# Chapter bar under the frame

Edit / Edit effect / Overlays and inserts. Checked 2026-11-13.

The viewer sees the structure of the video and where they are in it.

- Use when: Breakdowns, launch films, how-it-was-made posts.
- Phrase: a labelled chapter bar with a moving playhead under the video frame, one label per beat
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/effect/chapter-bar
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/effect/chapter-bar.json

## Watch out

- On the measured launch film the bar shows eight beats in 40 seconds, so viewers can see that the answer gets about 7 seconds and the channels about 11. (measured; Director Chair notes on Launch video structure on Poolday (Raphael Guilhem))

## Prompts

### Any chat model

```
Give me an edit brief: where it goes on the timeline, the exact settings, and what to check before export, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is chapter bar under the frame: the viewer sees the structure of the video and where they are in it. How it works: a labelled chapter bar with a moving playhead under the video frame, one label per beat. It is right for: breakdowns, launch films, how-it-was-made posts. On the measured launch film the bar shows eight beats in 40 seconds, so viewers can see that the answer gets about 7 seconds and the channels about 11. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.
```

## Goes well with

- Launch film arc: https://directorchair.ai/script/script-launch-arc
- Show the making: https://directorchair.ai/effect/show-the-making

## Source

Own words from Director Chair notes on Launch video structure on Poolday (Raphael Guilhem)

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.