The creative editor is the central hub of the Video Brand Studio (VBS) platform. It is a fully featured video editor, allowing you to arrange your assets on the timeline, create complex animations and configure all your dynamic fields.The editor is made up of 3 main sections:
The Canvas
The Timeline
The Properties Panel
If you have ever used a video editor like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro or After Effects you'll see that the Video Brand Studio creative editor has everything you need to quickly create dynamic videos, without any of the unnecessary complicated features.
A key difference between standard desktop video editors and the Video Brand Studio editor is the ability to make any parts of your video dynamic. This gives you the flexibility to generate multiple videos from one creative.
All generated videos and video assets are 25 frames per second, and the time format used is mm:ss:ff.
Tip
If you make a mistake while editing a creative and want to undo, use the shortcut CMD/CTRL Z.
The canvas is where you preview what you will see in your video, and has a number of key features.
Zoom
Use the zoom bar to arrange elements perfectly by zooming in on the details.
Tip
When zoomed in, hold down the spacebar navigate around the canvas.
Elements
An element is effectively a placeholder for your dynamic content. When generating videos, text, image and video elements can be changed to create new videos using the same creative.
Click an element on the canvas to select it. You can then drag & drop and resize elements on the canvas.
Save
Go to Options > Save to save your work allowing you to continue at a later stage.
Tip
Use the shortcuts Ctrl +S (Windows) or ⌘ Cmd + S (Mac) to save your creative.
Play Preview
Go to Options > Preview to render a preview of your video. We recommend making use of the Play Preview instead.
Note
Save your creative before previewing to see your latest changes.
Publish
Go to Options > Publish to publish your video. Once published, videos can then be generated from the creative.
The timeline is where you arrange your elements, and manage effects and transitions.
Tip
The timeline height can be resized by dragging the area between the canvas and timeline.
When moving or resizing elements, a red indicator will show if the edge lines up with items on the timeline.
Add Assets and Presets
Drag and drop the playhead in the timeline to the position where you want to add an asset.
Click Add Asset to add video, image, text or presets to the timeline.
When adding a video, image or preset use the popup to search the item you want to add, select it and click Next to add it.
(Optional) When adding a video drag the slider to select the part of the video you would like to insert and click Select to add it to the canvas.
Tip
When adding a video asset, the video will be added to the canvas in the same resolution as the canvas.
When adding a video asset, the default crop mode of the video will be set to Cover.
Scenes
In the VBS editor a timeline is divided into individual scenes, which are displayed at the top of the timeline. These scenes are created automatically by detecting the number and placement of elements on the timeline.
Splitting a video into scenes is important for the generation phase of a creative. In the on demand and batch generator screens, the scenes are used to help organise the content.
In the on demand screen each stage of the wizard is an individual scene. All editable fields for the scene are displayed in the panel on the right. In the batch generator each scene has its own column and all fields in that scene are displayed underneath.
Playhead
In the creative editor there are two types of playheads; one for each scene, and one for the timeline.
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Scene playheads The shot playhead allows you to select which poster frame will be used for the canvas in the generate screens.
This is particularly useful where there are overlapping elements in one area of the scene. This way, you can ensure that the scene playhead is positioned at a point where the overlapping elements are not shown.
Note
The scene playheads are only used to determine the poster frame. All unlocked elements in the scene will be shown and editable in either the on demand side panel, or as individual fields in the batch generation screen.
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Timeline playhead The timeline playhead allows you to quickly see any frame on the canvas, allowing you to quickly check edits.
Tip
Hover over or move the playhead to see the current video position.
Use the arrows on your keyboard to quickly move the playhead forwards and backwards frame by frame.
Tracks and Elements
Elements can be added to any track. Drag and resize them on the timeline to get the perfect edit. Multiple elements can be added to the same track, making it easy to arrange your project in a way that works for you.
Each track is effectively a layer, where the top track is the layer at the front, and the bottom track is the layer at the back. This works in a similar way to many other image and video editing suites.
When an animation or transition effect has been added to a group or element, the effect 
icon will be shown. Clicking this will expand the effect time option, where you can adjust the length of each transition and animation directly on the timeline.
Tip
Double click an element to rename it (max 128 characters).
You can also edit these values in the property panel of each element.
Groups
To create a group, hold CMD/CTRL and select multiple elements on the timeline. With the elements selected, either click 
in the timeline's left sidebar or use the keyboard shortcut CMD/CTRL G.
Your elements are now grouped and can be moved around the timeline. You can also add effects & animations to a group.
Tip
You can drag an element in or out of a group and add groups inside other groups.
Press Shift + Crtl + G (Windows) or Shift + ⌘ Cmd + G (Mac) to ungroup elements.
