Trimming

Trimming accounts for a large part of editing on the timeline. It involves adjusting where clips start and end in relation to other clips in a sequence, and it is one of Lightworks' strengths. So it is worth spending some time to learn how trimming works, along with its various options and shortcuts. Once you master a few simple controls, you'll be able to build sequences and make adjustments faster.

Two ways to trim

Click and drag. This is a quick way to trim, but not always the best option. Simply click the start or end of a clip and drag it to shorten or lengthen it. Let go and the trim is done. It is fine for quick changes, but for frame accuracy you often have to zoom in to get the precision you require.

Unjoin. Simply click and release at the start or end of a clip, or the cut between two clips. The end you click curls to show it is unjoined - open and ready to trim. Now you can move it a frame at a time or move it by a number of frames you want. You can also preview the new trim before you finish. When you are happy, you rejoin it and the trim is done.

Unjoining is where Lightworks really shines, so the rest of this article focuses on it.

The term Unjoin comes from film editing, where an editor would literally unjoin two pieces of film at the splice, lengthen or shorten one, and join them back together.

A trim always has the following steps:

1. Unjoin it - open the cut points that you want to trim.
2. Move it - move the trim until the cut is on the frame you want.
3. Join it - close the trim points - the trim is done.
4. Unjoin it again - you can easily unjoin the last trim you made for further adjustments.

Unjoining

To unjoin, you tell Lightworks which cut points to open. You can do that with the mouse or the keyboard.

With the mouse

Click what you want to trim.

Move the mouse near the start or end of a clip, or the cut between two clips, and white trim preview brackets show what that click will unjoin.

• Click a cut that is already unjoined to rejoin it.
• With Clip Link on (the default), the matching end of the clip's linked segments also unjoin, so linked video and audio trim together.
• You can also right-click a clip and choose a trim from the Trim menu.

With the keyboard

The keyboard is the fastest way to trim. Put the playhead over the clip you want, then press a key:

Q, W, E and R sit together in a row on the keyboard, in the same order as the ends they unjoin. So your left hand can unjoin any trim without looking down or looking at a menu.

T, Y and U (Slide, Slip and Move Cut) can also be 'built' using the other four keys:

• Q & W, and E & R create a Move Cut
• W & E create a Slip
• Q & R create a Slide

You can press the keys in any order. Pressing the same key again rejoins the cut point.

The clips that actually have cut points opened are determined by which tracks are targeted - see below.

Mouse modifier keys

Hold a key as you click to change what the click does. The white trim preview brackets change straight away, so you can see the result of the modifier before you click.

From the keyboard you can also get the same results another way. Turn the Sync button off for Drag In Black (see Sync, below), or Alt+click a Track Target button to work on that track alone.

Track Targets

The Track Target buttons are the V1, A1, A2 buttons down the left of the track headers. They decide which tracks a trim changes, and they follow one simple rule:

Targeted tracks trim their clips. Tracks that are not targeted trim black.

When a trim ripples, everything after it moves - on every track. A targeted track has its clip trimmed, just as you asked. A track that is not targeted uses the black (the empty space) on that track instead, so it moves along with everything else and stays in sync.

Before you unjoin

• No Track Target buttons lit (the default): Lightworks works it out for you. Pressing a trim key trims the top clip under the playhead, plus its audio.
• One or more Track Target buttons lit: Pressing a trim key trims the clips on those tracks.
• Shift+click any Track Target to clear them all.

Track Targets while unjoined

This is where Track Targets get really useful. You can change your mind about which tracks are trimmed, without joining the trim:

• Turn a target on and that track's clip is trimmed too.
• Turn a target off and that track trims black instead. It stays in sync, but its clip is left alone.

The number keys 1 to 0 do the same as clicking the track target buttons. When you join the trim, the Track Targets go back to how they were before you unjoined.

Moving a trim

Once you have unjoined, there are several ways to move the trim. Pick whichever suits you at the time.

Drag it

While unjoined, you can drag any of the unjoined cuts to move them with the mouse.

While you trim, the viewers show the frames either side of the cut.

To change what is in the trim, click another start, end or cut to add it, or click something unjoined to take it out - or turn Track Targets on and off (see Track Targets, above).

Nudge it

Press the left or right arrow key to move the trim one frame. Hold Shift while pressing the arrow keys to move it ten frames.

To move it by an exact number of frames, press Alt+. (forwards) or Alt+, (backwards), type the number of frames and press Return (or click OK). Lightworks remembers the number for next time.

Play it

J, K and L play across the trim so you can watch the trim before joining it. If Trim when playing (a toggle under the sequence viewer) is on, the trim moves as you play - stop on the frame you want. With it off, you can play and look around freely without changing anything while unjoined.

