Segment Mode

Segment mode allows the designation of various sections within a media as distinct segments, following this playback rule: when the timeline locator moves from one segment to another, the currently playing segment completes its playback before transitioning to the next.

This mode is intended for use with media in Freerun and Loop modes, where a segment’s playback continues looping until show control signals the transition to the next segment, preventing any visible cuts or jumps on the display.

It is particularly useful in interactive settings where a loop plays continuously and an interaction is expected to trigger an animation. The loop concludes its playback before moving on to the animation.

Segments can be implemented on both video and audio media.

Example

The following animation illustrates how the segment mode works:

The media being read has Loop and Freerun activated.

The blue locator represents the timeline’s locator and its position on the timeline determines the segment that is currently playing.

The red locator represents the actual playback of the media. Notice that when the timeline’s locator advances to the next segment, playback will complete the current segment before proceeding to the next one.

Setup

You can create segments by selecting the media in the Media List panel and accessing the Segment tab in the Editor panel.

The button in the bottom left enables you to add segments.

Segments can be renamed and the list of segments can be re-organized.

The length of a segment is defined by its out-point.

The in-point of a segment is determined by the out point of the previous segment in the media, except for the first segment whose in-point starts at timecode 00:00:00:00.

Expected behavior

If the segments are modified in the Media List panel and the media is already present in a timeline, the timeline needs to be refreshed (ON/OFF) for the changes to be visible in the timeline.

Jumping with the timeline locator to a segment before the one that is currently playing will correctly play that segment when the current segment is done.

Jumping with the timeline locator to a segment after the one that is currently playing will play all the segments in between before reaching the locator’s segment.

These behaviors are illustrated in the following animation: