How To Cut Clips In After Effects - Motion Array

Editing in After Effects can be tough, as it’s not strictly an editing platform. After Effects is a powerful animation toolkit that allows you to create incredible effects. It isn’t really designed for fast clip editing, however.

Most editors choose to edit their projects using Adobe Premiere Pro. However, knowing how to split and cut clips in After Effects is still a valuable skill. In this tutorial, Motion Array will show you how to cut and trim your clips for the most effective workflow. Let’s get started!

Summary

• Part 1: How to cut your layers in After Effects
• Part 2: Top 3 tips for editing in After Effects

Part 1: How to cut your layers in After Effects

First, splitting and trimming your layers in After Effects is the same no matter the media you’re working with. These cutting techniques will allow you to edit video clips, photos, royalty-free music, audio, and even After Effects-built shapes and solids. The sky’s the limit once you know how.

Split clips

Unlike other editing software, After Effects divides your Timeline into layers. If you’re a little shaky about the After Effects Timeline, the linked resource will help. Even if clips play directly one after the other, you can’t have more than one clip on a layer. After Effects will divide your single layer into two when you split a clip. Keep this in mind when you cut clips in After Effects.

1. Import a clip by going to File > Import > File or hitting Cmd+I or Ctrl+I on your keyboard. There’s a couple of handy After Effects shortcuts to cut clips. These are covered later in the tutorial.
2. Select your clips and hit Open. Your clips will appear in the project browser.
3. To create a new composition, drag one of your clips to the New Comp icon in the Layer panel, or right-click the clip and choose New Comp.
4. Position your playhead where you want to split the layer. You can move the playhead one frame at a time using Page Up/Down or Cmd+Left Arrow and Cmd+Right Arrow if you don’t have a full keyboard.
5. Go to Edit > Split Layer (Cmd+Shift+D or Ctrl+Shift+D on your keyboard) to split the layer.

Trim layers

Sometimes you won’t want to cut clips totally in After Effects. You might just want to tidy them up a bit. Trimming your layers means cutting the beginning or end of your clip for better flow. Trims are common practice in editing. It’s rare for the footage to be 100% straight off the camera roll. There are, however, some shooting tips that can help.

There are two ways to trim your layers in After Effects. You should try to memorize these hotkeys, which are among the most frequently used After Effects shortcuts.

1. Import your clip, create a new composition, or drag it to an existing timeline.
2. Grab the ends of the clip and drag them along the Timeline to make small trims to the start or end of the layer.
3. You can also use the shortcuts to trim your layer to the playhead. Use Alt+[ or Option+[ for the start of the clip, and Alt+] or Option+] for the end of your clip.

Quickly cut a section from a clip

To remove a section of your clip in any other edit software, you would likely use a blade tool to cut and delete the section. There are a couple more steps when you cut clips in After Effects. Luckily, you have a handy Trim shortcut.

1. Add your clip to the timeline, then select it in the Layers panel.
2. Duplicate your layer by pressing Cmd+D or Ctrl+D on your keyboard.
3. Move your playhead to where the section you want to cut out begins.
4. Select the bottom of the 2 layers and press Cmd+] or Ctrl+].
5. Position the playhead on the end of the section you want to remove and select the top of the 2 layers.
6. Press Cmd+[ or Ctrl+[ on your keyboard to trim the start.
7. Drag the top layer along the timeline until it meets the first. Say bye-bye to that unwanted section!

Trim and split multiple clips

You can also trim and split multiple clips in your timeline. When editing multiple clips, remember that all the layers you’ve selected will be affected, so make sure you pay close attention to the clips you select.

1. Add your clips to the timeline and position them as you need.
2. To select multiple stacked layers, hold down Shift and select the top and bottom of the layers stack in the Layer panel.
3. To select multiple clips that aren’t stacked together, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and choose the layers required in the Layer panel.
4. You can now use trimming or splitting to edit all selected clips.

Part 2: Top 3 tips for editing in After Effects

After Effects clip cutting is awkward for straightforward editing, and you should try to minimize your editing time on the platform. However, there are some things you can do to make your clip editing easier.

Use Premiere Pro dynamic linking

If you’re working with a lot of stock video that needs editing before applying effects or animation, it’s often best to start in Premiere Pro. After Effects and Premiere Pro work hand-in-hand using a dynamic linking system. You can edit your clips in Premiere and use them in After Effects without exporting them.

If you don’t have Premiere Pro or don’t want to use dynamic linking, using an editing platform to sort and rough cut your clips can save you a lot of time and energy rather than using After Effects limited editing tools.

Naming layers

It may sound simple, but editors often miss this step because they want to jump straight into creating. Correctly labeling your layers can help you with your project organization. You’ll be able to find and adjust the right layers faster, and manipulate multiple layers simultaneously.

Project organization is essential in any editing platform, but especially in After Effects. To rename a layer quickly, select it in the Layer panel and hit Return.

Use layer locks and compound clips

One problem with cutting clips in After Effects is that you can easily mess up your composition by selecting or moving the wrong layer. While naming your layers can help, locking them will freeze your clips and sequences in position. This will make sure that nothing can change them. Once you’ve edited your sequence, hit the padlock icon in the Layers Panel to lock the layer. You won’t be able to move it, cut it, or add effects until you unlock it again.

Occasionally, you’ll have a lot of layers in your timeline, which can be difficult to navigate. Once you’ve cut your footage and ordered it in the timeline, select all of your clips and press Cmd+Shift+C or Ctrl+Shift+C. The compound clip will merge all your layers into a single layer in your timeline. If you double-click the compound clip, a new timeline will open with all your editing still right there for you.

Knowing how Adobe After Effects clip cutting works is vital for any user. Once you’ve mastered the hotkeys, you’ll be slicing and cutting quicker than ever before. Now you know the basics, why not check out Motion Array’s vast range of other After Effects tutorials? You’re sure to find something new and exciting.