# Rehearse the recovery as well as the drop. Canonical: https://phasevoid.com/journal/live-visual-show-rehearsal/ Published: 2026-11-04. Updated: 2026-11-04. By [Balance IT](https://balanceit.pl). Category: Show rehearsal. A spectacular peak is only part of a usable set. The more valuable rehearsal also tells you what to do when an incoming clip is missing, a cue is queued or the picture needs to stop. ![Interference visual reference from PHASE VOID Studio](https://phasevoid.com/scenes/interference-v1-9-0.webp) Interference · an existing world reference. A still cannot establish animated performance, room brightness or end-to-end latency. ## Write down the result you need to observe. Choose a small representative sequence before testing an entire set. Include a calmer act, a busy composition and one transition that uses the local media or independent surfaces you expect to perform. State what success means: the intended incoming picture, the correct audio route, a readable output and an operator who can recover the setup. Use your actual intended computer, browser, display route and representative audio during the venue rehearsal. A short browser test on another machine answers a narrower question. It cannot establish projector brightness, display processing latency, controller compatibility or hours of stable operation. The aim is an observed acceptance record, not a universal performance promise. ## Prove the signal before changing the look. Choose a local MP3/WAV or a supported live source deliberately. Check that the meters respond to the intended signal. If the music is already reaching speakers through another application or mixer, keep browser speaker monitoring off unless you intentionally need it. A moving demo picture is not evidence that the room audio is being analyzed. Keep four choices separate: the selected signal, the sound-reactive bands, the visual pulse source and the sound heard in the room. Follow [input routing](https://phasevoid.com/guides/live-visuals/#input-routing) and [audio reaction versus beat sync](https://phasevoid.com/journal/audio-reactive-vs-beat-sync/). Test with the same musical passage where useful; a microphone in the room and a direct interface feed are different paths. ## Try the expected order and a recovery move. Prepare show, then inspect each complete act and an unexpected non-sequential jump. Check the actual Program picture, including local clips, text, mapping and effects. Practice the selected launch mode, read Preparing or Queued, and cancel a pending cue deliberately. Stop ends future sequence changes; it should not be treated as a room-audio mute. Rehearse Freeze and Blackout separately. Freeze holds the picture, transitions and cue holds; Blackout hides the picture while timing continues. Neither is an audio pause. Use the [keyboard reference](https://phasevoid.com/guides/live-visuals/#keyboard-controls) to review the exact command scopes. Keep the controls available to the operator rather than relying on an unfamiliar shortcut at the critical moment. ## Inspect the intended output, not only the editor. A Program monitor or source preview is not the physical projector. Check the actual output window, canvas shape, screen assignment and fullscreen behavior. For mapping, inspect the complete one-projector raster and surface edges from an audience position. The [mapping guide](https://phasevoid.com/guides/projection-mapping/) owns the geometry and calibration procedure. Compare bright and dark passages under the event’s lighting. Check that text and important forms remain inside the intended frame. Additional video layers, independent worlds and effects consume GPU capacity, so rehearse the composition you will really use. Reduce unnecessary work if the output cannot remain usable; a good result in an empty scene is not acceptance of the busy one. ## Write a usable rehearsal note. A useful note is specific: on this computer and output route, the opening and peak showed the intended layers, the return cleared the peak clip, and the operator cancelled a queued change and restored the picture after Blackout. Add the date and browser. Do not write this as a result until it has actually been observed. Separate a failed check from those that worked. A missing original is a media-recovery job;no input meter is a routing job;a dim physical image is a room/output question. Return to the matching guide instead of changing many controls together. Keep the known working setup and the next recovery action visible to the operator. This narrows a later retest without suggesting that every possible failure has been eliminated. ## Finish by reopening and naming the fallback. - Keep a known working settings JSON and the original media before testing a replacement. - In a deliberate preparation session, reopen the settings, reattach required media and inspect the actual cues and output. - Decide who can stop or black out the picture and what to do if a device, clip or output connection is unavailable. Write down what was tested, which setup was used and what remains unchecked. For a venue handed to someone else, use the [room handover checklist](https://phasevoid.com/journal/visual-room-handover/). For a short saved take, inspect its decoded beginning, middle and end through the [recording check](https://phasevoid.com/guides/youtube-visualizer/#check); this article does not claim that a rehearsal or screenshot proves a finished export. ## Try the idea [Review the Show workflow before rehearsal](https://phasevoid.com/studio/?help=show-sequence). Opening this task starts no audio, selects no file and grants no input permissions. Review the controls before changing the show. ## Related articles - [A cue recalls a picture. Plan the music separately.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/vj-cues-vs-playlists/) - [Save the settings. Keep the original media.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/save-vj-show-local-media/) - [A room scan finds surfaces. Alignment places the picture.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/room-scan-vs-projector-calibration/) - [Choose the window. Keep the rest of the picture intentional.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/projection-mapping-windows-and-walls/) - [Save the room reference, the mapped picture, and the show deliberately.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/save-room-scan-map-session/) - [A picture on the wall. A different job from lighting the room.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/projector-visuals-vs-event-lighting/) - [Hand over a room someone else can actually operate.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/visual-room-handover/) - [Choose the sound your video actually contains.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/music-visualizer-video-soundtrack/) - [Choose a video file your destination can use.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/mp4-vs-webm-music-visualizer/) - [Sound-reactive is not the same as beat-synced.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/audio-reactive-vs-beat-sync/) - [Many surfaces. One projector picture.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/one-projector-many-visuals/) - [The preview is not the finished film.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/preview-vs-rendered-video/) [Journal](https://phasevoid.com/journal/) · [Operational guides](https://phasevoid.com/guides/) ## Continue your reading path ### Prepare a recoverable show Understand captured acts, keep the settings and original media, then rehearse the complete setup and its recovery. 1. [A cue recalls a picture. Plan the music separately.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/vj-cues-vs-playlists/). Know what an act recalls and what stays with Sound. 2. [Save the settings. Keep the original media.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/save-vj-show-local-media/). Keep a portable settings copy and the original media. 3. [Rehearse the recovery as well as the drop.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/live-visual-show-rehearsal/) — this article. Rehearse input, cues, output and the recovery move. Review Show sequence, prepare the actual composition and rehearse it with the intended sound and output. Keep settings JSON and required originals; use the media-recovery task when reopening. [Working guide](https://phasevoid.com/guides/live-visuals/#sequence) · [Studio workspace](https://phasevoid.com/studio/?help=show-sequence) · [This reading path](https://phasevoid.com/journal/#prepare-show)