Click on the icon for a quick preview of the exercise and the result.

The EditDesk is the primary working space for performing edits and applying effects. We will build a timeline manually, using the footage that was previously loaded in the Library.
Note that in Smoke, it is also possible to conform a timeline using XML files or other types of edit decision lists.

1. Start on the EditDesk.
2. Click the Clip Library box to access the “Smoke_Essentials” Library that was restored in the previous exercise.
3. Select the “Smoke_Essentials” item at the root of the Library.
4. Make sure the Destination Box is set to EditDesk Library and that the Clip Arrangement box is set to Saved Position.
5. Press Load.
The clips are displayed on the EditDesk.

Have a look at the EditDesk Library on the left: there are several source folders (green) that contains the clips needed for this project, and a record folder (red) that we will use in this lesson.

1. Click on the view tab of the “Editing” reel to display its content in the Source Area.
2. Expand the “Editing” folder.
3. Click on the view tab of the “Starting_Record_Area” reel to display its content in the Record Area, which is empty for now.
4. Select the clip “1_Entrance_Front”.
5. Press ESC to access the Player for this Source clip.
Note that the Player will always display the frame where the positioner is parked on, either in the Source Area or the Record Area.
6. To access the full screen player, press CTRL+ESC.
Note that the Player views can be also changed from the Player menu.
7. Play the clip.
8. Be sure to go back at the first frame of the clip.
9. Press CTRL+ESC to return to the EditDesk.

Player Hotkeys: Toggle Player On/Off, press ESC. Toggle Full screen Player On/Off, press CTRL +ESC. Play from positioner, press V. Stop the playback, SPACEBAR. Replay the Selection, press T.

We will start by dragging a first clip to the Record Area.
Important note: the first clip you put in the Record Area will determine the final resolution and frame rate of the timeline.
1. Hold the F key to be in copy mode, and drag the first clip from the Source Area to the Record Area.
2. Notice that a record clip (outlined in red) appears on the EditDesk.
Note that Storyboard is the default Record view.
3. From the View Menu, choose Record Timeline, or press F5; this is a better view to edit in.
4. Enable Ripple in the Editing bar. Default is Ripple End.
Ripple mode will fill any gaps left by deleted clips and make room for new clips.
5. Set the Snap mode to Snap Closest.
With this enabled, clips dropped in the timeline will snap to the edges of nearby clips or marks.

To copy a clip: hold (F) and drag.

1. Select the “2-Entrance_Flare” clip.
2. Make sure the positioner is placed at the first frame of the shot.
You can drag the positioner directly on the clip’s slider, or press Z on the keyboard.
Important: The positioner will determine the default in-point of a clip when dragged in the timeline.
3. F-drag the “2-Entrance_Flare” shot to the timeline, just after the “1-Entrance_Front” shot.
4. Press Home in the Timeline menu to frame the entire timeline.
5. Select “3-Sandals_Left” and F-Drag the shot at the end of the timeline.
Again, keep in mind that the positioner is your implicit in-point.
6. To preview the result of your edit, go back the beginning of the timeline, or press SHIFT+A.
7. Press ESC to access the player and press V to play.
V starts playing back from the positioner. To stop the playback, press SPACEBAR.

To zoom the timeline: the bottom pan bar can be dragged up and down to zoom in and out. To reset pan and zoom, click the (Home) button in the lower-right corner.

You can also drag and drop audio clips to the timeline.

We could continue dropping clips to the timeline in this manner, but we will see how to use a different view and editing shortcuts to finalize this timeline. Note that the clips are numbered in the order they should appear.

1. Press SHIFT+ESC to access the Source/Record view.
This view is really useful for editing as you see the current source clip in the left player and the record clip on the right at the same time.
2. You can select the source clips different ways:
Select the source clips directly in the EditDesk Library.
Or swipe the cursor to the left of the screen to access the Source Area and select the clips from there.
3. Select clip “4-Sandals_right”.
4. Be sure the positioner is at the first frame in the Source player.
5. Click on the right player to put the Record clip into focus.
6. Navigate to the end of the timeline, using the player controls or press SHIFT+S.
7. A way to add the clip to the timeline is to use the overwrite operator.
Press H and the clip is added at the end of the timeline.
8. Continue to add the next clips to the timeline in order, until they are all on the Record Area. Don’t worry about the timing of the clips for now. We’ll trim them to length in a later step.

View Hotkeys: Source/Record View On/Off, (SHIFT+ESC). Toggle EditDesk and last view, (Swipe Left). Record Timeline, (F5). Source Timeline, (F6).

Timeline Navigation Hotkeys: Go to previous transition, (Z). Go to next transition, (X). Go to In point, (A). Go to Out point, (S). Go to track start, (SHIFT+A). Go to track end: (SHIFT+S). Overwrite hotkey: (H).

At this point your timeline exists on the EditDesk; although the EditDesk gets automatically saved when you exit Smoke, it is a working area that is used by all users working on the same project and can be easily modified or deleted. You should always save your work in a Library to protect it.

You can save an entire EditDesk Library, the EditDesk, a Source Area or a Record Area.
During these tutorials, we will save the Record Area to the Library as we finish each of the exercise. This way you will keep a version of your timeline at every significant step of the way.

1. Rename the Record clip:
Access the record player, press ESC.
2. Change the name of the clip in the text box to “Main_Timeline” .
By default the record clip name is the same than the first clip you used.
3. Choose Record Area in the Item Box (in the EditDesk menu).
4. Be sure that your “Smoke_Essentials” library is selected.
5. Press Save.
6. Enter a name for the new Record Area folder, such as “Essentials_Record_01” .
7. The Record Area is saved in the Library.
8. Click on the Library Box to have a look at the new record folder (red).
9. Press Exit Library to return to the EditDesk.

You can save an individual clip to the Library: access the EditDesk and drag the clip directly onto the Library box. This saves the selected clip in the current Library.