Layers and Reusable Assets

Assets and layers

Assets is the library collection for reusable images, video, audio, and links to edited sequences. An asset belongs to a Catalog. A layer is one placement of that asset in a variant or programme, with its own timing, position, size, and audio level.

Use assets for a logo, a reference video, background music, or an edited sequence you want to reuse. Adding a layer does not change the original media or add its transcript to the host edit.

Import reusable media

1. Choose the Catalog containing the edit you want to work on.
2. Switch the library from Projects to Assets.
3. Use the plus/import button to choose images, videos, or audio files.
4. Optionally organize them into asset folders. A folder’s context menu also offers Import reusable assets.

Imported file assets refer to their existing files; importing does not create an independent media backup. Keep those files accessible. Unsupported files are reported individually so the rest of a batch can still be imported.

You can also drop image, video, or audio files from Finder directly onto the timeline. Sequence imports them into the edit’s Catalog and places them as layers in one action. Drop files, not folders.

Reuse an edited sequence as a live asset

1. Open the variant or programme you want to reuse.
2. Open the Export inspector and choose Add to Assets.
3. Click Add to Assets. The link appears in that edit’s Catalog.
4. Open another edit in the same Catalog and use the linked asset like other reusable media.

Add to Assets creates a live link, not an encoded movie. Later changes to the linked edit are reflected when the host resolves that asset. Its edited timing, camera choices, framing, and nested media remain part of the linked sequence. Right-click the asset or its layer and choose Open Variant to return to the source edit.

For a fixed result that will not change with later edits, export finished media, then import that file into Assets. For an editable handoff to another machine, use a Sequence Package instead.

Place an asset

1. Open the destination variant or programme and position the playhead where the overlay should begin.
2. Drag an asset from Assets onto the timeline or the workspace player.
3. Release to add it as an overlay at the playhead. The pointer’s horizontal drop position does not choose its start time.

Dragging reveals a collapsed timeline without switching the Transcript pane away from its current tab. A successful drop leaves the timeline open; cancelling or failing the drop restores its previous visibility.

A video or audio layer initially uses its source duration. A still image runs from the playhead to the end of the edit. Overlays do not extend the host timeline: any portion beyond its end is not displayed or played. Place the playhead before the end if you want the asset to be visible immediately. Dropping several assets together starts them at the same playhead position; it does not arrange them sequentially.

The Transcript pane’s Clips tab remains a view of source clips, not an asset drop target. Manage placed assets in the timeline.

Move, resize, and order visual layers

Click a visual layer in the timeline to select it for editing on the player. Move the playhead inside its visible range if necessary.

• Drag the selection box on the player to move the image or video.
• Drag a corner to resize while preserving its aspect ratio.
• Movement snaps to canvas and other layer edges or centres. Hold Control to bypass on-player snapping.
• Right-click the visual layer on the player and choose Reset Size to restore its initial overlay size.
• Drag a layer vertically in the timeline to change its stacking order. Higher overlay lanes composite above lower ones.

To crop the entire composition rather than reposition an individual asset, use Composition Crop.

Move and trim timing

Drag the body of an unlocked layer horizontally to move it in time. Drag its left or right edge to trim it. Timing snaps near clip boundaries, other overlay boundaries, and the playhead.

Moving preserves the layer’s duration and source in-point. For video and audio, trimming the left edge changes both the start time and source in-point; trimming the right edge changes the out-point. Still images change their visible duration without consuming source time. Edits stay within the host timeline and the available media.

If the playhead is covering a clip edge, move the playhead away before trying to trim that edge. Use the timeline’s zoom and track-height controls when the handles are too close together.

Audio-bearing layers show a volume line. Drag it up or down to adjust that layer’s level; hovering shows the current level. An audio layer’s Sync with Main action instead links that file as the edit’s external audio, removes the overlay placement, and starts automatic synchronization. Use that only when the file should replace the main recording’s audio, not when you simply want an independently timed music layer.

Lock, remove, and troubleshoot

Right-click a layer and choose Lock to prevent timing, canvas, and level changes. Choose Unlock before editing it again. Remove a placement with its Delete context action, or press Delete/Forward Delete while the unlocked layer is selected and the timeline or canvas has focus. Removing a placement does not remove its reusable asset from the library.

Sequence refuses to delete a library asset while a timeline still uses it. Remove its placements first, then delete the asset from Assets.

Keep these constraints in mind:

• The asset and destination edit must belong to the same Catalog.
• Assets cannot be added while the destination project’s media is missing. Restore its media access first.
• A linked asset still needs the linked edit and its media dependencies. It is not a self-contained export. Links that refer back to the host, directly or through other linked edits, cannot be rendered.
• A layer whose entire range is beyond the timeline end is not shown or played. Position the playhead inside the edit before adding assets.
• Multi-Cam picture-in-picture lanes have timing owned by the camera-composition decision, not an ordinary trimmable asset range. See Multi-Cam Editing for changing those decisions.

Playback and export use the saved layer placements. Review the active edit before exporting, especially when a reusable linked sequence has changed since you last used it.