Ready to give your videos a fresh look through a quick snip and tuck? Any professional editor or complete newbie can tell when videos need a trim to turn split ends into beautifully blended montages. Let’s cut to the chase and make snappier videos as we learn about how to use an online video trimmer. Discover 3 different yet effortless ways to trim a video online with our step-by-step guide.
Why it’s important to trim videos
There’s more to the process of video editing than just arranging shots and layering a cool effect or filter to get pretty footage. And there’s definitely more to trimming a video than just saving up resources like storage or shorter rendering times (which, by the way, should never be an issue with a powerful online video editor). Let’s explore some of the reasons why it’s a great idea to trim videos online:
Keep the audience engaged
As a rule of thumb, the first 5 seconds of a video are crucial when it comes to capturing attention and persuading viewers to stay and watch. Trimming your video to only showcase relevant moments and highlight key segments is imperative when it comes to getting your audience hooked and keeping them engaged.
Social media-friendly optimization
All social media platforms have specific requirements when it comes to how long a video should be. The best online video trimmer not only helps you meet length restrictions but also comes packed with other features that help you stick to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Facebook video upload rules.
Remove unnecessary parts
Less is more. Trimming out segments that aren’t necessary and add no value to your content is one of the top best practices in the book of video editing. Think of the popular millennial pause at the beginning of a video– while funny, not all audiences know of it and love it. Start straight with a scroll-stopping hook.
A polished look
When you trim videos online, you’re doing more than just shortening footage with a snip to the start and a snip to the end. You’re giving your footage a more polished look and an overall professional feeling that viewers will immediately pick up on.
What’s the difference between video trimming and cutting?
Video trimming and video cutting are two different editing techniques that are oftentimes confused. Let’s break down the differences before you set off on a quest to find the best online video trimmer, so you’ll have all the information you need:
Vide trimming involves removing a segment at the start or end of the clip. It’s a simple process to adjust the start and end points for your videos. Shortening videos is important because some social media platforms support a specific video length you must adhere to.
Video cutting refers to the process of splitting up a video into multiple sections to facilitate the removal of specific smaller clips, including from the middle or any other point in the video. Video cuts allow for rearranging footage to compose new scenes and eliminate unwanted segments.
How to use an online video trimmer
Great, now that we’ve grasped the importance of video trimming and how it’s set apart from video cropping, let’s walk through how to use an online video trimmer step by step:
Step 1: Open Flixier in your browser
Skip the heavy downloads and endless loading screens thanks to Flixier’s online video trimmer. As the fastest web-based video editor, it only requires an open browser tab and a steady internet connection to run, so there’s no need to install anything or create accounts. Click the blue Get Started button and start exploring!
Step 2: Bring over your video
Tap the Import button and import videos directly from your computer or smartphone. Flixier features multiple import options through cloud storage provider services integrations, so you can connect your OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox account and directly bring over files. You can also copy and paste links from various online sources.
Step 3: Cut to the chase and trim
Flixier’s online video trimmer prioritizes an intuitive editing experience and a user-friendly interface that’s been perfected for a smooth workflow. There are 3 different methods you can use to trim videos with Flixier. Start by dragging and dropping your video on the timeline section, then select the video track.
- The Cut button: Drag the playhead and find the exact segment of your video you wish to trim. Then head to the left side of the timeline and click the Cut Delete the beginning or end of the video you need trimmed and continue editing.
- The keyboard shortcut: Similarly to the Cut button method, drag the playhead exactly where you want to start trimming your video. Then click “S” on your keyboard and you’ve got two separate shots. Get rid of the start or the finishing seconds you’ve trimmed and carry on with other edits.
- The manual trim: You don’t even need to play around with the playhead for this method. Simply position your cursor at the end or start of the video until you see the pointer arrow turn into a horizontal, two-headed arrow. Drag it left or right until you trim as much as you need and your video is ready to go for more edits.
Step 4: Experiment with edits* (optional)
Flixier features hundreds of video and audio editing functionalities you can explore. Enhance your content and make this online video editor your playground as you embrace colorful effects, dynamic transitions, animated motion titles, AI-generated images and make use of a rich stock library of footage and copyright-free sounds.
Step 5: Export
When you’re done editing, you can simply tap the Export button. Then, select the Video export format to save your project directly on your computer. You can also directly publish on social media platforms at the touch of a button thanks to Flixier’s smart integrations.
Trim the fluff
To recap, don’t let your video drag, and make a careful selection with a slick video trimmer. Do thorough research and find the best online video trimmer for your needs, explore other video editing features and functionalities, and you’ll be crafting digital projects like a pro in no time at all.