A guide to photoshop’s video timeline

Playback tools

Play, Frame advance forward and back, jump to first frame and mute audio.

Set playback options

Change the resolution percentage here. If Photoshop is struggling to render frames you can lower the resolution to aid workflow, but remember to put it back to 100 per cent before exporting. The Loop Playback tick-box is here also.

Current-time Indicator

More commonly referred to as the Playhead, drag this along the Timeline to a specific point in time. Dragging it back and forth – known as scrubbing – is a great way to check animations while you work.

Layer

A specific Layer indicated on the Timeline.

Frame numbers

Represented as the amount of frames per your videos frame rate settings, with each second presented as a time value.

Layers List View

Twirl down the disclosure triangle to reveal those Layer properties, which can modified.

Stopwatch icon

Designates a keyframe at the point of the playhead. After the first keyframe has been applied to a Layer, additional keyframes can be applied using the Add/Remove Keyframes command.

Add/Remove Keyframes

The triangle in the centre will add a new keyframe, and clicking it a second time will remove the keyframe. The triangles that are on either side jump you forward or back to the next keyframe on that Layer.

Keyframe(s)

A keyframe denotes a change, and the closer keyframes are to one another the quicker the change occurs (the opposite also applies). You can add a keyframe using the Add/Remove Keyframes. Additionally, when you apply a live change to a Layer that already has keyframes applied to it – modify a Layers opacity, for example – then a keyframe is automatically created.

Render Video

When you’re ready to export your video, this takes you to the Render Video window.

Timeline Magnifier

Alters the Timeline view: either click the scale buttons or drag the slider. Drag to the left and the Layers will condense and more of the Timeline will become visible. Drag to the right and the Layers extend.

Video Timeline Menu

A contextual menu for various Timeline controls including the Onion Skins settings.

Layer settings

Depending on the Layer type, this disclosure triangle reveals different properties. On a standard Photoshop Layer it reveals preset actions including Pan, Zoom, Rotate and combinations including all three. On a Video Layer you can alter the Duration and Speed.

Frame Animation Timeline

Converts the Timeline to the traditional Photoshop sequential frames Timeline.

Frame Rate

The first time you playback a video, Photoshop will need to cache it, and the playback will look choppy. When the indicator is green then you’ll know it’s playing properly.

Window view

Drag this bar to shift the Timeline left and right. Cuts the Layer at the Playhead position – required when editing clips together.

Transitions

Select a fade type and drag it to the start or end of a Layer in the Timeline. You can also determine its duration.

Preview sliders

Set a part of the Timeline to playback.