The "Play Window," indicated in blue, serves two main purposes: viewing clips for logging and selecting shots for use in your edit. To put media into this window, you can either open your file window and double-click the desired clip or simply drag and drop media from the file window into the play window.
There are three buttons on the top right-hand side of the play window's title bar:
- The first button controls the audio volume for playback in this window.
- The second button is for resizing the window. Left-clicking increases the size, while right-clicking decreases it.
- The third button clears the media in your play window.
When you open multiple play windows, tabs help you keep track of your media, and you can easily swap between them. The "Clear" button will change to a cross, allowing you to close all but your last play window.
The navigation bar consists of the video track on top and the audio track underneath. You can control playback in the play window by clicking the video and audio icons. The white line in the center of the navigation bar represents your current position within the clip.
Zoom in and out of this view using the zoom button. When zoomed in, individual frames of your video track are displayed. The audio track shows gradients between black and white, representing low to high audio levels in the clip.
Between the video and audio tracks, there's a strip that changes from red to light green, indicating the progress of media loading from the cloud onto your machine. A light green strip means your media is available to play at full frame rate or normal speed.
The blue horizontal scroll bar under the audio track is the absolute ruler, showing the percentage of media visible in your navigation bar and providing a sense of orientation. It can be used to navigate through the clip by clicking to jump or dragging to scroll.
Navigation buttons in the play window allow you to step through frames, go to the next clip, or jump to the end of your source. During playback, you can also use these buttons to play your media at different speeds, forward or backward.
The time code in the play window indicates your current position. To select a portion of your clip, mark the in and out points using the respective time codes in the navigation bar.
By using these features and controls, you can effectively navigate, view, and select media within the Blackbird Editor's Play Window for logging and editing purposes.