# OpenShot Video Editor Manual – v1.2.0

## Introduction

OpenShot Video Editor is a program designed to create videos on Linux. It can easily combine multiple video clips, audio clips, and images into a single project, and then export the video into many common video formats.

OpenShot is a non-linear video editor, which means any frame of video can be accessed at any time, and thus the video clips can be layered, mixed, and arranged in very creative ways. All video clip edits (trimming, cutting, etc...) are non-destructive, meaning that the original video clips are never modified.

You can use OpenShot to create photo slide shows, edit home videos, create television commercials and on-line films, or anything else you can dream up.

### Features Overview:

1. Support for many video, audio, and image formats (based on FFmpeg)

2. Gnome integration (drag and drop support)

3. Multiple tracks

4. Clip resizing, trimming, snapping, and cutting

5. Video transitions with real-time previews

6. Compositing, image overlays, watermarks

7. Title templates, title creation, 3D animated titles

8. SVG friendly, to create and include titles and credits

9. Scrolling motion picture credits

10. Solid color clips (including alpha compositing)

11. Support for Rotoscoping / Image sequences

12. Drag and drop timeline

13. Frame stepping, key-mappings: J,K, and L keys

14. Video encoding (based on FFmpeg)

15. Key Frame animation

16. Digital zooming of video clips

17. Speed changes on clips (slow motion etc)

18. Custom transition wipes, lumas, and masks

19. Re-sizing of clips (frame size)

20. Audio mixing and editing

21. Presets for key frame animations and layout

22. Ken Burns effect (making video by panning over an image)

23. Digital video effects, including brightness, gamma, hue, greyscale, chroma key (bluescreen / greenscreen), and over 40 other video and audio effects

### Screenshot

## Getting Started

### To Launch OpenShot Video Editor

You can start OpenShot in the following ways:

#### Applications menu

Choose Sound & Video > OpenShot Video Editor.

#### Command Line

To start OpenShot from a command line, launch a Terminal and type the following command, then press Return:

`openshot` [filename]

The optional [filename] parameter can be either an audio or video file, or an OpenShot project file (*.osp). Multiple files can also be specified (with spaces between each filename), and all files will be imported into a single instance of OpenShot.

#### Open With...

To start OpenShot from Nautilus, right-click on an image, video, or audio file, and choose Open With > OpenShot Video Editor. Or choose Open With > Open with Other Application > `openshot`.

## Learn OpenShot in 5 Minutes!

Using OpenShot is very easy, and this tutorial will take you through the basics in under 5 minutes. After this tutorial, you will be able to make a simple photo slide-show with music.

### Step 1 – Import Photos & Music

Before we can begin making a video, we need to import files into OpenShot. Drag and drop a few images (*.JPG, *.PNG, etc...) and a music file (most formats will work) from your Desktop to OpenShot Video Editor. Be sure to drop the files where the arrow in the illustration is pointing to.

### Step 2 – Arrange Photos on Timeline

After you have imported some files, the next step is adding them to the timeline and arranging them. Click on each photo (one at a time), and drag them onto Track 2 on the timeline. Drag and drop the photos (also known as clips) to arrange them.

### Step 3 – Add Music to Timeline

To make our photo slide-show more interesting, we need to add some music. You should have imported a music file in step 1. Click on the music file, and drag it onto Track 1 on the timeline.

### Step 4 – Preview your Project

To preview what our video looks & sounds like, click the Play button under the preview window. Click the Play button again to pause your video. Remember, if you need to re-arrange any clips, just drag and drop the clips to move them.

### Step 5 – Export your Video

Once you are happy with your photo slide-show video, the next step is to export your video. This will convert your OpenShot project into a single video file, which should work on any Linux media player (such as Totem, VLC, etc...) or websites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc...).

Click on the Export Video icon at the top of the screen (or use the File > Export Video... menu). Choose from one of the many preset export options, and click the Export Video button.

### Step 6 – Enjoy OpenShot!

You should now have a basic understanding of how OpenShot works. Importing, Arranging, Previewing, and Exporting. Hopefully this tutorial took less than 5 minutes for you to complete. Please read the rest of this manual for a more detailed understanding of OpenShot, and it's advanced features. Enjoy!

## Main Window

OpenShot Video Editor has one main window which contains most of the information, buttons, and menus needed to edit your video project.

### Overview

Id | component | description
1 | Main Toolbar | Contains buttons to open, save, and export your video project.
2 | Function Tabs | Switch between Project Files, Transitions, and Effects.
3 | Project Files | All audio, video, and image files that have been imported into your project.
4 | Preview Window | This is the area that the video will playback on the screen.
5 | Edit Toolbar | This toolbar contains toggle buttons used for editing, trimming, and splitting clips.
6 | Zoom Slider | This slider will adjust the time-scale of your timeline.
7 | Play-head / Ruler | The ruler shows the time-scale, and the red line is the play-head. The play-head represents the current playback position.
8 | Timeline | The timeline visualizes your video project, and each clip and transition in your project.

### Main Toolbar

The main toolbar contains buttons to quickly create and save your project, undo and redo actions, import files, and export your video. All of these functions can also be accessed through the File and Edit menus.

Id | component | description
1 | New Project | Create a new OpenShot project file (*.OSP).
2 | Save Project | Save the current project. If no project has been created, a dialog screen will open to gather more information.
3 | Undo | Undo the last action
4 | Redo | Redo the previous action
5 | Import Files | Import 1 or more files into your current OpenShot project.
6 | Export Video | Export the current project to a single video file.

