Films
Any piece can also be a short video — the pages playing in order, with a little movement, and a voice reading them if you want one.
A film is not a separate thing you build. It is the piece you already made, played. One page becomes a single clip; several pages become scenes in order.
Open a piece and choose Motion — the film from the ⋯ menu.
Timing
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| The clip holds for | How long each page stays on screen — 2 to 15 seconds |
| Pages hand over with | A crossfade between scenes, or a clean cut |
A single-page piece runs for seven seconds by default; a multi-page film gives each page five. Change any page individually — a page with a lot of words wants longer than a page with a price on it.
A film can run up to a minute. If your timings add up to more than that, every page is shortened proportionally rather than the end being cut off, and the app tells you it did.
The film is made when you ask for it, from the piece as it stands right now. Change the piece and the next film is different — there is no separate video to keep in step.
Narration
Turn narration on and each page takes a line or two of script. A voice reads them over the film.
Four voices are available, including Elle’s own. Pick one for the whole film.
Elle will write the script for you — ask her, or use the write control in the panel. She writes from what the piece and the property actually say. As with everything else she writes, read it before it goes out.
A narrated page always gets long enough to say its line. If your script runs past the timing you set, that page is stretched to fit. If stretching everything would push the film past a minute, the app refuses and asks you to trim the scripts rather than quietly clipping the voice.
Making the film
Motion — the film renders it. You get a progress reading while it works — a minute-long film with narration is real work, not an instant export.
You can render just this page instead of the whole thing when you only want one scene.
Putting a film on your website
Publish film for the web renders the film once, keeps it, and makes it available to your site. In the website builder, the motion block plays it at the top of your landing page.
Browsers only autoplay a video that has no sound, so the published film plays muted and loops. Write for the eye there — a film that only works with the voice will not land on your website. The narrated version is for anywhere you can send a file: email, a listing presentation, a text to a seller.
What tends to go wrong
- The words go by too fast. Raise that page’s hold. Reading time is longer than you think; say it out loud and add two seconds.
- The voice sounds clipped. The script is longer than the page’s hold and something else in the film is at the ceiling. Trim a sentence.
- The film is not available on the website. It has been rendered but not published — publishing is the separate step, so a draft film never appears in public by accident.