Planes are flat, rectangular shapes of a single color that are created inside HitFilm.
Planes can be in 2D or 3D and have many uses, for example:
- Solid color backgrounds.
- Invisible layers for receiving 3D shadows.
- Reference layers for parenting.
- Creating simple 3D geometry.
Creating Planes
Planes can be created from the New menu in the Media panel or from the New Layer menu in a composite shot timeline.
In both cases a new plane is created and is listed in the Project Media list. If you use the New Layer menu on the timeline the plane will also be automatically added to the timeline as a new layer.
Plane Properties
When creating a new plane you need to choose its initial properties. You can always update these properties later by editing the plane in the Media panel.
- Name: The plane will be listed in the Media panel and displayed on the timeline using this name.
- Width/Height: Determines the resolution of the plane. You can make it larger, smaller or the same size as your project and composite shots.
- Aspect: The shape of the individual pixels, which in turn affects the shape of the plane frame. Some formats use non-square pixels to create widescreen aspect ratios, so make sure you check your camera’s specification if your plane looks the wrong shape.
- Color: Clicking the color box will display a standard color palette for choosing the plane’s color. Alternatively, you can click and drag on the color pipette icon then move the mouse over any color on your screen. White, grey and black presets are also provided for quick selection.
- Match Sequence/Composite Shot: This button will automatically adjust the plane’s settings to match those of your currently active editor sequence or composite shot.