Chapter 2: Working with Scenes

Scenes are the building blocks of your video template. Each scene represents a distinct section of your video, similar to slides in a presentation. This chapter covers everything you need to know about creating and managing scenes.

Understanding Scenes

A scene in FX Express contains:

A background (color, image, or video)
One or more elements (text, images, shapes, etc.)
Duration settings
Optional visibility conditions

Scenes play sequentially to create your final video, with optional transitions between them (see Scene Transitions below).

The Scenes Panel

The Scenes panel on the left side of the editor displays all scenes as thumbnails:

Scene Thumbnails

Each thumbnail shows:

A preview of the scene content
A scene number in the bottom-left corner
Visual indicator when selected (blue border)

Below the scenes list, you’ll find the scene toolbar with these icons:

Icon	Function
+	Add a new scene
⚙	Scene settings
🔊	Scene sounds
🗑	Delete scene

Adding Scenes

To add a new scene:

Click the + button in the scene toolbar
A new blank scene will be added after the current scene

You can also:

Right-click in the scenes panel for context menu options
Duplicate an existing scene for faster creation

Selecting Scenes

Click on any scene thumbnail to select it. The selected scene:

Shows a blue border
Displays in the main canvas
Can be edited

Reordering Scenes

To change the order of scenes:

Click and hold a scene thumbnail
Drag it to the desired position
Release to drop it in place

A visual indicator shows where the scene will be placed.

Scene Settings

Click the gear icon (⚙) to open Scene Settings. This dialog has two tabs:

Visibility Tab

Control when and how the scene appears:

Scene Mode Options:

Mode	Description
Regular	Always shown in the video template
Optional	Shown only when a condition is met
Choice	Shows one of multiple variant scenes based on a variable

Regular Mode

The default mode. The scene always appears in the video.

Optional Mode

Use this for conditional content:

The scene only appears when a specified variable condition is true
When the condition is false, the scene is skipped and the video goes straight from the scene before it to the scene after it
Useful for personalized content based on viewer data

Choice Mode

For branching content:

Define multiple scene variants
A variable determines which variant plays
If the variable is empty or matches no variant, no variant plays and the scene is skipped
The variant marked Default is only what the editor shows while you edit; it never plays in its place
Give every variant its own key: if two variants share one, only the one lower in the scene list ever plays
Great for A/B testing or localized content

Duration Tab

Control how long the scene plays:

Duration Mode Options:

Mode	Description
Fixed duration	Scene plays for a specific number of seconds
Match video length	Duration follows the visual content (video element)
Match audio length	Duration follows the audio track length
Longest of audio or video	Duration follows whichever is longer

Fixed Duration

Enter a specific duration in seconds. This is useful when you want precise timing control.

Match Video Length

The scene duration automatically matches the length of a video element in the scene. Ideal for scenes built around video content.

Match Audio Length

The scene duration matches the voiceover or audio track. Perfect for narrated content.

Longest of Audio or Video

Automatically uses the longer of the two media types. Ensures no content is cut off.

Scene Transitions

A transition replaces the hard cut between two scenes with a crossfade, a push, a wipe or a fade through a colour.

Which Scene Holds the Transition

A transition belongs to the scene you leave. It runs over the end of that scene and the start of the next one, so to crossfade from scene A into scene B, set the transition on A.

This is why some scenes have no transition control:

The last scene: there is nothing after it to transition into
Choice variants: set the transition on the choice scene instead; it applies to whichever variant plays

When the scene after A is skipped (an optional scene whose condition is false, or a choice scene with no variant selected), A’s transition leads straight into the next scene that plays. See Chapter 25.

Setting a Transition

Open the Scene Transition dialog in any of these ways:

Click the transition button on the scene thumbnail
Right-click the scene and choose Scene transition…
Choose Scene ▸ Scene Transition… in the menu bar
Click Edit… in the Transition section of the Scene tab in the properties sidebar

Pick a type, set the Duration (0.1–3 seconds) and the Easing, and click Apply.

Transition Types

Type	What you see
None	A hard cut
Crossfade	The next scene fades in over this one, which stays fully visible underneath
Wipe Left / Right / Up / Down	The next scene is revealed starting at that edge (Wipe Left starts at the left edge). Neither scene moves
Push Left / Right / Up / Down	Both scenes travel in that direction together: the next scene pushes this one off the canvas
Fade to White / Black	The picture fades to the colour, cuts to the next scene at the midpoint, and fades back in
Smart Object	A transition smart object plays over the change, and the scenes switch underneath it (see Chapter 14)
Custom URL	A clip’s transparency reveals the next scene. The editor preview shows a crossfade instead

Duration and Timing

The two scenes overlap for the length of the transition: the next scene starts while this one is still ending. Every transition therefore makes the whole video shorter by its duration. Two 5-second scenes with a 1-second transition make a 9-second video.

