Working with the timeline
The timeline sits at the bottom of the editor and shows every element in your video laid out over time. It is the main workspace for arranging, moving, and adjusting the building blocks of your project. If you are new to video editing, think of it as a map of your video from left (the beginning) to right (the end).
Track types
The timeline organizes your content into three types of tracks:
- Video tracks — hold your video clips. You can have multiple video tracks stacked on top of each other to create picture-in-picture effects or layered compositions.
- Effects / Design track — holds motion design elements such as lower thirds, titles, and graphic call-outs. This track always sits above your video tracks, and its content renders on top of the footage in the preview.
- Audio tracks — hold music, sound effects, voiceover recordings, and any separate audio files you import.
When you first add a video clip to an empty project, the timeline creates a video track and an effects track automatically.
Navigating the timeline
A time ruler runs along the top of the timeline, displaying the current playback position in hours, minutes, and seconds. Click anywhere on the ruler to jump the playhead to that point in time.
Use the zoom slider in the timeline toolbar to zoom in for frame-accurate edits or zoom out to see your full project at once. Zooming in makes clips appear wider, giving you more room for precise work.
You can scroll horizontally through the timeline if your project is longer than the visible area.
Adding clips
Drag any file from the Files tab in the left sidebar directly onto a track in the timeline. A drop indicator shows you exactly where the clip will land before you release. The clip is placed at the position you drop it.
Moving clips
Click and drag a clip left or right to reposition it along the timeline. Clips on the same video track cannot overlap — if you drag one clip into another, the editor prevents the collision.
Removing clips
Click a clip to select it, then press Delete or Backspace to remove it from the timeline. The remaining clips in that track are not automatically shifted — close the gap manually if needed.
Tip: The timeline and the Layers panel are always in sync. Clicking a clip in the Layers panel selects it in the timeline, and vice versa. Use the Layers panel when clips are stacked and difficult to click on the timeline directly.
Switching views
The timeline toolbar includes a toggle to switch between Timeline view and Multi-Cam view. Timeline view is the standard editing layout. Multi-Cam view lets you see multiple camera sources side by side.
