iMovie (2013): Trim, split, and move clips

Trim, split, and move clips

You can fine-tune the duration of a clip in your movie by moving the clip’s start point or end point, or by changing the duration of a range selection. Choose one of the following methods, depending on how you like to work.

Extend or shorten a clip in the timeline

  1. In the timeline, skim to the beginning or end of the clip you want to extend or shorten.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To extend the clip: Drag the edge of the clip left or right, away from its center.

      To extend a clip, there must be unused portions of the clip available.

    • To shorten the clip: Drag the edge of the clip left or right, toward its center.

    Figure. Dragging edge of a clip in the timeline.

Use the clip trimmer

You can use the clip trimmer to add more frames to a clip, or remove unwanted frames from a clip. Using the clip trimmer, you can see how much of your clip is being used, as well as how much is unused.

  1. In the timeline, double-click the clip you want to trim.

    The clip trimmer appears over the timeline.

    Figure. Clip trimmer. Drag clip edges to change the clip duration; drag the clip to change start and end frames. Unused portion of clip is dimmed.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To extend the clip: Drag the edge of the clip away from its center.

    • To shorten the clip: Drag the edge of the clip toward its center.

    • To keep the length of the clip the same but change the start and end frames: Drag the clip from its center, and then move it left or right.

  3. Press Return to close the clip trimmer.

Use the precision editor

You can use the precision editor to fine-tune when your clips begin and end, as well as the duration of transitions between clips. You can also use the precision editor to extend the audio in a clip beyond the boundaries of the video—for example, when you want the audio from an outgoing clip to continue during the next video clip, or when you want the audio from an incoming clip to start before the video.

Figure. Precision editor showing clip fine-tuning options.

  1. In the timeline, do one of the following:

    • Double-click the edge of a clip.

    • Select the left or right edge of a clip, and choose Window > Show Precision Editor.

      The precision editor appears, presenting an expanded view of your outgoing and incoming clips. The edit point—where the outgoing clip is replaced by the incoming clip—is represented by a gray vertical line in the center of the precision editor. The outgoing clip and the clips before it appear at the top of the precision editor, and the incoming clip and the clips after it appear below.

      The dimmed portions of clips to the right and left of the edit line are the unused portions of the clips that are available for trimming. You can skim these areas to help you decide where to trim.

      If the selected edit point has a transition attached to it, the duration of the transition is indicated by diagonal lines and a transition bar with handles.

  2. To move the edit point, do any of the following:

    • Move the edit line in the center of the precision editor by dragging it left or right.

    • Drag the outgoing clip left or right to extend or shorten its duration.

    • Drag the incoming clip left or right to extend or shorten its duration.

  3. To modify a transition, do one of the following:

    • To shorten the duration of the transition: Drag the incoming transition handle to the right, or drag the outgoing transition handle to the left.

    • To lengthen the duration of the transition: Drag the incoming transition handle to the left, or drag the outgoing transition handle to the right.

  4. To move an audio edit point, do any of the following:

    • Move the pointer to the blue waveform below the outgoing clip, and drag the audio edit point left or right.

    • Move the pointer to the blue waveform below the incoming clip, and drag the audio edit point left or right.

    Note:   To move an audio edit point, you must turn on Show Waveforms in the timeline. If your video and audio clips don’t appear with audio waveforms, click the Thumbnail Appearance button Figure. Thumbnail Appearance button. in the timeline, and select the Show Waveforms checkbox.

  5. When you’ve finished moving the clips, edit points, or transition handles, press Return to close the precision editor.

Tip:   To select a different edit point in the precision editor, click one of the dots on the border between the ingoing and outgoing clips.

Trim unwanted frames from a clip

  1. In the timeline, position the playhead at the point where you want to trim the clip.

    If you position the playhead in the first half of the clip, frames are trimmed from the beginning of the clip. If you position the playhead in the second half of the clip, frames are trimmed from the end.

  2. Control-click the clip, and choose Trim To Playhead from the shortcut menu.

    Figure. Trim To Playhead selected in the shortcut menu in the timeline.

    The clip is trimmed to the position of the playhead.

Split a clip

  1. In the timeline, select the clip you want to split.

  2. Position the playhead where you want to split the clip.

  3. Choose Modify > Split Clip.

    The clip is split into two clips.

Move clips in the timeline

You can drag clips in the timeline to rearrange them in your movie.

In the timeline, select one or more clips, and drag them to a new location.

Figure. Dragging clip in the timeline to a new location.

Blue outlines appear in the timeline, indicating where the clips will appear.

Last Modified: Nov 3, 2013
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