Video editing with Adobe After Effects can be an intricate process, but by mastering its fundamentals you can quickly and efficiently craft animations that stand out.
For trimming clips, simply position the playhead indicator at your desired point in the timeline and use either Windows’ Alt+[ or Mac’s Option+[ as keyboard shortcuts to shorten or extend them.
How to Split a Clip
Video can be an amazing storytelling medium, and knowing how to edit video clips in After Effects allows you to select only what’s needed from your footage and get rid of what doesn’t. Keyboard shortcuts may help make this process faster as well.
To split a clip in your composition, select its layer and press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Cmd + D (Mac). Move your playhead to where you wish to cut it before clicking Split – your clip will now be divided into two layers in your timeline and display individually so you can edit its start/end points as necessary for an individualized trim.
If you’re creating an intricate animation, it may be easier to pre-compose the entire composition before breaking apart individual layers later. To do so, select which layers need to be separated and right-click; select Pre-compose Composition from the menu list and follow these steps.
After Effects provides another useful feature with its ability to isolate audio from video clips. This is great for removing soundtracks, isolating particular scenes or any other reason requiring an isolated audio clip. This functionality is available through the Audio panel of your composition and should be straightforward enough for use.
After Effects is an invaluable tool for producing amazing effects, but its interface may be overly cumbersome when used for basic editing tasks. Luckily, other programs exist which perform similar functions while often being easier to use; Filmora Video Editor stands out as an After Effects alternative software program.
Filmora stands out from its competition by boasting an outstanding feature set and user-friendly interface, along with fast processing speeds. If you’re in search of an After Effects alternative that saves both time and money, look no further! Download Filmora today – its trial period makes it the ideal solution for quickly editing videos!
1. Select the Clip
In Adobe After Effects, to cut a clip you first must select it in the timeline – either using selection tools in the Tools panel or by directly clicking on it – then move its timeline indicator to where you wish to cut the clip from its video source. Once selected, move its timeline indicator until its indicator lands exactly at your chosen spot in video where you want it cut; click Edit at bottom right to bring up additional editing tools then split tool dashboard to trim clip down to your preferred frame length instantly!
Adobe After Effects offers the Split Layer Edit as a fast way to divide clips into separate layers. Simply position your timeline indicator where you wish to make the cut and click on Edit; much faster than using Edit menu or Ctrl + D (Windows)/Command + D (Mac).
Regardless of the project at hand, it’s essential that you know how to use the most frequently-used commands within Adobe After Effects – such as creating new compositions and splitting clips as well as quickly applying effects – in order to complete tasks efficiently. These commands can especially come in handy when working with multiple other people on one project.
Adobe After Effects is an industry-standard motion graphics and visual effects software program that transforms any idea into moving pictures. With it you can create cinematic movie titles, intros, transitions as well as remove objects from footage or even start fires or make it rain! Its versatility allows for endless creative expression.
Learning Adobe After Effects’ cutting function is essential to becoming a professional video editor, as it gives you access to more dynamic and engaging videos for clients. With this knowledge in hand, you will be able to produce dynamic and captivating video productions for them.
2. Duplicate the Clip
Duplicating clips in After Effects can be an extremely useful skill to possess when working in this software, as it enables you to quickly duplicate footage or compositions so you can quickly manipulate its position on the timeline, duration or animation settings – not to mention saving yourself some time by not having to recreate new compositions from scratch! It can also help when creating repetition in sequences and saves you some time when creating repetition.
After Effects is a non-destructive editing software, which means any changes made won’t affect the original file. To duplicate layers, just select them and press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Cmd + D (Mac). When ready, move your play-head to where you wish to split and press Cmd + C at once to duplicate layers at that location. Lastly, click Cut in Projects panel bottom left for clip splitting.
After Effects offers another simple method for duplicating clips: simply dragging them over the New Composition icon will create a composition containing only media property information for that video clip, saving time by eliminating having to create separate compositions every time you need to duplicate footage.
Use the Puppet tool to duplicate your video and give yourself more control of how and where the duplicate moves and is placed relative to its original. Just make sure not to add too many pins; controlling all these duplicates later could prove challenging.
There are also a few After Effects shortcuts you can use to speed up the process of cutting a clip, particularly when working with large amounts of footage. Ctrl+Shift+D duplicating layers before Ctrl+Shift+F trimming them can help speed things along significantly.
3. Split the Clip
Adobe After Effects is an elegant video editing software program that enables you to add professional post-prep effects and combine shots together seamlessly, as well as quickly clip cutting video clips. However, its speed of clip cutting may limit its use for certain users; therefore many opt for alternative tools – Movavi Video Editor being one of them – making the task of trimming videos much simpler than before.
After Effects offers various techniques for trimming and splitting clips. To use it quickly, consider using the Split Layer edit. It will automatically trim your clip to its target frame; just position your timeline indicator where you wish to cut. Use either page up/down keys to move playhead frame by frame, or the Ctrl + Shift + D (Windows)/ Cmd + Right/Left Arrows (Mac) keyboard shortcut.
Once your playhead is at its target frame, click the Split button in the Timeline panel to divide your clip into two separate layers; one of which contains your original clip while the second contains an identical version; you may then delete one or both clips as necessary.
Simply drag the clip you want to edit over to the New Composition icon at the bottom of Projects panel for an effortless clip-editing solution. This will create a composition matching its media properties, and will help you quickly locate exactly which frame needs editing.
Cutting video clips is an easy process with Adobe After Effects or another video editing software – simply follow these three simple steps and you will create professional-looking videos in no time! So next time you need to shorten a clip, try these tips for optimal results – keyboard shortcuts will save time!
