Start a project

Compose opens on a timeline named 'Timeline'. Before you add anything, set what shape and size the finished video should be.

Project settingsCopy Anchor Link

Click empty space on the timeline so nothing is selected. The right panel shows 'Project':

'Duration' above them is how long your video is so far, and updates as you edit.

Set the aspect ratio and frame rate first. They change how everything else is framed and timed, so switching later means re-checking work you have already done.

Multiple timelinesCopy Anchor Link

A file can hold several timelines, so alternative cuts live together instead of in separate files. Each one is a tab above the preview; click a tab to switch to it.

• Click '+' at the right end of the tabs to start an empty timeline
• Right-click a tab for 'Rename', 'Duplicate' and 'Delete'

A timeline Copilot builds for you from a chat appears here as its own tab. See Edit with Copilot.

Duplicate before you try something drastic. It is the cheapest way to keep the version that already worked.

SavingCopy Anchor Link

Compose saves as you go. Refreshing the page or losing your connection does not cost you work; the timeline is as you left it when you come back.

Undo covers the changes you make yourself in a session. Copilot's changes are taken back by asking it instead; see Edit with Copilot. There is no version history to roll back to yesterday's edit, and deleting a timeline removes it, so duplicate rather than delete when you are unsure.

CollaborationCopy Anchor Link

Several people can open the same timeline and edit it at once, the same as the rest of a Morphic file. Two people changing different things both keep their change. See Collaboration.

Timeline commentsCopy Anchor Link

Here's a quick tutorial on how to use timeline comments in Compose on Morphic:

Timeline comments in Compose put feedback on the edit itself. A note can sit on one frame, on a stretch of time, on a clip, or on the whole project, and a note tagged to a clip moves with that clip as you keep editing.

Use them for:

• Review rounds with a client or a teammate: each person leaves notes on the cut, and you work through them in timeline order
• Notes to yourself: flag a shot to replace or a cut to tighten, and come back to it later

Anyone in the workspace who can open the project can read and leave comments.

Comment on a frameCopy Anchor Link

1. Move the playhead to the frame
2. Press Shift+C. This works whichever tool you have on.
3. Type your note in 'Add a comment...'
4. Click the send button. The timecode the note attaches to shows above your text.

You can also turn on the Comment tool: press C, or click the speech-bubble button at the end of the tool row above the timeline. With it on, click the ruler at the frame you mean.

Comment on a rangeCopy Anchor Link

1. Press C to turn on the Comment tool
2. Drag along the ruler from the first frame you mean to the last
3. Check the send button: it shows the range, for example '0:04 - 0:07'
4. Type your note and click the send button

Use a range for notes that cover a stretch, like a music cue that comes in late or a shot that holds too long.

General notesCopy Anchor Link

For a note on the whole edit, turn off the clock button ('Attach the timecode') in the comment box before you post. The note has no time, so it does not appear on the timeline and is listed after the timeline notes in the Comments tab. A general note cannot carry a drawing.

Tag a clipCopy Anchor Link

1. Move the playhead over the clip and start a comment
2. Click the '@' button ('Mention a member or clip')
3. Open the 'Clips' tab. It lists the clips under the playhead.
4. Click the clip, then post the comment

The comment is now anchored to that clip and follows it through moves, trims and splits. A comment with no clip tagged stays at its timecode, so after a re-cut it can point at a different shot. Tag the clip when the note is about the shot rather than the moment.

Draw on the frameCopy Anchor Link

1. Start a comment on a frame
2. Click 'Draw on the frame'
3. Pick 'Pen', 'Arrow' or 'Box', and a color: 'Red', 'Yellow' or 'Blue'
4. Draw over the preview. 'Undo' takes back the last mark.
5. Click 'Done', then post the comment

A box or an arrow shows exactly which part of the shot a note means, like a stray object at the edge of the frame. Press Esc with a drawing in progress and Compose asks 'Discard drawing?': click 'Cancel' to keep it or 'Discard' to drop it.

Mention a teammateCopy Anchor Link

1. Type '@' in a comment or a reply, or click the '@' button
2. On the 'People' tab, click the person

They get a notification and an email digest. The link in either opens that exact thread.

Comments tabCopy Anchor Link

Click 'Comments' in the right rail, beside 'Project', to see every thread on the timeline. You can also open it from the 'View' menu.

Threads are listed in this order:

• Notes on a frame, a range or a clip, in timeline order
• General notes, with no time
• Notes whose clip was deleted

Comment laneCopy Anchor Link

The comment lane sits above the ruler and shows where the notes are.

• A frame comment is a blue dot; a range comment is a blue dot with a line across its range
• Hover a marker to preview the comment
• Click a marker to open the thread and move the playhead there
• Press Option+Shift+[ or Option+Shift+] to jump to the previous or next comment

Reply and resolveCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the thread
2. Click 'Reply...', type your reply and post it

• Click 'Add reaction' to answer with an emoji instead of a reply
• Edit or delete a comment from its thread
• Click 'Mark as resolved' once the change is made, so what is left open is what still needs work
• Click 'Mark as unresolved' to reopen a thread that needs another pass

Fix comments with CopilotCopy Anchor Link

1. Click 'Chat' at the top right, next to 'Export'
2. Ask for the fixes, for example 'Check and fix all the comments on this timeline'
3. Check each change on the timeline, then click 'Mark as resolved' on its thread

• Name a person to fix only their notes, like 'fix Sam's comments'. It matches a first or last name, and counts threads they replied to.
• Copilot acts only on open threads, so resolve a note to keep it out of the next pass
• A note tagged to a clip is applied to that clip
• Copilot knows a note has a drawing but cannot see it, so write the fix in words too
• Copilot leaves every thread open; resolving them stays with you
• It reads up to 50 threads per timeline, open ones first

When a clip moves or is deletedCopy Anchor Link

A comment tagged to a clip goes where the clip goes:

• Move, trim or split the clip: the comment moves with it and stays on the same frame of the clip
• Trim away the frame the comment was on: the comment sits at the clip's edge, and the thread reads 'Frame trimmed out of' and the clip name
• Delete the clip: the comment keeps its original time, moves to the end of the Comments tab, and reads 'Clip deleted · originally at' and the timecode

To put that comment back on the timeline, move the playhead where it belongs, open the thread and click 'Attach at'. The button shows the playhead's timecode.

That's how to start a project in Compose on Morphic. Two minutes of setup saves reframing every shot later.

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If you have any trouble or have any questions, feel free to reach out. We're happy to help. Write to us at support@morphic.com.