> 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/set-up-your-production/create-a-squeeze.md).

# Create a squeeze (squeezeback)

> *Availability — included in Enterprise.*

A **squeeze** — also called a **squeezeback** — is the broadcast move where the live video shrinks into a smaller area of the screen while graphics slide in to fill the space that opens up. It’s the look a sports broadcast uses when it pinches the game video into one corner and brings in a stats panel, sponsor bar, or "coming up next" sidebar, then expands the video back to full screen afterward.

In Captivate you build a squeeze with the **zone** system. You describe where the video and graphics sit in two different arrangements, and Captivate animates smoothly from one to the other when you play a Shot.

## How a squeeze works

Three building blocks work together:

| Term            | What it is                                                                                                                                                              |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Zone**        | A named rectangle on screen that holds content — for example a `Video` zone, an `L Bar` zone, or a `Full Screen` zone.                                                  |
| **Zone layout** | A complete arrangement of zones, saved as a `.zonelayout` file. The layout’s base arrangement is called the **Master**.                                                 |
| **Variation**   | A named alternate look inside the same layout. A variation changes only where the Master’s zones sit and how big they are — you add one for the squeezed look.          |
| **Shot**        | A button in the Shot Launcher that puts the program into a chosen state. A Shot can select which variation of the layout is active, so playing it triggers the squeeze. |

The key idea: one zone layout holds **two arrangements of the same zones** — the **Master** (the normal look: video full screen, side bar off-screen) and a **variation** (the squeezed look: video smaller, side bar on-screen). The zones themselves — names, tags, settings — live on the Master; the variation records only geometry. When you play a Shot that switches between the Master and the variation, Captivate animates every zone from its old rectangle to its new one — so the video shrinks and the bar glides in together.

## Before you start

* Zone layouts must be enabled in your Captivate license. If Project Settings has no **Layout Preset** row, or a Shot’s properties have no **Zone Variation** control, zone layouts aren’t enabled in your license — contact NewBlue or your administrator.
* Decide your project’s video format first (for example **1920 × 1080**) and design your zone layouts to match it, so positions line up exactly.

## Step 1 — Plan your zones

Sketch your two looks and give each region a name. You define each zone once, on the layout’s Master — the variation only moves and resizes them. A typical sports squeeze uses three zones:

* `Video` — the live camera/program video.
* `L Bar` — the sidebar or lower bar graphic that moves in.
* `Full Screen` — a full-frame overlay that stays put in both looks (good for a scoreboard or clock that should never move).

| Zone          | Master (normal look)                      | Squeeze variation                   |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `Video`       | Full screen (e.g. 1920 × 1080)            | Smaller (e.g. 1600 × 900, top-left) |
| `L Bar`       | Off-screen / hidden behind the full video | On-screen, filling the freed space  |
| `Full Screen` | Full screen (unchanged)                   | Full screen (unchanged)             |

**💡 TIP**\
**Keep the video’s shape.** If your project is 16:9, make the squeezed `Video` zone 16:9 too (for example 1600 × 900) so the picture shrinks without stretching.

## Step 2 — Build the layout and its Squeeze variation

Use the **Zone Layout Editor** to build one layout that carries both looks. You can start from a built-in preset — **Horizontal Split**, **Vertical Split**, or **Quads** — or build your own zones from scratch.

1. Open the Zone Layout Editor and create a new layout. Name it something clear, such as **`Squeeze`**.
2. Add your zones — **New Zone** for each — and give each one a **name**, a **position**, and a **size**. This base arrangement is the **Master**: make it the normal look, with the `Video` zone full screen and the `L Bar` zone off-screen or fully covered by the video.
3. Click **Create Layout Variation** and name the variation — for example **`Squeeze Applied`**.
4. With the variation selected, move and resize the zones for the squeezed look: a smaller `Video` zone and the `L Bar` zone on-screen. The variation records only geometry — zone names, tags, and settings stay on the Master, so there is nothing to keep in sync between the two looks.
5. Click **Save & Close**. The layout — Master plus variation — saves as a single `.zonelayout` file.

**💡 TIP**\
Right-click a variation to **Rename**, **Duplicate**, or **Delete** it, or choose **Reset to Master** to snap its zones back to the Master’s geometry and start over.

