Trim a Video or Audio Clip

Video clips captured from external capture devices often contain unwanted portions at the beginning, between scenes, or at the end. These unwanted portions can easily be removed in PowerDirector using the Trim function.

Likewise, if you want to tailor your audio clip to fit the duration of a video clip, you can easily trim your audio clip to a desired length.

Note: Trimming a video or audio clip does not delete any portion of the content.

Perform a Simple Trim

To trim a video or audio clip, do this:

1. Select the clip you want to modify.

2. Click Trim. The Trim option panel opens.

3. Enter a mark in and mark out time.You may do this in one of the following ways:
   • Click inside the timecode box and enter a time using your keyboard.

   • Drag the mark in/mark out sliders to the correct time position.

   • Navigate to the desired time position using the playback buttons.

4. Click the Mark in and Mark out buttons.

5. Click to close the option panel.

Perform a Multiple Trim

You can trim multiple portions from a video clip, resulting in individual clips, which are independent of the original clip. You can also detect scenes using the Multi Trim tool. Detected scenes, by contrast, are not split from the original clip, but are simply divisions contained within it.

To perform a multiple trim on a video clip, do this:

1. Select the clip you want to modify.

2. Click Multi Trim. The Multi Trim dialog box opens.

3. Navigate to the mark in time by doing one of the following:
   • Click inside the timecode box, enter a time using your keyboard, then press the Enter key.

   • Drag the time slider to the correct time position.

   • Use the playback buttons.

4. Click to set the mark in point.
   • To view the timeline more clearly, click to open the timeline magnifier. Click to zoom in or to zoom out.

5. Navigate to the mark out time, then click to set the mark out point. The scene you set appears in the pane to the right of the preview window.
   • To detect scenes automatically, click . For more information, see Detect Scenes in a Video Clip.

   • To remove a scene, click Remove.

   • To split a long scene into two shorter scenes, navigate to a position inside a chapter you have already set, then click to split the scene.

Note: You can continue to cut multiple scenes from the video clip. Each scene, however, must have a duration of at least two frames.

6. Click OK.

Trim by Dragging an Edge

You can trim any kind of media clip in the Timeline (including audio, video, and image clips and color boards) by dragging either edge of that clip. You may find trimming a clip in this way easier if you first expand the ruler.

Note: Video and audio clips cannot be lengthened beyond their original duration.

To trim a media clip by dragging an edge, do this:

1. Select the clip you want to modify.

2. Position your cursor at one end of the clip and drag the end of the clip to the new position.

Note: You can drag the edge of a clip to lengthen it or to shorten it. If you compress the start of a video or audio clip, playback begins at a later frame within the clip. If you compress the ending, playback ends at an earlier frame within the clip.

Trim a Video Clip Using Precise Cut

If you need to trim video extremely accurately (for example at the frame level), use the Precise Cut feature in the Media Editor window. The Media Editor is a large, resizable preview window that offers a magnified timeline that is particularly useful for accurate trimming of longer videos.

To trim a video clip using Precise Cut in the Media Editor, do this:

1. Select the clip you want to modify.

2. Click Trim.
   • Click Clip on the preview window, if necessary.

3. Click and select Instant Preview with Media Viewer. The Media Editor window opens.

4. Click to enable the Precise Cut magnifier, then click to zoom the timeline in or to zoom out.

5. Enter a mark in and mark out time. You may do this in one of the following ways:
   • Click inside the timecode box and enter a time using your keyboard.

   • Drag the mark in/mark out sliders to the correct time position.

   • Use the playback buttons.

Note: Drag the bottom slider for more precise control.

6. Click the Mark in and Mark out buttons.

7. Click to close the Media Editor window.