BACKTAG: the ultimate broadcast and event timing app
Whether you work in radio, tv, or event management Backtag will take care of all your production timing needs.
Created by a producer who has been making radio for the BBC for over twenty years, and tested by producers, engineers and reporters at the BBC and NPR, Backtag has been designed from the ground up with broadcast in mind.
It features five distinct screens:
1. TIMER
- A broadcast-specific countdown timer that displays all your times in one place: time remaining and out-time for the current item plus a master clock and time remaining for the whole programme.
- You can sync the clock to your studio master with sub-second accuracy (or set it to any other time you need, eg the local time of a remote studio). Just press the sync button to advance the clock by 5 seconds and release to start the clock again when the times match.
- The timer turns bright red at 30 seconds remaining to give you a clear indication that the items end is coming up. And it flashes for the final five seconds. If you miss your cue after that then we can’t help you!
- Actually, we can: you can also set the timer to beep at those durations for an audible cue!
- Theres an option to display "time over" once zero has been reached, i.e. the timer will start counting up to let you know how much your item has run over.
- If you create a rundown the bottom panel will display the start time and duration of the next item and show a list of upcoming items.
- Backtag can also automatically set the timer with the duration of the next item and start at the appropriate time. Or you can load items manually and, if you start an item early or late, the rundown will recalculate the new start times of all subsequent items.
- The timer will keep time even if you switch apps, get interrupted by a phone call, or put the phone to sleep for a while and rewake it later.
2. RUNDOWN MAKER
- The rundown screen lets you easily create a whole programme of named items, complete with start times and durations.
- If you select the auto-calculate option, Backtag will calculate all possible start times and / or durations. Tell it when you want each item to start and it will tell you how long each item needs to be. Or give each item a duration, set one start time, and it will calculate all your start times.
- You can easily delete an item or re-arrange items in the rundown and Backtag will recalculate your start times and durations. No more frantic sums as you try to re-arrange your programme when a line goes down!
- The information panel at the top of the screen displays the total duration of your rundown and its end time.
- You can save rundowns for future use and load a rundown that youve created previously. Use the functionality to create templates for programmes or to store day-specific rundowns.
- Share a rundown via email, SMS, or with notes or other suitable apps.
3. STOPWATCH
- A rock-solid broadcast-specific stopwatch that counts in minutes and seconds.
- Make marks at specific times and give each mark a short name or note. Remember the exact time of that great comment from your interviewee... or the exact time of that embarrassing retake!
- Share the notes you create via email, SMS, or with notes or other suitable apps.
4. TIME CALCULATOR
- Add and subtract hours:minutes:seconds.
- Convert hours:minutes:seconds to seconds and vice versa.
5. BIG CLOCK!
- A big clock with an unambiguous display so you always have the correct time in your eye-line.
- The clock is even bigger in landscape mode!
FEEDBACK
I’d love to hear what you think of Backtag. Please send any feedback or suggestions for improvements via my webpage at the link below.
NOTE
Backtag switches off your iPhones sleep function so that the screen doesnt go blank at critical moments. This can result in the battery being drained slightly more quickly.