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10.5

References and mentions

"The character from this image", "the tone of that voiceover on the left" — those need something you can actually point at. DOTV's input bar gives you two ways to point: reference images (the whole image goes to the model) and @ mentions (naming a node inside your sentence) — consistent characters and a consistent style in an AI video come down to carrying the right references into every shot. This section covers how to use both, what you are picking when you click on the canvas, and how "Image 1 / Image 2" line up.

Reference images

ReferenceClick it to enter Pick from canvas, then click a node on the canvas that has already generated, and its image is wired in as a reference for this run.
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The row above the input box is the reference images already wired in.
  • Click Reference on the input bar to enter Pick from canvas, then click a node on the canvas that has already generated an image.
  • Or just wire it up: connect an image to this node and it is a reference (see 9.1).
  • Wired-in images line up above the input box. Hover for a big preview, double-click to move the canvas to the node it came from, and the × at the top right takes it off.

Pick on the canvas

Pick from canvasIn this mode, every click on the canvas means something different — it no longer selects nodes. Back to node returns you to the node you came from, and the × on the right exits.
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In this mode a cyan pill hangs at the top of the canvas.

In this mode every click on the canvas means something different — clicking an image that has been generated wires it up as a reference instead of selecting the node. That is why the cyan pill hangs up there, reminding you that you are still in it:

  • Back to node: back to the node you came from (use it when the canvas has drifted away).
  • The × on the right: leave, and the canvas behaves normally again.

@ mentions

@ suggestionsType an @ in the input and everything on the canvas is listed; keep typing to search, then Enter or click to pick.
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Type an @ in the input box and the candidates list themselves.

Type an @ in the input box and everything on the canvas is listed in three sections:

Section What is in it
In references The ones already wired up as references, first in the list — they are what you point at most
Nodes Other nodes on the canvas (image, video, text, audio). A few at a time; Load more at the end brings another page
Models Name the model this run should use, right inside the sentence

Keep typing to search; press Enter or click to pick. What lands in the text is a chip with a thumbnail — it is one piece, so a single backspace deletes the whole thing instead of breaking it into characters.

Picking canvas nodes into the conversation

Pick from canvasOnly the Agent's input box has this row: pick it and the canvas enters picking mode — click nodes there and they drop into the box.
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On the right is the Agent's @ candidate list, with "Pick from canvas" at the end of the Nodes section.

The Agent's input box (see 12.1) has a route the input bar at the bottom of the canvas does not: the "Pick from canvas" row at the end of the candidate list. Click it and nothing is inserted — instead the canvas enters picking mode, with a cyan pill hanging at the top; after that, click a node on the canvas and it becomes an @ reference in the box, and clicking the same node again takes it back out.

It is made for "pick several at once": with the pill up you do not have to switch back and forth, and a few clicks in a row on the canvas bring them all in. There are three ways out: the × at the right of the pill, sending the message, or collapsing the Agent panel — all three put the cursor back in the input box so you can carry on writing.

Image 1 / Image 2

The number at the top left of a reference tile is a name you can write straight into the prompt — "the subject is the character from Image 1, the light is that cold blue in Image 2".

Numbering starts at 1, in the order they were wired in. Take one out of the middle and the rest renumber — so if your prompt names numbers, look it over again after you change the references.

Try it in DOTVReading only goes so far: open DOTV and make an AI video with the feature this section covers.
Open DOTVDownload the desktop app
Previous
10.4 The bottom input bar
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10.6 Generation history
On this page
Reference images
Pick on the canvas
@ mentions
Picking canvas nodes into the conversation
Image 1 / Image 2