Scenic projection for the stage

Projected scenery your students can run.

CueLett puts pictures and video behind your cast or your ensemble: backdrops on the scrim for the musical, scenery behind the band and choir, and title slides for every piece on the concert program. Build it in an afternoon, lock it before the house opens, and run the whole performance from one GO button.

See what it does How a show runs

SpaceGO EscFade to Black

Try it: press GO to run the next cue.

CueLett Spring Musical Show Mode

On the projectorNo masks

60 fps0 droppedProjector 1920×1080Saved

One buttonGO plays the next cue. Space does the same.

One second to blackEsc fades the stage, picture and sound.

No internetNothing leaves the laptop during a show.

No admin rightsInstalls for the person using it.

1080p at 60 fpsBuilt for standard school laptops.

Theater and concerts

One program for the musical and the concert season

Schools are putting projected backdrops behind their musicals, and more and more behind their bands, orchestras and choirs too. CueLett handles both with the same cue list and the same GO button.

For the musical

Backdrops that fit the set

Project the scenery onto a scrim, cyc or screen and change it with the scene, in time with the music.

Fit the picture to the scrim with corner pins and a curve grid, even from a projector hung off to the side.
Masks keep light off platforms and set pieces, with a different mask set for each scene.
Looping skies, water and fire, and crossfades timed to the score.
Show Mode locks the show for the run, and Check alignment fixes a bumped projector before the curtain.

For the concert

Scenery behind the ensemble, titles on the program screen

Set a mood behind the band, orchestra or choir, and tell the audience what they are hearing.

Backdrops behind the ensemble: slow-moving pictures and video that change with each piece.
Run a second CueLett show for the program screen, with videos, pictures, and a title slide for every group and piece.
Import the concert program and CueLett makes the group and title slides for you.This winter
Preshow and intermission looks, and Fade to Black between pieces.

Features

Everything a show needs, laid out the way a stage crew thinks

Every picture and video is a cue. Cues run in order, each with its own timing, transition and look, and the operator always sees what is playing now and what plays next.

A cue list with one GO

Put pictures and video in order, number them however your script does (14, 14.5, 15), and press GO. LIVE and NEXT are always on screen, in words as well as color.

Fade to Black

Esc fades the stage to black in one second, with the sound. Press it again to cut to black at once. Pressing it more never makes the fade longer.

Show Mode

Lock the show before the house opens. Nothing gets edited by accident, and the operator can still run every cue, adjust the one on stage, and recover from a mistake.

Fit the picture to your set

Drag the four corners and bend a curve grid until the picture sits square on a scrim, a flat or an angled wall, even with the projector off to the side.

Masks around set pieces

Draw masks around platforms and scenery so the light lands on the scrim and stays off the set. Give each scene its own mask set, with soft edges measured in projector pixels.

Smooth transitions

Crossfades, fades through black, wipes and dissolves, with seamless loops for skies, water and fire. CueLett prepares the next cue before you press GO, so it starts at once.

Color and light

Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and tint on any cue, and see the change on stage while it plays. Each change is one step of Undo.

Recovers on its own

If the laptop stumbles mid-show, crash protection reopens CueLett and puts the cue that was playing back on stage. Every change saves as you go, with backups.

Setup tools

A test pattern, Check alignment and a diagnostics panel help you aim the projector before rehearsal and confirm the laptop is keeping up during it.

For schools

Made for the way schools put on a show

Student crews, shared laptops, district IT rules and a performance that cannot stop. CueLett was designed around all four.

Learn it in one class period

Plain-language labels, a short walkthrough the first time it opens, and tooltips for every term a student might not know.

Runs on the laptops you already have

Built for standard school laptops with built-in graphics. If a machine cannot keep up with a heavy cue, CueLett says so before the show, not during it.

No admin rights, no IT ticket

It installs for the person using it, and removing it is just as simple. A plain IT overview explains exactly what it does and does not touch.

Offline and private

No internet, no accounts, and nothing collected. Shows and settings stay on the laptop. Diagnostics leave it only when you export them yourself.

Shows travel on a USB drive

A show is one folder with its media inside. Copy it to another laptop and it opens there, with every cue and mask in place.

Readable from a dark booth

Large controls, high contrast and a dark screen that does not light up the booth. Every state has a word as well as a color.

How a show runs

From a folder of pictures to opening night

1
Add your media
Drop in pictures and video. CueLett converts them for smooth playback while you keep working.
2
Build the cues
Put them in order, number them to match the script, and choose how each one comes in.
3
Fit the stage
Pin the corners to your scrim and draw masks around the set. Check alignment fixes a bumped projector in seconds.
4
Lock it
Turn on Show Mode before the audience arrives.
5
Press GO
Run the whole show from one button, with the next cue always ready and waiting.

System requirements

What you need to run CueLett

CueLett is designed for the laptop a school already issues, so most teachers can start with what they have.

Operating system: Windows 10 (version 22H2) or Windows 11, 64-bit
Computer: A standard school laptop with 8 GB of memory or more
Graphics: Built-in Intel graphics (Iris Xe or UHD) or better
Storage: A solid-state drive with about 1 GB free for CueLett, plus room for your pictures and video
Projector: Any projector or second display over HDMI or USB-C. A 1920×1080 projector is a good match.
Video: 1080p at 60 fps, transitions included; 4K at 30 fps for a single video
Installing: No administrator rights. It installs for the person using the laptop.
Internet: Not needed to build or run a show

Not sure about your laptop?CueLett measures how much the laptop can play at once and marks any cue that asks for more, before the show rather than during it.

Bigger shows on stronger computersTwo 4K videos crossfading at once need more than built-in graphics. CueLett counts dropped frames and warns the operator if the computer cannot keep up.

Windows only, for nowCueLett runs on Windows laptops. It does not run on Mac or Chromebook.

Coming next

In development now

CueLett is in beta, running rehearsals for a fall musical and preparing for winter concerts.

Concerts

Program import and title slides

Import the printed program or a set list, and CueLett builds the group and title slides, plus preshow and intermission looks and saved venue setups.

Sharing

Send a show as one file

Hand a whole show to a substitute operator. It opens on their laptop with every cue and picture.

Theater

Several surfaces

Flats and set pieces of their own, each with its own picture, run from the same cue list.

Help

A full user manual

A printed and on-screen guide with pictures of every screen, for teachers and student crews.

Want CueLett for your school?

CueLett is being built with a school music program and will open to more schools and districts after its beta. Write to ask about a demonstration, the beta, or using CueLett in your district.

anthony@squawkinfo.com