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Mark in and out points

A shot is a range on a source: a first frame, a last frame, and a name. Setting those two frames is the core gesture of ShotWork.

Before you start

Steps

  1. Move the playhead to the first frame of the shot. See Move around a source for the ways to get there.
  2. With nothing selected, press I. A one-frame shot starts at the playhead, named with the next number, such as Shot 004, and selected.
  3. Play or step forward to the last frame of the shot.
  4. Press O. The shot's out point lands on the playhead.
  5. Type a name in the detail panel's Name field, if the number will not do.

Repeat from step 2 for the next shot. If a shot is still selected, press U first; otherwise I moves that shot's in point instead of starting a new one. (U is the quick form of Deselect Everything, Ctrl+Shift+A, which is the binding you can change.)

The Mark In and Mark Out buttons beside the source timeline do the same as I and O.

Three shots marked in a row: play, ++i++, play on, ++o++, and the list and timeline filling as it goes

The selection rule

I and O mean two different things depending on what is selected. This is the one rule worth memorizing:

Selected I or O
Exactly one shot Moves that shot's in or out point to the playhead.
Nothing, or more than one shot Starts a new one-frame shot at the playhead and selects it, so the next I or O moves its edges.

An in point cannot go after the shot's out point, or an out point before its in point. ShotWork refuses with Invalid range and leaves the shot as it was.

Shift+I and Shift+O go the other way: they jump the playhead to the selected shot's in or out point without changing anything.

Drag a shot out instead

On the source timeline, hold Shift and drag across the range. You can start anywhere, even over shots that are already there, and drag in either direction. A dashed box shows the range as you go; letting go creates a shot spanning it, numbered and selected. Any interest points inside the range become the shot's own.

This is faster when you can see the shot's extent on the timeline, and slower when you need the exact frame, so most marking uses I and O.

Adjust a shot

  • Drag either edge of a band to move that in or out point. The pointer becomes a horizontal arrow over an edge, anywhere down its height.
  • Drag the band itself to slide the whole shot, keeping its length.

Both stop at the start and end of the video, and a shot is never shorter than one frame. Playback pauses while you drag, and each drag is one undo step. Where two shots' bands overlap, the one higher in the shot list is the one you grab.

What happens

The shot appears in the shot list under its source and as a band on the source timeline. Its thumbnail in the shot list is taken again whenever its edges change. Nothing is written to disk until you save (File › Save, Ctrl+S), and nothing is exported until you ask.