Presets
To create a preset, select a group in the timeline and click the 
icon in the timeline's left sidebar. Presets are available under Add Asset, and can be used across all creatives. When browsing presets, double click on one to rename it. Presets are a great way to save a company logo, animation effect, call to action or any combination of elements, groups and effects which you want to reuse. You can even save a whole video as a preset!
Element Visibility
With an element selected, clicking the 
icon in the timeline's left sidebar bar will hide the element on the canvas. This is useful when working with multiple elements and layers, where you want to edit an element on the canvas that is under another element.
Tip
Hiding an element with this option will stop it being rendered in the final video.
Lock
Once a creative is published, videos can be generated from the on demand or batch generation pages. If an element or group is locked, they will not be shown in the generation page and a 
icon will be shown on the layer in the timeline. This can be useful if you have elements that you don't want to be dynamic, for example company logos or tag-lines.
Select the element or group and click the icon in the timeline's left sidebar to lock or unlock the element(s).
The lock option also allows you to apply changes made to a creative that has already been published. If you change text, choose a new image or video asset for an existing element, locking the element will apply the change to all existing videos.
Note
If you do not lock the element, the updated text, image or video will not be applied to existing videos when you republish the creative.
Locking an element will also propagate any changes to the element's dynamic content to all existing videos. This makes it easy to quickly update multiple videos at once.
Duplicate
Easily duplicate any element or group by clicking the 
icon in the timeline's left sidebar, or using the shortcut CMD/CTRL D.
Delete
Delete selected groups or elements from the timeline using the 
icon in the timeline's left sidebar, or CMD/CTRL BACKSPACE.
Timeline Zoom
The horizontal scroll bar has a number of flexible zoom functions to help you navigate easily.
Zoom in/out by adjusting the end points of the scroll bar.
Double click on scrollbar to zoom to show full global time on timeline.
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Double click on scrollbar a second time to show all elements on the timeline, even if they fall out of the global time.
Note
Any elements that are outside the global time will be greyed out.
Click the Play Preview button, which you can find between the canvas and timeline, to preview your video instantly. The preview will play in the actual canvas.
It may take a few seconds to load your preview if your creative contains a large number of HD assets.
The playback performance depends on the capabilities of the machine you're working on.
Audio playback is available in the preview. The volume can't be adjusted.
Motion blurs won't be visible in the preview. They'll be visible in the final render.
Flip animations won't be visible in the preview. They'll be visible in the final render.
Cornerpin animations won't visible in the preview. They'll be visible in the final render.
Audio
Here is where you add your audio track. The selected audio will play from the beginning of the video.
Click the Browse button in the Audio section.
Search for the audio file that you want to add, click it and click Next.
Drag the slider to select the part of the audio you would like to start from.
Click Select to add the audio.
Background Colour
Click the Background Color field and use the color picker to choose the background color of your video.
Note
This colour will be used throughout the video where no elements cover canvas.
Poster Frame
Here you can choose which frame from your video will be used as the poster frame (also known as thumbnail or preview image).
Tip
When using your videos for Facebook placements, the poster frame can have a dramatic effect on performance as often this is the image the customer sees if they have auto-play videos turned off. Try experimenting with different poster frames to see which performs best.
Duration
The overall length of your video. (Max supported 3 minutes).
Format
Choose between common presets 1080p or 720p. Alternatively you can create a custom aspect ratio by manually assigning the width and height.
Asset
Browse your assets to replace the selected element.
Crop Mode and Align
Choose how your asset will be contained in the bounding box on the canvas. Select one of the following options:
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This mode allows you to resize the asset without cropping any parts. The aspect ration of your video will be respected. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
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Cover
This mode will crop the asset so that it fills the complete bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
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Width
In this mode the asset will be fit to the width of the bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
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Height
In this mode the asset will be fit to the height of the bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
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Free
This mode allows you to crop the asset freely. Drag the handles of the bounding box to crop the asset to your liking.
Optionally, you can use the Scale bar to manage the zoom of the asset within the bounding box and the Horizontal Offset and Vertical Offset bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
Asset
Click Select video to browse your assets to replace the selected element.
Click Trim video to trim the selected video.
Trimming videos
The trim video screen allows you to select the start and end points of your video.
Hovering over the in and out indicators will show you the timestamp, while preview will play the selection you made.
Slip editing
The trim screen also has the option to slip edit a video. Simply move the selection slider to the desired point. Your element will remain in the same place on the timeline, while the in and out points will automatically be adjusted.
Crop Mode and Align
Choose how your asset will be contained in the bounding box on the canvas. Select one of the following options:
-
This mode allows you to resize the video without cropping any parts. The aspect ration of your video will be respected. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
-
Cover
This mode will crop the video so that it fills the complete bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
-
Width
In this mode the video will be fit to the width of the bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
-
Height
In this mode the video will be fit to the height of the bounding box. Optionally, you can use the Align Horizontal and Align Vertical bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
-
Free
This mode allows you to crop the video freely. Drag the handles of the bounding box to crop the video to your liking.
