> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.verticalstudio.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.verticalstudio.ai/vertical-products/motion/motion-director-agent/scenes-and-connections.md).

# Scenes & Connections

### Scene connections

| Type          | Duration | Best for                                   |
| ------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **New Scene** | 3–10s    | Most cuts — new angles, locations, moments |
| **Continues** | 5 or 10s | Smooth transitions from previous scene     |

The Director automatically connects scenes based on your narrative and the **Flow** setting. It assigns elements and environments to each scene and wires everything together. Most videos use `New Scene` for clean cinematic cuts.

***

### Scene duration guide

| Duration  | Best for                         |
| --------- | -------------------------------- |
| **3s**    | Quick cut, snap reveal           |
| **4–5s**  | Standard beat — one clear action |
| **6–7s**  | Breathing room, camera movement  |
| **8–10s** | Slow reveal, emotional hold      |

***

### Editing Scenes

Click any scene card on the canvas to open its detail view. You'll see the video preview, prompt, assigned elements and environments, and generation status.

#### Manual editing vs. chat

> **💡 The easiest way to control everything is through the Director chat.** The agent knows all the constraints, best practices, model capabilities, and can alter scene connections, order, prompts, multi-shot configuration, and more. Just tell it what you want — it's faster and smarter than manual editing.

Manual editing is available if you want precise control, but **talking to the Director is usually the better choice**. It handles all the technical details automatically.

However, if you want **manual control**, click the **Edit** button in the scene detail view.

#### What you can edit manually

| Control            | What it does                                                                                           |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Prompt**         | Edit the video generation prompt directly — change actions, camera movements, style                    |
| **Shot type**      | Switch between one-shot (single prompt) or multi-shot (multiple prompts with different angles/actions) |
| **Add shots**      | In multi-shot mode, click **+ Add Shot** to add more segments to the scene                             |
| **Shot durations** | Set duration for each shot individually                                                                |

#### Multi-shot constraints

The Director knows these rules, but if you're editing manually, keep in mind:

* **Shot total must equal scene duration** — If your scene is 5 seconds, all shots combined must total 5 seconds (e.g., 3s + 2s = 5s)
* **Total multi-shot cannot exceed 15 seconds** — The maximum combined duration for all shots in a multi-shot scene is 15 seconds
* **Each shot can reference different elements** — Use `@Element1`, `@Element2` for elements and `@Image1`, `@Image2` for style references

> **Important:** After editing prompts or shot configuration, click **Save** to apply your changes.

#### Version history

When you regenerate a scene after making adjustments, the Director **stores previous versions**. You can easily restore any previous version from the scene detail view. This lets you experiment with different prompts or shot configurations without losing your work.

***

### Prompts are pre-generated

All prompts are **pre-generated** by the Director based on:

* Your style reference
* The context of your project
* The elements and environments assigned to each scene
* Best practices for the video model

You can edit them manually, but the Director's prompts are optimized for the model's capabilities and limitations.


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