Reference node

A Reference node holds one file. It does not make anything on its own — it is the way you get something you already have into the graph, so other nodes can work from it.

This is the node you use most. Anything you capture elsewhere in Root ends up here. A still from a Re-angle scene, a frame from a video, an image from the Create panel, or a photo from your camera roll.

1. Drag a file straight onto the canvas, or add a Reference node and click it to pick one.
2. You can also choose something already in your project's Assets.
3. Drag from the dot on the right of the node to the node you want to feed.
4. Drop the wire on the input you want: init, ref, style, last, audio, performance or mask.

The input you connect to changes what the receiving node does with your file. Wire it to init and it is the starting picture. Wire it to ref and it is guidance for the look or the subject. Wire it to style and only the look is borrowed.

In the Inspector, Current selection shows what the node holds. Reference images has Upload image or video and this shot's pictures. Then come Training images, Uploaded videos, Uploaded audio and Generated takes, with the rest of the project folded under each.

On a video, Use single frame… saves one frame as a still, so it can feed a picture-only input. Change frame… picks a different frame later. Reverse video… makes a copy that plays backwards; press it again to flip it back.

On a picture, Crop & reframe… saves the area you draw as a new image and uses it, and Crop again… redoes it. Draw guide… lets you draw a camera or motion path on the picture.

The node itself has Upload image, video or audio, Trim clip or Trim audio to keep one section, and Crop & reframe, or Crop again once it is cropped.

A Reference node costs nothing. It never runs, so it never spends credits.