Capture blocking beat by beat
A beat is one stage picture: where everyone is at a given moment. This page shows editors how to record a scene as a chain of beats, then annotate the movement between them.
Select or create a beat
In the Scenes panel on the left, click a beat to load it onto the canvas. Click Add scene to create a scene with a title, act, and scene number, and hover a scene to reveal Add beat. On a fresh production Proscene seeds a first scene and beat automatically, so editors land on a canvas that is ready to drag onto.
Place your performers
Drag a name from the Off stage list onto the stage, or click it to drop the token center stage. Each performer appears as a colored circle with their initials, labeled with their character name from the cast board. Every move saves automatically to the selected beat.
Arrange the set
Use the layer switch in the toolbar to flip between Set Pieces and Actors. Only tokens on the active layer respond to dragging, so you never nudge the couch while repositioning the cast. Drag pieces into place and rotate them with the corner handle.
Capture the next beat
When the picture is right, click Capture Beat. Proscene saves the current positions and creates the next beat in the scene with everyone starting exactly where they just ended, so you only move the people who move.
Review the movement
Toggle Movement in the toolbar to draw arrows from each performer's position in this beat to where they stand in the next one. It is the fastest way to sanity-check a crossing pattern before you run it.
Draw your own arrows
Click Draw Arrow, then click once on the canvas to start the arrow and once to finish it; press Esc to cancel. Custom arrows are saved with the beat, and hovering one reveals a delete button if you change your mind.
Jot beat notes
Open the Beat Notes panel on the right for notes that belong to this exact moment: motivation, a cue that lands here, a reminder to revisit the picture. Notes save with the beat and travel with it.
Discuss with @ mentions
Open Beat Comments, write your note, and type @ to mention a teammate. Press Enter to send. Mentioned people get a notification that links straight back to this beat, so a note about a new cross arrives with the diagram attached.
Moving groups together
To shift a clump of performers as one, drag a box across an empty patch of stage to lasso them. The toolbar shows how many are selected, and dragging any one of them moves the whole group. Click empty canvas to clear the selection.