From assembly to rough cut

Assemble N clips to timeline gives you every shot in order. That's an assembly, not a film: the rough cut is where you decide what each scene actually needs.

Find your way around

The toolbar is on top, the media browser on the left, the viewer in the middle with the timeline below, and the Inspector on the right (tabs Properties, Effects, Color, Titles, Audio, AI Post). Anything you generated and added to your library is in the media browser; drag it onto the timeline or double-click it.

The keys you'll use most

Key	Does
Space, J / K / L	Play/pause, shuttle back / stop / forward
← / →	One frame
S or C	Split at the playhead
Delete / Shift+Delete	Delete / ripple delete (close the gap)
I / O	In and out points
M	Marker
Shift+G	Close gaps
⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z	Undo / redo

Press ? in the editor for the full list.

Reorder and trim

Drag a clip onto other clips on its track: a line shows where it'll go, and the rest close up. Right-click a clip for Split at playhead, Speed, Reverse, Freeze frame at playhead, Ripple delete (close the gap) and more. Clips never overlap on a track.

Cut by transcript

The toolbar's Transcript Editor transcribes the timeline (1 credit a clip). Select words and Delete to cut them, or use Remove filler words and Remove pauses over Xs, then Apply cuts. Turn on Cut all tracks to keep picture and sound together.

Save as you go

Auto-save is on by default, and ⌘S saves now. Before a big change, open ⋮ More panels → Version History → Save Snapshot, so you can Compare or Restore later.