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Editing
The timeline
Use the timeline to play a scene, reorder and time its steps, set the camera, and fine-tune each element's motion.
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The editor's timeline shows the scene you are editing as a row of steps. You use it to play the scene, change the order and length of steps, and set where the camera looks in each one. Switch to Tracks for timing on individual elements.
What a step is
A scene plays as a series of steps. Each step is one beat: something appears, moves, or changes, and the narration for that beat plays over it. Each step has its own duration and its own narration line, which you edit in the Narration panel.
The timeline header
The header shows the scene name and these controls:
- Play this scene plays just this scene.
- Restart scene plays it again from the beginning.
- Steps / Tracks switches between the two views described below.
Steps view
Each step is a card.
- Reorder: drag a card to a new position.
- Select several: Shift-click or Cmd-click cards.
- Add a step: click Add step.
Open a step's menu for:
| Option | What it does |
| Edit note & duration | Set the step's length, from 100 to 5000 ms, and its note. |
| Duplicate | Copy the step. |
| Set camera to current view | Pan and zoom the canvas the way you want, then use this so the step shows that view. |
| Clear camera | Remove the step's camera setting. |
| Delete | Remove the step. |
Timing and narration
Changing a step's duration does not change its narration, and changing the narration does not change the step's duration. To line them up after you have generated or recorded the voice-over, open the Narration panel and click Fit Steps to Narration. It sets each step's length to its narration plus a 0.2 s buffer, and never makes a step shorter than its own animations.
Speeding up a slow beat
Shorten the step in Edit note & duration. If the narration for that step is long, trim the line and generate the voice again, then use Fit Steps to Narration.
Tracks view
Tracks shows each element's actions on its own row, with their timing and easing. Use it when you want one element to arrive a little later or move more smoothly. The view has search (⌘F), filter, sort and zoom to help in busy scenes.
Moving things between steps
Where an element is in each step is set on the canvas, not in the timeline. When you move something, choose This step (N) or All steps in the properties panel. Right-click an element for Add to Next Step, Add to All Steps or Delete from Current Step. See Edit a scene.
Playing the whole video
The timeline plays one scene. To watch the full video, use the play controls in the toolbar, or present it fullscreen. See Preview and present.