The Compositor Workspace

The Compositor Workspace is where ORAPHIM's procedural node-based compositing engine is accessed. Unlike the layer-based Timeline found in the Edit Workspace, the Compositor uses a Node Graph to process images mathematically.

This workspace is the equivalent of a fully integrated version of Nuke or After Effects, designed for motion graphics, visual effects (VFX), 3D tracking, and green screen keying.

The Node Paradigm

If you are coming from layer-based software, nodes require a mental shift. In a layer-based system, a clip with a blur effect and a color correction is a single "block" on a timeline. You must open a separate panel to see the effects stacked vertically.

In a node-based system, every single operation is a visual "node" connected by a pipe.

  • Image data flows from left to right.
  • MediaIn1 brings your raw video clip into the graph.
  • The output of MediaIn1 pipes into the input of a Blur node.
  • The output of the Blur node pipes into a ColorCorrector node.
  • Finally, the result pipes into MediaOut1, which sends the finished image back to the Edit Timeline.

Key Interface Elements

1. Viewers (Top)

The Compositor typically features two large viewers. You can assign any node to a viewer by pressing 1 (Left Viewer) or 2 (Right Viewer) on your keyboard while the node is selected. This allows you to see the original raw footage in Viewer 1, and the final composited result in Viewer 2 simultaneously.

2. The Node Editor (Bottom)

This is the infinite canvas where you build your node networks.

  • Add Nodes: Press Shift + Spacebar to open the Node Search menu. Type the name of the tool you need (e.g., "Merge", "Transform", "DeltaKeyer") and press Enter.
  • Connecting Pipes: Click and drag from the square output of one node to the triangular input of another.
  • Inputs: Most nodes have multiple inputs. A Yellow input is the background, a Green input is the foreground, and a Blue input is a mask or matte.

3. The Inspector (Right)

When you click on any node in the Node Editor, its specific mathematical parameters appear in the Inspector.

  • You can animate any parameter over time by right-clicking the parameter's name and selecting Animate (which adds a keyframe).

The Merge Node

The most important node to understand is the Merge node. It is how you combine two images together.

  1. Connect your background image to the Yellow input of the Merge.
  2. Connect your foreground image (e.g., text, or a keyed subject) to the Green input of the Merge.
  3. The output of the Merge will be the composite of the two images.

The Compositor Workspace provides infinite flexibility, as you can branch node paths to create complex procedural effects that would be impossible with strict vertical layers.