## Step 3 — Add the layout to your project

1. Open **Project Settings**.
2. Find the **Layout Preset** row and use its load button to import your layout file (`Squeeze`). It becomes the project’s active layout; Shots pick between its Master and its variations.
3. Save Project Settings.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you later change the layout in the Zone Layout Editor, re-import it so the project picks up the updated version.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Projects built with the earlier two-layout method — one `.zonelayout` file per look, with matching zone names — keep working. For new squeezes, a single layout with a variation is simpler.
{% endhint %}

## Step 4 — Assign your content to zones

Tell each piece of content which zone it belongs to:

* Assign each **graphic, media clip, or live source** to a zone with the **Zone Assignment** row on its [Transform tab](https://github.com/NewBlueFX/help-docs/tree/gitbook-test/gitbook/build-out-your-production/build-out-your-production/position-and-fit-items-in-program.adoc#zone-assignment) — put the side-bar graphic in `L Bar`, and a scoreboard or clock in `Full Screen` so it stays put.
* Assign the **switcher video** to the `Video` zone with the Shot’s **Switcher Zone** control (see [Create Shot Layouts](/control-your-show/chapter-index-1/creating-shot-layouts.md)).

**💡 TIP**\
**Designing the bar graphic.** Build the bar artwork so the colored bar sits where you want it on-screen and the rest of the graphic is transparent, so the video shows through. When the video squeezes, the bar is revealed in the space the video no longer covers.

## Step 5 — Create the Shots

Make one Shot for each look. For each Shot, open its **Shot Properties**:

1. **Normal Shot**
   * **Zone Variation:** **Master** — the layout’s normal look.
   * **Switcher Zone:** `Video`.
2. **Squeeze Shot**
   * **Zone Variation:** `Squeeze Applied`.
   * **Switcher Zone:** `Video`.
   * **Duration:** the length of the move, in seconds (for example **`0.5`**).
   * **Timing:** the easing curve for the move:
     * **Linear** — constant speed.
     * **Ease In** — starts slow.
     * **Ease Out** — ends slow.
     * **Ease In+Out** — slow at both ends (a smooth, natural broadcast move).

Name the Shots clearly — for example **Normal** and **Squeeze** — so they’re easy to find in the Shot Launcher.

## Step 6 — Run the squeeze

1. Play the **Normal** Shot to establish the full-screen look.
2. Play the **Squeeze** Shot. The video pinches down to the `Video` zone while the side bar glides into the `L Bar` zone, over the duration and curve you set.
3. Play the **Normal** Shot again to squeeze back out to full screen.

{% hint style="info" %}
**The move happens between Shots.** The animation plays when you switch from one Shot’s layout to another. The first Shot you play simply sets its look; the move appears when the next Shot changes the layout.
{% endhint %}

## Tips and best practices

* **Add and remove zones on the Master.** A variation only moves and resizes the Master’s zones — every zone automatically exists in both looks, so there are no names to keep in sync.
* **Use a `Full Screen` zone for anything that shouldn’t move** — a scoreboard, clock, or bug. Leave its geometry untouched in the variation and it stays rock-steady through the squeeze.
* **Match your project’s video format.** Design the layouts at the same resolution as your project so positions line up exactly.
* **Pick a duration that reads on air.** Around **0.3–0.7 seconds** with **Ease In+Out** gives a clean, professional move. Shorter feels snappy; longer feels gentle.
* **Build bar graphics with transparency** where the video shows through, so the squeeze reveals the bar cleanly.
* **Reuse the pair of Shots.** Once the layout and its variation are wired to the two Shots, you can drive the whole effect from two buttons for the rest of the show.

## Worked example — sports sidebar

**Goal:** webcam/game video squeezes to the upper-left, a blue sidebar slides in on the right, and a scoreboard stays pinned at the top.

| Element         | Zone          | Master (normal)     | Squeeze variation       |
| --------------- | ------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Game video      | `Video`       | 1920 × 1080 (full)  | 1600 × 900 (top-left)   |
| Sidebar graphic | `L Bar`       | Hidden / off-screen | On-screen at right      |
| Scoreboard      | `Full Screen` | Full screen         | Full screen (unchanged) |

**Shots:**

* **Normal** → Zone Variation **Master**, Switcher Zone `Video`.
* **Squeeze** → Zone Variation `Squeeze Applied`, Switcher Zone `Video`, Duration `0.5`, Timing `Ease In+Out`.

**On air:** play **Normal** for full-screen game video; play **Squeeze** to pinch the video and bring in the sidebar; play **Normal** again to return to full screen. The scoreboard never moves.

## See also

* [Move and resize items for Program](/set-up-your-production/position-and-fit-items-in-program.md) — the **Zone Assignment** and **Fit Mode** controls for placing content inside a zone.
* [Create Shot Layouts](/control-your-show/chapter-index-1/creating-shot-layouts.md) — Shot Properties, including **Switcher Zone** and **Switcher Video**.
* [Use the Switcher panel](/set-up-your-production/chapter-index-4/the-switcher-panel.md) — set up the live video sources a squeeze switches between.


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