Cue point
Also known as: music marker, sync marker
A marked position in a music track where something in the picture is meant to happen, used to line an edit up with the arrangement.
Updated
What it means
A cue point is a timestamp carrying an intention. Unlike a beat, which is simply where the pulse falls, a cue marks a place the editor has decided matters: a release, a section change, a stab.
The distinction is between a grid and a plan. The Beat grid lists every legal cut position, while cue points list the handful of positions that deserve the best material.
In automatic editing they are the bridge between analysing music and arranging footage. The track is read once by Beat detection, cues are placed, and the selection is then fitted around them.
How it works in practice
A small number of strong cues beats a dense set. Marking the build, the release and the final section gives an edit shape, while marking forty positions is just another grid.
Cues are placed before footage is chosen, not after. Deciding that the strongest moment goes at the release means the selection can be built towards it, which is how Storyboard generation uses them.
Confirming cues against the waveform by ear is worth the time, because a cue a fraction of a second out is clearly visible against picture even when the grid around it is correct.
What to watch out for
Cues do not survive a change of track. A second song at a different tempo invalidates every marker, which is why the music is chosen before any cutting rather than swapped afterwards.
Over cueing produces a mechanical result. If every section change demands a visual event, the edit has no quiet stretches and the strong moments stop standing out, which is the same failure that spoils a Supercut.
A cue placed on a beat that the arrangement does not emphasise does nothing. The position is legal and the viewer feels no arrival, so the material placed there is simply spent.
How RawClip handles it
The chosen track is marked at its build, its release and its closing section before any footage is selected, and the strongest moments are then fitted to those marks. A highlight therefore arrives somewhere rather than merely running until the music stops.