Audio is edited on the timeline with the same tools as video, plus a few audio-specific ones - fades, crossfades, and node-based level control. This article covers cutting and shaping sound, the split edits that make dialogue flow, and keeping audio in sync.
Cutting and trimming audio
Audio clips cut, trim, slip, and slide exactly like video (see Basic editing and Trimming). The waveform makes it easy to find the right frame - cut on a silence between words, or trim to the start of a sound. Snapping and the trim shortcuts work on audio just as they do on video.
Audio-only edits
Sometimes you want to edit audio without touching video - laying in music, replacing a line, or adding an effect. Target only the audio tracks (and lock or untarget the video tracks) so your edit affects sound alone. To deal with a single clip rather than a whole track, Alt+click it: that inverts Clip Link for one click, so the audio comes away from its video.
Splitting video and audio: J-cuts and L-cuts
A split edit is where the video cut and the audio cut happen at different times - the foundation of smooth, professional-sounding dialogue.
- J-cut - the audio of the next shot starts before its video (you hear it coming).
- L-cut - the audio of the current shot continues after its video has cut away.
Create them by moving the audio cut to a different point from the video cut - for an L-cut, move it later so the outgoing sound runs on under the next shot. Click right on the cut between the two audio clips to make a Move Cut, which moves both sides of the cut without changing the length of anything else. With Clip Link on, the video cut would move with it, so hold Alt as you click to unjoin just the audio cut; with Clip Link off, a plain click already leaves the video alone (see Trimming).
Tip: A few well-placed L-cuts make interview and dialogue edits feel far less abrupt - the conversation flows over the video rather than snapping with it.
Sync indicators
When you edit audio separately from its video, watch the timeline's sync indicators. They warn you when linked video and audio have drifted out of sync, so an accidental slip is easy to catch and correct (see Selecting and moving material).
Audio fades and crossfades
- Fades ease a clip's sound in or out, avoiding abrupt starts and clicks.
- Crossfades blend the end of one audio clip into the start of the next for a seamless join. The Audio Crossfades panel applies them, and can add crossfades across several tracks at once.
Fades have adjustable handles on the timeline for setting their duration directly, and a choice of curve shapes - Exponential Fade, Equal Power, and Linear - so you can shape exactly how the level changes. Right-click a fade handle to choose its curve (or None to remove the fade).
Adjusting levels with audio nodes
You can shape a track's level directly on the timeline, independently of the mixer's faders, by drawing a level curve with audio nodes:
- Turn on Keyframes in the track header. The level line appears over that track's audio, ready to edit. (Show Audio Levels in Timeline settings keeps the lines visible on every track, but a track still needs its Keyframes button on before you can edit them.)
- Click the line to add a node at that point (nodes land on neat quarter-frame boundaries).
- Drag nodes up or down (and along) to shape the level - lift a quiet line, dip under a loud effect, ride a music bed.
- Click a node to select it, or
Ctrl/Cmd+click to build a selection of several;Shift+drag rubber-bands a group of them. Selected nodes move together, andDeleteremoves them.
A segment's start and end points are editable nodes in their own right, so a clip can ramp from silence at its head to full at its tail. Adding a node part-way along a ramp no longer flattens it, and deleting an end point resets it rather than removing it.
Turning Keyframes on does not take the track over: trimming, dragging, selecting clips and adjusting fades all still work, because the level line only owns the band around itself. That means you can leave levels on while you edit.
Note: Levels and fades cannot be edited on a locked track. The level line and its nodes still show, and the fades still play, but nothing can be dragged - which is what lock is for. Keyframes and lock are mutually exclusive: turning Keyframes on unlocks the track, and locking it turns Keyframes off (see Sequences and timelines).
Two helpers make node work faster: Enable Audio Node Snapping (in Timeline settings) snaps nodes to useful positions, and the Next / Previous Audio Node commands jump the playhead between nodes.
Use node levels to even out material before you mix, so the mixer is balancing already-consistent tracks. Whole-track levels, routing, and fader automation are handled in The audio mixer.