the actor does (Like firing a prop gun to match a SFX of a gunshot). Sometimes, you may need to cue intro music for a band and their entrance point doesn’t have the ability to have radio or clearcom, leaving the SM or technician to have to cue them in for you. And sometimes, you are just not anywhere near the computer running the effect and still need to launch them (Such as having to run multiple functions and your cue PC is no where near you).
There are plenty of MIDI controlled options (Such as foot switches, drum pads and keyboards) that have been used by professional Broadway shows and live musicians (OK GO actually comes to mind, since a lot of their rigs are time and action dependent even in their live performances). And, there are DAW’s like Ableton that make programming these MIDI controllers a breeze. The downside is that those systems can be quite costly to do correct. You can get a “Lite” version of Ableton and a $99 Mini MIDI keyboard, but for highschool theatre or street performers that is even out of budget. Also, once you get into custom made controllers for stage work and props, the price can easily climb into the thousands. And, if you are deciding to use a program that isn’t a pre-programmed click and play compliant controller outside of Ableton Live, then you have a lot of programming to look forward to.
BUT…. What if I told you that you could design a remote trigger for as little as $10? And, there was NO coding and very little programing involved?
First, you need the basics: The Controller.
This is a bog standard presentation remote. These little Pen-sized devices (they do come in different shapes, but this one happens to be what I had in my desk) are a common sight in any corporate office or classroom. They are almost exclusively used to run presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint. But, did you know how they work?
First of all, this clicker operates on RF, or radio frequency. You simply plug the USB adapter into the computer, and the remote communicates to the PC via radio waves. Some have infra-red (IR) transmitters, which uses a small LED that flashes commands in binary to the receiver in a light frequency we as humans cannot see, but the sensor can. Both devices are “Paired” systems, which means that the transmitter and receiver are matched to one another, so no programming is needed. Just plug and play.
Second, These clickers belong to a family of devices that are called “USB Class Compliant Devices”. In short, they use a generic key map and programing code that all keyboards, ten-keys and clickers use to activate a function. Each key on a class-compliant device is mapped to a key (letter, number, function, etc). On Keyboards, it allows Windows machines (and most macs) to understand just about any input device without the need to install a separate driver.
And, when you think about it, that means that while this clicker has three keys… if it is class-compliant, then that means these keys actually match something that may be on an actual keyboard! Why is this important? Because every program uses a Keyboard to input actions, including…
For this example, we’re going to be using a Windows-based sound cue software called Show Cue Systems. This is the Windows cousin to Apple’s QLab, and both effectively do the same thing: They can control audio, video, static image, control cues (actions) and even lighting cues (DMX based) and can be programmed to automate a show. But, in this case we want to launch a cue and not have to be near the computer that is launching it.
In this second picture, you can see that the cue we are looking to activate gives you some options on the drop down menu. Now, it may be tempting to figure out some wacky way to get a MIDI device to communicate to SCS, but take a look at the “Manual” option. They simply mean a “GO” button. In this case, it is the space bar.
Wait! The spacebar is the go button. That means that there is something that TELLS the program that, when I press that space bar, I want my cue to go. And, it also defaults to the Escape key (ESC) to stop everything in the show. The question you should be asking is “Is there a way to change what key activates the go button?”
In this case… YES. There is
In Show Cue Systems, you will find this list under the “Options” menu while in show mode. Then, click on “Shortcuts”. There, you will find a list of actions, and an associated key to make things happen. Remember when we mentioned that all class-compliant devices use the same “map” for keys so everyone can code in the same language? Well, that means our little remote’s 3 keys correspond to three keyboard keys.
But what are those keys? Well, the manual might not say, but there is an easy way to fix that. In nearly all media performance programs (Qlab, SCS, Ableton Live, Logic Mainstage, etc), you can find the option to re-map your keyboard to have different keys do different things. The easiest way (and the way I did this in SCS), is to click on the function I wanted to alter, click on it so that it was active, and went to the space that told the program what key would activate the function. Then, I cleared out the preset and simply pressed a key on the remote clicker.
Sure enough, in this case, the dialogue box showed that the clicker’s button was the same as the “Up Arrow” key on a keyboard!
Once I knew that, I went through the list, removed any other function that used the Up Arrow key and then assigned the Up Arrow as my go button!
(And, don’t forget to “Apply” and “Save” all changes depending on what software you are using)
Now, I simply go back to the cue, and choose the “Go” button to be the action that activates the cue. And, once I press the button on the remote that matched the keymap… THE CUE FIRES!
Not all programs allow you to remap the keyboard functions, but most do! I was on the Windows side of my MacBook Pro, so I couldn’t use Qlab as an example. But, it isn’t difficult. In fact this can even work with recording software!
If you are recording your own demo track, for example, and don’t want or can’ t get your computer or keyboard near you (Such as if you are playing drums and your DAW and interface are on the other side of the room), you can map the transport keys to any class-compliant device like a powerpoint clicker. Then, when you are ready, hit the button that activates the recording and you are off! (Admittedly there are better MIDI options for musicians, but this is simply another way).
Now, as long as you have a different key, you can even assign hotkeys to certain cues. Have a doorbell effect that the actor cannot seem to keep consistent on? Put a PowerPoint clicker in the doorbell and have the actor hit that! Now, they can have all the doorbell they want, and it doesn’t affect your cues and everything seems flawless. Tape the clicker to the prop gun, and never again does the gunshot have to mismatch the shooter on stage! And, these devices are DIRT cheap! This clicker I used was $10. That means, with the three buttons (assuming that each device does NOT share the same radio frequency) you can have three different hotkeys assigned. One to each clicker!
The only downside is that you have to make sure that each device isn’t “Cross Talking” over the other. Most manufactuers don’t assume three of the same type of clicker is going to be used, so they tend to just copy the same radio frequiency for all. Always double and triple check any infra-red and radio based device BEFORE the show for interference!
Yes, there are other, more stable and more effective ways to remote launch cues. But if you are on a super shoestring budget, in community theatre or even in high school, this is the tool for you!
