Sequences

Sequences are cinematic scenes you create with the Sequence tool and that you can export as videos. They are similar to the videos you create in Twinmotion, but are created in a non-linear environment with a keyframed camera. You can combine sequences with imported animated files, animators, and animated paths you can synchronize and manipulate over time.

This page provides a brief overview of sequences. For information on how to create sequences, see Creating Sequences.

Components of a Sequence

Sequences are composed of a camera track, parts, keyframes, and animation tracks.

Camera Track

A camera track is a sequence of camera movements or shots organized into segments called parts. The length of time of a camera track corresponds to the total length of the parts inside the camera track. When you create a sequence, one camera track is automatically added to the sequence.

Parts

A part corresponds to the beginning and end of one segment in the camera track. A part is similar to a video clip in other non-linear editing software, or a Shot in Unreal Engine's Sequencer tool. When you create a sequence, one 10 second action camera part is automatically added to the camera track.

Action Camera and Orbit Camera

When you create a new part, you can use an action camera or an orbit camera. The type of camera you select depends on what you are trying to achieve. 

The action camera replicates real-world film camera behavior, and is ideal for creating a cinematic scene that takes place over a period of time. When you create an action camera part, by default it contains one 10 second keyframe. You can add other keyframes to the part and edit the position of the keyframes on the timeline. 

When you use the action camera you can:

• Select a camera tracking point.

• Set the tension of the path.

• Edit the path using the keyframe tangents.

• Smooth the speed of the camera.

• Adjust the acceleration and deceleration of the camera. 

For more information on these options, see Action Camera Options in Creating Sequences.

The orbit camera constrains the camera's path to a circular movement around a specific point that you select. It creates a circular camera path around a focal point and can only contain two keyframes. You can create a full 360 degree path, or select where on the path the camera starts and ends.

When you use the orbit camera, you can:

• Set the radius of the camera's path.

• Select a start and end point on the circular path.

• Inverse the trajectory of the camera.

• Move the camera up or down.

For more information on these options, see "Orbit Camera Options" in Creating Sequences.

Each part you create uses one of these cameras, but you can use both cameras in the same sequence.

Camera Part Menu

Each camera part has a menu where you can Rename, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select all keys in a part. You also use the Move before and Move after commands to rearrange the parts in a sequence. 

Keyframes

A keyframe is a point in time on the timeline that saves the position and angle of the camera and is contained within a part. The keyframes in sequences are similar to the keyframes in Twinmotion videos and in other video editing and animation software. Keyframes also contain the Ambience settings, and the visibility status of the assets defined in the Scene graph.

By default, a part created with an action camera contains one keyframe, but you can add other keyframes to the part. As an orbit camera part contains a circular camera path, it can only contain two keyframes; one keyframe at the start of the part, and another at the end of the part.

When a keyframe is selected, any changes you make to the Ambience settings are automatically applied to the keyframe. However, if you make any other changes, such as moving the camera, or adding, hiding, or removing assets, you must update the keyframe by clicking the Refresh icon on the thumbnail of the keyframe.

You can manage the visibility of assets in keyframes by creating View sets and applying them to keyframes. To apply a View set to a keyframe, select the keyframe and in the View set drop-down in the Properties panel select a View set. For more information about View sets, see Working with View Sets.

Keyframe Menu

In the keyframe menu, you can Delete a keyframe, Copy ambience and Paste ambience settings between keyframes, and open the Media preview window.

Animation Tracks

Animation tracks can contain the following:

• Imported animated files (.fbx, .gltf, or.glb) that contain skeletal mesh or static mesh animations.

  All imported animated files are automatically added as animation tracks in sequences.

  

• Animators from the Library > Tools > Animators category. 

  Animation tracks are automatically created for animators that are parenting objects. If an Animator tool is not parenting an object, you will be prompted to add an object to it in the Sequence tool. 

  

You can edit the properties of animated files and animators inside sequences by selecting the animation track and changing the settings in the Properties panel.  

For more information about animated files and their properties and how to import them into Twinmotion, see the Animation documentation.

For more information about animators and their properties, see Animator Tools.

For information on how to work with animation tracks in sequences, see Working with Animation Tracks in Creating Sequences.

