> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/design-and-customize-graphics/chapter-index-4/picture-in-picture-with-live-video.md).

# Build a picture-in-picture with live video

A picture-in-picture (PiP) shrinks a live camera or feed into a box on screen — for a guest inset, a dual-box interview, or a stats sidebar. In most productions you’d build that on a switcher’s DVE and time it against your graphics by hand. In Captivate you build it **inside the graphic**: a **Live Video Variable** maps a live source onto a design layer, so the video inherits that layer’s position, scale, and animation — including 3D moves. The DVE is part of the design, so a PiP that would normally need a switcher plus careful timing becomes a single animated template you play like any other graphic.

For a full-frame video squeeze driven by zone layouts instead, see [Create a squeeze (squeezeback)](/set-up-your-production/create-a-squeeze.md). This article covers the in-graphic approach, which is the more flexible one for boxes that move, scale, or fly in.

## How it works

A Live Video Variable binds a design layer to a live input. Captivate draws the live video into the layer’s shape every frame and follows the layer’s four corners as it animates — so if the layer flies in, scales up, or rotates in 3D, the video box does exactly the same. You design the motion once; the live feed rides along.

## Build the graphic

1. In Captivate’s playout interface, select a graphic in the Project List and click **Edit Graphic** to open the Designer. (Or drag a design from the Graphics Library to start fresh.)
2. Add the layer that will hold the video — a shape or image layer sized and placed where you want the PiP box. Give it a border or drop shadow if you want the box framed.
3. With the layer selected, click **Properties > Special**.
4. Set **NTX Feature** to **Live Video Variable** and enter a variable name. See [Create live video variables](https://github.com/NewBlueFX/help-docs/tree/gitbook-test/gitbook/design-graphics/variables-and-linked-data/design-graphics/variables-and-linked-data/create-variables-in-graphics.adoc#create-live-video-variables) for the control detail.
5. Animate the layer for the move you want — position, scale, and 3D rotation with keyframes on the Timeline. A common PiP is a box that slides in from the edge and settles; a dual-box pushes two of these to opposite sides.

   **💡 TIP**\
   Keep the box’s shape matching your video’s aspect ratio (16:9) so the live picture isn’t stretched as it scales.
6. Click the green checkmark at the bottom of the Timeline to confirm your changes.

## Assign the live source and play it

1. Back in the playout interface, with the graphic selected, choose the live video source for the variable — the same way you assign any [live video variable](https://github.com/NewBlueFX/help-docs/tree/gitbook-test/gitbook/design-graphics/variables-and-linked-data/design-graphics/variables-and-linked-data/create-variables-in-graphics.adoc#create-live-video-variables).
2. Play the graphic. The live video fills the box and animates with the design — flying in, scaling, and moving in 3D exactly as you keyframed it.

To change which camera or feed appears, pick a different source for the variable; the animation and framing stay the same.

## A dual-box example

* Design two video layers — one on each side of the frame — and make each a Live Video Variable with its own name.
* Animate both to slide in from their respective edges.
* In playout, assign a different live source to each variable.

Playing the graphic brings both feeds in together as a matched dual-box, with no switcher DVE to set up.

## Related

* [Create variables in graphics](/design-and-customize-graphics/chapter-index-4/create-variables-in-graphics.md) — the Live Video Variable control and the other variable types.
* [Create a squeeze (squeezeback)](/set-up-your-production/create-a-squeeze.md) — the zone-layout approach, for shrinking the full program into part of the screen.
* [Live video inputs](/set-up-your-production/chapter-index-2.md) — adding the cameras and feeds a live video variable can show.


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