Start a blank project
An empty timeline, what is already on it, and why.
From Videos, click New project and pick a shape.
The three shapes are the ones a product video is normally cut for. Whichever you pick sets the frame size, and every layout decision after that is made against it, which is why it is asked up front rather than left to a settings page.
| Shape | Frame | Cut for |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape | 1920 x 1080 | YouTube, a site, a demo |
| Vertical | 1080 x 1920 | Reels, Shorts, TikTok |
| Square | 1080 x 1080 | A feed post |
Two more, 4:5 and 21:9, are available through the
pitvi_create_video tool.
What a blank project already contains
Not quite nothing, and both exceptions are deliberate.
One background clip, five seconds long. Duration is derived from the clips, so the background gives a new project an initial timeline that is immediately ready to edit. It is a clip like any other, so the first thing you drag is the end of your own video.
The background is a track, not a video-wide setting. That is what lets it start, stop and hand over to another one, and it is why you can select it on the timeline and delete it like anything else.
The same document, from an agent
pitvi_create_video creates the same starting project. A video made by a connected
agent and one made by clicking New project begin with the same settings and
background.
pitvi_create_video { "title": "Launch video", "aspectRatio": "16:9" }