# Animation preview
> Walk around a shot's 3D blocking before you generate it, and see who stands where at every moment.
An animation preview is a rough 3D blocking of one shot, made by your connected model from the shot's saved assets and beats. It is a plan you can look around, not generated video, and nothing on this page charges credits or changes the shot.
Open it from a shot with **Open full preview**, under the storyboard. **Back to shot** returns you to the shot. If the shot has no preview yet, the page says so and gives you a request to copy under **Ask your connected model**.
## Author's notes
What the model that made this preview says it settled, in its own words.
1. Open a shot's full preview.
2. Read the notes under the bar at the top, beside the **Previsualization, not generated media** chip.
* The notes are the model's own words about what it settled, shown as written.
* They only appear when the model left notes.
* The bar also names the model that made the preview, its revision and when it was made.
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `notes`
## Animation preview
The preview at a glance: how long it runs, how many setups and subjects it has, and which model made it when.
1. Open a shot's full preview with nothing selected. The summary is at the top of the right panel.
2. Press play under the set, or drag the position slider to scrub.
3. Click a bar on the timeline to jump to it, or to select the subject it belongs to.
| Row | What it shows |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| **Length** | How long the preview runs. |
| **Setups** | How many cameras it has. |
| **Subjects** | How many people and things move in it. |
| **Made by** | The model that made it. |
| **Revision** | Which version of the preview this is. |
| **Made** | How long ago it was made. |
In the middle, drag the set to orbit around it, right-drag, shift-drag or swipe with two fingers to pan, and scroll or pinch to zoom. Click a subject to select it. Beside it, the Director's monitor shows what the **Live** camera sees at the same moment. Under both, the timeline has rows for time, beats, cameras, actions and dialogue. Nothing here can be dragged or edited.
**For agents**
- `sequence_read (type: animation_preview_get)` — fields: `sequenceId`, `n`
## Stage
The set the preview stands on: its floors, marks, set pieces and bounds.
1. Open a shot's full preview with nothing selected.
2. Find **Stage** in the right panel.
| Row | What it shows |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Floors** | How many floor areas the set has. |
| **Marks** | The named spots people move to. |
| **Set pieces** | The objects that build the set. |
| **Bounds** | The corners of the space the set fills. |
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `stage.regions`, `stage.anchors`, `stage.primitives`, `stage.bounds`
## Subjects
Everyone and everything that moves in the preview. Click one to see where it is right now.
1. Open a shot's full preview with nothing selected.
2. In **Subjects**, click a row to select that subject.
* Each row has the colour the subject wears in the set and on the timeline.
* A subject not in the set at the current moment is marked **Not placed now**.
* You can also select a subject by clicking it in the set.
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `subjects`, `tracks`
## Setups
Each camera in the preview, with when it is live and how wide it sees. The live one is marked.
1. Open a shot's full preview with nothing selected.
2. Find **Setups** in the right panel.
3. Scrub the timeline and watch the **live** mark move to the camera in use.
Each row names a camera, the stretch of time it is live, and how wide it sees in degrees. The Director's monitor shows the live one.
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `cameras`
## Subject
The subject you selected: what kind it is, which asset it stands for and its size.
1. Click a subject in the set, on the timeline, or in **Subjects**.
2. Read its card at the top of the right panel. The card's head is the subject's name.
3. Choose **Show the preview** to clear the selection and go back to the summary.
| Row | What it shows |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Kind** | What sort of subject it is. |
| **Asset** | The asset in your project it stands for. |
| **Size** | The size it was given in the set. |
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `subjects.kind`, `subjects.assetId`, `subjects.dimensions`
## State at the playhead
Where the selected subject is at this moment: its position, facing, posture, condition and who carries it. Scrub the timeline to watch it change.
1. Select a subject.
2. Read its state under the **Subject** card. The head shows the moment, such as State at 0:02.4.
3. Scrub the timeline to watch the rows change. While the subject is not in the set, the card says so instead.
| Row | What it shows |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Position** | Where the subject stands. |
| **Facing** | Which way it faces. |
| **Posture** | How it holds itself, when the model gave one. |
| **Condition** | What state it is in, when the model gave one. |
| **Carried by** | Who is carrying it, if anyone. |
**For agents**
- `shot_manage (type: animation_preview_set)` — fields: `tracks.keyframes`