iMovie For Mac: How to Use the Clip Trimmer for Pro Editing

Hey, it's Mike with more tips and tutorials to help you create great videos for your YouTube channel, video marketing, or online courses. Thank you so much for being here. iMovie contains many features that can really speed up your video editing workflow. However, some of those features are hard to see. One great example is the clip trimmer.

You might think it's obvious what the clip trimmer does: it trims clips. Yes, but why would you use it? You can easily trim clips right in the iMovie timeline by simply clicking and dragging on the endpoint and outpoint of a clip. But there's more to the clip trimmer than just trimming clips. It contains a hidden feature that can really save you a lot of time during the editing process. Let me show you what I mean.

Using the Clip Trimmer

Here we are in iMovie version 10.1.11, running on macOS Mojave 10.14.4. I have a couple of sequences down here in the timeline. This first one is a series of clips with a narration track underneath:

You can use external USB microphones like this Blue Yeti Pro.

To use the clip trimmer on a clip, just right-click or control-click on the clip and from the pop-up menu select "Show Clip Trimmer." The timeline changes from one track to two tracks. The bottom track is the main timeline, and this black space with a downward-pointing arrow is where the clip you're trimming sits in the main timeline. The clip you're actually trimming is up here in the second track above the main timeline track.

In the clip trimmer, you will see two vertical white bars. The left bar is where the clip starts in the timeline (the in point), and the right bar is where the clip ends in the timeline (the out point). The area between the two bars is the part of the clip that's actually showing in the timeline. The dimmer areas on either side of the vertical bars are the parts of the clip not being shown in the timeline. This is the entirety of the media connected to this clip.

When I hover over the clip, I get a red vertical scrubber bar. I can scrub through the clip to see the content even beyond the in and out points of the clip, which can help me with editing decisions. This is an advantage of using the clip trimmer: you can see the media not being used on either side of the clip. You can't do that in the timeline.

To trim a clip in the clip trimmer, just click and drag the left bar to trim the in point of the clip. Drag the right bar to trim the out point of the clip. To preview the edit, move your cursor outside of the clip trimmer and hit the space bar.

The Hidden Features

So, what’s the big deal? Why is this any different from trimming right in the timeline? Here's the hidden feature that can save you tons of time. When you hover over the clip in the clip trimmer, the cursor changes to a strange icon with two arrows and what looks like a film strip in the middle. When this icon is visible and you click and drag the clip, you can move the clip back and forth between the in and out points. These points don’t move, so the duration of the clip in the timeline does not change—only the content between the in and out points of the clip changes.

In professional editing, we call this move "slipping the clip" or a "slip edit." But you might ask, in what editing situation would you ever use a slip edit? Let me show you a couple of examples.

Closing the clip trimmer can be done in several ways: click the little "X" beside the "Close Clip Trimmer" label, click the downward-pointing arrow on the timeline, or hit the return key.

Practical Applications

Let’s go back to the sequence with the narration:

You can use external USB microphones like this Blue Yeti Pro. You can also buy USB to mini plug adapters.

Suppose you want to see and hear the mini plug adapter being plugged into the laptop right after the narration mentions it. You can make that happen using slip edits without hours of wasted time and effort. Here's how:

Mark the Narration Point: Scrub through the narration track to find the spot where it mentions "USB to mini plug adapters." Click to select the narration track and press the keyboard shortcut "M" to place a marker on the track.
Adjust the Clip: Select the clip showing the USB adapter being plugged into the laptop. Right-click or control-click and select "Show Clip Trimmer." Find the exact spot where the USB adapter goes into the laptop. Click and drag that point in the clip until it lines up with your marker on the narration track.
Preview: Place your cursor outside the clip trimmer area and hit the space bar to preview the edit.

Slip edits also work well when editing video to music. Suppose you have a montage edited to a short music track, but the shots feel off in terms of what they show. For instance, a lower third graphic never finishes its entrance. You can fix this without throwing off the timing of other clips by using slip edits.

Conclusion

There you have it: iMovie’s clip trimmer with the hidden power of slip editing. It’s just another pro-level feature you can find in this amateur video editing software. I hope you found value in this article. For more tips and tutorials on creating video, please check out the rest of the content on my channel. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button and the little bell icon so you don’t miss a thing. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.

Keywords

iMovie
Clip Trimmer
Video Editing
Slip Edit
Timeline
Workflow
Markers
Narration
Music Synchronization

FAQ

Q: What is the clip trimmer in iMovie?

A: The clip trimmer is a tool in iMovie that allows you to trim clips by adjusting their in and out points. It also includes a hidden feature for "slipping" the clip, enabling you to move the media within the fixed in and out points.

Q: How do I use the clip trimmer?

A: To use the clip trimmer, right-click or control-click on the clip in the timeline and select "Show Clip Trimmer" from the pop-up menu. You can then adjust the in and out points.

Q: What is a slip edit?

A: A slip edit allows you to move the clip content back and forth between fixed in and out points without changing the clip's duration in the timeline. This is useful for aligning video content with audio or other timeline events.

Q: How do I perform a slip edit in iMovie?

A: When using the clip trimmer, hover over the clip until your cursor changes to an icon with two arrows and a film strip in the middle. Click and drag the clip to move the content within the fixed in and out points.

Q: When should I use slip edits?

A: Use slip edits to line up video events with audio events, or to adjust clip content without altering the overall timing of your sequence, such as when editing to music.