What Ilumax Film is for
Ilumax Film edits video on a timeline with separate video and audio tracks. A project holds your footage, bins and sequences. A sequence is one edit: the clips, titles, captions, transitions and sound that play together.
You can trim and rearrange clips, animate effects with keyframes, adjust colour, mix audio and export video or audio files. Film runs entirely on your computer.
Install and first launch
Install Film with the Ilumax Launcher or from My downloads. Follow Installing Ilumax apps for the one-time confirmation on your Mac or PC.
Use File ▸ New ▸ Project… to start your own project. To explore with sample material, choose File ▸ New ▸ Demo Project. Window ▸ Workspaces ▸ Editing gives you the main editing panels.
Edit your first film
- Choose File ▸ New ▸ Project… and name your project.
- Choose File ▸ Import…, or press CommandI (Mac) or ControlI (Windows), and select a short video. It appears in the Project panel.
- Right-click the imported clip and choose New Sequence From Clip. Film creates a sequence with settings that match the clip and places it on the timeline.
- Click the Timeline and press Space to play or stop. The Program monitor shows your edit. Click the timeline ruler to move the playhead, the line marking the current time.
- Press V for the Selection Tool. Drag the end of the clip inward to shorten it.
- Import another clip and drag it from Project to a video track after the first clip. Play the join to check it.
- Press CommandS (Mac) or ControlS (Windows), choose a location and save your project as
My first film.ilxfilm. - Click Export at the top of the window. Choose H.264 under Format, set File Name and Location, and choose Entire Source under Range. Click Export to make your video.
Saving keeps an editable project. Exporting makes a video you can watch or send. Keep both the project and its original media files.
Find your way around
- Import, Edit and Export at the top switch between bringing in media, editing and delivering your film.
- Project holds imported media, bins and sequences. Bins are folders inside the project for organising its contents.
- Source previews an individual clip before you use it. Program previews the active sequence, including its effects and titles.
- Timeline shows clips across time, on video and audio tracks. Its playhead sets the frame you see. The tools beside it select, cut and trim clips.
- Effects lists effects and transitions. Effect Controls adjusts the selected clip’s effects and keyframes. Properties includes controls for graphics.
- Lumetri Color adjusts colour; Lumetri Scopes helps judge brightness and colour. Audio Track Mixer and Audio Meters help balance sound.
- Text has Transcript, Captions and Graphics tabs. History lists editing steps.
Open panels from Window. Choose a layout in Window ▸ Workspaces, such as Color, Audio or Captions and Graphics. If a layout becomes awkward, choose Reset to Saved Layout there.
Everyday tasks
Choose part of a clip
- Double-click a media clip in Project to open it in Source.
- Click inside Source to give it focus. Move to the first frame you want and press I to mark an In point. Move to the last frame and press O to mark an Out point.
- Move the sequence playhead to where you want the clip. Use Insert to make room for it, or Overwrite to replace material at that position. The keys are Comma and Period.
Check the timeline’s video and audio track targets before inserting. They determine which tracks receive the clip. In and Out keys act on the focused monitor, so click Source or Program first.
Cut and trim clips
- Click Timeline and press V. Select a clip and drag its edge to change its start or end.
- To split a clip, press C for the Razor Tool and click where you want the cut. Press V to return to selection.
- Select the unwanted piece. Edit ▸ Clear removes it and leaves a gap. Edit ▸ Ripple Delete removes it and closes the gap.
The Ripple Edit Tool (B) trims an edge and shifts later material. The Rolling Edit Tool (N) moves the join between two clips while keeping their combined length. The Slip Tool (Y) changes which source frames a clip uses without moving it on the timeline.
Use Clip ▸ Speed/Duration… to change a selected clip’s playback speed or duration. Check the result with sound as well as picture.
Add effects and transitions
- Open Effects from Window and find the effect you want.
- Drag it onto a timeline clip. Select that clip and open Effect Controls to adjust it.
- For a quick transition, select the clip and choose Sequence ▸ Apply Video Transition, or press CommandD (Mac) or ControlD (Windows). For sound, use Apply Audio Transition, or CommandShiftD (Mac) or ControlShiftD (Windows).
In Effect Controls, keyframes let a setting change over time. Enable animation for the setting, set its value at one time, then move the playhead and set another value. Play the clip to check the movement.
Adjust colour
- Select a clip on the timeline and choose Window ▸ Workspaces ▸ Color.
- In Lumetri Color, click Add Lumetri Color to clip if the clip has no colour effect yet.
- Adjust Exposure, Contrast, Highlights and Shadows. Use Temperature and Tint for colour balance, and Saturation for colour strength.
- Watch Program while you adjust. Use Lumetri Scopes to check the picture’s levels.
Input LUT and Look LUT load colour lookup tables. Film reads .cube and .3dl LUT files.
Add a title
- Move the sequence playhead to where the title should begin.
- Press T for the Type Tool and click in Program. Enter your text.
- Use Properties to adjust the selected graphic’s text and appearance.
- Trim or move the graphic clip on the timeline to set when it appears and how long it stays.
