Cue Sheet Writer

What This Skill Does

Produces a formatted broadcast cue sheet — including item numbers, in-cues, out-cues, durations, and technical instructions — from a programme rundown or description of planned content.

When To Use This Skill

• A producer needs a print-ready cue sheet for a live or as-live broadcast programme — news, current affairs, magazine shows, documentary screenings
• You are preparing a floor or gallery team and need cues written to broadcast standard before the production meeting
• You have a rundown or rough order of content and need it formatted into a proper cue sheet that a presenter, director, and technical operator can all work from simultaneously
• You are writing cue sheets for a radio programme — including music, interview clips, and live links

What You Need To Provide

Required:

• A list of programme items in order, with a brief description of each (e.g., "Interview with housing minister, approx. 4 minutes")
• Total programme duration (e.g., 28 minutes for a 30-minute slot, accounting for titles and credits)
• Programme type (television news magazine, documentary, live radio programme, etc.)

Optional:

• Presenter name(s), if cues are to be addressed directly
• Whether music beds, idents, or stings are needed between items
• Technical format preferences — whether VT, OB (outside broadcast), or studio segments need distinct labelling
• Any fixed-time or hard-out constraints (e.g., "news at the top of the hour — hard out at 28:00")
• Language of broadcast

How the Assistant Approaches This

1. Reviews the full list of items and assigns each a sequential item number, estimates durations based on the descriptions provided (or uses supplied durations), and checks that all items fit within the total running time
2. Writes an in-cue (the first words of the item or the presenter's introduction line) and an out-cue (the last words spoken or the end of a music or VT item) for each entry, so the director and technical team know exactly when each element starts and ends
3. Formats the complete sheet as a structured table — item number, item type, title/description, in-cue, out-cue, duration, cumulative running time, and any technical notes — and flags any timing problems or gaps that would cause a broadcast overrun

Output Format

A structured table with the following columns: No. | Type | Item | In-Cue | Out-Cue | Dur | Running Total | Notes. Each row is a discrete programme element. Technical notes (e.g., VT roll, mic open, music fade) appear in the Notes column. A summary line at the bottom shows total programme duration versus allocated slot. Formatting is clean and printable — no decorative elements, no colour coding that would be lost in greyscale print.

Quality Criteria

• [ ] All items are numbered sequentially with no gaps
• [ ] In-cues and out-cues are specific — not "begins here" but the actual first and last words or a precise technical instruction
• [ ] Individual durations add up correctly to the running total, and the running total does not exceed the allocated slot
• [ ] Any hard-out constraints are clearly marked and obeyed
• [ ] Technical item types (VT, SYNC, LIVE, OB, MUSIC, STING) are consistent throughout and match broadcast convention
• [ ] The sheet can be handed to a director or studio manager without verbal explanation

Example

Input

Programme: Weekly 28-minute television current affairs magazine, going to air live Items:

1. Titles and opening billboard
2. Presenter introduction and programme billboard — approx. 45 seconds
3. VT package — housing shortage report — approx. 6 minutes
4. Live studio interview with housing policy researcher — approx. 5 minutes
5. VT package — profile of a community self-build project — approx. 4 minutes 30 seconds
6. Presenter toss to weather presenter — 15 seconds
7. Weather — OB from rooftop location — approx. 2 minutes
8. Presenter introduction to final item — 20 seconds
9. VT package — opinion piece, rents and generational divide — approx. 4 minutes
10. Presenter close and goodbye — 30 seconds
11. End titles and credit roll

Hard out: 28:00 Presenter: Francesca Ndiaye

Output

PROGRAMME: Housing in Focus — Episode 14 TX DATE: [Producer to insert] | SLOT: 28:00 | HARD OUT: 28:00 PRESENTER: Francesca Ndiaye

TOTAL PROGRAMME: 24:20 | ALLOCATED SLOT: 28:00 | MARGIN: 3:40

PRODUCER NOTE: Programme runs 3 minutes 40 seconds short of slot. Options: extend studio interview (item 4) by up to 3 minutes, extend presenter billboard (item 2), or add a second studio interview. Confirm with exec before TX.

Known Limitations

• The assistant estimates item durations from descriptions; actual timings must be confirmed against timed scripts, edited VT packages, and timed rehearsals before air — this skill does not replace a timed read-through
• In-cues and out-cues for VT packages are marked as placeholders unless the user provides the actual first and last words of each package; producers must insert confirmed outcues from edited material
• The skill does not generate a full rundown system export (e.g., ENPS, iNews, Dalet format) — it produces a print-formatted cue sheet only
• For programmes with highly complex technical requirements (multi-camera drama, live sport, OB-heavy productions), the cue sheet produced here covers editorial flow but does not substitute for a full technical running order prepared by a technical producer

Related Skills

• voice-over-writer
• cold-open-writer