Optionally, you can use the Scale bar to manage the zoom of the asset within the bounding box and the Horizontal Offset and Vertical Offset bars to move the asset within the bounding box.
Use the text editor to add regular, bold or italic text using the shortcuts CMD/CTRL B or CMD/CTRL I. (The option for bold or italic depends on the fonts installed to your account during setup).
Video Brand Studio only supports left-to-right languages. The following right-to-left languages aren't supported.
Arabic
Aramaic
Azeri
Dhivehi/Maldivian
Hebrew
Kurdish (Sorani)
Persian/Farsi
Urdu
Typeface: Select your font
Font style: Select the style of font
Size: Adjust the size
Colour: Adjust the colour
Opacity: Adjust the opacity
Align
Aligns the text within the bounding box
Text Spacing
Adjust the height and width spacing of the text
Placement
Fit: The text will be resized in order to keep it within the bounding box. The line breaks in the text input area will be reflected on the canvas.
Wrap: The text will automatically be wrapped with line spacing to fit the bounding box.
Group
When a group is selected, the X and Y positions can be adjusted from the properties tab.
Element
In addition to the X and Y positions, the width, height, rotation and opacity of an element can be adjusted from the properties tab.
For detailed editing, the duration and start frame of an element can also be adjusted.
Tip
The start frame refers to the frame of the global video time.
The styling tab is where you can add transition effects and animations to elements or groups.
Shadow
Angle: The angle of the shadow measured in degrees
Offset: The distance of the shadow to the element
Blur: Softens the edge of the shadow
Colour: Choose the colour and opacity of the shadow
Transition Effects
Below we will go through the transition effects and the unique controls for each.
Fade and blur in/out
Blur from: The amount of blur the element has at the beginning of the effect.
Blue to: The amount of blur the element has at the end of the effect.
Fade in/out
Fade from: The amount of fade at the start of the effect.
Fade to: The amount of fade at the end of the effect.
Fade and move in/out
Direction: Which direction to move the element during the effect.
Distance: The amount the element moves during the effect.
Mask: With mask selected, the element will not be shown outside of the bounding box
Motion Blur: This option allows you to enable or disable motion blur. Disable motion blur if you want to make elements, such as text better readable
Fade and scale in/out
Flip in/out
Direction: Which direction the element animates.
Bounce: Adds extra movement at the end of the effect (only available for flip in).
Breakup: The amount of sections to break the element into
Motion Blur: This option allows you to enable or disable motion blur. Disable motion blur if you want to make elements, such as text better readable
Iris in/out
Move in/out
Direction: The direction the element moves
Distance: The amount of distance the element moves
Mask: With mask selected, the element will not be shown outside of the bounding box
Motion Blur: This option allows you to enable or disable motion blur. Disable motion blur if you want to make elements, such as text better readable
Pop in/out
Scale in/out
Wipe in
Blink
Blinks: The amount times the elements blinks on and off
Corner pin
Import Data
Import a csv file with X & Y offset values to create complex move animations.
CSV must contain 2 columns
1st column must have heading horizontalPositionOffset
2nd column must have heading verticalPositionOffset
Each row represents the X & Y offset values per frame
The duration of the element must match the number of frames in the csv
Each frame supports up to 3 decimal places
Motion Blur: This option allows you to enable or disable motion blur. Disable motion blur if you want to make elements, such as text better readable
Move
Pop
Rotate
Scale
Tip
Once an effect has been added, an indicator will be shown on the group or element. Clicking this will open the transition & animation editor on the timeline, where you can easily change the timings.
Timing
Changing the timing of a transition can help to make the effect more natural.
Action |
Shortcut Windows |
Shortcut Mac |
Information |
Save |
Ctrl + S |
⌘ Cmd + S |
The changes to the creative will be saved |
Undo |
Ctrl + Z |
⌘ Cmd + Z |
Undo the last action |
Duplicate |
Ctrl + D |
⌘ Cmd + D |
Duplicate the selected element |
Delete |
Ctrl + Delete |
⌘ Cmd + Delete |
Delete the selected element |
Multi-select |
Ctrl + Left mouse click |
⌘ Cmd + Left mouse click |
Select multiple elements at once |
Group |
Ctrl + G |
⌘ Cmd + G |
Add all selected elements to a group |
Ungroup |
Ctrl + Shift + G |
⌘ Cmd + Shift + G |
Ungroup the selected group |
Navigate the canvas while zoomed in |
Spacebar + Drag and drop your mouse |
Spacebar + Drag and drop your mouse |
Navigate through the canvas when you're zoomed in |
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