Cinematic Lab — User Guide

Step-by-step help for the browser video editor. In the app you can also open this guide with the green Guide button on the timeline toolbar.

Getting started

1. Open the Cinematic Lab editor in Google Chrome on a desktop or laptop (not Safari, not mobile or iPad).
2. Import clips into the Media Pool (drag & drop or import button).
3. Drag clips onto video/audio tracks on the timeline.
4. Use Edit mode for smooth playback while cutting; switch to Grade when adjusting look, LUTs, text, and lower thirds.
5. Save your project with Cmd+S (Save) or Cmd+Shift+S (Save As).

Full EDITOR in Chrome — Grade mode with Grade Match (left), your clip in the program monitor, Media Pool and timeline. Not the macOS Cinematic Desktop Exporter (that is only under Desktop 10-bit below).

Smooth edit & Cut preview

Next to the play button on the timeline toolbar you will see a preview mode toggle. It switches how the program monitor plays back your cut while you edit. Export always uses the full render path — this toggle only affects live preview while cutting and grading.

Smooth edit · ON (green) — default for everyday cutting. Keeps playback fluid on long timelines and heavy DJI / 4K files.

Cut preview · ON (blue) — use when you want to verify how a cut will look at the frame. Toggle back to Smooth edit for normal editing.

Preview quality slider

On the right side of the editor (under the timecode), the Preview slider sets how many pixels the program monitor draws while you edit. It does not change export resolution — only live preview load.

Preview slider — e.g. 50% on a 3840×1720 project shows 1920×860 preview while export stays at full size (59.94 fps shown below).

Source viewer

Click any clip in the Media Pool to open the Source Viewer — a floating preview window (not the timeline program monitor). Use it to check footage, set in/out points, and insert only the part you need.

1. Click a clip in the Media Pool → Source Viewer opens with the full file name in the title bar.
2. Scrub with the bar under the video, or press Space to play/pause. ← / → step frame-by-frame (Shift for finer steps).
3. Mark In / Mark Out (or I / O) set the range — shown as IN and OUT under the controls.
4. Clear resets in/out to the full clip.
5. Click Insert @ Playhead to add that range to the timeline at the current playhead (ripple insert). The playhead moves to the end of the new clip and the timeline scrolls to follow. You can also drag a clip from the pool onto a track.
6. If the clip is already on the timeline, Update Timeline applies your new in/out to that instance.

Source Viewer — opened by clicking a Media Pool clip. Set IN/OUT, optional LUT and insert speed, then Insert @ Playhead.

Tools in the Source Viewer

• Conversion LUT — preview log/flat footage with a LUT before insert (matches how the clip will look if a LUT is assigned).
• Speed (applies on insert) — 0.5× Slow, 1× Normal, or 2× Fast for the new timeline clip.
• Find word — speech search: pick language (or Auto), type a word, click Find to jump the playhead to that moment (then set in/out and insert).
• Play · Mute · Mark In · Mark Out · Clear — same as the buttons; M toggles mute while the viewer is open.
• Click outside the window or Esc to close. Drag the title bar to move the panel.

Edit mode vs Grade mode

Grade Match — brightness and contrast sliders.

Timeline & cutting

• Razor / Cut: C then click a clip, or use the CUT tool.
• Snap: S toggles magnetic snapping.
• Link audio/video: Cmd+L — linked clips move together.

Timeline — CUT tool and Snap magnet.

Color grading in the editor

When to grade: After your initial cut is done — not while you are still moving clips and trimming. Grading and LUTs run through the heavier canvas path; stutters or softer playback during grading are expected, similar to working in DaVinci’s Color page with many corrections applied.

Quick grade (per clip)

Right-click a video clip → Basic Color Grade… (or Color Grade). Adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, temperature, moods, vignette, etc. Grades apply in Grade mode preview and in browser Export.

Step 1 — Right-click menu in the timeline (not the guide). Pick Basic Color Grade… for the in-editor panel.

Step 2 — Mood & Basic Grade panel in the editor (sliders over your clip). This is not a picture of this guide.

LUTs

Upload .cube LUTs via Upload LUT in the header. Apply LUTs in the grading pass after the cut — preview will work harder with LUTs on every clip; that is not a bug.

Color Corrector — advanced grades

Heavy grading in color_corrector.html (Color Lab) — curves, film stocks, AI assist. Uses ProjectBridge.

