Various firing systems have the capability of dividing a script into sequences that are independently triggered. Most firing systems call this semi-automatic firing and use Tracks—a firing position property and script field—for this purpose (see the semi-automatic firing article). However, Fire Pioneer, ShangYi-TECH, SBC Spectra Series, and SBC TX3600P firing systems do not use Tracks. Instead, they rely on Finale 3D’s segment functionality, which is based on songs or segment markers. For timecode some of these firing systems use FSK timecode that contains embedded segment numbers. This article explains how configure segments for these firing systems.
Segments can be defined either by songs or segment markers.
- Songs: Default segment numbers are assigned automatically at export starting from 0 for the song with the earliest start time, unless specified manually in the Songs window.
- Segment markers: Default segment numbers are assigned automatically at export starting from 0 for the segment marker with the earliest start time, unless specified manually in the Keyframes window.
Use either songs or segment markers—not both. If segment markers are present, they take precedence and songs will be ignored for segment purposes.
How Segments Are Assigned
| Segment Method | Triggered By | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Songs | Adding songs via “Music > Add song or soundtrack” | Default segment numbers are assigned automatically for each song, starting from 0 for the earliest start time song and increasing by 1, unless specified manually in the Segment column in the Songs window. |
| Segment markers | Adding segment markers via “Show > Segments > Add segment start marker” | Default segment numbers are assigned automatically for each segment start marker, starting from 0 for the first segment start marker and increasing by 1, if not specified manually in the Segment column of the Keyframes window. |
Using Songs to Assign Segments
If your show contains one or more audio tracks, Finale 3D will assign segment numbers automatically based on the start times of the songs. Alternatively, segment numbers can be assigned manually. Segment numbers can be any integer (starting at 0 by default) and do not need to be consecutive. Multiple songs can share the same segment number if you want them to be grouped into a single segment. When using songs as segments, each segment begins at the start time of the corresponding song and ends at the start time of the next song, or the end of the show.
Steps:
- Add one or more audio files via “Music > Add song or soundtrack” (see Figure 1).
- (Optional) Open the Songs window (via the Window menu on the main menu bar) to set the segment numbers manually if you want to (see Figure 2).
- When exporting your script using “File > Export > Export firing system script file(s)”, be sure to choose the appropriate segment option in the script export options dialog:
- For Fire Pioneer, select One script file per segment
- For ShangYi-TECH, select Multiple segments
- For SBC Spectra Series and TX3600P, select One segment per song or segment marker
- When exporting your soundtrack using “File > Export > Export soundtrack”, select the Fire Pioneer FSK (one file per segment) option. Note: both Fire Pioneer and ShangYi-TECH use Fire Pioneer FSK timecode.
Figure 1 – A show with two songs where each song represents a segment.
Figure 2 – The songs window allows manual overrides of the segment number assignments (optional).
Using Segment Markers to Assign Segments
If you want full control over segment timing or are not using multiple songs, you can define segments using segment markers. Segment start markers define the beginning of each segment. Finale 3D will assign segment numbers automatically for each segment. Alternatively, segment numbers can be assigned manually. Segment numbers can be any integer (starting at 0 by default) and do not need to be consecutive. Each segment defined by a segment start marker must have a unique segment number. A segment continues until the next segment start marker or until the end of the show, unless segment end markers are used.
Steps:
- Choose “Show > Segments > Add segment start marker” (a vertical dotted line will appear in the timeline, see Figure 3).
- (Optional) Add segment end markers to explicitly define segment end times. If no segment end markers are added, each segment extends to the next segment start marker or the end of the show.
- (Optional) Open the Keyframes window (via the Window menu on the main menu bar) to assign a segment number in the Segment column or to delete a marker (see Figure 4). If no number is entered, a default segment number will be assigned automatically at export, starting with 0 for the earliest time keyframe. Finale 3D does not impose limits on segment numbers, but your firing system may — consult your firing system documentation for supported ranges.
- When exporting your script using “File > Export > Export firing system script file(s)”, be sure to choose the appropriate segment option in the script export options dialog:
- For Fire Pioneer, select One script file per segment
- For ShangYi-TECH, select Multiple segments
- For SBC Spectra Series and TX3600P, select One segment per song or segment marker
- When exporting your soundtrack using “File > Export > Export soundtrack”, select the Fire Pioneer FSK (one file per segment) option. Note: both Fire Pioneer and ShangYi-TECH use Fire Pioneer FSK timecode.
Figure 3 – A show without music using segment start/end markers to define segments.
Figure 4 – Segment markers and their (optional) manually assigned segment numbers are listed in the Keyframes window.