Annotation tool for video

When a DatasetVersion contains video Asset, the Annotation tool switches to a dedicated video interface: instead of a single static image, you annotate a timeline of frames, and a Shape can follow an object across many frames as a Track.

1. Access the video Annotation tool

Access works the same way as for images: from the Details or Grid view of the DatasetVersion, through the pen icon when hovering on a video Asset, or through the Annotate button.

2. Interface overview

The video Annotation tool reuses the same left toolbar (Select/Pan modes and drawing tools depending on the DatasetVersion Version Type) and the same right-side icon rail (Shapes, Selection, Data, Details, Settings, Shortcuts) as the image tool.

Two elements are specific to video:

• At the bottom-left, a Player / Assets toggle switches between the current video's frame-by-frame Player and the grid of every video Asset of the DatasetVersion.
• Below the video, a timeline replaces the simple Assets footer of the image tool.

A. Playback controls

Above the timeline, the current Frame number (and its timecode) is displayed, together with:

• Move to first/last frame, to jump to the start or end of the video.
• Move to previous/next frame, to step one frame at a time.
• Move N frames before/after, N being the configurable Step value, to jump by a bigger increment.
• Play/Pause, and a Speed selector to control the playback rate.

B. The timeline

The timeline lists one row per Label used in the Annotation, each showing the number of Track it contains (e.g. car (25)). Expanding a Label row (chevron on the left) reveals its individual Track (e.g. car #1, car #2…), each displayed as a horizontal bar spanning the frames it covers, with a diamond marker on every keyframe.

A Track doesn't have to span the whole video: it can start and end on any frame, for instance when an object enters or leaves the frame partway through.

3. What is a Track?

On video, a Shape is not a single, static object but a Track: the same Shape followed across a range of frames. A Track is defined by one or several keyframes, each keyframe being the exact position and dimensions of the Shape on a given frame.

Between two keyframes, the position of the Shape is automatically interpolated frame by frame, provided Enable Interpolation is turned on in the Settings panel. This lets you place a handful of keyframes on the frames where the object's position visibly changes, instead of drawing it on every single frame.

4. Create a Track

To create a Track, select a drawing tool and a Label, then draw the Shape at the frame where the object first appears, exactly like on an image Asset (see Shape creation for the drawing steps specific to each Version Type). This creates the first keyframe of a new Track.

Move to another frame where the object has moved and adjust the Shape's position: this creates a new keyframe. Repeat as needed; the frames in between are interpolated automatically.

5. Edit a Track

A. Common actions

Right-clicking a Track (on the canvas or in the timeline) or using the … option menu of its row in the Shapes panel gives access to: Hide, Lock, Focus, Opacity, Change Label, Duplicate, Select all Keyframes, Go to track, and Delete.

B. Tracking mode

For more advanced edits, select the Track and enable Tracking mode (keyboard shortcut Shift + T). Right-clicking the Track then gives access to additional actions:

• Split: cut the Track into two independent Track at the current frame.
• Cut to Cursor: remove the part of the Track before or after the current frame.
• Expand to Cursor: extend the Track so it starts or ends at the current frame.
• Expand to First Frame / Expand to Last Frame: extend the Track all the way to the start or the end of the video.
• Join: merge two Track segments of the same object into a single Track.

6. Shape details and Attribute

Selecting a keyframe opens the same Selection panel as on images, with the Label, position and dimensions (X, Y, Width, Height) of the Shape on the current frame, a free-text Text field, and the Shape attributes section if any Attribute is configured on the Label (see Fill Shape Attributes and Asset Attributes).

7. Settings

The Settings panel exposes an additional Player section for video, covering the default duration of new Annotation, the timeline navigation controls to display, whether to enable interpolation, and the timeline scrolling behavior. The full detail is available here.