The timeline
Clips, layers and audio on one timeline, with keyframes for anything that needs to change over time.
Working with clips
- Drag the playhead, or use frame stepping for precision.
- Split at the playhead, then delete, duplicate or reverse any piece.
- Trim by dragging a clip edge. Nothing may go below half a second.
- Reorder by dragging. Gaps close automatically.
Speed
Clip speed runs from 0.25x to 4x in 0.05 steps. A speed ramp changes speed across a clip rather than setting one value for all of it, which is what makes a hit land.
Keyframes
Position, scale and rotation can be keyframed, so an overlay can move with the shot instead of sitting still on top of it.
Transitions
A transition sits between two clips and runs from 0.3 to 1.0 seconds. The default is 0.5 seconds, which is the right answer more often than not.
Audio on the timeline
Audio can be extracted from a clip, slipped against the picture to fix sync, faded at either end, and mixed against the original sound. Original volume and added-track volume are separate controls.