### Function Tabs

These tabs let you switch between 3 different functions: Project Files, Transitions, and Effects. The items in these tabs can be dragged and dropped onto the timeline.

### Project Files

The Project Files section contains all clips that have been imported into your project. Before you can add an image, audio file, or video file to your project timeline, it must first be imported into your Project Files section.

### Preview Window

The Preview Window is what controls the playback (or preview) of your video project. Clicking the buttons under the preview window controls the playback, and outputs video to this area. The size of this area can be modified by clicking and dragging on the handles (or lines) around this section.

Id | component | description
1 | Skip to Beginning | Skip to the very beginning of the project.
2 | Previous Marker | Skip to the previous marker (if any).
3 | Rewind | Rewind the video from the current playback position.
4 | Play / Pause | Play or Pause the playback of your project.
5 | Fast Forward | Fast forward the video from the current playback position.
6 | Next Marker | Skip to the next marker (if any).
7 | Skip to End | Skip to the end of the project.

### Edit Toolbar

The Edit Toolbar lets you toggle between different edit modes for the timeline. When moving, trimming, and slicing clips, it is necessary to change the edit mode using this toolbar.

Id | component | description
1 | Add Track | Add a new track to the top of the stack.
2 | Select Mode | Select mode allows you to click and move clips.
3 | Razor Mode | Razor mode allows you to split a clip where ever you click. If snapping is enabled, clicking near the play-head (the red line), will slice the clip exactly on the play-head.
4 | Resize Mode | Resize mode allows you to grab the edges of a clip and drag to resize (or trim) the clip.
5 | Snap Mode | Snap mode allows clips to snap (or jump) to the nearest clip or play-head (if any are close) when you drop them. Transitions will snap to nearby clips. Also, clips and transitions will snap to the play-head's position.
6 | Add Marker | Add a new marker, which allows you to quickly jump back to this exact point while previewing.

### Zoom Slider

The zoom slider allows you to change the time-scale of the timeline. Zoom in to see the timeline more closely, or zoom out the see the entire project without scrolling. You can either click the zoom buttons (on the left and right), or slide the zoom slider. When dragging the slider, it will update the timeline when you pause or stop moving it.

### Timeline

The timeline visualizes your project in a very graphical way. Each clip is represented by a yellow rectangle. Each track is represented by a blue rectangle. The Play-head (red line) represents the current playback (or preview) position of your project.

Click anywhere on the ruler to jump to that point in time. If you drag along the ruler, it will “scrub” the video, which is a fast, rough way to preview your project.

Id | component | description
1 | Ruler | The ruler shows the current time-scale of the timeline.
2 | Play-Head | The Play-head represents the current playback position of your preview window.
3 | Clip | A clip represents an audio, image, or video file.
4 | Track | A track is similar to a layer. The higher tracks show video and images above the lower tracks. There is no limit to how many tracks a project can have.

### Tracks

OpenShot uses tracks to layer videos and images. The top most track is the top layer, and the bottom track is the bottom layer. If you are familiar with layers in a photo editing application, then you should be quite familiar with this concept. OpenShot will mix each layer together, just like a photo editing application.

For example, imagine a 3 track video project. A sunset image should be used as the background, an image with lots of circles should be in the middle, and a logo should be on top.

Id | component | description
1 | Top Track | Clips on this track will be on top. Logos and watermarks should be on this layer. The OpenShot logo is on this track in the illustration.
2 | Middle Track | These clips are under the top track, but above the bottom track. The image with circles is on this track in the illustration.
3 | Bottom Track | These clips are under all other tracks. The sunset is on this track in the illustration.

### Controlling Playback of Video

Playing, Pausing, and Seeking are very important features in a video editor. While you are creating a video project, you will need to playback the project over and over again. While clicking on the Play button is an easy way to accomplish this, there are many faster ways.

#### Playback Methods

There are 7 ways to control the video playback in OpenShot.

1. Click the Preview Toolbar (Play, Fast-forward, etc...)

2. Dragging the Slider above the Preview Toolbar

3. Dragging the Play-Head on the Ruler

4. Clicking on the Ruler at any point

5. Using Keyboard Shortcuts (J, K, L keys)

6. Using the Arrow Buttons (Left, Right, Up, Down)

7. Using the Space bar key (Play / Pause)

### Keyboard Short-Cuts

A keyboard short-cut is a key (or keys) on the keyboard that saves you the trouble of moving your mouse and clicking. It is often faster to type a key, than to point and click. Here are all keyboard short-cuts in OpenShot:

key | description
J | Rewind the video playback
K | Pause / Play
L | Fast-forward the video playback
Space bar | Pause / Play
Up | Seek to previous maker (if any)
Down | Seek to next marker (if any)
Left | Step backwards one frame (frame stepping)
Right | Step forwards one frame (frame stepping)
TAB | Switch between Resize and Select mode
Ctrl + Scroll Wheel | Zoom in & out of the timeline
Ctrl + Home | Seek to the beginning of the timeline
Ctrl + End | Seek to the end of the timeline
C | Slice all clips at the play-head position
S | Slice all clips at the play-head position
CTRL + S | Save the current project
CTRL + Y | Redo the previous action
CTRL + Z | Undo the last action
CTRL + Q | Quit the program
CTRL + E | Export the current project as a video file
CTRL + N | Create a new project
CTRL + O | Open an existing project
CTRL + F | Import a file (audio, video, or image)
CTRL + I | Import an image sequence
CTRL + T | Create a new title
CTRL + B | Create a new animated title
CTRL + P | Edit the preferences
CTRL + D | Capture and save an image of the current frame
F1 | Launch the help file (if installed)
F11 | Toggle full-screen mode

## Projects - Create, Open, and Save

OpenShot needs a project file to save the information that makes up a video project. Information such as the name and location of your project, video and audio files, timeline information, which clips have been trimmed, arranged, etc...

