Trim and split

Trimming shortens a clip from either end. Splitting divides it into two clips you can move or trim separately.

Before you start

Watch the sequence once and note where each clip should start and end. Trim to the moment the shot has done its job, not to the moment the generation ends.

Trim a clip

  1. Select the clip with the Select tool (V).
  2. Drag its left edge right to remove the beginning, or its right edge left to remove the end. The timecode at the top of the timeline shows the new total as you drag.
  3. Snapping is on by default, so an edge lands on the playhead or a neighbouring clip; hold Alt to drag freely, or press N to turn snapping off.

Trimming hides frames; it does not delete them. Drag the handle back out to restore them.

Image

A selected clip after its right edge was dragged left: the clips after it closed up and the total at the top of the timeline dropped.

Split a clip

  1. Move the playhead to the frame where you want the cut.
  2. Press S. If any selected clips cross the playhead, those clips split. Otherwise, all clips crossing the playhead split. To split just one clip, select it first and place the playhead inside it.

To cut where the mouse is instead of at the playhead, press B on the hovered track, or Shift+B to cut every track at once. The Razor tool (C) turns the cursor into a blade: click a clip to cut it at that point, Shift+click to cut every track there.

Press Q to trim away the part before the playhead, or W to trim away the part after it. These commands use the same clip selection rule as S; they do not delete every earlier or later clip in the film. On the main track, trimming ripples when the main-track magnet is on. Preview the result after trimming.

Split before a moment you want to move elsewhere, or to cut out a bad stretch in the middle: split twice, delete the piece between.

A selected clip with the playhead inside it, the two clips after pressing S, then the single clip again after Command+Z.
A selected clip with the playhead inside it, the two clips after pressing S, then the single clip again after Command+Z.

The Razor tool cuts where you click, not at the playhead: one clip has become two.

Speed

Use Speed to shorten a pause, slow a gesture, or retime an audio cue without generating new media.

  1. Select a video or audio clip in Video Editor and open Properties › Playback › Speed. Still images, text, and adjustment layers do not have this playback-speed control.
  2. Move the slider or edit its numeric readout. 1x is normal speed; above 1x is faster and below 1x is slower.
  3. Check the new clip length. Faster playback shortens it and slower playback lengthens it, using the same source span with frame rounding.
  4. Watch the next cut and listen again. A video's embedded audio follows its speed; detached audio is a separate clip and needs its own timing check.

Changing speed shifts later clips on the same track by the change in duration, even with the main-track magnet off. Existing gaps stay. Other tracks do not move, so recheck music, captions, and other aligned clips.

If a cue drifts, undo or realign it after choosing the speed. Split around a gesture first if only that part needs a different pace. For sound levels, see Volume and fades.

Transitions

Use a transition to blend or stylize a cut between two touching visual clips. A simple dissolve can suggest time passing.

  1. Place two visual clips directly next to each other on the same track. Start with video or image clips; the gallery also supports text boundaries, but not audio or adjustment-layer clips.
  2. Open TRANSITIONS in the left Assets panel. Drag a transition card onto the boundary between the clips, not onto empty track.
  3. Select the transition box at the cut. In Properties, adjust Type, Duration, and any controls offered by that transition.
  4. Play through the cut. If it distracts from the action, shorten it, choose a simpler type, or click Remove transition in its Properties.

The clips must touch: a gap or overlap prevents a gallery drop. Transition length depends on both clips and their available source frames.

A transition replaces the picture fade at that edge, not the audio fade. Adjust sound separately in Volume and fades.

Review the result

  • Each clip starts on the frame you intended, not on a black or blurred frame.
  • Cuts land on movement or on stillness on purpose, not by accident.
  • No important action or detail was trimmed away.

If something looks wrong

The razor is greyed out. The timeline locks while captions are generating. Wait for them to finish. If no captions are running, check that a clip is under the playhead or that the Select tool is not active; press C to switch to the razor.

I split in the wrong place. Immediately undo the split with Command+Z on Mac or Control+Z on Windows, then move the playhead and split again. Extending a trim handle does not merge two split clips.

Trimming moved the other clips. That is the main track's magnet keeping it gapless. Turn the magnet off in the toolbar if you want a gap, or extend the neighbouring clip to make a hold.

I trimmed too far. Drag the handle back out; the frames are still there.

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