The next scene starts from its beginning when the transition starts, so its entrance animations play underneath the transition
The last part of this scene, as long as the transition, plays underneath it too. Leave that time free of anything important (see Chapter 10)
A transition is never longer than half of this scene, or half of any scene it can lead into; a longer setting is shortened to fit. A scene whose length follows its video or audio counts with the seconds set in its duration, and a choice scene with its shortest variant
During the overlap, the two scenes’ sounds crossfade. Fade to colour and smart object transitions switch the sound at the cut instead

Easing

Easing shapes how the transition moves over its duration: Linear runs at a constant speed, Ease In starts slowly, Ease Out ends slowly, and Ease and Ease In Out do both. The preview and the rendered video use the same curve. Fade to colour eases the fade out and the fade back in separately.

Scene Backgrounds

Every scene has a background. To set the background:

Click on an empty area of the canvas (deselect all elements)
Open the Properties panel
Adjust background settings:
- Color: Set a solid background color
- Image: Use an image as background
- Video: Use a video as background

Background Tips

Use high-contrast backgrounds for better text readability
Consider your theme colors for consistency
Video backgrounds create engaging, dynamic scenes

Scene Sounds

Add audio to individual scenes using the Scene Sounds feature:

Click the speaker icon (🔊) in the scene toolbar
In the Scene Sounds dialog, click ”+ Add Sound”
Select your audio file
Adjust audio settings as needed

Audio Options

Background music: Plays throughout the scene
Sound effects: Trigger at specific times
Voiceover: Narration synced to scene duration

Scene Subtitles

Scenes can carry subtitle files. The renderer merges them into the movie’s soft subtitle output (SRT or WebVTT) and times each file to the scene it belongs to, so captions stay in sync even when a scene’s length follows its narration or video.

To add subtitles to a scene:

Select the scene and open the Scene tab of the properties sidebar
Expand the Subtitles section
Click Upload… and pick an .srt or .vtt file, or click Add path and type where the file lives

Each row is one file. Edit the path in place, or use the trash icon to remove it.

Subtitle paths

An uploaded file is stored beside the template and referenced by its path
A path may use {variable} placeholders to pick a file per viewer, for example subs/intro-{language}.vtt. The variable appears in the Variables panel like any other placeholder
Start a path with ./ to point inside the template’s own folder
An https:// URL is fetched at render time

Subtitles are not drawn onto the video: the player shows them as a selectable track. The editor preview does not display them.

Deleting Scenes

To delete a scene:

Select the scene you want to delete
Click the trash icon (🗑) in the scene toolbar
Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting a scene cannot be undone. Make sure you want to remove it permanently.

Duplicating Scenes

To duplicate a scene:

Open the file menu (☰)
Select “Duplicate”
A copy of the current scene will be created

Duplicating is useful when:

Creating similar scenes with minor variations
Building templates with consistent layouts
Testing different content options

Copying Scenes Between Templates

You can copy and paste entire scenes between different templates open in separate browser tabs:

Select the scene you want to copy
Press ⌘C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (Windows/Linux) to copy it
Switch to the other browser tab with the target template
Click on the editor canvas so the application has focus
Press ⌘V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows/Linux) to paste

The pasted scene includes all of its elements and settings.

Note: The target editor tab must be focused when pasting. If the paste doesn’t work, click anywhere on the canvas first to ensure the application has keyboard focus, then paste again.

Scene Best Practices

Keep Scenes Focused

Each scene should convey one main idea or message. Avoid cluttering scenes with too much content.

Plan Your Flow

Sketch out your scene sequence before building. A clear narrative flow makes for better videos.

Use Consistent Timing

Unless intentional, keep scene durations relatively consistent for a smooth viewing experience.

Leverage Scene Modes

Use Optional and Choice modes to create flexible templates that adapt to different use cases.

Test Audio Sync

When using “Match audio length,” preview your scene to ensure visuals align with narration.

Troubleshooting

Scene Won’t Delete

You cannot delete the only remaining scene
Create a new scene first, then delete the unwanted one

Scene Duration Seems Wrong

Check if you have video or audio elements affecting duration
Verify the Duration Mode in Scene Settings

Transition Option Missing

The last scene has no transition: set it on the scene before
Choice variants have no transition: set it on the choice scene

Scenes Out of Order

Drag and drop to reorder
Changes save automatically

← Previous: Getting Started | Next: Adding and Editing Elements →