Nested Sequences (Compound Clips)

As your edits grow more complex, you may end up with dozens of tracks stacked with graphics, sound effects, adjustment layers, and video clips. Managing this complexity is essential.

Oraphim solves this by allowing you to nest a timeline inside of another timeline. This is referred to as a Nested Sequence or Compound Clip.

Why Use Nested Sequences?

  1. Organization: Collapse a complex 15-track title animation sequence into a single clean clip on your main timeline.
  2. Global Effects: If you want to apply a single color grade or a transform effect (like zooming in) to a collage of 10 different clips simultaneously, you can nest them and apply the effect to the master nest.
  3. Reusability: If you create a customized intro sequence in its own timeline, you can drag that timeline into the Media Pool and reuse it across multiple different projects or episodes.

How to Create a Nested Sequence

  1. On your active timeline, select the clips you want to group together. You can drag a marquee over them or Ctrl/Cmd click multiple clips across different tracks.
  2. Right-click the selected group and choose New Compound Clip...
  3. Give the nest a descriptive name (e.g., "Intro_Animation_Nest").
  4. Click Create.

The multiple clips will instantly collapse into a single clip on your timeline. The resulting Compound Clip acts exactly like a normal video clip—you can cut it, trim it, and apply effects to it.

Editing the Contents of a Nest

A Compound Clip is not permanently rendered; it remains fully editable.

  1. Right-click the Compound Clip on your timeline.
  2. Select Open in Timeline.
  3. Oraphim will open a new timeline tab containing the original, un-nested clips.
  4. You can make any changes here (move a title, trim a clip, change an audio level).
  5. When you are done, look at the bottom left of the timeline panel and double-click the "breadcrumb" trail to return to your main timeline. The changes you made inside the nest will instantly reflect in the master timeline.

Flattening a Nest

If you decide you no longer want the clips nested and want to return them to their original multi-track state on your main timeline:

  1. Right-click the Compound Clip.
  2. Select Decompose in Place. The nest will dissolve, depositing the individual clips back onto the tracks exactly as they were before.