Timeline

The timeline displays the play rate of the sequence during playback in seconds or frames per second (fps). By default, the display rate on the timeline is shown in seconds, but you can change it in the sequence display rate menu.

You can move the playhead along the timeline to preview the sequence and the animated files.

  The position of the playhead on the timeline determines:

• Where a keyframe or part is created.

• In which keyframes Ambience settings are applied or copy and pasted.

• The parts where visual transitions are applied.

• The point in time in the sequence that will be used to create a snapshot.

You can also control the following Twinmotion animated assets with the playhead:

• Translators, Rotators, and Exploders (Tools > Animators).

• Character, Bicycle, Vehicle, and Custom animated paths (Populate > Paths).

• Animated assets from the Twinmotion library in the following categories:

  • Characters > Animals, Animated humans, and Groups.

  • Vehicles > Boats, and Construction machines.

You can pan the timeline and zoom in and out of the timeline using the zoom bar.

Sequence Controls

Control	Description
1 - View options	Clicking this icon opens the View options dialog box where you can: Filter the animation tracks by content (imported animated file or type of animator) and status (enabled or disabled). Sort the order of the animation tracks in the sequence as follows: Alphabetical: Sorts the animation tracks alphabetically. Scene graph order: Sorts the animation tracks according to their order in the Scene graph. Custom order: Select this option to sort the animation tracks manually by dragging them up and down in the Sequence tool.
2 - Playhead	The position of the playhead represents a specific point in time, along the timeline, in the sequence. You can move the playhead to preview the sequence in the viewport, and to select where on the timeline you want to create a new keyframe. When the playhead is positioned on a part or a keyframe, the part or keyframe is selected. Clicking on a keyframe moves the playhead to the position of the keyframe on the timeline.
3 - Add camera part	Adds a new action or orbit camera part after the selected camera part. To select the type of camera , click the ellipsis (...) next to the Add camera part icon and select a camera type from the menu.
4 - Track edit mode	Controls how keyframes are positioned on the timeline when you change the duration of action camera parts, and how animated files and animators are handled when you change the duration of animation tracks. Action camera parts: Default: The position of the keyframes on the timeline does not change. The duration of the part is constrained by the last keyframe in the part. Scale: The position of the keyframes changes proportionally to the length of the camera part. Orbit camera parts can only be edited in Scale mode. This is because an orbit camera part contains a circular camera path and only two keyframes (one at the start of the part and one at the end). The position of the second keyframe cannot be static and always changes proportionally to the length of the camera part. For animation tracks, the outcome is different depending on whether the track contains an animated file or an animator. Animated files: Scale: The duration of the animation sequence changes and is scaled proportionally on the timeline.  Default and Loop: The animation loops if the animation track is lengthened beyond the duration of the animation sequence. The duration of the animation sequence does not change. Animators: Loop: The animation loops and the duration of the animation sequence does not change.  Default and Scale: The duration of the animation changes and scales proportionally.
5 - Playback controls	Controls to preview a sequence. Back: Moves the playhead to the previous part. Play / Pause: Plays and pauses the sequence. Next: Advances the playhead forward to the next part. Loop: If this option is enabled, the entire sequence from the first part to the last part plays and loops continuously. By default, sequences play only once and stop.
6 - Timeline	Shows you where a part, keyframe, or animation track starts and stops along the non-linear timeline of a sequence. You can change the display rate on the timeline using the options in the Sequence display rate control.
7 - Sequence display rate	Determines the play rate of the sequence during playback, and displays the selected play rate on the timeline. Options: 24 FPS, 25 FPS, 30 FPS, 60 FPS, Seconds
8 - Snapshot	Creates an image of the sequence at the position of the playhead on the timeline. Snapshot images are added in the Media dock under Images.
9 - Media Preview	Opens the Media preview window, where you can preview the camera as you move it in the viewport. For more information about the Media preview window, see Media Preview.
10 - Enable / Disable animation	Enables or disables the animation in the animation track. Disabling the animation keeps the animated object in the scene but disables the animation of the object during playback.
11 - Show/Hide	Toggles the width of the timeline by showing or hiding the left part of the dock.
12 - Zoom bar	Zooms or pans the view of the timeline. To zoom in or out of the timeline, select one of the end points of the slider and drag it forward or backward along the timeline. To pan the timeline without zooming, select the slider and move it forwards or backwards.