Rough Cut Editor

The Rough Cut Editor is a compact non-linear editor for assembling clips on a dashboard. Add media from a File Browser to the project bin, mark the required ranges in the source monitor, arrange them on the video and audio tracks, review the sequence in the program monitor, and export it with an export preset.

The server stores your work in a named project, which can be reopened from another dashboard or by another user. The editor is designed for quick assemblies such as highlight reels and trimmed handoffs. It provides one video track and does not include transitions or effects.

A Rough Cut Editor with a loaded project

Projects

Add the widget from Add Widgets (category Generic, Rough Cut Editor). A fresh widget opens the Project Setup dialog because a project needs its preferences before it can hold assets. Until they are set, the editor is covered by the message The project needs its preferences set before editing. with a Project Settings button.

The three-dot menu in the header manages projects:

Project settings

The dialog validates each value as you type. It checks the HH:MM:SS:FF format, drop-frame notation, and invalid dropped frame numbers. The CREATE or SAVE button remains disabled until every value is valid. Press Enter to submit or Esc to close the dialog.

Validation messages include Start timecode must be HH:MM:SS:FF, This timebase uses drop-frame notation (';' before frames), and This frame is dropped at this minute in drop-frame timecode.

See Timecode for the notations.

An admin can preselect timebase, start timecode, export mount point and export preset for newly added editors under Rough Cut Editor Defaults (see Defaults).

Opening a project

Choose Open Project… to list all projects with their last modification time, clip count, and duration. Use Search projects… to filter the list, and click Name or Date to change the sort order. Select a project and click OPEN, or double-click its row.

The current project is marked and cannot be reopened. The dialog reports when no projects or no matches are available. If loading fails, click RETRY.

You can also select the RCE Projects source in a File Browser and drag a project onto the editor. The widget displays a dashed amber outline and opens the project when you release it.

Saving

There is no save button. Changes are saved automatically, and the footer displays Saving…, Saved, or Save failed. If a project is open in two places, the most recent save takes precedence. If another user deletes the project while you are editing, the editor recreates it to preserve your changes. If the project no longer exists when a dashboard loads, the editor starts empty and asks for new settings.

Layout

The top row holds three panels, the bottom half the sequence timeline. Drag the vertical dividers to change the panel widths and the horizontal divider to change the split; track heights change by dragging the bottom edge of a track header. The layout is saved per widget.

A thin amber border identifies the panel or timeline with keyboard focus. Click outside the widget to release the focus.

Project bin and cut list

The left panel has two tabs. Project Bin lists assets with a thumbnail, name, and duration. Cut List lists timeline clips in sequence order with Asset, Start, End, and Duration values. Click a Cut List row to select the clip and move the playhead to it. Click Delete cut to remove it. An empty list displays No cuts on the timeline.

Source monitor

The middle panel plays one bin asset (its proxy) and shows the asset name, its length and frame rate.

Below the picture are a zoomable scrubber with draggable IN and OUT markers and the transport bar. Without an asset, the panel displays Select a clip from the project bin.

Program monitor

The right panel plays the assembled sequence. Its playhead is synchronized with the timeline. The panel shows the sequence duration and frame rate; when the timeline is empty, it displays Append clips to build the program.

Sequence timeline

The toolbar shows the playhead position relative to the sequence start and provides Undo, Redo, Split at playhead, Delete selected clip, Mute/unmute selected audio segments, Close gaps, Show/Hide audio meters, and Export. Below it are the ruler, V1 video track, one audio lane for each source channel, and a scrollbar with zoom handles. Program meters on the right show A1 through A8, with a second group for A9 through A16. The meters shrink with the widget and disappear when space is limited.

The footer shows the project name with the clip count, the timebase, the export mount point (No export mount point until one is set) and the save state.

Adding clips

Drag files from a File Browser into the Project Bin. An empty bin displays Drag files here from a File Browser widget, and a dashed outline appears over a valid drop target. The Loop Segment Exporter can also send completed exports directly to the bin.

A file is accepted only when it meets all of these requirements:

• Scan metadata includes a frame rate. Otherwise, the editor reports Skipped <file> - no frame-rate metadata.
• The frame rate matches the project timebase. A mismatch reports the timebase required by the project.
• A proxy is available on the backend. Otherwise, the editor reports No proxy available for <file> - file not imported. Use Create Proxy in the File Browser or wait for the backend janitor.

Dropping loads the first new asset into the source monitor, with the file's saved IN and OUT marks preloaded when it has them. Dropping a file that is already in the bin just refreshes its marks and loads it.

Subclips dropped from the File Browser become separate assets with the subclip's range.

An asset still being written by the Loop Segment Exporter displays an hourglass and plays from its proxy. Audio lanes and sequence export become available when the high-resolution file is complete.

To remove an asset, click the x on its row (Remove from bin (Shift-click: skip confirmation)). If the asset is used on the timeline a dialog warns This asset is used by n clips in the sequence - they will be deleted as well. Removing an asset also clears the undo history.

