In one aspect, an example method includes (i) receiving, by a computing system, a first command; (ii) responsive to receiving the first command, executing, by the computing system, a first portion of a digital-video effect (DVE) by sequentially performing a first subset of ordered steps, wherein executing the first portion of the DVE causes the computing system to generate a first portion of video content at a first frame rate; (iii) receiving, by the computing system, a second command that is different from the first command; and (iv) responsive to receiving the second command, executing, by the computing system, a second portion of the DVE by sequentially performing a second subset of ordered steps, wherein executing the second portion of the DVE causes the computing system to generate a second portion of the video content at a second frame rate that is different than the first frame rate.