When OpenShot is launched, it creates a new project file automatically. You can start using OpenShot immediately, without first creating a project.

Project files have an .OSP file extension (ExampleProject.osp). Also, project files need a /thumbnail/ folder, which contains all of the thumbnails in your project. If you move a project file, be sure to move the /thumbnail/ folder also.

Project File | /home/user/Desktop/ProjectA.osp
Thumbnail Folder | /home/user/Desktop/thumbnail/

### Create a Project

There are 2 ways to create a project file.

#### Method 1 – File Menu:

Choose File > New Project. The New Project screen will open. Change the project name, project type, length of timeline, and then click “Save Project”.

#### Method 2 – Save Default:

Since OpenShot creates a project by default when you launch the program, you can simply choose File > Save. The Save Project screen will open. Change the project name, project type, length of timeline, and then click “Save Project”.

### Save Project Screen

Clicking New Project or Save Project will result in this screen being shown.

Id | component | description
1 | Project Name | The name of your project file (.osp file extension)
2 | Project Folder | The folder location to save your project file to.
3 | Project Length | The maximum length of the timeline. However, the length of the timeline will automatically grow, if and when clips exceed the length.
4 | Project Type | This affects the preview window. It determines the size, aspect ratio, and frames per second of the video files you are previewing. It is recommended that you edit in the same profile you are planning to export (for the best results).
5 | Project Type Details | This table previews the project type details, such as size, aspect ratio, and frames per second. When you change the project type dropdown, it will update this table.

### Open a Project

To open a project, choose File > Open Project. The Open Project dialog is displayed. Select the project file (*.osp) that you want to open, then click Open Project.

If you are opening a recent project, choose File > Recent Projects. This is often the fastest way to open a project from within OpenShot.

If you want to launch OpenShot and have your project automatically opened, double click on the .OSP file (on your computer), and choose `openshot` as the command.

## Import Files – Audio, Video, and Images

Before you can use a clip on the timeline, you must first import the clip into your project. There are a few different ways to import a clip. The most common way is to drag and drop files from your computer into the Project Files section of the screen.

There are 4 different methods to import a clip.

### Method 1 - Drag & Drop

1. Run OpenShot

2. Drag and drop multiple files at once from your Desktop to the Project Files tree.

### Method 2 - Drop Folder

1. Run OpenShot

2. Drag and drop a folder full of media files from your Desktop to the "Project Files" tree.

   * All audio, video, and image files will be imported from this folder

### Method 3 - Open With

1. While browsing files in Gnome, select 1 or more media files

2. Right click on the selected files, and choose "Open With Other Application..."

3. Choose "OpenShot Video Editor" (or the `openshot` command)

   * Even after you start working in OpenShot with your files, you can still return to the file system, and right click on more files and choose "OpenShot". It will add them to the currently running instance of OpenShot.

### Method 4 - Import Button

1. Run OpenShot

2. Click the "Import Files" toolbar button

3. Select 1 or more files, and click "Import"

## Image Sequences

One of the most powerful features in OpenShot is the ability to import sequences of images. A sequence of images is really just a folder full of images that are named very similar, and of course named sequentially. Each image file represents one frame of video. So for a 30 second long clip, with 30 frames per second, you would have 900 image files. Although image sequences can be tough to work with (because of the shear volume of files), it can do just about anything.

To import an image sequence, follow these steps:

### Locate an Image Sequence

Many programs can generate an image sequence. For example, in Blender (a 3D animation package), you can create a great animated title sequence and export it as a series of named .PNG files (with transparency). It will create a folder on your computer that contains all of the image files.

### Import the Image Sequence

Choose the File > Import Image Sequence menu option, and that will launch the Image Sequence dialog.

Choose the folder location of your image sequence, and the file naming pattern. Not all image sequences are named the same way. For example, Movie_0001.JPG is different from Movie_1.JPG. Once you enter the correct filename pattern, click Import Image Sequence.

### Add to Timeline

Drop your new image sequence on the timeline. It is represented by a single clip, just like a regular video clip.

### Create an Image Sequence

If you do not already have an image sequence, it is easy to create once. Just right-click on any video file in your Project Files and choose Convert to Image Sequence. It will create a new folder, and export every frame as a .PNG image file. It will also add a reference to your new image sequence in the Project Files section automatically.

### Edit an Image Sequence

If you want to edit a sequence of images, we recommend using The Gimp (an open-source image editor). It has plug-ins to assist in editing large sequences of images, and can simplify the process of editing, saving, and opening the next image in a sequence. You can then touch up each frame, remove red-eye, add glowing effects to light sabers, erase wires, etc... There is really nothing you can not do with a frame by frame editing approach, but it does take a lot of effort.

