Clips

Each media file you add to the OpenShot timeline is called a clip, and is visualized by a dark, rounded rectangle (as seen in the screenshot below). A clip has a large number of properties, which affects how the clip is rendered and composited, such as scale, location, rotation, and alpha. These properties can also be animated over time, and when combined together, can create some amazing effects.

Overview

#	Name	Description
1	Clip 1	A video clip
2	Transition	A gradual fade transition between the 2 clips
3	Clip 2	An image clip

Cutting & Slicing

OpenShot has many easy ways to adjust the start and end positions of a clip (otherwise known as cutting). The most common method is simply grabbing the left (or right) edge of the clip and dragging. Here is a list of methods for cutting clips in OpenShot:

Name	Description
Slice	When the play-head (i.e. vertical red playback line) is overlapping a clip, right click on the clip, and choose Slice.
Slice All	When the play-head is overlapping many clips, right click on the play-head, and choose Slice All (it will cut all intersecting clips on all tracks).
Resizing Edge	Mouse over the edge of a clip, and resize the edge.
Split Dialog	Right click on a file, and choose Split Clip. A dialog will appear which allows for creating lots of small cuts in a single video file.
Razor Tool	The razor tool from the Edit Toolbar cuts a clip wherever you click on it. So be careful, it is easy and dangerous!

Keep in mind that the above cutting methods also have Keyboard Shortcuts, to save even more time.

Preset Menu

OpenShot has tons of great preset animations and clip properties, such as fading, sliding, zooming, etc… These presets can be accessed by right clicking on a clip.

Name	Description
Fade	Fade in or out a clip (often easier than using a transition)
Animate	Zoom and slide a clip
Rotate	Rotate or flip a video
Layout	Make a video smaller or larger, and snap to any corner
Time	Reverse and speed up or slow down video
Volume	Fade in or out the volume for a clip
Separate Audio	Create a clip for each audio track
Slice	Cut the clip at the play-head position
Transform	Enable transform mode
Display	Show waveform or thumbnail for a clip
Properties	Show the properties panel for a clip
Copy / Paste	Copy and paste key frames or duplicate an entire clip (with all key frames)
Remove Clip	Remove a clip from the timeline

Transform

To quickly adjust the location and scale of a clip, select a clip on the timeline, right click and choose Transform. Grab any of the small blue handles to adjust scale, and grab the middle circle to move the image. Note: Pay close attention to where the play-head (i.e. red playback line) is. Key frames are automatically created at the current playback position, to help create animations.

For more info on key frames and animation, see Animation.

Effects

In addition to the many clip properties which can be animated and adjusted, you can also drop an effect directly onto a clip. Each effect is represented by a small letter icon. Clicking the effect icon will populate the properties of that effect, and allow you to edit (and animate) them.

Properties

Below is a list of clip properties which can be edited, and in most cases, animated over time. To view a clip’s properties, right click and choose Properties. The property editor will appear, where you can change these properties. Note: Pay close attention to where the play-head (i.e. red playback line) is. Key frames are automatically created at the current playback position, to help create animations.

Name	Description
Gravity Type	The gravity of a clip determines where it snaps to its parent
Scale Type	The scale determines how a clip should be resized to fit its parent
Frame Display Type	The format to display the frame number (if any)
Scale X	Curve representing the horizontal scaling in percent (0 to 1)
Scale Y	Curve representing the vertical scaling in percent (0 to 1)
Location X	Curve representing the relative X position in percent based on the gravity (-1 to 1)
Location Y	Curve representing the relative Y position in percent based on the gravity (-1 to 1)
Rotation	Curve representing the rotation (0 to 360)
Alpha	Curve representing the alpha (1 to 0)
Time	Curve representing the frames over time to play (used for speed and direction of video)
Volume	Curve representing the volume (0 to 1)
Shear X	Curve representing X shear angle in degrees (-45.0=left, 45.0=right)
Shear Y	Curve representing Y shear angle in degrees (-45.0=down, 45.0=up)
Channel Filter	A number representing an audio channel to filter (clears all other channels)
Channel Mapping	A number representing an audio channel to output (only works when filtering a channel)
Has Audio	An optional override to determine if this clip has audio (-1=undefined, 0=no, 1=yes)
Has Video	An optional override to determine if this clip has video (-1=undefined, 0=no, 1=yes)
Waveform	Should a waveform be used instead of the clip’s image
Waveform Color	Curve representing the color of the audio wave form

For more info on key frames and animation, see Animation.