Shotcut now has Keyframes!

Shotcut now has Keyframes!

I’ve mentioned a few times in passing that for the most part I do my video editing with Shotcut, an open source alternative to Premiere or Vegas. I still keep Premiere installed on the off chance I need to keyframe something (like the THX logo in last weeks MGR video), but now it seems that miiiiight change considering they have officially added the ability to add keyframes to your projects!

Perhaps the most requested feature is the ability to move or smooth pan-and-zoom images or digital photos. We chose to address that in a more general manner by allowing filter parameters to be key-framed and animated rather than build something specific. Well, after long wait and much work, this has been introduced with a new Keyframes panel. It has an icon on the main toolbar to open the panel. There is much to say about this new feature and be sure to watch the videos as they become available. Keep in mind that this is new, incomplete, and a little unstable. Here are more caveats:

  • No support for undo/redo (pending filter support for this)
  • No keyboard shortcuts yet
  • Not yet available for transitions or generators
  • Only the following filters support keyframes at this time:
    • Gain / Volume
    • Brightness*
    • Circular Frame (HTML proof-of-concept)
    • Color Grading* (no simple)
    • Opacity*
    • Size and Position* (simple only, no curve UI)

It’s new, so I expect it to not in perfect working order, but a great start nevertheless. If they keep it up and get it at a point where it’s on par with other non-linear editors I’ll have a reason to retire premiere completely. :happy: