Timer between singers

[Frazzie]

Is there a way to do a timer between singers?...something like "Next singer[name] in 30 seconds" . Maybe a countdown timer? This may already be addressed but I'm a newbie and couldn't find any reference to this.

[dave]

In the "wtkJams" app, you can see the Rotation and the approximate time each singer will come up.

Other than that, no, currently there isn't a way.

[DeusExMachina]

Well, if you added support for animGIFs in ShowScreens….

[dave]

i take that to be a joke...?

[DeusExMachina]

No. If one could put GIFs on a show screen, and not just static images, like JPEGs, then one could easily make a 30 second countdown timer, or any number of other things.

[dave]

or you could save the GIF as a movie, and just play the movie as if it were a song?

[DeusExMachina]

Sure. Or just make a movie in the first place. But that doesn't ft you the powerful layout capabilities of Producer or the ability to use them during tracks.

[dave]

it's a lovely idea for way down the road. but not something that is easy by any stretch. it would take a long time to do and would be a major overhaul of the video subsystem. which i do need to do to get hardware acceleration, but it won't happen soon.

[DeusExMachina]

[DeusExMachina]

Sigh. It would have been really nice if showscreens could have been given their own independent window (or an opin for same) that just popped over the current playing video window (like dragging a QuickLook window over top) that ran with no audio. Would've thought this was possible with no change to the current video subsystem, since it just sits in a new window on top. Like dragging the activity window or any other kJams window onto the current video window would work.

[dave]

there are too many things on my plate currently, the biggest set of things being bugs. crashing bugs. show-stopping bugs. after i get that actually under control it's going to be "fast search", and "hardware acceleration". note that the last one needs to be done to get all the nifty things you are asking for, like easy video overlays.

[Frazzie]

Thanks for all the responses to my post. I like the idea of placing a video file between singers...but it may be too cumbersome and hard to manage. I love the program and all the features already imbedded in the program! Thanks Dave, for your quick response and to others who commented!

[dave]

did you know about the Rotation Showscreen?

[DeusExMachina]

If you want a quick and dirty solution, get a video that shows a timer you want. Select it in Finder. Hit the space bar. If you are running on a dual monitor set-up, drag the resulting QuickView window to the video monitor. Hit space bar again.
Now, whenever you need it, just select that video again, and hit ⌘ ⌥ Y.

[Frazzie]

I'm going to try the "Rotation Showscreen" solution as it works within the program. If that doesn't fit the bill, I may try the timer route. I've found that even when the next singer is prompted, they still need a reminder and time to get to the mic. It's all workable...you guys rock! Great ideas and solutions.