Two roles, one production
The Controller is the operator’s workspace. It holds the production, Actors, Scripts, Takes and shared media. The Player is the phone the performer uses in the shot. Its screen is driven by the selected Actor’s design and story data.
The local preview helps you prepare and rehearse without a connected phone. A real Player adds the physical device, its input and the actual network path. Test both before production use.
1 — Actors and their phone data
Choose the Actor whose phone you are preparing. Their contacts, conversations, call history, settings and chosen design give the phone its story context. Save the production and check which Actor is active before editing or connecting a phone.
An Actor is a production character, not the person who owns the SetScreens account. Changing the active Actor changes the phone context you are working on.
2 — Actions: operate and record
The Actions panel contains controls such as sending a prepared message or triggering a call. Availability follows the current mode, selected data and connected runtime. Some controls cannot be used while preview owns the scene.
During Script preview or Take replay, SetScreens gives the timeline and the story presentation the unused Actions space. Ending preview restores the working panel. During a live recording, the relevant operator controls remain available under their usual rules.
3 — Timeline: order and position
The timeline shows the sequence of authored actions, actor inputs and timing. Select a cue to inspect the story it represents, choose a preview position, or follow the active cue while the sequence runs.
A Script describes the planned sequence. A Take records an execution and its observed timing. An interrupted or incomplete Take is not silently turned into a completed one. Use the controls for the current mode to pause, continue, stop or finish.
4 — Action & story: understand the selected cue
This is a main working area alongside the timeline. It explains who is acting, who receives a message or call, what text or target is involved, and what the sequence is waiting for. Use it to understand the action without decoding the timeline label.
An actor wait means an input is expected from the performer. An automatic wait comes from the actual authored timing. Typing progress reflects the runtime’s confirmed text and pending text. The panel does not invent a countdown when the engine has not supplied one.
Fields that can be changed have explicit editing controls. Read-only Script text, a closed Take and preview-time observations remain read-only. Selecting a cue does not itself mean that the action has executed.
5 — Preview: local surface or connected phone
Local shows the interactive preview in the Controller. Phone shows the available view from the connected Player. Read the connection state as well as the picture: an image remaining on screen is not proof that a phone is connected.
Keep the actual Player available for testing actor input. The Controller’s preview size is a working layout choice; exported video uses the export workflow and its own checked geometry.
6 — Scene Library: Scripts, Takes and videos
Open the Scene Library to browse saved Scripts and their Takes. Expand the item you want to inspect. Script metadata and saved videos are different things: a Script can exist before it has a Take or rendered video.
For video delivery, review Video settings, including the slate, frame rate and optional production-supplied phone model and screenplay excerpt, then render an eligible saved Script or Take. Keep SetScreens in the foreground while the export runs.
Every successfully completed eligible video export automatically includes the MP4, an A4 Scene Clearance Report (PDF) and a structured JSON evidence file, even when the slate is switched off. The shared Clip ID and the report’s QR text identify the same export. A new render creates a new Clip ID; later scene edits do not update earlier reports.
The report records available production and scene details, prepared names, text and image references, UI details, actions and sampled screenshots of the rendered phone UI. Prepared material may not have appeared onscreen or been sent. Several actions can share an image, and missing captures are identified. The report supports the production’s review; it does not grant permissions or establish approval.
Review all three files before sharing, including confidential material that may not be visible in the video. Save or share the package and verify the destination files. A cancelled share does not prove they were saved. Older videos remain available without a report; make a new export if you need a report for the current scene.
8 — Account & licences
Your account’s key pool and the keys assigned to this Controller are shown separately. Move an available key onto the Controller to assign capacity. Follow the release flow to move it back before using it elsewhere; an offline reservation may need to be cleared by its owning device.
Each key retains its purchase source. Apple purchases are managed through Apple, web subscriptions through their web billing source, and granted keys carry their own validity. Moving a key between your Controllers does not move or restart its subscription.
Phone use needs valid capacity assigned to the Controller. Video export also requires at least one valid phone place on that Controller. Check the actual offline-access state before taking the setup to a location without internet.
9 — Device check, Messages and Help
Device check helps inspect the current setup. Messages collects application feedback and account announcements. Help & feedback contains the offline preparation guide and a way to ask questions, report problems or suggest improvements.
Prepare before the shoot. Support is handled by the developer as time allows, with no guaranteed response or fix time and no live on-set assistance. The technical guide is the next step after this tour.
