Timer modes and end actions

Each cue can have a timer, and each timer has a mode that determines how it counts and an end action that determines what happens when it expires. Getting this combination right is the difference between a show that flows automatically and one that requires constant manual input.

Timer modes

Countdown

The timer counts down from the duration you set. Simple and predictable. Use this when you know roughly how long a segment will take. Enter the duration in h:mm:ss format — 0:04:30 for four and a half minutes, 0:00:30 for a thirty-second bumper.

Target time

The timer counts down to a specific wall-clock time rather than from a duration. If a segment needs to end at exactly 10:45am, set the target time to 10:45:00 and the timer adjusts in real time to the gap between now and that moment.

Useful when you're running alongside a broadcast, a simulcast, or any schedule with a fixed public-facing time. Instead of calculating "how many minutes until the break?", you set the end time and let the timer do the math.

Count up

The timer runs forward from zero with no end target. There's no end action for count-up — it just keeps going. Use it when you want to track elapsed time but don't have a hard stop: a sermon, an open Q&A, a rehearsal segment, a break where you want to know how long you've been waiting.

End actions

End actions only apply to Countdown and Target time modes. Count up has no end action.

Stop

The timer reaches zero and stays there. Nothing else happens — the cue remains active until the director clicks Next cue. Use Stop when a human needs to decide when to move on. A speaker who might run five minutes short or five minutes long; a musical moment where the timing can't be scripted.

Auto-advance

The timer reaches zero and the show automatically advances to the next cue. No director input required. The transition happens the instant the timer expires.

Use Auto-advance for tightly scripted back-to-back sequences where the timing is fixed: a countdown video leading directly into a live feed, a pre-recorded intro rolling straight into a song, multiple songs in a set with no transition needed between them.

Overtime

The timer reaches zero and keeps counting into negative numbers, showing exactly how far over you've run. No automatic action occurs — the director still advances manually. Use Overtime when you want visibility into overrun but still want to be in control of the transition: a segment that tends to run long and where the director needs to see the deficit clearly before deciding to cut.