Send clip to Color Corrector

1. Right-click a video clip → Send to Color Corrector.
2. Color Lab opens with your clip.
3. Grade, then Send Back to Timeline.
4. Returned grades apply on that clip in the editor.

Step 3 — Color Lab (separate page). Full Color Lab UI — not the browser editor, not this guide.

Exporting video (in browser)

• Switch the timeline toolbar to Cut preview · ON (blue) — see Smooth edit & Cut preview. Do not export with Smooth edit · ON; that mode is for editing only and can stutter during export.
• Click yellow Export in the header.
• Keep the export tab visible — browsers throttle background tabs.

Desktop 10-bit Exporter (macOS)

The Cinematic Desktop Exporter macOS app renders true 10-bit HEVC via Apple VideoToolbox.

Start here: In the browser, click Desktop 10-bit Job in the header (not yellow Export). See Getting started for the editor screenshot.

Workflow

1. Set Cut preview · ON on the timeline toolbar before you build the job (same rule as browser Export).
2. Click Desktop 10-bit Job → confirm → download cinematic_desktop_job.json.
3. Open Cinematic Desktop Exporter on your Mac.
4. Export 10-bit HEVC.

Job dialog — download job JSON before opening the macOS app.

Compensation (match the editor look)

In the macOS app: Gamma, Contrast, Saturation, Brightness, Tint.

macOS exporter only — night preview and compensation sliders. This is the only place this window appears in the guide.

Audio React & beat markers

Audio React listens to your timeline audio and drives beat-synced tools: Film FX flashes, Auto-Markers, and Speed Ramp beat curves. Turn it ON (🔊) only while you are setting up or previewing those effects — turn it OFF (🔇) during normal cutting and grading so playback stays smooth.

Timeline toolbar — 🔊 Audio React ON (red/green button). Switch to 🔇 when you are done beat-syncing.

In-app Audio React guide — Film FX beat effects, Auto-Marker, and Speed Ramp beat sync.

Basic workflow

1. Click Audio React in the timeline toolbar → ON (🔊). A quick guide panel opens the first time you enable it.
2. Auto-Marker: click ⚡ Auto-Marker to analyse audio and place beat markers on the timeline. Jump between beats with [ and ], then cut on the beat with , (comma).
3. Film FX: open 🎞️ Film FX, add a Beat Reactive effect (Beat Pulse, Bass Shake, Strobe), set React To to bass, beat, overall, etc., then press Play — the effect locks to the music live.
4. Speed Ramp: select a video clip → Speed Ramp → scroll to Beat Sync → choose a mode → 🥁 Sync to Beats.

React Overlay SFX (second audio track)

Use this when your main mix should stay on A1 (dialogue, camera scratch, or a full music bed) but you want flashes, pulses, or shakes to follow a different audio source — a stinger, whoosh, or SFX stem on A2 (or another audio track).

1. Turn Audio React ON (🔊).
2. Place your overlay audio on the timeline (e.g. A2). Your main audio can stay on A1.
3. Right-click the overlay audio clip → ⚡ Use as React Overlay SFX. The editor analyses that clip’s transients and beats.
4. Open Film FX on your video clip, add a beat-reactive effect (e.g. Beat Pulse), and set React To → overlay so the effect follows the armed overlay track — not the main A1 bed.
5. Adjust effect strength (scale punch, brightness, chroma, vignette, smoothing) and press Play to preview.
6. To stop: right-click the same clip → 🔴 Remove React Overlay.

React To → overlay — Film FX follows the armed overlay SFX clip while your main audio stays on A1.

Manual markers

Add markers at the playhead; Alt+P clears all manual markers.

Speed ramps

Change clip speed over time with the Speed Curve editor — slow motion, speed-ups, whip pans, and beat-synced dips. Available on video clips only. The timeline must use one consistent frame rate (mixed-FPS timelines cannot use speed ramps).

Open the Speed Curve editor

1. Select a video clip on the timeline.
2. Click the orange Speed Ramp button on the timeline toolbar (above the tracks), or press R.
3. Or right-click the clip → Speed Ramping…

Speed Curve — green graph = speed % over the clip. Toolbar Speed Ramp (orange) opens this window. Red dashed line = current playhead on the curve.

