A Glossary of animation terms
Timeline overview

Timeline

Unitys Timeline
Unity’s Timeline

Use Unity’s Timeline to create cinematic content, game-play sequences, audio sequences, and complex particle effects.

Each cut-scene, cinematic, or game-play sequence that you create with Unity’s Timeline consists of a Timeline AssetRefers to the tracks, clips, and recorded animation that comprise a cinematic, cut-scene, game-play sequence, or other effect created with the Timeline Editor window. A Timeline Asset does not include bindings to the GameObjects animated by the Timeline Asset. The bindings to scene GameObjects are stored in the Timeline instance. The Timeline Asset is Project-based. More info
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and a Timeline instanceRefers to the link between a Timeline Asset and the GameObjects that the Timeline Asset animates in the scene. You create a Timeline instance by associating a Timeline Asset to a GameObject through a Playable Director component. The Timeline instance is scene-based. More info
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. The Timeline Editor windowThe name of the window where you create, modify, and preview a Timeline instance. Modifications to a Timeline instance also affects the Timeline Asset. More info
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creates and modifies Timeline Assets and Timeline instances simultaneously.

The Timeline Overview section includes details on the relationship between the Timeline Editor window, Timeline Assets, and Timeline instances.

The Timeline Workflows section shows how to create Timeline Assets and Timeline instances, how to record basic animation, and how to create cinematics.


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A Glossary of animation terms
Timeline overview