Previewing Media

A crucial part of the editing process is watching your footage to make selection decisions and reviewing the timeline to see how the edit flows. ORAPHIM provides two distinct viewers in the Edit Workspace: the Source Monitor and the Program Monitor.

The Source Monitor

The Source Monitor (typically located on the left) is used exclusively for previewing raw clips directly from your Media Pool before you add them to the timeline.

How to use the Source Monitor

  1. Double-click any video or audio clip in the Media Pool. It will instantly load into the Source Monitor.
  2. Use the playback controls (Play, Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind) underneath the monitor to watch the clip.
  3. You can also press the Spacebar to toggle Play/Pause, or use the J, K, and L keys on your keyboard:
    • L: Play forward (press multiple times to speed up).
    • K: Pause.
    • J: Play backward (press multiple times to speed up).

Setting In and Out Points

You rarely want to drag a raw, unedited 5-minute take onto your timeline. The Source Monitor is where you isolate the specific 3-second action you actually want.

  1. Play the clip and pause exactly where you want the action to start.
  2. Press the I key to set an In Point.
  3. Play forward and pause where you want the action to end.
  4. Press the O key to set an Out Point.
  5. Now, if you drag the video from the Source Monitor screen down to your timeline, it will only bring that specific selected portion.

The Program Monitor

The Program Monitor (typically located on the right) shows the output of your Timeline. Whatever frame the playhead (the vertical red line on your timeline) is currently sitting on is what gets rendered to the Program Monitor.

Playback Resolution and Caching

ORAPHIM is designed to play back complex node graphs and heavy color grades in real-time. However, if your hardware struggles to play 4K or 8K media smoothly, you can lower the proxy preview resolution.

  1. Right-click anywhere in the black space around the video in the Program Monitor.
  2. Navigate to Proxy Mode and select Half Resolution or Quarter Resolution. This forces the playback engine to render fewer pixels, significantly improving framerate. Note: This does not affect the final export quality.

If a specific visual effects composition is too mathematically complex to play in real-time regardless of resolution, a red bar will appear above the timeline. ORAPHIM will automatically begin rendering those frames into a high-speed SSD cache in the background. Once the bar turns blue, the section will play smoothly.