The Graphics and Titles ▸ New Layer menu also adds text and shapes. Reusable graphics templates use .ilxfilmgt.
Add captions
- Open Text from Window and choose its Captions tab.
- Use Import captions file… to bring in an SRT, WebVTT or SCC file. You can also start with Create new caption track.
- Check the captions against playback and adjust their text and timing.
- In Export, open Captions. Choose Burn Captions Into Video for captions always visible in the picture, or Create Sidecar File for a separate SRT or WebVTT file.
Transcripts can be imported. Automatic speech-to-text and natural voices are unavailable in this release. The Text to Speech panel offers basic built-in voices.
Balance the sound
- Choose Window ▸ Workspaces ▸ Audio.
- Play a section containing dialogue and music. In Audio Track Mixer, adjust each track’s level while listening.
- Watch Audio Meters and reduce levels if the mix clips. Use track mute and solo controls to hear a track on its own.
Use an audio transition at an abrupt join to soften it. Replay the join before exporting.
Export a finished film
- Open the sequence you want to deliver and save the project.
- Click Export, or press CommandM (Mac) or ControlM (Windows).
- Set File Name, Location, Format and Preset. Check Video and Audio settings.
- Choose Entire Source for the whole sequence, or Source In/Out for the marked range.
- Click Export. To prepare several jobs, use Send to Queue, then Start Queue.
Open the exported file and check its beginning, end, sound and captions before sending it.
Files
Film saves projects as .ilxfilm and graphics templates as .ilxfilmgt. It still opens files from earlier versions. Save As… makes a project under a new name; Save a Copy… writes a copy while you continue working in the current project.
A project references media by its location on disk. It does not contain the video, audio or picture files. Keep those files with your project when backing up or moving your work. File ▸ Link Media… reconnects files that have moved or gone missing.
- Imports media: video such as MP4 and MOV; audio such as WAV, AIFF, MP3, AAC and FLAC; and pictures such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP and WebP. A video’s container and the codec inside it both matter; an extension alone does not guarantee it will open.
- Exports: H.264 and HEVC video, ProRes and DNxHR, MXF, image sequences, GIF and audio including WAV and AIFF. The Format list shows the available choices.
- Exchanges timelines: FCPXML, Final Cut Pro XML, OpenTimelineIO, EDL and AAF. OMF is an export format. Interchange may not carry every effect or setting; check the imported edit.
- Other files: captions such as
.srt,.vttand.scc, LUTs (.cube,.3dl), and JSON files for effect presets and keyboard shortcuts.
Keep a recovery copy
On a Mac, open Ilumax Film ▸ Settings ▸ Auto Save; in the window’s menus, use Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Auto Save…. Set the interval and number of versions. Auto Save is on by default and keeps project copies in an Auto-Save folder. Open one with File ▸ Open Project….
Auto Save normally writes a separate copy rather than updating your current project file. Keep using CommandS (Mac) or ControlS (Windows). If Film offers Recover Unsaved Changes after an unexpected exit, choose Recover, check the edit and save it.
Keyboard shortcuts
These are the default keys. Edit ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts… shows and changes your bindings. Click the panel you want to use first; text fields keep their typing keys.
On a Mac, ⌘ is Command, ⇧ Shift, ⌥ Option and ⌃ Control.
| To | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| New project | CommandOptionN | ControlAltN |
| New sequence | CommandN | ControlN |
| Open project | CommandO | ControlO |
| Import | CommandI | ControlI |
| Save | CommandS | ControlS |
| Save As | CommandShiftS | ControlShiftS |
| Undo | CommandZ | ControlZ |
| Redo | CommandShiftZ | ControlShiftZ |
| Play or stop | Space | Space |
| Shuttle left / stop / right | J or K or L | J or K or L |
| Mark In / Out | I or O | I or O |
| Insert / Overwrite | Comma or Period | Comma or Period |
| Selection / Razor tool | V or C | V or C |
| Add Edit | CommandK | ControlK |
| Ripple Delete | ShiftDelete | ShiftDelete |
| Zoom timeline in / out | Equals or Minus | Equals or Minus |
| Fit timeline to sequence | Backslash | Backslash |
| Export | CommandM | ControlM |
| User Guide | F1 | F1 |
Tips
- Save early and give projects useful names. Keep the original footage until you are finished with the project.
- For choppy playback, try View ▸ Playback Resolution ▸ 1/2 or 1/4. This lowers the preview resolution; choose export settings separately.
- Make a short test export before a long render, especially when using unfamiliar media or a new delivery format.
- If a shortcut acts in the wrong place, click the intended monitor or timeline and try again. Check your bindings if you have changed shortcut presets.
Get help
Help ▸ User Guide opens this page. If something goes wrong, include the app version, your operating system, the media format and the steps that led to the problem. Help ▸ Reveal Log Files… helps you find the logs if support asks for them.
Email [email protected]. Say which app and version you use, whether you are on a Mac or Windows, and what you did just before the problem.
Or go to Support: what to put in your email, and quick answers on installing, licence keys, renewals and refunds.
Lost your licence key? Email from the address you paid with, and it will be sent back to you. To download an app again, paste your key on My downloads.
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