Appearance
Timeline & Playback
Master timeline navigation and playback controls.
Timeline Overview
The timeline shows all your beats in sequence at the bottom of the screen.
Visual indicators:
- Blue highlight - Selected beat(s)
- Green highlight - Current beat (at playhead position)
- Grey - Unselected beats
- Orange - Selected title or audio track
- Playhead - Red vertical line showing current time
Track layers (top to bottom):
- Titles - Blue blocks for text overlays
- Audio - Grey blocks with white waveform visualization (darker sections indicate trimmed areas)
- Beats - Main storyboard sequence
Playback Controls
Basic Playback
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Spacebar | Play / Pause |
| Home | Jump to start |
| End | Jump to end |
| Click timeline | Jump to that time |
JKL Editing (Pro Workflow)
Borrowed from professional editing software:
- J - Play backward
- K - Pause
- L - Play forward
Advanced:
- Press J or L multiple times for faster playback (2x, 3x, 4x)
- Each press increases speed: 1x → 2x → 3x → 4x → 1x
- Speed resets when changing direction or pausing
- Current speed displays in the bottom-right corner
Timeline Display
Beat Blocks
Each beat appears as a block on the timeline:
- Width = Duration of the beat
- Color = Matches node color
- Label = Beat title (if space allows)
Timecode Display
Shows current time in format: MM:SS:FF
- MM - Minutes
- SS - Seconds
- FF - Frames (based on project FPS)
Example: 01:30:12 = 1 minute, 30 seconds, 12 frames
Output Window During Playback
As the timeline plays:
- Image updates to show current beat's frame
- Script scrolls to show current beat's text
- Beat highlight follows playhead
Timeline Tips
Quick Preview
Press Spacebar anytime to preview from current position.
Jump to Beat
Click any beat in timeline to jump directly to it.
Smooth Scrubbing
Click and drag the playhead to scrub through your storyboard.