The editor at a glance
The editor is a single view. The toolbar at the top, the stage in the middle, the timeline below it, the properties on the right. It takes up the whole window. The arrow at the top left takes you back to the overview.
The toolbar#
The four modes#
What the mouse does depends on the mode. That keeps apart what would otherwise get tangled up. First you place things, then you animate, then you set up the shot.
Note
In move and rotate, the stage shows the resting pose, every object as it would stand without animation. That is where you always set the starting position, and the motion is calculated from it. A strip above the stage reminds you, and “Film zeigen” (show film) takes you back to animation mode.
The stage#
A click selects an object. In camera mode, dragging with the left mouse button on empty space pans the view, the right mouse button orbits the camera and the wheel zooms. A right-click without dragging opens a menu with the most common actions, different ones on an object than on empty space.
The right-hand column#
The right side has two tabs. “Objekt” shows whatever you selected, from name and device through screenshot and arrangement to timing and motion. “Bühne” (stage) applies to the whole scene, with background, light and shadow, camera, sound and output format. Click a clip in the timeline and the column jumps to the matching tab and shows its controls at the bottom.
Note
The column needs room. In a narrow window it stays hidden. Viewing, moving the camera and exporting still work.
Timeline or object row#
In a film, the timeline sits below the stage. It doubles as the list of all objects, with one track per device and one shared track each for texts and images. A still has no time, so it shows a row with one tile per object instead. Through the menu of a track or tile you rename, reorder, duplicate or remove.
Texts and free images#
EinsetzenText puts a text on the stage, EinsetzenBild … an image from the media library that stands freely in space instead of sitting on a display. Texts get a font, weight, alignment and color. Both have an opacity and the switch “Immer zur Kamera drehen” (always face the camera), so they never show you their edge.
Show only this one#
When many objects stand in front of each other, “Nur dieses zeigen” (show only this one) hides all the others. You find it in the right-click menu and as a button next to the name in the right-hand column. “Alle zeigen” in the strip above the stage brings the rest back.
Undo#
Ctrl + Z undoes your last step, Ctrl + Shift + Z brings it back. The last 50 steps are remembered. If others work in the same project, their changes are left untouched.
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