Video monitor & compositor
The video monitor is the compositing surface of the Grid. It opens from the Toggle video monitor button in the transport bar and shows the program at the playhead. Inside it you build scenes out of layers, adjust each layer in the Inspector, and cut the composition to program with Go Live.
Panels
Section titled “Panels”| Panel | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Scenes | The list of scenes in the project and the canvas aspect ratio |
| Layers | The stack of layers in the selected scene, top layer first |
| Inspector | Settings for the selected layer |
| Composition | The scene you are working on |
| Program | What is on air: the last composition you sent live |
| Action | The Controller: buttons that fire Actions |
Each panel can be hidden with its Hide button and reopened from the collapsed tabs along the edge. Drag the resize handle to change the monitor height.
Scenes
Section titled “Scenes”Add Scene creates a new empty scene. Double-click a scene name to rename it, and use Delete Scene to remove one. The Canvas aspect ratio selector sets the frame shape for the whole project: landscape, portrait or square. The Bounce panel and the platform presets follow this choice, so set it before you start laying out.
A small On Air dot marks the scene that is currently in program.
Layers
Section titled “Layers”Add Layer adds a layer of one of these sources:
| Source | Shows |
|---|---|
| Video Track | The video region under the playhead on a chosen video track |
| Motion Track | A baked Motion composition on a motion track |
| Text Track | Text regions from a text track, as captions or lyrics |
| Camera | A live camera on this computer |
| Screen | A shared screen or window |
| Stream | A live stream from a peer |
| Image | A still image from your assets |
| Color | A solid colour |
| Text | A static text layer |
| Shader | An ISF or WGSL shader |
| Lottie | A Lottie animation from your assets |
| 3D Scene | A 3D scene from your assets |
| Caption | A caption layer |
| Shape | A rectangle, ellipse or other shape |
Every layer has show/hide and lock toggles and a delete button. A layer marked M acts as a mask for the layer below it.
Inspector
Section titled “Inspector”Select a layer to edit it:
- Transform — position, scale, rotation and opacity. Drag the gizmo on the composition directly, or scrub the numbers.
- Perspective — a 3D tilt of the layer.
- Blend — blend mode with the layers underneath.
- Corner Pin — drag the four corners to fit the layer onto a surface in the shot.
- Effects — per-layer filters: blur, chroma key, color, grain, levels, LUT (
.cube), shadow/glow and vignette. - FX Chain — the order the effects run in.
- Mask role — use this layer as a mask, and how.
The source section at the top of the Inspector changes with the layer type: the track to follow, the file to show, the camera to use, the shader code, and so on.
Animate layer parameters
Section titled “Animate layer parameters”Layer parameters can be automated against the timeline. Arm Record Automation in the transport bar, play, and move an Inspector control; the moves are written to an automation track and play back with the project. See Automation.
Go Live
Section titled “Go Live”The Composition panel is your preview. Press Go Live to cut it to the Program panel. The program is what is rendered by the Bounce panel, broadcast when you go On Air, and shown on an external display.
Controller
Section titled “Controller”The Action panel is a bank of buttons. Assign an Action to a slot and press it to run that Action during a performance. Actions are written on the Actions tab; see Pre-production.
Monitor controls
Section titled “Monitor controls”The bar under the screen has:
- Toggle safety overlay — title-safe and action-safe guides.
- Toggle fullscreen — fill the browser window; Exit fullscreen or Esc returns.
- Toggle runner display output — with Plinken Run connected, show the program full-screen on a second display. See Video with Plinken Run.
- Bounce master via runner — opens Bounce Master (Runner). See Rendering & export.
Rendering on Plinken Run
Section titled “Rendering on Plinken Run”When Plinken Run renders a master, it composites video, motion, image, colour, shape and shader layers with their effects, masks and groups natively. Text, caption, Lottie, 3D scene and camera layers are rendered transparent by the runner today. Scenes that rely on those layers should be rendered in the browser from the Bounce panel.