Specifications

Chapter 6 Using Compositions 87
6
USING COMPOSITIONS 6
A composition allows you to group a set of cues together on their own sub-
timeline. This can then be used from other timelines similar to how you can play
a video. A composition makes it easy to re-use or re-arrange show sections or
short snippets. It also makes it easier to apply the same effect to a group of
media elements – for instance, to move and scale a set of images together.
A composition behaves like other media elements, such as still images and
video clips. It lives in the Media window, from where you can drag it onto any
timeline to use it. You can use a composition any number of times – you can
even play multiple instances of a composition at the same time.
Similar to a video clip, a composition has a duration and may contain motion.
However, as a composition is created within WATCHOUT, there’s no
rendering time or other delays involved in changing it. A composition can be
looped and/or free running, making it easy to create motion of indefinite dura-
tion within WATCHOUT.
A Basic Example For example, assume you want to add a frame to a video clip, and then make
the video clip move across the screen while scaling it up at the same time.
Although you could do this by applying the motion and the scaling to the video
and the frame image individually, it’s often hard to make the two move
together in a cohesive way. Instead, you can add both elements to a composi-
tion without applying any motion and scaling to the individual elements. Then
use the resulting composition from the main timeline, applying the motion and
scaling to the composition as a whole.