Building a video playlist for a live show, on Windows
A live show is won in the preparation. On the night, it is already too late to hunt for the right file, remember where a shot should be cut, or judge a fade by feel. Everything has to be ready and in order before the house lights go down: media imported, cues arranged in running order, every cut and every fade already set, and a note on every cue so you never lose the thread. Here is how to build that cue list calmly, ahead of time, so that on show day you only have to run it.
The real risk: improvising everything during the show
Most failures at the desk do not come from the software, they come from preparation done halfway. The symptoms are easy to recognize:
| What happens | When it hits | The consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting for the right file mid-show | During the performance | A blank screen, the timing slips, the audience waits |
| Sequences in the wrong order | When the next cue is fired | The wrong video goes out, and there is no clean way back |
| Trims left unset | At playback, live | A leader, a clapper or a stray tail ends up on screen |
| Fades judged by feel | Under pressure, mid-scene | Hard cuts, botched fades, transitions that jump |
| No cue notes | When something unexpected happens | You lose the thread and no longer know which cue is next |
The counter fits in one sentence: everything that can be decided in advance should be decided in advance. On the night, all you do is trigger.
The method with Stage3
Stage3 is a Windows app for live video and audio playback, fully local. This is what it is built for: assembling a clean playlist, annotating it, setting it in detail, then replaying it identically on performance day. Here is the preparation workflow.
- 1. Import your media. Drag and drop your files into the window, or use the IMPORT button. If a file will not play as is, one click converts it through the built-in transcoder, with no external tool, and the conversion is remembered.
- 2. Put everything in running order. Reorder items by dragging them with the mouse, or select one and move it with Ctrl+Up / Ctrl+Down. Each item's duration stays visible, which helps you work out the timing of the run.
- 3. Annotate every cue. The notes column holds one line per item: select the cue, press the T button and type your note. Calling cue, scene intent, technical reminder, it all stays in front of you during the show.
- 4. Set the trims. Place a frame-accurate Trim In and Trim Out so each media starts and stops exactly where it should. It is non-destructive: the original file is untouched, playback simply runs from Trim In to Trim Out, and the effective duration shows in brackets.
- 5. Set the fades and the links. Give each media a Fade In and a Fade Out, add a fade marker wherever a blackout is needed, and link the cues that should chain on their own: select an item and press L to link it to the next. Linked items chain automatically, with the fade completing before the handover.
- 6. Save it all. Store the cue list in a .stage3 file with Ctrl+S. On show day, OPEN restores the exact session.
Once the cue list is ready, the night comes down to a few simple moves: F5 (or OUTPUT) switches the outputs to fullscreen, the indicator reads ON AIR, and Enter fires the selected cue. Nothing left to improvise, you just run the show.
Where this preparation pays off
- Theater cue list. Every video in the play arranged in scene order, each entrance and each blackout already set, a calling note on every cue. The desk simply follows the list, act after act.
- Conference run of show. Speaker videos, stings and holding screens ready in program order, with clean trims so each clip starts without a leader, and links to chain what should chain.
- Event sequence. Opening, highlights, awards, closing: the entire video mechanics laid out in advance, fades included, and replayed identically from one session to the next thanks to the .stage3 file.
Common questions
How do I reorder the items in the playlist?
Drag an item to its new place, or select it and use Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down to move it one step. The order you see on screen is exactly the order the show will run in. Each item's duration stays visible, which helps you work out the timing before you start.
Can I put notes on my cues?
Yes. A notes column lets you write a line on every cue: select the item, press the T button and type your note. Calling cue, scene intent, technical reminder, your run of show stays in front of you during the performance. These notes are saved with the project.
Can I set trims and fades in advance?
Yes, and that is the point of preparing ahead. Set a frame-accurate Trim In and Trim Out so each media starts and stops in the right place, without touching the original file. Set a Fade In and a Fade Out per media, add fade markers if needed, and link the cues that should chain on their own. Everything is locked in before the curtain goes up.
How do I save the whole cue list?
Save everything to a .stage3 file with Ctrl+S. It keeps the playlist order, the trims, the fades, the links, the markers and the notes. Next time, OPEN restores the session as it was. If a media file is missing, Stage3 flags it and lets you load the available ones or cancel.
Which formats are accepted?
13 formats natively, with nothing to install: MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV and WebM for video, MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG and WMA for audio. Anything else converts in one click through the built-in transcoder, and the conversion is remembered for later.
Read next
- Fade to black and clean live transitions: per-clip fades, blackout on cue, timed fade markers.
- Play a video fullscreen on a second monitor: keep the desk on your screen and only the video on the audience screen.
Build the cue list, then just run it
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