Marking and inserting

1. Click an asset in the bin to load it into the source monitor.
2. Move the playhead with the ruler, transport controls, or keyboard. Press I to set the IN point and O to set the OUT point. If you set IN after OUT, or OUT before IN, the other mark moves by one frame to keep the range valid. Press P to play the marked range.
3. Add the range to the sequence. Click Append to timeline or press E to place it after the final clip. Click Insert at playhead or press comma (,) to insert it at the program playhead; a clip under the playhead is split and all later material moves to the right. You can also drag the asset from the bin onto the timeline.

Without marks the whole file is used.

The source-monitor transport includes Set IN point (I), Jump to IN (Shift+I), Step back 1 frame (←), Play reverse (J), Play/Pause (Space), Step forward 1 frame (→), Play forward/faster (L), Play IN to OUT (P), Clear IN/OUT (Shift+C), Jump to OUT (Shift+O), Set OUT point (O), and Mute/unmute (M). Press J or L repeatedly to increase playback speed through 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x. The program monitor has the same transport without the marking controls.

Editing the timeline

Selecting: Click a clip to select it. The clip also loads into the source monitor with its range marked.

Ctrl/Cmd+drag across the video track draws a marquee that selects every clip it touches. Clicking empty track area scrubs the playhead and clears the selection. Selected clips get an amber outline.

Moving: Drag a clip along the track. A multi-selection moves as one group. Clip edges snap to other clips and the sequence start. A clip cannot overlap another clip and returns to its original position after an invalid drop. To ripple-insert it, place its leading edge over the cut between two clips; the timeline opens a gap and moves later clips to the right. The same rules apply when dragging an asset from the bin. The drag indicator is green over a valid position and red over an invalid one.

Trimming: Drag the left or right edge of a clip. Trimming does not move adjacent clips. An IN trim keeps the right edge fixed; an OUT trim extends or shortens the clip. Adjacent clips and the source duration limit the trim. The source monitor updates the marked range as you drag.

Splitting: Place the playhead inside a clip, then press C or click Split at playhead.

Deleting: Select one or more clips and press Delete or Backspace, or click Delete selected clip. Deleting leaves a gap.

Closing gaps: Click Close gaps to pack all clips against the sequence start in their current order. The timeline zoom resets to show the complete sequence. Export is unavailable while gaps remain.

Undo and redo: Press Ctrl/Cmd+Z to undo and Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z or Ctrl/Cmd+Y to redo, for up to 30 steps. History includes timeline edits, but not preferences or export settings. It remains available after dashboard changes and reloads, and is cleared when you open another project or remove a bin asset.

Zooming: Use Ctrl/Cmd+wheel over the timeline to zoom around the playhead and Shift+wheel to pan. You can also zoom with the handles at the ends of the scrollbar thumb. The maximum zoom shows individual frames.

Audio

Audio lanes appear as soon as the waveforms of the bin assets are available (they are generated on the server, which can take a few minutes for long multi-track files). Every clip carries a segment on every lane, drawn with the file's waveform.

Monitoring: Click the headphone button in a lane header to monitor that lane in the program monitor. You can monitor any number of lanes; when none are enabled, the program monitor is silent. M controls master mute.

Muting a segment: Click an audio segment to select it. Use Shift+Click or Ctrl/Cmd+Click to extend the selection, then press Shift+M or click Mute/unmute selected audio segments. Muted segments are dimmed, display a mute icon, and export as silence. Selecting audio segments clears the clip selection, and selecting clips clears the audio selection.

Swapping audio between lanes: Drag a segment vertically onto the segment for the same clip on another lane. The two audio sources are exchanged. Swapped segments turn purple; hover over one to view its source lane and file name.

Reordering lanes: Drag a lane's A# label up or down. A lane moved from its original position is tinted green. The project stores this order and uses it for the exported audio tracks.

Locking lanes: Click the lock button between two lanes to move them as one block when reordering.

Export

1. Choose Export Settings… from the menu. Select an Export Mount Point and an Export Preset, then click SAVE. Both settings are required. If no mount points or presets are configured, exporting remains disabled. See Export Presets for encoder settings.
2. Close all gaps in the timeline. The Export button remains disabled while gaps exist.
3. Click Export. In the filename dialog, accept the project name or enter another name, then click EXPORT.
4. The app confirms that the export was submitted. The Export button displays progress as a percentage, followed by the completed file or an error. If the backend can copy the streams without re-encoding, the result is marked as a lossless remux. Only one export can run in each widget at a time.

An asset whose high-resolution file is still being written prevents sequence export until that file is complete. Muted segments export as silence, and audio lanes are written in the order shown on the timeline.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts act on the panel that has the amber border. Typing in a text field never triggers them. The same list is part of Keyboard shortcuts.

Troubleshooting

• Could not load the project: The backend did not respond. Click Retry when it is available again. The widget remains assigned to the project.
• Rough cut project no longer exists - starting empty: The project was deleted elsewhere. Create a new project or open another one.
• Saving the project failed - changes kept locally, will retry on the next change: Your changes remain in the widget. The next edit triggers another save attempt.
• No audio lanes: The file has no audio, or the server has not finished generating waveforms. Lanes appear automatically when the waveforms are ready.
• Export is unavailable: The timeline is empty, contains gaps, lacks an export mount point or preset, or already has an export in progress. The Export tooltip identifies the missing requirement, and mount point or preset warnings open Export Settings.