Video tutorials
See it in under a minute
Twelve short videos, recorded in QUE Stage on its virtual stage. No sound needed.
Guide 01
Connect your Hue Bridge
QUE Stage runs on your Mac, iPad or iPhone and talks to your Hue Bridge over your own network.
Same network
Put the device running QUE Stage and the Hue Bridge on the same Wi-Fi or wired network.
Open QUE Stage
It looks for Hue Bridges on your network. Choose yours from the list.
Press the link button
When QUE asks, press the round button on top of the Hue Bridge. The Bridge gives QUE an access key, which stays on your device.
Guide 02
Patch your lights
In QUE you design with fixtures, not with bulbs. A fixture is a stage position such as Front left or Top spot. The patch says which lamp plays which fixture.
Create fixtures
Open PATCH and add one fixture for each position on your stage. Give it a clear name and tags such as #front.
Assign a lamp
Pick the Hue lamp that hangs in that position. Use IDENTIFY to see which lamp is which.
Swap later without rewriting
If a bulb fails, assign a new lamp to the same fixture. Every cue stays as it was.
Guide 03
Build your first cue
A cue is a saved look: every light's colour and brightness, plus the time it takes to fade in. You make the look on LIVE, then CAPTURE it.
Select lights
On LIVE, tap a tile or a group chip such as #front to choose what you control.
Set the look
Use Brightness and Colour in the panel on the right. The stage changes as you move.
CAPTURE
Press CAPTURE. QUE saves the look as the next cue and gives it a number.
Name it and set the fade
Open the cue, give it a name such as Morning and set how long it takes to arrive, for example 2.50 s.
Good to know
Changing a light after CAPTURE does not change the cue. To keep the change, press UPDATE.
Guide 04
Run the show
On show night you only need three buttons.
GO
Runs the next cue with its fade. NOW shows what is on stage, NEXT shows what GO will run.
BACK
Steps back to the previous cue.
BLACKOUT
Takes every light out at once. Press RELEASE to bring the look back.
Open SHOW for a full-screen view with large NOW, NEXT and GO.
Guide 05
Import palettes and FX
The Library has free palette and FX packs.
Download
Pick a pack and download the .quefx or .quepal file.
Import
In QUE, open Menu → FILE → IMPORT FX or IMPORT PALETTES and choose the file.
Nothing is replaced
New items are added to your library. If a name already exists, the new one is added as “(2)”.
Guide 06
Local Network permission
To find your Hue Bridge, QUE Stage needs permission to use your local network. It is used only to control your lights.
Allow when asked
The first time QUE looks for your Bridge, your device asks for Local Network access. Choose Allow.
If you chose Don’t Allow
Open the Settings app, go to Privacy & Security → Local Network and turn QUE Stage on.
Still no Bridge?
Check that the device and the Bridge are on the same network, then write to info@matukufilm.com.
Guide 07
Plan your rig
What we learned running real shows with Hue. Plan around these and the rig stays fast.
Ten fast lights per Bridge
Hue streams up to 10 lights per Bridge through an Entertainment area. Streamed lights follow chases, FX and quick cues instantly. Lights outside the area still work, but they share a slower path of about ten commands a second, so big changes can arrive with a visible lag.
More than ten? Add a Bridge
Each extra Bridge streams its own 10 lights, and QUE Stage runs all of them as one stage. A second Bridge is the reliable way to grow past ten. A Hue Bridge Pro connects more lights, but it still streams 10.
Stream the lights that move
Put the lights you chase, flash or cue quickly into the Entertainment area. Washes that change slowly can stay outside it.
Light strips count, and use channels
A gradient strip such as Hue Flux takes one of the 10 places and several of the area's 20 channels. While streamed it shows separate colour sections; outside the area it shows one colour.
Keep chases slower outside the area
On lights that are not streamed, keep each chase step above about one second. Faster steps arrive late or get skipped.
Guide 08
Set up the show network
Most problems on show day are network problems. Ten minutes here saves the evening.
Your own router, Bridge on a cable
Connect every Hue Bridge to your own router with an Ethernet cable. Do not rely on the venue or audience Wi-Fi.
5 GHz for your devices
Hue lights talk on the 2.4 GHz band. Connect your Mac, iPad and iPhone to 5 GHz, or the Mac by cable, and leave 2.4 GHz to the lights.
Fixed channels
Set the router's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to a fixed channel such as 1 or 11 instead of automatic. In the Hue app, choose a Zigbee channel away from it. With two Bridges, give each one a different Zigbee channel.
Place the Bridge in the open
Keep each Bridge one to two metres from the router, out of metal racks and cases, high up and facing the stage. Keep two Bridges at least a metre apart.
Reserve its address
In your router, reserve a fixed address for each Bridge. QUE Stage still finds it on its own; this just makes reconnecting faster.
Guide 09
On show day
A short routine before the doors open.
Nothing else talks to the Bridge
Turn off Hue app automations, timers, motion sensors and Hue Sync on the show Bridges. Anything else that sends commands will fight your cues.
Check the Entertainment area
Open the Hue app and make sure the area is still there with all its lights. We have seen an area go missing on a show day.
Restart, then IDENTIFY
About an hour before the show, unplug each Bridge for ten seconds. When QUE Stage is ready, IDENTIFY every fixture and press BLACKOUT, then RELEASE.
Two copies, no updates
Keep the show file on two devices or a USB stick, and do not update the app between the last rehearsal and the show.
Not emergency lighting
QUE Stage runs show lighting. It does not replace the venue's emergency and safety lighting.