The words behind
the workflow.
Use these terms to understand what you are editing, what stays shared, and what the destination receives.
Project and timing.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Project | Saved work containing comps and their content |
| Composition / comp | Workspace with its own dimensions, frame rate, duration and objects |
| Object | Editable text, shape, media, Group or placed comp |
| Clip | Timed placement of an object |
| Track | Row arranging clips in time |
| Playhead | Frame being viewed or edited |
| In / Out | Range bounds; Out is exclusive |
| Resolve timeline | The destination timeline in Resolve, distinct from a carvercat comp |
Shared source and controls.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Source comp | Shared composition referenced by instances |
| Instance | A timed placement of a shared source |
| Override | A value specific to one instance for an exposed control |
| Revert | Make that control follow the source again |
| Basement | Detailed parameter, effect and relationship editing |
| Promotion | Expose a parameter on an object or through a container |
| Group | Container owning nested objects |
| Parenting | Making a child’s transform follow another object |
Geometry and animation.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Keyframe | Parameter value at a particular time |
| Temporal handle | Control over interpolation and rate of change |
| Spatial handle | Control over path geometry |
| Key Group | Animation organisation, not an object Group |
| Text Stagger | Offset animation across words, characters or lines |
| Proxy | Smaller preview copy; original media still matters |
Authoring and destination.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rendered output | Finished picture and sound in the chosen media format |
| Carve | Send your project into an editor as a real, editable comp, not a flattened video |
| Editable comp | A Fusion comp in Resolve or an After Effects comp, which you keep editing there |
| MCP | Model Context Protocol, which lets a compatible AI client use carvercat’s operations |
| Local processing | Everything is computed on your own computer |
| Destination | Where output goes: a folder, or a Resolve timeline, or an open After Effects project |