Split-screen PMV - how to make a 3-panel triptych

A split-screen PMV plays three clips at once, side by side, each in its own vertical panel, all cut to the same song. It's the densest PMV format there is: the eye wanders between panels while the beat holds it together. Building one by hand means three tracks of cropping and cutting; Onset Engine's Triptych format builds the whole thing from one edit.

What is a Split Screen / Triptych?

The common version is a triptych: one standard 16:9 widescreen video split into three tall 9:16 panels. Each panel shows a different clip. The good ones don't swap all three panels at once on every cut; the panels take turns, so the video changes on every beat while each shot stays on screen long enough to register.

Why Onset Engine for Split Screen / Triptych?

Onset Engine's Triptych format (Studio, $59.99 with code ONSET50OFF) turns a normal beat-synced edit into a split-screen one. At every cut, one panel changes, in rotation, so the video keeps your style's cutting pace while each shot holds for about three cuts. Each clip is cropped to a vertical panel, following faces to keep the subject in frame, and every clip in the edit is used once, so it needs no more footage than a normal edit. With Keep your clips' own sound on, each panel's sound plays as it changes, so you always hear a panel you can see.

Recommended presets

Quick workflow

Add your clips > Pick a song and a style > Generate the edit > Format: Triptych (Studio) > Render

How to make a split-screen PMV in Onset Engine

1. Add your clips to the library. Vertical phone clips fill a panel with almost no cropping; widescreen clips are cropped to a vertical slice from the middle, following faces.
2. Make the edit as normal: pick a song and a style, and generate the timeline (or use New video for a one-click draft).
3. At the bottom of the Editor's settings, set Format to Triptych, next to Quality. It needs Studio; on Core and Demo it shows a lock.
4. Optional: tick Keep your clips' own sound to hear each panel as it changes, and turn on the rhythm bar, which runs across all three panels.
5. Render. You get one 1920x1080 video with the three panels side by side.

Tips for Split Screen / Triptych content

• Vertical source clips are the best fit: a 9:16 clip fills a 9:16 panel, while a widescreen clip loses its sides.
• Pick footage with the action in the middle of the frame. Panels are a third of the width, so action at the edges gets cropped away.
• The style still sets the pace: Aggressive cuts fast, so the panels cascade; Sensual holds longer and lets each panel breathe.
• For phones, use the Vertical format instead. A triptych is a widescreen video, made for watching on a monitor or TV.

Music recommendations

High-energy EDM, dubstep and phonk show the format off best: with a cut on most beats, the rotation across three panels is easy to follow. Slower tracks work too, with a slower Pacing, but three panels of slow footage can feel busy rather than intense.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Expecting a phone-shaped video. A triptych is 16:9 widescreen; for TikTok, Reels or Shorts use the Vertical format (also Studio).
• Using wide shots with the action at the edges. Each panel shows only a vertical slice of a widescreen clip.
• Short source files. Each panel stays up for roughly three cuts, so a panel can need more footage than the clip's own length. Onset reads on into the rest of the source video, fills a shortfall with another clip, and only loops as a last resort, but a library of very short files will show it.
• Expecting it on Core or Demo. Triptych is a Studio format; the others show it locked.

What you'll still do manually

You can't choose which clip goes in which panel: the panels rotate automatically through the edit's clips. Clip fit doesn't apply (panels are always cropped), the output is always 1920x1080, and the effects come from the style's color look rather than every effect a standard render draws. For full control over each panel, export three separate edits and composite them by hand.

Making a split-screen PMV by hand

In DaVinci Resolve, Premiere or Vegas: make a 1920x1080 timeline with three video tracks, scale and crop each track's clips into a vertical third and position them left, middle and right, then cut each track to the beat. Staggering the cuts so the panels change in turn is what makes it look good, and it's also what makes it slow: three tracks of cuts, all lined up with the music by hand.

Frequently asked questions