Timeline editing

The timeline is where your edit is built. Every clip, sound, caption, sticker, shape, and effect has timing on the timeline.

Timeline layout

The timeline sits at the bottom of the editor.

It can contain:

• Main video track — primary footage.
• Overlay tracks — B-roll, images, stickers, graphics, and secondary clips.
• Audio tracks — music, voiceovers, sound effects, and extracted audio.
• Text tracks — titles, labels, and captions.
• Graphic tracks — shapes, arrows, callouts, and badges.
• Effect tracks — adjustment layers and effect elements.

Playhead controls

The playhead is the vertical line that marks the current time.

Use it to:

• Choose where playback starts.
• Pick the split point.
• Inspect a frame in the preview.
• Place keyframes.
• Align clips and markers.

Basic controls:

1. Click the timeline ruler to move the playhead.
2. Press Space to play or pause.
3. Use frame-step shortcuts for precise cuts.
4. Drag the playhead to scrub through the edit.

Add assets to the timeline

1. Open Media, Stock, Sounds, Text, Stickers, Graphics, or another asset tab.
2. Drag an asset to the timeline.
3. Drop it on the correct track.
4. Move the playhead over it and press Space to preview.

Drop targets matter:

• Put main footage on the main video track.
• Put B-roll above main footage.
• Put music and voiceover on audio tracks.
• Put captions and titles on text tracks.

Select clips

• Click a clip to select it.
• Shift + click to add or remove from selection.
• Drag a selection box around multiple clips.
• Use select-all shortcut for large edits.

Selected clips show handles and update the properties panel.

Move clips

1. Select one or more clips.
2. Drag horizontally to change timing.
3. Drag vertically to move to another compatible track.
4. Release when the clip is aligned.

If snapping is enabled, clips snap to edges, markers, and the playhead.

Trim clips

Trimming changes clip duration without deleting the source asset.

1. Hover over the left or right edge of a clip.
2. Drag inward to shorten.
3. Drag outward to extend if source media exists.
4. Preview the edit point.

Use trimming for:

• Removing dead air.
• Tightening starts and endings.
• Matching clips to music beats.
• Adjusting caption duration.

Split clips

Splitting cuts one clip into separate timeline pieces.

1. Move the playhead to the cut point.
2. Select the clip or clips.
3. Press S or use the split command.
4. Delete, move, trim, or style the new pieces independently.

Use split-and-remove commands for fast rough cuts:

• Split and remove left side.
• Split and remove right side.

Duplicate, copy, and paste

• Duplicate selected clips for repeated overlays or sounds.
• Copy and paste clips to reuse timing or design.
• Paste keyframes to reuse animation patterns.

After pasting, preview the duplicated clip because pasted timing may overlap existing elements.

Delete clips

1. Select a clip.
2. Press Delete or Backspace.
3. If ripple editing is enabled, later clips may shift.
4. If ripple is disabled, a gap remains.

Before deleting linked video/audio, decide whether both should be removed together.

Snapping

Snapping helps align clips precisely.

It can snap to:

• Clip edges.
• The playhead.
• Markers.
• Nearby key timing points.

Toggle snapping when:

• You need clean alignment.
• You are placing clips on beat markers.
• You want exact edge-to-edge cuts.

Turn it off when you need free movement.

Ripple editing

Ripple editing automatically shifts clips after an edit.

When ripple is on:

• Deleting a clip can close the gap.
• Inserting a clip can push later clips forward.
• Trimming can affect later timing.

When ripple is off:

• Deleting leaves gaps.
• Inserting may overlap or require manual movement.
• Timing stays more fixed.

Use ripple for rough assembly. Turn it off for detailed finishing.

Timeline zoom and scrolling

Use zoom to switch between overview and precision.

• Zoom out to see the whole edit.
• Zoom in for frame-accurate trimming.
• Scroll horizontally to move through long projects.
• Edge auto-scroll helps while dragging near timeline edges.

If a clip feels hard to trim, zoom in first.

Markers and bookmarks

Markers help you remember important moments.

Use markers for:

• Beat drops.
• Speaker changes.
• Hook points.
• Notes to revisit.
• Planned transitions.

Workflow:

1. Move playhead to the moment.
2. Toggle a marker.
3. Jump between markers while editing.
4. Align clips or transitions to markers.

Link and unlink clips

Video clips often have embedded audio.

When linked:

• Video and audio move together.
• Deleting affects both.
• Sync is preserved.

When unlinked:

• Video and audio can move separately.
• You can replace, mute, or offset one side.

Use unlinking for J-cuts, L-cuts, music edits, and replacing source audio.

Compound clips

Compound clips group multiple clips into a single container.

Use compounds when:

• A section has many layers.
• You want to move a sequence as one unit.
• You want to simplify the main timeline.
• You are building reusable sections.

Basic workflow:

1. Select multiple clips.
2. Choose Group into compound.
3. The selection becomes one compound clip.
4. Open the compound to edit inside it.
5. Ungroup if you need the original clips back.

Toggle mute and visibility

For selected clips:

• Mute disables audio playback.
• Visibility hides visual clips without deleting them.

Use these toggles for comparing alternate versions.

Source audio separation and recovery

For video clips with audio, you can separate or recover source audio depending on the clip state.

Use this when:

• You want to mix the audio separately.
• You need to mute video while keeping visuals.
• You want to create J-cuts or L-cuts.
• You need to restore original audio after extraction.

Keyframes on the timeline

Keyframes can appear and be edited in the timeline.

You can:

• Select keyframes.
• Drag keyframes in time.
• Paste keyframes.
• Open the graph editor for easing.

See Keyframes and graph editor for a full tutorial.

Rough cut workflow

1. Drag main footage to the main track.
2. Play from the beginning.
3. Split at every point where the story changes.
4. Delete weak sections.
5. Turn on ripple editing to close gaps.
6. Add markers for key beats or lines.
7. Tighten each cut by trimming clip edges.
8. Add overlays, captions, and music after the structure works.

Finishing workflow

1. Turn ripple off to avoid accidental timing shifts.
2. Zoom into each cut.
3. Check audio waveforms.
4. Align captions and graphics.
5. Add transitions only where they help.
6. Preview at full speed.
7. Export a short test if needed.

Troubleshooting

See also

• Editor workspace tour
• Properties panel
• Keyframes and graph editor
• Keyboard shortcuts