# Watch a film and join the timeline discussion This guide is for viewers. It goes from the catalog to a playing film, then through the two conversations on a watch page: the general comment thread and the timeline discussion, where comments are anchored to a moment in the film. You end with a film liked and saved, a comment posted, a timeline comment at a specific second, and a reaction on someone else's comment. The screenshots follow "FC QA Player Test" by QA Calibration One (@fcqa_films), watched as Mara Quinn. ## Before you start Watching needs no account. Liking, saving, commenting, and reacting do: signed out, a sign-in prompt opens in place and the action completes after you sign in. See [Create your account and sign in](/docs/create-your-account). ## Step 1 — Find a film in Browse Click **Browse** in the top nav and type in the search box; results update as you type. The **Filters** rail groups the catalog by **Category**, **Genre**, **AI Tool**, **Duration**, **Release date**, and **Popularity**. **Sort** offers **Newest**, **Trending**, **Most Liked**, **Most Viewed**, and **Staff Picks**. Click a card's thumbnail to open the watch page. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/01-browse.png|The search "FC QA Player" narrows the catalog to one card, with the filter rail on the left and Sort on the right.]] ## Step 2 — Open the watch page The player sits at the top, sized to the film's own aspect ratio. Click the play button to start. The **Low-Data Mode** toggle in the top corner switches to audio-first playback that uses less data; the **Add timeline comment** button at the bottom right is for Step 8. Below the player: the title, the creator row (avatar, display name, @handle, **Follow**, follower count), and the **AI Origin** panel with the **Primary tool**, **Post-production** tools, and notes under **How it was made**. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/02-watch-page.png|The film fills the top of the watch page, with the title, creator row and AI Origin panel below it.]] ## Step 3 — Like the film and add it to your watchlist The action bar under the AI Origin panel reads **Like**, **Add to watchlist**, **Share**, **Tip**, **Support**, and a flag for **Report**. The first two are toggles: **Like** flips to **Liked** and raises the count by one; **Add to watchlist** flips to **In watchlist** (on a series episode, a dialog first asks whether to save the episode or the whole series). Click either again to undo. Saved films live on the **Watchlist** tab of **My Feed**; see [Follow creators and use My Feed](/docs/follow-creators-and-my-feed). [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/03-like-and-watchlist.png|After both clicks the first button reads Liked with a count of 1 and the second reads In watchlist.]] ## Step 4 — Open the Comments tab Under the action bar, tabs switch the content section. **Comments** is always there and opens by default; **Extras** and **Related** appear only when the film has them, and the recorded film shows only **Related**. Pinned comments come first, then the newest, with one level of replies; badges mark the creator, staff, and supporters. An empty thread reads "Be the first to comment". [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/04-comments-tab.png|The Comments tab is selected under the action bar, with Related as the only other tab on this film.]] ## Step 5 — Write a comment Click into the box at the top of the thread (placeholder **Add a comment…**), type, and click **Comment**. The counter under the box tracks your length against the 1000-character limit. To answer someone, click **Reply** under their comment. Your own comments carry a three-dot menu with **Edit** and **Delete**; an edited comment shows "(edited)". [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/05-write-comment.png|A comment typed into the composer, with the counter at 67 / 1000 and Comment ready to post.]] ## Step 6 — Find the timeline discussion dots A timeline discussion is a thread anchored to a moment in the film. On desktop each one is a dot on the player's timeline row, just above the controls; on phones the dots move to a strip under the player. A dot marks a zone, a stretch of about 5 to 10 seconds where viewers left timestamped comments. Hover a dot for its count and time. When the playhead enters a zone, a popup such as "3 comments at 1:24" shows and fades after a few seconds; it stays while you are paused. Timeline comments in the Comments tab carry a mm:ss chip. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/06-timeline-dots.png|One dot sits on the player's timeline row near 0:37, with Add timeline comment at the bottom right.]] ## Step 7 — Open a discussion zone Click a dot, the popup, or a timestamp chip. The player seeks to the zone and pauses, and a drawer slides in from the right, headed "Discussion · 0:35–0:40" with the number of comments in that zone. The thread works like the Comments tab: reactions, **Reply**, and the three-dot menu. Close the drawer with the X (**Close discussion**), the Escape key, or a click outside it; playback resumes where it paused. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/07-zone-drawer.png|The drawer for the 0:35 to 0:40 zone lists one comment with its 0:37 chip, and the composer reads Comment at 0:37.]] ## Step 8 — Add a timeline comment In an open drawer, click into the composer at the bottom, whose placeholder reads "Comment at" followed by the zone's time, write, and click **Comment**. The comment posts at that second, the dot's count goes up, and it also appears in the Comments tab with its chip. To start a discussion at a new moment, click **Add timeline comment** on the player to anchor at the current playhead, or pause where no zone exists yet and click the "Start a discussion at" button that appears over the player. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/08-add-timeline-comment.png|A timeline comment typed into the drawer's composer at 0:37, with the counter at 52 / 1000.]] ## Step 9 — React to a comment Under every comment, in the thread and in the drawer, sits a row of six emoji: ❤️ 🔥 😂 🤯 👏 😢. Click one to react; the button highlights and a count appears. Click it again to take the reaction back. More than one emoji per comment is fine; there is no custom picker. [[img:watch-films-and-timeline-discussions/09-reactions.png|The zone now holds two comments, and the heart under the first one is highlighted with a count of 1.]] ## Good to know - Comments are limited to 1000 characters and one level of replies, in the thread and in zones alike. Deleting a comment that has replies leaves a "[deleted]" placeholder. - Opening a zone always pauses the film; playback resumes when the drawer closes. - A film you left unfinished offers **Resume** or **Start over** on return. A film rated 16+ asks you, once, to sign in and confirm your date of birth with **Confirm & watch**. - On your own films the three-dot menu adds **Pin**, **Hide**, **Delete**, and **Block user**; everyone else sees **Report** there. To report the film itself, click the flag in the action bar. See [Privacy, safety and your account](/docs/privacy-safety-and-your-account). - **Share** copies the film's link; turn on **Share at current timestamp** to send a link that starts where you are. - To thank a creator with money, see [Tip a creator or support them monthly](/docs/tip-and-support-creators).