Space plays, and Alt+Space gives a preview with a pre-roll and post-roll so you can check whether the trim works before you join it.

Trim to the playhead

This is a quick way to land a trim on an exact frame and is particularly useful for a Move Cut:

1. With Trim when playing off, play with J, K and L, or drag the playhead, to find the frame you want.
2. Press A to bring the trim back to the playhead, or S to take it forward to the playhead.

Trim to the next or previous event

If you have not moved the playhead away from the trim, A and S jump the trim back or forward to the previous or next event - a cut, a cue or a mark. It is a fast way to line a trim up with something else in the sequence.

How far can a trim move?

As soon as you unjoin, a yellow line appears along the top of the timeline ruler. It shows how much material is available on each side of the trim - how far you can move it back, and how far forward. The longer the line, the more room you have.

The yellow line shows how far the whole trim can move. If several cuts are unjoined, it is limited by whichever one has the least material. For Slip and Slide trims, the yellow material indicator is shown on either side of the clip.

As you move the trim, the ruler also shows how far you have moved it, in seconds and frames. When there is no more material on one side, Trim limit appears on that side.

Joining

Press Tab. All unjoined cuts join and the trim is done.

You can also press Esc, click away from the trim, or click the Close button under the sequence viewer.

If you unjoined but didn't change anything, the playhead goes back to where it was when you join.

Unjoining the last trim again

Press Tab again and your last trim unjoins exactly as you left it. It is a great way to make one more small adjustment - join the trim, watch it back, and if it is a frame out, press Tab and fix it.

Sync

When you shorten a clip, what happens to everything after it?

Sync on (the default) - everything after the trim moves to fill the space, so there is no gap. When you lengthen a clip, everything moves along to make room. Every other track moves too, so your sound stays in sync with your pictures. This is sometimes referred to as a ripple.

Sync off - nothing else moves. Shorten a clip and black is left in its place. Lengthen it and it covers the black next to it. This is useful if you're trimming a music bed, or a subtitle, for example. You may want to shorten or lengthen a clip, but you don't want anything else to change on the timeline.

Note: you can do this with Sync on as well. Remember Lightworks treats empty black as a regular clip. So you can use a Move Cut between black and media in order to shorten or lengthen a clip without it having any impact on sync.

Turn Sync on or off with the Sync button on the timeline toolbar (it lights amber when it is on) or with the key above Tab.

Some things to remember:

• Move Cut, Slip and Slide never ripple. They don't change the length of the sequence, so Sync makes no difference to them.
• To temporarily disable Sync for a trim without turning the button off, hold Cmd/Ctrl as you click a cut point (Drag In Black).
• Trimming a gap always ripples - making the gap shorter or longer is the whole point.
• The amber strip next to each Track Target button shows which tracks will move to stay in sync.

Leaving tracks out of sync

Now and then you will want to keep some tracks in sync, but not others - for example, to keep a music track exactly where it is but have all the video move. There are two ways you can do this:

• Lock the tracks you want to leave out of sync. A locked track never moves.
• Alt+click the Track Target buttons of the tracks you want to keep in sync. Only those tracks move; every other track stays where it is - locked or unlocked.

Side note: Timeline Settings has a Sync Off Action option on the Behaviour tab. It is best left on its default, No Tracks Ripple (Drag in Black). The other choice, Only Target Tracks Ripple, makes Sync off ripple only the targeted tracks - the same as Alt+clicking their Track Target buttons. It is there for legacy workflows.

Gaps and the end of the sequence

• A gap can be trimmed just like a clip. Click its start or end, or put the playhead on it and use the trim keys.
• Trimming the end of a sequence - a sequence is as long as its longest track. If another track still reaches the end, trimming one track won't make the sequence shorter. Trim the end on every track.
• To insert black at the playhead without trimming, right-click a clip or a gap and choose Insert gap (see Timeline tools and commands).

Trim shortcuts

Trim settings

You will rarely need to change these. Sync and Clip Link are on the timeline toolbar, Trim when playing is under the sequence viewer, and the rest are in Timeline Settings.

Common trimming mistakes

• The trim stops. The clip has run out of media. The yellow line on the timeline ruler shows how much room there is, and Trim limit appears when there is none left.
• A key press trims the wrong tracks. Track Targets from an earlier edit are still lit. Shift+click any Track Target to clear them.
• A track went out of sync. It was locked, or left out with Alt. Watch the amber strips to see which tracks will move.
• You can move a clip but not trim it. It is too narrow to click on. Zoom in, or trim it with the keyboard.
• The cuts are still unjoined. Press Tab to join them.
• Trimming the end of the sequence does nothing. Another track still reaches the end. Trim the end on every track.

Related articles

• Basic editing
• Selecting and moving material
• Timeline tools and commands
• Video transitions