Trim video

When to trim a video

Phone recordings often start with you pressing the button and end with you putting the phone down. Screen recordings include the moment you open the recorder. Game clips run longer than the play you want to share. Trimming removes those parts and also makes the file smaller, which helps with upload limits.

The video is processed in your browser and is not uploaded.

How to trim a video

1. Drop the video in the area above.
2. Drag across the thumbnail strip to select the part to keep.
3. Drag the white handles to fine-tune the start and end, or type the times into the fields.
4. Play the selection to check it.
5. Choose Fast or Accurate mode, then click Save edited video.

Fast or Accurate

Fast copies the selected range without re-encoding. It finishes in seconds and keeps the original quality. The catch is that the cut can only start on a keyframe, so the clip may begin up to a few seconds before the time you chose. Use it when the exact first frame does not matter.

Accurate re-encodes the clip so it starts and ends exactly where you set. It takes longer, roughly in proportion to the length of the clip. Use it for clips that start on a specific word, beat or action.

If the source format cannot be copied directly, the tool re-encodes it and saves MP4.

Tips

• To trim and also change the frame, for example to make a vertical clip, use Crop on the same screen. Cropping always uses Accurate mode.
• Lowering the resolution in the same step makes the file smaller. If you need a specific file size, run the result through the Compress video tool.
• To keep only the sound of the selected range, open the file in the Extract audio tool.

Picking exact times

The times in the start and end fields accept minutes, seconds and fractions, for example 0:12.50. If you know the moment you want from a player, type it directly instead of dragging. Play the selection once before saving, so you can hear whether the first word or note is cut off. In Fast mode, give the start a little room, because the cut moves back to the nearest keyframe.