Build a stage plot from a photo

Sometimes you don't want to start from scratch. Maybe the drummer sketched the setup on the back of a setlist. Maybe a tour manager emailed you an old stage plot as a JPG. Plot can read these and get you 80% of the way there in a few seconds.

What it does

The Analyze Image feature uses AI (Google's Gemini model) to look at a picture of a stage and suggest elements to place. It finds the drums, the amps, the mics, the risers, and drops them onto your canvas in roughly the right positions with sensible labels.

It's a head-start, not a finished product. You'll still want to nudge things, fix labels, and check measurements. But it beats placing forty elements one at a time.

How to use it

1. 1

   Open your stage plot

   Either a brand-new empty one, or an existing plot you want to add to. The AI adds elements — it doesn't wipe what you already have.

2. 2

   Click the Analyze Image button

   You'll find it in the editor toolbar. A file picker opens.

3. 3

   Pick your image

   A phone photo of a hand-drawn sketch, a screenshot from a PDF, a JPG someone emailed you — Plot accepts common image formats.

4. 4

   Wait a few seconds

   The AI reads the image and figures out what's on the stage. This usually takes five to fifteen seconds.

5. 5

   Review the suggestions

   Plot drops the detected elements onto your canvas. Have a look, tweak what's off, delete anything that shouldn't be there.

What works well, what doesn't

The AI is good at recognising common stage elements: a drum kit, guitar amps, bass rigs, vocal mics, monitor wedges, keyboards, risers. It's less reliable with unusual or custom gear, cluttered photos with the audience in frame, or very low-resolution images.

Sketches with clear labels work best. If the drummer wrote "kick", "snare", "hats" on the sketch, the AI will pick those up and use them. A photo of a clean whiteboard with tidy handwriting is almost as good as a proper stage plot.

Photos of real stages can work, but busy shots — cables everywhere, people, lighting rigs in the way — confuse it. A clean top-down angle gives the best results.

A practical workflow

Here's how most people end up using it:

1. Take a photo of whatever sketch or stage plot you're working from.
2. Run it through Analyze Image.
3. Spend two minutes cleaning up the labels and positions.
4. Done — what would've taken twenty minutes took three.

It's a genuinely good time-saver when it works, and harmless when it doesn't. You can always delete everything it added and start fresh.

Once the layout looks right, you're ready to share the stage plot with your venue, tour manager, or sound engineer.