Editing

The editing tab is a lightweight assembly tool for putting camera renders and takes in order — it is not a full non-linear editor.

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Create an edit

Create an edit within a production, then pull in clips from any combination of sources:

• Scene recordings from the Gallery
• Live-action takes recorded on the Spark iOS app

Drag clips onto the timeline, trim them, and reorder as needed.

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Finding takes

The left column of the Editor has two tabs, Takes and Audio. On Takes, the picker at the top chooses what the column lists.

1. The menu is grouped by script.
2. All Takes lists every CG Take and take in that script.
3. A list from the Gallery, with the number of items it holds.
4. New list… creates a list.

Click any row to load it in the clip viewer.

1. The row you clicked is highlighted.
2. The clip viewer names the kind of item: CG Take, Take, or Audio.
3. The Inspector shows the Source values: dimensions, frame rate, and duration. Audio shows only duration.

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Adding takes to the timeline

Drag a row by its grip onto a timeline lane. You can also open the row’s … menu.

1. Add at playhead puts the item on the timeline at the playhead.
2. Remove from this list takes the item out of the open list. The change also shows in the Gallery.
3. The + button adds CG Takes and takes to the open list.

To put several takes on the timeline:

1. Drag a row by its grip onto a video lane and let go.
2. Click in the time ruler to move the playhead.
3. Open another row’s … menu and click Add at playhead.

The list in the Editor is the same list the Gallery shows. With the sort set to Custom order, drag a row up or down by its grip to reorder the list. The Gallery shows the new order too.

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Marking a stretch of a take

You do not have to put a whole take on the timeline. Mark the stretch you want first.

1. In the Editor, click a take or a CG Take in the left column. It loads in the Clip pane, to the left of Program.
2. Play or scrub to the first frame you want and press I. The button is Mark in.
3. Go to the last frame you want and press O. The button is Mark out, including this frame, so the frame you see is included.

A band with a white edge at each end shades the marked stretch on the scrub bar.

• Pressing O on a frame before the In mark clears the In mark. The band then runs from the start of the take to the new Out mark.
• Press Alt+X, or click Clear the marks, to remove both marks. With no marks, that button’s tooltip reads No marks to clear.

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Audio files

An audio file is marked the same way, with I and O. Dragging a marked audio file to the timeline places only the marked stretch. While you drag, the ghost shows the marked length in seconds.

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Marks belong to one edit

Marks are saved. After you reload the page, the band is still on that take. The same take in a different edit has no marks.

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When a timeline clip is selected

While a clip on the timeline is selected, Mark in is greyed out. Its tooltip reads A clip is trimmed on the timeline. Open its source from the name to mark it. Press F, or click the clip’s source name (tooltip Open the source), to load the full take in the Clip pane and mark it there.

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Inserting and overwriting

Two keys put the marked stretch of a take on the timeline at the playhead. Insert (V) pushes later clips along. Overwrite (B) replaces what is under it.

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Where the clip goes

One video lane header is tinted. Insert and Overwrite put the clip on that lane. It is the last video lane you clicked in. If that lane is locked, the tint moves to an unlocked video lane.

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Inserting

1. Load a take in the Clip pane and mark the stretch you want. See marking a stretch of a take.
2. Move the timeline playhead to where the clip should start.
3. Press V. The button’s tooltip reads Insert at the playhead, pushing later clips on the lane along.

The marked stretch lands at the playhead. A clip under the playhead is split there, and every later clip on that lane moves right by the length of the new clip. The playhead jumps to the end of the new clip, and the Clip pane still shows the take, so you can press V again to lay clips back to back. For a marked audio file, V puts the marked stretch on an audio lane.

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Overwriting

Press B. The button’s tooltip reads Overwrite at the playhead. The marked stretch lands at the playhead and nothing moves. Clips under it are shortened or cut to make room, and the end of the lane stays where it was.

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Undoing

One Ctrl+Z puts the lane back as it was, including a clip that was split. Ctrl+Shift+Z brings the insert back.

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When Insert and Overwrite are greyed out

• While a timeline clip is selected, both buttons are greyed out with the tooltip This clip is already on the timeline.
• If every video lane is locked, V shows Every video lane is locked. Unlock one to insert. and changes nothing.

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Choosing which video a clip plays

A take can have several videos: Comp, BG, Camera, Matte, and Depth.

1. Load the take in the Clip pane.
2. Click the video button on the take’s name line.
3. Choose a video from the menu. Videos the take does not have are greyed out.

The Clip pane shows the video you chose. A clip you place on the timeline after that shows the video’s name on a second line. Select the clip to see a Video section with the same choice in the Inspector.

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Audio

Add and control audio tracks alongside your clips. The Audio tab is beside the Takes tab in the left column of the Editor. It lists the production’s audio files.

• To add a file, click Upload at the top of the tab.
• To use a file, drag its row onto an audio lane, or open its … menu and click Add at playhead.

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Keyboard shortcuts

Hover a button to see what it does. If the button has a keyboard shortcut, the tooltip shows the keys on the right. For example, the step back button in the clip viewer reads “Step back one frame” with the ← key, and “Back one second” with Shift and ←. The keys match your keyboard. On a Mac they show as ⌘, ⌥, ⇧, and ⌃. On Windows they show as Ctrl, Alt, and Shift.

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Editor keys

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Export

Export the edit as an MP4 with a chosen aspect ratio, resolution, and frame rate.

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What edits are for

Use the editing tab to see the story come together quickly, produce a rough cut for review, or prepare footage to hand off to an external editing or AI pipeline.