The HitFilm interface is made up of a number of panels, which are displayed as tabs within containers in the interface. Each panel serves a specific purpose. Details regarding each panel are provided below.
- More information on arranging the panels and customizing the interface can be found on the The Interface page.
360 Viewer ![]()
The 360 Viewer panel provides a spherical wrapped view of 360 footage. Opening this panel alongside the Viewer means you can edit 360 video directly in the Viewer, while seeing exactly what your audience will see in the 360 Viewer.
Audio Mixer
The Audio Mixer panel provides tools for mixing the audio tracks on the Editor timeline. Meters are given for each track, to monitor their levels. The levels of individual tracks and their stereo pan can be adjusted, so they fit properly into the mix with the other tracks. Tracks can also be easily muted or soloed.
- The page on Working with Audio provides additional details on reading meters and using the Audio Mixer.
Controls
The Controls panel displays all the controls, properties and values used by the selected layer, and allows you to edit them.
- Additional details are available in Introducing the Controls Panel.
Effects
The Effects panel contains all of the effects that can be applied to your layers, as well as some effects that create their own layers. It also contains presets, and allows you to create and organize your own presets using the effects built into HitFilm.
- The individual effects are covered in detail in the Visual Effects chapter of the manual.
History
The History panel shows a log of the most recent changes made in the software, and allows you to undo or redo them by moving through the list. It is covered in greater detail on the History & Undo/Redo page.
Layer
The Layer panel shows the original contents of the currently selected layer, before any effects or Transform adjustments are applied. It is primarily used for tracking.
Layout
The Layout panel provides quick tools for precise adjustment of the position properties of your selection.
- Full details are available in Introducing the Layout Panel.
Lifetime ![]()
The Lifetime panel is used by the particle simulator. It allows you to modify the behavior of particles over the course of their life, after they are emitted.
- Detailed information is available in the Lifetime Panel page of the chapter on the Particle Simulator.
Media
The Media panel stores all the media files imported into your project. You can organize your media assets there, as well as access and modify their Properties and import new files.
- More information on using the media panel is provided in Introducing the Media Panel.
Meters
The audio Meters panel provides a dynamic readout of the audio levels of your project so you can adjust the audio levels appropriately. Then you can adjust the levels to ensure your project is audible, but not so high that the audio is distorted by peaking.
- To learn more about working with audio and using meters, see the page on Working with Audio.
Processor
The Processor panel is used to manage your pre-renders. It shows all pre-renders currently being generated, and provides controls to pause, resume, and cancel any pre-renders being processed.
- Further details are available in Pre-rendering.
Scopes ![]()
The Scopes panel allows you to precisely monitor the color of your project, to help with making color corrections and ensure that color ranges fall within specified standards. This is important to ensure that colors are accurately reproduced when the finished program is broadcast later. It provides a Vectorscope, a Waveform monitor, a Histogram, and a RGB Parade.
- More information on the individual scopes and how to use them is available in the Introducing Scopes page.
Text
The Text panel is used to adjust the properties of Text layers.
- Full details can be found in Creating Text & Titles.
Timeline
The timeline is where you arrange and manipulate your media to create your project.
There are two kinds of timelines in HitFilm; the Editor and Composite Shot timelines. Each project contains one Editor timeline, which is permanent. Each project can contain an unlimited number of composite shot timelines, or no composite shot timelines at all.
- Both kinds of timelines are covered extensively in Introducing the Two Timelines.
Track
The Track panel contains the controls used to perform 2D tracking on video layers.
- To learn how to track a layer, and to get familiar with the controls, please refer to the chapter on Tracking.
Trimmer
The trimmer panel allows you to load a specific video clip from the media panel for review, or to select a portion of the clip to add to your timeline.
- To learn more about trimming clips, please see the Trimming Assets page of the Editing chapter.
Viewer
The Viewer is where you see the combined results of your timeline. All media assets and effects used on the timeline will be displayed in the Viewer. You can playback the timeline there to view the results. You can also directly edit the position of layers within the Viewer, and edit the contents of some layers by creating masks or entering text.
- There are many options available in the viewer, and they are covered in detail in Introducing the Viewer.