Keyframes & curve

• Add keyframe: Alt+click on the graph (desktop). Touch: tap to add, drag the dots to move.
• Speed %: Edit Time and Speed for the selected keyframe, or use quick buttons 25% · 50% · 100% · 150% · 200% · 300%.
• Curve: Pick easing between keyframes (e.g. Ease In-Out) so speed changes are smooth.
• Delete keyframe removes the selected point from the list.
• Clip duration on the timeline auto-adjusts when ramps change (slower sections make the clip longer).

One-click presets

• CINEMATIC — classic slow-middle ramp.
• Whip Pan · Impact · Ramp Up · Ramp Down — starter curves you can tweak.

Beat Sync

After Audio React has analysed your audio, use the Beat Sync panel (bottom-right of Speed Curve):

• Mode: Slow on Beat, Fast on Beat, or Freeze Frame.
• Adjust Dip Speed, Sensitivity, Hold (s), Variation, and Channel (Beat / Bass / Overall).
• Click SYNC TO BEATS to auto-build keyframes on the beat grid.

Playback & export

• Preview in Edit or Grade mode. Speeds from about 6% to 300% play with normal video timing (including 10% slow-mo).
• Browser Export: Ramped clips use accurate per-frame timing (slower than normal export). Allow extra time for long 4K ramps.
• Desktop 10-bit Job: Speed keyframes are written into the job JSON for the macOS Cinematic Desktop Exporter.

Text & lower thirds

Add names, titles, and full credit sequences from the Lower Thirds & Credits panel. Works in Grade mode (canvas preview). Overlays are placed on a track above your video — they do not replace or move your main edit clips.

Open the panel

1. Switch to Grade mode (top of the program monitor).
2. On the timeline toolbar, click the blue Lower 3rd button (near TEXT and Speed Ramp).
3. The floating Lower Thirds & Credits window opens — drag the header to move it, drag the corner to resize.

Lower Third tab (single name / title)

• Pick a style preset (Classic or Creative & Animated).
• Enter Main Text (name) and Sub Text (role or title).
• Adjust font, sizes, colors, bar position, animate in/out, optional graphic bug (PNG logo).
• Click + ADD TO TIMELINE AT PLAYHEAD — a purple lower-third clip appears on the overlay track.
• Select an existing lower-third clip on the timeline to live-edit it in the panel.

Credits tab (roll or crawl)

• Roll — credits scroll vertically (film-style end credits).
• Crawl — one line crawls horizontally like a news ticker (see screenshot).
• Enter names in Credits List: one line per person, format Name | Role (pipe between name and role).
• Tune font, name/role colors, opacity, bar color, accent stripe, and bar position.
• Click BUILD CREDITS SEQUENCE — creates a Credits Crawl or Credits Roll clip on the track above V1 (e.g. V2).

Credits Crawl — CREDITS tab, horizontal ticker in preview, purple Credits Crawl clip on V2. Blue Lower 3rd on the timeline toolbar opens this panel.

Export notes

• Browser Export bakes lower thirds and credits into the video when they are on the timeline.
• Desktop 10-bit Job: Simple lower-thirds styles often export via the macOS app; complex animations, crawls, and rolls may be limited or missing — use browser export when titles must match exactly.

Film FX, masks & keyframes

Mask tool M; Film FX with Audio React for beat-driven effects. Treat these like finishing tools — add them after the rough cut, not while you are still editing structure. Each effect adds render work; playback may stutter until you preview in short sections (same trade-off as stacked effects in Resolve).

Mask tool — green overlay in Edit mode.

Media pool, bins & search

📂 Media toggles the bin on the left. Import with + Import or drag files in. Use bins/folders to organize. USED / UNUSED tags show which clips are already on the timeline.

Media Pool — clip list, bins, and USED/UNUSED tags.

Keyboard shortcuts

Press ⌨️ Shortcuts on the timeline toolbar.

Limitations & tips

• Browser: Google Chrome on desktop only — not Safari, not iPad/tablet, not phone.
• RAM: 8GB+ recommended for 4K.
• Save often — projects are browser-local.
• Cut before grade: LUTs, grades, Film FX, and masks during the first edit pass will slow preview — finish the cut in Edit, then polish in Grade (like Resolve edit vs color workflow).
• Export: Use Cut preview · ON before browser Export or Desktop 10-bit Job — not Smooth edit.

Cinematic Lab · May 2026