#### Gimp Animation Package (GAP)

GAP is a plug-in for The Gimp, which assists in editing image sequences. It can quickly save the current image and load the next image in a sequence. It can also use key-frames to apply effects across many frames, or even create animations. If you need to edit an image sequence, you should definitely take a look at GAP.

#### Screenshot of Gimp Animation Package

## Manage Files & Folders

When making a video, you will need to import many different files into your project, including audio, videos, images, titles, overlays, sound effects, and more. This can quickly get out of hand, and make your list of project files too long, which will slow you down looking for the right file.

If your project has too many files (which is up to you to decide), you can use folders as a way to organize your files.

### Create a Folder

1. Right click on the Project Files section.

2. Choose Create Folder...

3. Enter a name for your folder.

### Move Files to a Folder

1. Be sure you have created a folder first.

2. Right click on 1 or more files in the Project Files section.

3. Choose Move File(s) to Folder.

4. Choose a folder.

### Remove a Folder

1. Right click on a folder

2. Choose Remove

   * Be sure to move all files out of a folder before removing it.

## Add Files to Timeline

Once you have imported files into your project, the next step is to add them to the timeline. To add a file from your Project Files to the timeline, follow these steps:

1. Click on a file.

2. Drag over the timeline and drop it.

3. The clip will now be added to the timeline.

   * You can only add 1 file at a time.

## Move & Trim Clips on Timeline

Once you have files (also referred to as clips) on the timeline, we need to arrange them onto tracks, and put them in the correct order. Also, we will need to trim off the beginning and endings of the video clip (if needed).

### Move a Clip (Select Mode)

1. Switch to Select Mode (this is the default mode)

2. Click on a clip.

3. Drag the clip to a new position on the timeline, and drop it.

   * If snapping is enabled, the clip will jump to any close-by clips (or the play-head, if it is close-by).

### Trim a Clip (Resize Mode)

1. Switch to Resize Mode, by clicking on the resize icon.

2. Move you mouse cursor over the right or left edge of a clip.

3. Drag the edge of the clip to trim the video.

   * As you drag the edge of the clip, the preview window will display where the clip will begin or end (based on which side of the clip you are dragging).

### Slice a Clip (Razor Mode)

1. To slice a clip into 2 pieces, switch to Razor Mode .

2. The mouse cursor will change to a dotted line & razor icon.

3. Click on a clip at the point you want to cut / slice it.

   * If snapping is enabled, the razor will jump to the play-head position, if it is close-by.

### Edit Toolbar

The Edit Toolbar lets you toggle between different edit modes for the timeline. When moving, trimming, and slicing clips, it is necessary to change the edit mode using this toolbar.

Id | component | description
1 | Add Track | Add a new track to the top of the stack.
2 | Select Mode | Select mode allows you to click and move clips.
3 | Razor Mode | Razor mode allows you to split a clip where ever you click.
4 | Resize Mode | Resize mode allows you to grab the edges of a clip and drag to resize (or trim) the clip.
5 | Snap Mode | Snap mode allows clips to snap (or jump) to the nearest clip or play-head (if any are close) when you drop them.
6 | Add Marker | Add a new marker, which allows you to quickly jump back to this exact point while previewing.

## Separate Audio From Video

OpenShot can separate the audio and video of a clip, if needed. If you only want to play the audio of a clip, or only play the video with no audio, then follow these steps:

### Only the Video

To only play the video of a clip, click on the speaker icon, located on the clip. This will mute the audio for this clip. Or if you want to mute the audio for the entire track, click the speaker icon on the track.

### Only the Audio

To only hear the audio of a clip, click on the eye icon, located on the clip. This will hide the video output. Or if you want hide the video output for the entire track, click the eye icon on the track.

## Duplicate Clips

A very useful feature in OpenShot is the ability to duplicate clips, transitions, and masks. To duplicate an item, right-click on the item (such as a clip or transition), and choose Duplicate. This will add an exact copy of the duplicated item to the timeline. Including the IN and OUT points, effects applied to the clip, and key-frame animation settings.

A common use of the Duplicate feature, is to trim a video clip down to a specific scene, and then duplicate the clip. Once you have two identical clips, you can mute the audio on one, and hide the video of the other. The is a quick way to separate the audio and video of a clip. Now you can offset the audio of the clip, or continue the audio of the clip, while trimming the video down. This is often used in films, when two people are talking. They continue to play the audio from the first person talking, while showing the reaction of the second person.

## Clip Properties

Each clip in OpenShot has many properties that can be manipulated. However, because it is not possible to display and adjust all of the settings on the timeline, this screen was created. It lets the user adjust every possible setting and property that a clip has, including Length, Speed, Volume, Size, Position, Aspect Ratio, and many others.

### Launch the Clip Properties Screen

To launch the clip properties screen, right-click on a clip and choose Properties.

### Preview Changes

To quickly preview what your new settings will produce, click the Play button or drag the preview Slider. You can preview your changes over and over again to get them just right. No changes are saved to your timeline until you click the Apply button.

### General Tab

The general tab has the following properties:

component | description
Enable Video | Output video for this clip
Enable Audio | Output audio for this clip

### Length Tab

The length tab provides information on the beginning, end, and total length of a clip. By adjusting these values, you can delay when a clip starts, end the clip sooner, or both. Use the Play button to preview your changes. Practice by adjusting these values without using the Resize tool.

The length tab has the following properties:

component | description
In (seconds) | The second to start playing the video (decimal)
Out (seconds) | The last second of the video clip (decimal)
Length (seconds) | The length of the clip is calculated based on the IN and OUT points.

### Speed Tab

The speed tab speed consists of a simple mode and advanced mode. In the simple mode, using predefined values, you can speed up the clip to 16x normal speed or slow down the clip to 1/16 normal speed. Also, you can change the direction. The advanced tab let's you set a high-precision speed decimal, instead of the simple predefined fractions.

The speed tab has the following properties:

component | description
Speed | The second to start playing the video (decimal)
Direction | The last second of the video clip (decimal)
Advanced Speed | A high-precision decimal value for the speed of a clip. This value changes as the speed dropdown changes.

### Layout Tab

The layout tab has the following properties:

component | description
Key Frame | This dropdown determines which key frame you are working with. Each clip has 2 key frames, the start of a clip, and the end of a clip.
Height | The height of a clip (percent based). The larger the number, the taller the clip will be. The smaller the number, the shorter the clip will be. This only affects the current key-frame, not the entire clip.
Width | The width of a clip (percent based). The larger the number, the wider the clip will be. The smaller the number, the narrower the clip will be. This only affects the current key-frame, not the entire clip.
X | X position of the center of the clip. The larger the number, the further to the right the clip will be. The smaller the number, the closer to the left the clip will be. This only affects the current key-frame, not the entire clip.
Y | Y position of the center of the clip. The larger the number, the closer to the bottom the clip will be. The smaller the number, the closer to the top the clip will be. This only affects the current key-frame, not the entire clip.
Alpha | The alpha level of the clip. 100 = opaque. 0 = invisible. This only affects the current key-frame, not the entire clip.

### Audio Tab

The audio tab has the following properties:

component | description
Volume | The volume level of this clip. 0 = mute, 100 = max.
Fade In | Fade the clip in from mute to volume level.
Fade Out | Fade the clip out from volume level to mute.
Fade (Seconds) | The number of seconds the fade will last. The bigger this number, the more gradual the fade will be.

### Video Tab

The video tab can adjust the size, position, and alignment of a clip. Also, it can apply a fade effect to the beginning and ending of a clip, which is sometimes easier than using a transition. Because the fade is a property of the clip, it moves when you move the clip. So, unlike transitions, fades stay with the clip when you move them.

The video tab has the following properties:

component | description
Stretch Full Screen | Stretch clips to the size of the screen (based on project type).
Maintain Aspect Ratio | Do not distort the clip.
Horizontal Align | Alignment of the clip left to right.
Vertical Align | Alignment of the clip top to bottom.
Fade In | Fade the clip in from transparent to opaque.
Fade Out | Fade the clip out from opaque to transparent.
Fade (Seconds) | The number of seconds the fade will last. The bigger this number, the more gradual the fade will be.

### Effects Tab

The effects tab can apply and manage multiple effects that are applied to a clip. To preview your clip with effects, use the Play button. Each effect can have many settings, so use the Play button as you change settings to see the result.

The effects tab has the following properties:

component | description
Effect List | This box has a list of all effects applied to this clip. Clips are processed in a top to bottom order.
Add | Add a new effect to this clip.
Remove | Remove the selected effect from the clip.
Up | Move the selected effect up in the list.
Down | Move the selected effect down in the list.
Effect Settings | This area will contain settings for the selected clip (if any).

## Key Frames

OpenShot can use Key Frames to animate a clip. A key frame is a point in time that contains many settings, such as size, position, and transparency. There are two ways to set key-frames in OpenShot, manually or with a preset.

### Preset Animation

Many preset animations are available, such as moving a clip from bottom to top of the screen or slowly zooming up on a clip. To add a preset animation to a clip, right-click on a clip, and choose Animate.

### Preset Layout

Many preset layouts are available, such as resizing a clip and positioning it to the corner of the screen or centering a clip. To add a preset layout to a clip, right-click on a clip, and choose Layout.

### Manually

To manually create key frames, right click on a clip, and choose Properties. Switch to the Layout tab, and choose which key frame you want to edit from the dropdown.

Each clip has 2 key frames, the start of a clip, and the end of a clip. If there are any differences between the start and end key frames, OpenShot will interpolate the difference on a each frame, and thus animate the clip. The following properties are effected by key-frames: Height, Wight, X, Y, and Alpha.

For example, consider these key frames:

Start Key Frame: | X=-50, Y=0
End Key Frame: | X =150, Y=0

This would result in the clip animating from the left to the right side of the screen. The difference in the X setting is interpolated across all frames in this clip. The longer the clip, the slower the animation. The shorter the clip, the faster the animation.

If you want to statically change the size or position of a clip, just set the start and end key frames to the same value:

For example, consider these key frames:

Start Key Frame: | X=-50, Y=-50
End Key Frame: | X=-50, Y=-50

This would offset the clip to the top right of the screen. It would not animate, because the start and end key frames are the same value.

If you need to more than 2 key frames, slice the clip into many pieces, and at the beginning and ending of each slice, you can set the key frames, thus giving you the ability to make an unlimited number of key frames.

## Crop Effect

OpenShot can crop video and image clips using our Layout setting, found on the Clip Properties screen. Right click on a clip, and choose Properties. Then switch to the Layout tab.

