# A cue recalls a picture. Plan the music separately. Canonical: https://phasevoid.com/journal/vj-cues-vs-playlists/ Published: 2026-11-04. Updated: 2026-11-04. By [Balance IT](https://balanceit.pl). Category: Show preparation. A row of named acts can look like a playlist. In this Studio it is a set of captured visual states. Knowing that boundary makes a show easier to edit, perform and reopen. ![Rave laser visual reference from PHASE VOID Studio](https://phasevoid.com/scenes/rave-laser-v1-7-0.webp) Rave laser · an existing world reference. This still does not show a performed cue transition or a particular saved composition. ## Capture the state you intend to perform. A visual cue answers “what should the picture become?” A music playlist answers “which audio item should play next?” In PHASE//VOID these remain separate jobs. Show acts contain copied visual settings, hold and transition choices, and optional captured surface or composition state. They are not an audio playlist and do not package songs. Build the intended composition before Add current look. Review it in the act editor rather than trusting the world name or thumbnail. A procedural world may be only one part of a picture that also uses surfaces, video layers, text or effects. The [live Show guide](https://phasevoid.com/guides/live-visuals/#sequence) owns the current capture/edit procedure; the [video-loop guide](https://phasevoid.com/guides/video-loops/) explains complete compositions with local clip references. ## Keep visual banks, video layers and acts distinct. The procedural A/B mixer blends two moving world looks. Its picture crossfader does not change soundtrack volume. The two local video layers are a separate system laid over that base, with their own opacity, blend, framing, speed and loop choices. A named act can recall a captured composition; it is not another media player hidden behind the world thumbnail. Before storing a dramatic change, ask which part should change. A new procedural world, a different local clip and an incoming mapped surface look have different consequences. Check the complete Program image, not only a source preview. Use the [Program and surface explanation](https://phasevoid.com/journal/one-projector-many-visuals/) when individual surfaces need independent treatment. ## Decide when an act enters and how long it stays. A transition changes into the incoming act. A hold determines when a running sequence proceeds after that transition. Manual holds wait for an operator; seconds and bars give the sequence a different rule. In live use the bar clock is the manual 4/4 clock. Typing a BPM or choosing a bar hold does not identify beat one in the song or time-stretch its audio. Performance pads also offer launch timing for a deliberate request: Now, Next beat, Next bar or Every 4 bars. These determine the incoming request’s entry, not a new soundtrack schedule. A pending cue can still be preparing media or waiting for a future boundary. Watch that state before requesting another act. Follow [performance pads](https://phasevoid.com/guides/live-visuals/#performance-pads) for the exact launch and cancellation behavior. ## Edit off air, then inspect what actually changed. A useful preparation sequence is simple: capture one calm act, one denser act and one release. Give them names that describe their visual role. Review one draft, save it deliberately, then prepare and fire it under controlled conditions. Editing the current world after capture should not be treated as proof that an earlier act has been updated; inspect that saved act itself. A thumbnail identifies a reference world, not every moving layer or the complete output. Rehearse a non-sequential change as well as the expected order. It exposes a cue that only appears correct because it inherited a fortunate preceding state. Compare actual text, clip positions, masks and effects with the intended incoming composition. ## Try a three-act plan. Imagine a sculptural opening, a dense clip-led peak and a quieter return. Give each role an intended complete picture. Capture the peak with its local video layer and the return with that layer removed. These are proposed roles to build, not a supplied recipe or a recorded show. Jump from opening to return, then directly to peak. Inspect unwanted layers, missing clips and text in the final picture. Revise the saved act when necessary. Keep the music under its own controls to compare visual contrast against the same passage. A correct jump in one order does not establish every other transition. Keep notes about the exact incoming picture you accepted rather than relying on the cue thumbnail or name. ## Leave with a show you can reopen. - Keep audio selection and monitoring under the Sound controls. A visual act is not a song change. - Keep required local video originals alongside the saved settings; a clip reference is not the clip itself. - Rehearse the launch mode and Stop before performance. A prepared cue is not proof of physical synchronization or sustained frame rate. Next, read [how to save a VJ show with local media](https://phasevoid.com/journal/save-vj-show-local-media/). If you need a finished soundtrack film, use the separate [File render workflow](https://phasevoid.com/guides/youtube-visualizer/#file-render); live holds and film-only soundtrack entries have different purposes. ## Try the idea [Review Show sequence in Studio](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 - [Save the settings. Keep the original media.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/save-vj-show-local-media/) - [Rehearse the recovery as well as the drop.](https://phasevoid.com/journal/live-visual-show-rehearsal/) - [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/) — this article. 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/). 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)