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Scenes, takes and scene templates in Dragonframe
Dragonframe / Shot tracking and stage-integrated production management
Definition
Dragonframe organises a stop-motion shoot as scenes that hold takes. A scene is one shot, named by production and scene code and saved as a .dgn project. Each take inside it is one attempt at that shot, and it starts with the scene's settings but no frames. The folder names are how Dragonframe finds its files, so a scene is renamed only by duplicating it inside the program and a take only through Manage Takes. Settings such as exposures, camera moves, dialogue, DMX keyframes and drawings can be copied in from another scene. A whole scene's setup can also be reused as a template through its TAKE.XML metadata file.
Overview
A stop-motion shot is usually animated more than once. A puppet falls, a light flickers, or the director wants the move a little slower, and the animator starts again from frame one. Dragonframe builds that habit into how it stores work. The unit you open is a scene, and every attempt at that scene is a take inside it. Chapter 9 of the 2025 manual, Using Dragonframe, sets out the structure.
A new scene asks for a production code of up to five characters, a scene code of up to three, a take code of up to two, a frame rate and an optional description. The project is saved as PRODUCTION_SCENE.dgn by default, for example TITLE_001.dgn. Naming Preferences can drop the production field, and the file is then saved under the scene name alone. The description can be edited later in Camera Notes in the Cinematography workspace. A new take keeps the scene's important information but starts with the capture and frame counters back at the first frame. Switch Takes moves between attempts, and Manage Takes copies, renames or deletes them. You cannot delete the take that is currently open.
The manual repeats one warning more than any other in the chapter. Dragonframe locates its files by the names of the scene and take folders. If you rename a scene or take in the computer's file browser, Dragonframe can no longer open it. A scene is renamed only by duplicating it from inside Dragonframe, and a take only through Manage Takes. Our reading: on a shared stage this is a crew rule, not just a software rule. Whoever tidies the drive at the end of the day has to know that the folder names belong to the program.
Two tools carry setup from one shot to the next. Import Scene Settings copies a chosen set of exposures, camera moves, dialogue cues, DMX keyframes, the drawing layer and notes from a take of another scene. A scene template goes further. The scene's metadata lives in a file called TAKE.XML, and pointing Advanced Preferences at a saved copy of it makes every new scene start with that skeleton: its composition guides, masks, drawings, DMX settings and track-reading mouth sets. The manual suggests importing settings instead when you do not want all of that carried over. Our reading: a template suits a series or a long sequence that shares a set and a lighting plan. Importing suits a single shot that borrows a camera move.
Dragonframe can also import an image sequence shot elsewhere into a take, with a video-assist size no larger than 1024 x 1024. The manual adds a clear statement of scope: Dragonframe captures scenes that are put together in post-production, and it should not be used as an editor to stitch thousands of images into one long animation. That is the same division of labour as the timeline and conform tools (see Dragonframe timeline conform). Takes are where the attempts live, and the edit happens downstream.
Workflow
- Choose New Scene. Enter a production code (up to five characters), a scene code (up to three), a take code (up to two) and the frame rate. Optionally add a take description, which can be edited later in Camera Notes.
- Choose where to save. Dragonframe writes the project as PRODUCTION_SCENE.dgn, or as SCENE.dgn if Naming Preferences uses the scene/take convention.
- For each new attempt at the shot, use File > New Take. The take keeps the scene's settings, and the capture and frame counters return to the first frame.
- Use File > Switch Takes to move between attempts and File > Manage Takes to duplicate, rename or delete them. The open take cannot be deleted.
- To rename a scene, use File > Duplicate Scene and give the copy the new name. Never rename scene or take folders in the operating system, because Dragonframe will not be able to open them.
- To reuse part of another shot's setup, use File > Import > Scene Settings, choose the scene and take, and untick anything you do not want (exposures, camera moves, dialogue, DMX keyframes, drawings, notes).
- To start every new scene from the same setup, build a skeleton scene, copy its TAKE.XML somewhere safe, and enable it under Preferences > Advanced > Enable Scene Template. Untick that option for scenes that should start clean.