To crop a clip, you need to zoom up on the part of the clip you want to see. Adjust the Height, Width, X, and Y settings to zoom up on the area of the clip you want to crop. Be sure to set both key frames to the same values. Use the Play button to preview your crop. Once you are happy with the crop, click the Apply button.

## Rotate Effect

If you need to rotate a clip 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or even animate the rotation around in circles, OpenShot has a Rotate effect which can help.

OpenShot has two types of rotation effects available, fixed and animated. To apply a rotation effect, switch to the Effects Tab on the main window, and drag the Rotate effect onto your clip.

To adjust your rotation settings, right-click on the clip and choose Properties. Then switch to the Effects tab on the properties window, and click on the Rotate effect. This will bring up a list of rotation settings that can be adjusted. Try changing each setting, and use the Play Button to preview the effect.

### Fixed Rotation

A fixed rotation can rotate a video 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or any number of degrees you need. It does not animate the rotation. This is useful when you record a video sideways, and need to rotate it. To use a fixed rotation, only adjust the settings with that start with “Fixed”. Be sure to adjust the other settings back to zero.

### Animated Rotation

An animated rotation can be used to spin a clip around in circles, or many other patterns. This can be a nice effect for titles, spinning newspapers, or other creative uses. To use an animated rotation, adjust the “Fixed” settings to zero, and only use the settings that start with “Rotate”.

## Title Editor

Like many video editors, OpenShot has a built-in title editor. It has some basic functionality to help you create titles for your video project. Here are the features of the title system:

1. Many Templates (Including a Solid Color Template)

2. Easy Text Editing (title, subtitle)

3. Change Font and Color (including alpha channel)

4. Change the Background Color (including alpha channel)

5. Uses SVG Image Format (vector based)

6. Adds Titles to the Project Files Section

7. Integration with Inkscape (as the advanced editor)

However, if the basic editor is not powerful enough for you, any SVG image file can be imported and used as a title. The alpha channel (transparency) is respected, which means titles can be overlayed on top of other tracks, and will show the video through the transparent parts.

### Launch Title Editor

To add a new title, click the Title > New Title... menu option. This will launch the Title Editor.

### Create New Title File

Once the title editor launches, you need to select a template, and click the Create New Title button. The will make a copy of the template SVG title, and add it to your Project Files. Enter the name of the file, as it will be saved to your hard-drive.

### Title Editor Window

The title dialog allows you to choose a template, edit text, change colors, and create your own titles for your video project. Once you are finished editing your title, click the Apply button.

Id | component | description
1 | Choose Template | Choose a template SVG file to use as a title.
2 | Create Title Button | Click this button to create your copy of the SVG template.
3 | Edit Text | Launch the text editing window.
4 | Change Font | Change the size and family of the font.
5 | Font Color | Change the font color and alpha (transparency) level.
6 | Background Color | Change the background color and alpha (transparency) level.
7 | Advanced Editor | Edit this SVG title in Inkscape.
8 | Title Preview | Preview your title after each edit, color change, or font change.

### Scrolling Titles / Credits

To create the effect of scrolling titles, you need to cut your title sequence into many different screen-sized titles.

#### Create Each Title Image

#### Offset Each Title on the Timeline

Add each title image of your scrolling credits to the timeline, set the length of each image to 7 seconds, and then offset them between two tracks.

#### Animate Each Title

Right-click on each title clip and choose Animate > Bottom to Top. This will create the illusion that your entire credits are scrolling from bottom to top in one continuous sequence, with no gaps. Be sure to overlap the titles (as show in the illustration) so there are no gaps between the titles.

## Animated Title Editor

Animated 3D titles are just as easy to create as simple image-based titles. The animated title system has the following features:

1. Many Templates

2. Easy Text Editing (title, subtitle)

3. Change Font and Color

4. Transparent Backgrounds

5. Outputs an image sequence of PNG images (with alpha channel)

6. Adds Titles to the Project Files Section

7. Integration with Blender (a 3D animation application)

### Launch Animated Title Editor

To add a new title, click the Title > New Animated Title... menu option. This will launch the Animated Title Editor. Be sure to set the “Blender Executable” setting in the preferences dialog to the path of Blender (version 2.5+ is required).

### Create New Animated Title

Id | component | description
1 | Choose Template | Choose a template to use as a title.
2 | Preview Window | Preview any frame in the animation.
3 | Frame Selector | Choose any frame to preview in the animation.
4 | Refresh | Refresh the preview window, to reflect new changes.
5 | Edit Settings | Edit the various animation settings, including the title, font, color, etc...
6 | Render | Generate an image sequence with the animated title, and add it the Project Files section.

## Transitions

Transitions are used to gradually move between 2 different clips. Many different transitions are available in OpenShot. They are easy to drag and drop onto the timeline, and can add lots of fun to a video project.

### Transition Screen

Id | component | description
1 | Transition Tab | This is the transitions tab. It contains a list of all transitions available in OpenShot.
2 | Transition List | This is the transition list. Select a transition and drag and drop it onto the timeline.
3 | Resize Tool | The resize tool can be used to resize a transition.
4 | Transition on the Timeline | Once you drop a transition on the timeline, it can be moved and resized just like any other clip. The transition snaps between tracks, and blends between the 2 tracks.

### Add a Transition

To add a transition, switch to the Transition Tab, and select a transition by clicking on it. Drag and drop the transition onto the timeline. It will snap between 2 tracks.

### Move a Transition

To move a transition, switch to Select Mode on the Timeline Toolbar, and drag it to a new position.

### Resize a Transition

To resize a transition, switch to Resize Mode on the Timeline Toolbar, and drag the left or right edge to a new size.

### Switch the Direction

Because transitions blend between 2 tracks, it is important to know which direction it is blending. On the transition, it has an arrow that shows the direction, top to bottom, or bottom to top. In general, the transition should go from the first clip to the next clip by timeline position.

To change the direction of a transition, right-click on a transition, and choose Switch Direction.

### Transition Properties

Just like a clip, a transition has a properties window. To launch the properties window for a transition or a mask, right-click on the item, and choose Properties. To save your changes, click on the Apply button.

Id | component | description
1 | Type | Mask or Transition
2 | Direction | The direction of the transition or mask. Up blends from the bottom clip to the top clip. And Down blends from the top clip down to the bottom clip.
3 | Softness | The softness of the transition. The bigger the number, the wider the wipe, and the smaller the number to narrower the wipe.
4 | Mask Threshold | The mask threshold is the amount of gray to use for the mask. The bigger the number, the more of the mask is used, the smaller the number, the less is used. Experiment to find the right threshold for a mask.

### Convert to Mask

A mask is very similar to a transition, except that a mask is static. It does not gradually change from one clip to the next. Instead, it mixes the 2 tracks at some predetermined point. A mask can be used to only show a small section of a clip, to show a border around a clip, to block out something from a clip. To experiment with a mask, simply convert a transition to a mask and watch what happens.

To convert a transition to a mask, right-click on the transition, and choose Convert to Mask.

### Create a New Transition / Mask

Transitions are just gray-scale images. They can be created in any graphics program. To add a custom transition or mask, select File > Import New Transition, and select a gray-scale PNG image file from your hard-drive. You will see this new image show up on the Transitions tab. This transition will be in localed in the /home/USER/.openshot/ folder.

### Remove a Transition

To remove a transition, right-click on a transition on the timeline, and choose Remove.

## List of Transitions

| Blinds in to out
| Blinds in to out big
| Blinds sliding
| Circle in to out
| Circle out to in
| Clock left to right
| Clock right to left
| Fractal 1
| Fractal 2
| Fractal 3
| Fractal 4
| Fractal 5
| Fractal 6
| Fractal 7
| Fractal 8
| Hatched 1
| Hatched 2
| Hatched 3
| Hourglass 1
| Hourglass 2
| Hourglass 3
| Hourglass 4
| Mountains
| Openshot logo
| Puzzle 7 by 7
| Rectangle in to out
| Rectangle out to in
| Sand
| Sphere
| Spiral abstract 1
| Spiral abstract 2
| Spiral big
| Spiral medium
| Spiral small
| Spots
| Star 1
| Star 2
| Vertical blinds in to out
| Vertical blinds in to out big
| Wipe bottom to top
| Wipe diagonal 1
| Wipe diagonal 2
| Wipe diagonal 3
| Wipe diagonal 4
| Wipe left to right
| Wipe right to left
| Wipe top to bottom

## Effects

OpenShot has over 40 effects designed to manipulate the video or audio output of a clip. Adjusting color hue, brightness, and gamma can all be done with effects. Also, more exotic effects, such as distort, wave, old-film, green screen (also known as Chroma Key), and audio effects.

### Add an Effect

To add an effect, switch to the Effects tab, select an effect from the list, and drag the effect onto a clip on the timeline.

Id | component | description
1 | Effects Tab | This tab holds the effects list. The list of effect can be filtered by toggling the “All Effects”, “Video”, or “Audio” buttons. You can also type the first few letters of the effect name, and the list of effects will be filtered.
2 | Effects List | The effects list contains every effect available in OpenShot. The list can be filtered with the buttons above this list.
3 | Clip | Drag the selected effect onto any clip. Use the Clip Properties to adjust effect settings.

### Adjust Effect Settings

To adjust the settings of an effect, right-click on a clip, and choose Properties. Switch to the Effects tab, and you will see a list of all effects that have been applied to the current clip.

Id | component | description
1 | List of Effects | List of effects that belong to the selected clip.
2 | Effect Settings | A list of settings for the selected effect. Click on an effect to load this list of settings. As you change the values of these settings, use the Play button to preview the effect.
3 | Preview Buttons | Use the Play button and slider to preview the effects before you click Apply.
4 | Add Effect | This button launches the Add Effect window. Select an effect to add and click Add Effect.
5 | Remove Effect | This button removes the selected effect (if any).
6 | Move Effect | Effects are applied top to bottom. Use these buttons to arrange the order of effects. Use the Play button to preview your changes.

## List of Effects

| Bass - Adjust the low-pitched sound or tone.
| Black and White - Adjust the color of the image to black and white based on a threshold .
| Blur – Blur the image similar to an out-of-focus camera.
| Brightness – Adjusts the brightness of the image.
| BurningTV – Displays a fire or burning effect on the image.
| Cartoon – Cartoonify the image, using a form of edge detection.
| Charcoal – Filter the image to look like it is drawn with charcoal.
| Chroma Hold – Display a single color, while using greyscale for the rest of the image.
| Chroma Key – Make a single color transparent. Also referred to as green screen and blue screen.
| Color Distance – Calculates the distance between the selected color and the current pixel and uses that value as new pixel value.
| Contrast – Adjusts the contrast of a source image.
| Deinterlace – Convert interlaced video to non-interlaced video.
| Distort – Distort the source similar to plasma.
| Echo – Add an echo.
| Edgeglow – Find and glow the edges of objects.
| Freeze – Freeze the frame of a video.
| Gamma – Adjusts the gamma or luminance value of the image.
| Glow – Add a glow effect to the image.
| Gray-scale – Convert an image to shades of grey.
| Hue – Shift the hue of all colors in the image.
| Invert – Convert colors in the image to the opposite or complementary colors.
| Mirror – Split and mirror the image. Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal mirrors are supported.
| Nosync – Adjust the image up and down, with the off-screen portion appearing on the other side.
| Old Dust – Add small dust shapes randomly on the image.
| Old Film – Adjusts the gamma and brightness randomly to create the illusion of old film.
| Old Grain – Adds static and grain to the image.
| Old Lines – Adds random vertical lines to the image.
| Oversaturate – Oversaturate the color in the image, like in old Technicolor movies.
| Phaser – Add a series of peaks and troughs to the audio, creating a sweeping effect.
| Pitch – Adjust pitch or key without changing tempo.
| Pixelate – Increase the size of pixels to obscure the image.
| Remove Blue – Extracts blue from the image.
| Remove Green – Extracts green from the image.
| Remove Red – Extracts red from the image.
| Rotate – Rotate an image statically or animated.
| Saturation – Adjusts the saturation or intensity of the image.
| Scan-lines – Add interlaced black lines across the image.
| Sepia – Adjust the color of the image to emulate black-and-white film that has had sepia pigment added.
| Sobel – Detect and highlight the edges of objects.
| Threshold – Reduces and mixes the colors of the image based on a threshold .
| Treble – Adjust the high-pitched sound or tone.
| Wave – Distort the image in an animated wave pattern.
| White Balance – Adjust the white balance and color temperature.

## Export Video

Once your have completed a project, you will want to export it to the correct format, based on your needs. OpenShot has many predefined formats to simplify this process. There are two modes to export a video in OpenShot, Simple Mode and Advanced Mode.

Both modes share a common area at the top of the screen, General Options. Name your video file (no extension) and choose an export folder.

### Launch Export Window

To launch the export window, click on the Export Video toolbar icon at the top of the main window, or choose File > Export Video.

### Simple Mode

OpenShot has many predefined export formats, which cover the most common export scenarios. Select a Project Type, such as DVD or Web, and then choose the Target, Video Profile, and Quality. If you select All Formats, it will give you a list of all common formats, and let you pick the one you want.

### Advanced Mode

The advanced options should only be used by someone familiar with FFmpeg, since it is so easy to create invalid combinations of codecs, formats, and bit-rate settings. However, if you are familiar with these settings, any FFmpeg supported format/codec/bit-rate can be used, which opens up dozens and dozens of additional formats that can be used during the export process. You can also export your video as an image sequence, which can be useful if you intend to import this video into a program that requires image sequences, such as Blender.

Also, if you first select values for the Simple Mode, and then switch to the Advanced Mode, it will preselect all of the Simple Mode settings.

## Project Types / Profiles

Every project in OpenShot must have a project type (also known as a profile). A profile determines the following playback & export settings for your video project: frame rate, height & width, aspect ratio, and pixel ratio.

Here is an example profile, for ATSC 1080i 60Hz:

description | ATSC 1080i 60Hz | Name of your profile as it will appear in OpenShot.
frame_rate_num | 30000 | Numerator of the frame-rate.
frame_rate_den | 1001 | Denominator of the frame-rate.
width | 1920 | Width of the video.
height | 1080 | Height of the video.
progressive | 0 | 0 = Interlaced, 1 = Progressive
sample_aspect_num | 1 | Numerator of pixel ratio.
sample_aspect_den | 1 | Denominator of pixel ratio.
display_aspect_num | 16 | Numerator of display aspect ratio.
display_aspect_den | 9 | Denominator of display aspect ratio.

OpenShot has over 40 predefined profiles / project types available. However, if you can not find a profile that works for your project, you can also create your own. You can manage the list of profiles with the Edit > Preferences > Profiles tab.

## Preferences

To configure OpenShot, choose Edit > Preferences . The Preferences dialog can adjust the default length of images, the default theme, and the default project type / profile. Setting these values can save you valuable time when starting a new project.

## About OpenShot

OpenShot was created by Jonathan Thomas (Jonathan.Oomph@gmail.com) in August 2008 with the objective to provide a stable, free, and friendly-to-use video editor.

### OpenShot Development Team

Jonathan Thomas | Jonathan.Oomph@gmail.com
Andy Finch | we.rocked.in79@googlemail.com
Olivier Girard | eolinwen@gmail.com
View the full list of developers: | https://launchpad.net/~openshot.developers/+members#active

### More Information

To find more information about OpenShot, please visit the OpenShot Web page (http://www.OpenShotVideo.com). To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding this application or this manual, go to the OpenShot site on Launchpad. To discuss OpenShot with other users, visit our user website & forum: http://OpenShotUsers.com/forum/

### Copyright & Trademark

Copyright (C) 2009 Jonathan Thomas. OpenShot(TM) is a registered trademark owned by Jonathan Thomas.

### License

This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public license as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. A copy of this license can be found at this link, or in the file COPYING included with the source code of this program.