Global Time versus Local Time

The Global Time or Local Time setting determines the duration displayed in the Playback Controls and the duration used when you click Frame All in the Timeline.

Global time shows the duration of the highest level operator in the current branch. Local time shows the duration of the Footage operator upstream of the current operator. Local time is useful when you are animating effects in a composite and you want to view the duration of the footage to which you are applying the effects.

For example, apply a Box Blur to a 30-frame clip inside a 60-frame composite. Double-click the Box Blur to make it the current operator. When you select Global Time, the duration is 60, the duration of the composite. When you select Local Time, the duration is 30, the duration of the Footage operator upstream of the Box Blur.

Note: The in point and out point of a layer in a composite do not affect the Local time.

When there is no Composite operator in the branch, Global Time and Local Time are the same. Both show the duration of the source Footage operator because this determines the duration of the operators downstream from it.