In this help doc

The timeline in the video editor shows your scenes, voice, captions, background music, and elements on one time scale. This doc shows how to open the timeline, check lengths, play your video, set when elements appear, and edit music and captions.

Open and close the timeline

To open the timeline:

In the video editor, find the bar under the canvas.
Click Timeline. The timeline opens with the Scene, Voice, Captions, BGM, and Layers tracks.
To go back to the scene thumbnails, click Scene view.

Check scene and voice lengths

To check how long a scene is:

Click the ruler above the tracks to move the playhead into the scene. The top of the editor shows the scene's Length.
If the voice hasn't been created yet, the length starts with ≈. It is estimated from the number of characters in the script.
Click the play button. The voice is created for the preview, and the scene and the Voice track show the actual length.

Playing a scene with an estimated length so the voice is created and the actual length is shown

Note: A scene is as long as its voice. You can't make a scene shorter than its voice.

Note: The preview shows voice, captions, background music, and element timing. Lip sync is applied after the video is created.

Play and move through your video

To play your video and move around in it:

Click a point on the ruler to move the playhead there.
Press ← or → to move 0.1 seconds. Press Shift+← or Shift+→ to move 1 second.
Press Space to play or pause.

Moving the playhead with the ruler and arrow keys, then playing and pausing with Space

💡 Tip: To see the whole video on the timeline, click Fit all. Use − and + to zoom out and in.

Change when an element appears

Each text, image, video, and shape in a scene has its own bar in the Layers rows.

To change when an element appears or disappears:

Click the element's bar to select it.
Drag the right end of the bar to change when the element disappears. To keep it on screen in the next scene, drag the right end past the end of the scene.
Drag the left end of the bar to change when the element appears.
To type exact times, click the timing button at the top left of the editor and edit Appear and Disappear.

Dragging the end of a text bar into the next scene and the start of an image bar to a later time

💡 Tip: In the timing box, To scene end keeps the element until the end of its scene, and Reset brings back the original timing.

Note: Higher rows appear in front. Drag a row header up or down to change that row's depth in all scenes, or drag a bar up or down to change only that element.

Show an element on a script word

To make an element appear when the avatar says a word:

Click the element's bar, then click the timing button at the top left of the editor.
Click the word button next to Disappear. The editor asks you to click a word in the script.
Click a word in the script. The element now appears when that word is spoken, and a green marker shows on its bar.

Linking an image to the word features in the script so it appears when the word is spoken

Note: If you drag the left end or the whole bar, the word link is removed. To remove it yourself, click × next to the word in the timing box. The element keeps its current appear time.

Edit the background music

To add background music and change where it plays:

Click Media in the left menu, then click the Audio tab.
Click Apply next to a track, then click Apply to all scenes. If music is already added, click Apply to replace it. The music shows on the BGM track.
Drag either end of the music bar to change where the music starts or ends. With Snap on, the end snaps to the edges of scenes.
Drag the small dot at the start or end of the bar to fade the music in or out.

Applying a music track to all scenes, then dragging its start and fade-in on the BGM track

💡 Tip: When the music bar is selected, the top of the editor shows Volume, Fade, and Delete.

Edit a caption

Each caption sentence has its own bar on the Captions track. If a scene has no captions, click Generate captions on the track. Captions are created for each sentence of the script.

To edit a caption:

Click the caption on the Captions track. The Caption panel opens on the left.
Edit the sentence in the panel.
Click outside the text box. The caption on the track changes.

Clicking a caption on the Captions track and editing its text in the Caption panel

Undo and redo changes

To undo your last change, click the undo button in the timeline or press Ctrl+Z. To redo it, click the redo button or press Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Dragging a text bar, then clicking undo and redo in the timeline

Note: If you leave the editor, the undo and redo history is reset.

FAQ

Why does the length start with ≈?
The voice hasn't been created yet, so the length is estimated from the number of characters in the script. It changes to the actual length when you play the scene.

Can I make a scene shorter than its voice?
No. A scene is as long as its voice. To make a scene shorter, shorten its script.

Why doesn't the avatar's mouth move in the preview?
The preview doesn't show lip sync. Lip sync is applied after the video is created.

Is the total length on the timeline exact?
No. It is an estimate, so the exported video can be slightly longer or shorter.

Can an element stay on screen across scenes?
Yes. Drag the right end of its bar past the end of the scene.

Use the Timeline 🆕