User Guide

CHAPTER 3
110
Building a Composition
In the Composition window, layers are visible only if they are active at the time currently
displayed. For example, if you have three layers in a composition, with two of the layers
starting at the beginning of the composition and one layer starting at 6 seconds, only two
of the layers appear in the Composition window when the current-time marker is set to
the beginning of the composition.
For more information on adjusting the duration or speed of a layer, see “Understanding
trimming” on page 139 and “Time-stretching a layer” on page 222. For more information
on setting and adjusting the current time, see “Viewing and setting the current time” on
page 120.
To add a footage item to a composition:
1 Activate the Timeline window for the composition to which you want to add an item.
2 To set the current-time marker, click the current-time display, specify a new time, and
then click OK.
3 Drag the name of the footage item, the footage-item thumbnail, or a folder from the
Project window to one of three places:
• The Composition window.
• The Timeline window. When you drag the item into the Timeline window, a highlight
bar indicates where the layer will appear when you release the mouse button. If you drag
the item over the time graphic area, a time marker indicates where the layer’s In point will
be when you release the mouse button.
While dragging an item into the Timeline window, you can specify the layer order and In point.
UG.book Page 110 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM