ZELLAThe Zella Editor: A Tour
Quick answer: Zella’s Studio editor has four regions. The left sidebar (AI Tools + Platform list) holds one-click cleanup and your publish target. The center is the live preview. The right inspector has eight tabs — Clip, Effects, Transform, Titles, Transitions, Captions, Callouts, Webcam — where every deep tool lives. The bottom is the timeline with the transport (play, cut, undo, delete, speed, zoom). Edits in any region show in the preview instantly and bake into the export.
On this page: the layout · top toolbar · left sidebar · preview · inspector tabs · timeline · golden path · FAQ
What does the Zella editor look like?
The editor opens automatically when you stop a recording or open a video file. Learn these four regions once and every tool in this guide becomes easy to find.
Figure: ① AI Tools + Platform list, ② the preview, ③ the eight inspector tabs, ④ the timeline + transport.
What is in the top toolbar?
- ▣ Sidebar toggle — show/hide the left sidebar.
- Cut — split the clip at the playhead.
- Zoom — add a zoom block at the playhead.
- Project time —
current / total, e.g.0:13 / 0:42. - Fit ▾ — preview fit/scale.
- Export — opens the Export dialog.
The clip’s specs (e.g. 1280×550 · 15fps · Stereo) sit just below.
What is in the left sidebar?
Two tabs:
AI Tools — one-click actions plus your publish target:
- AI CLEANUP: Auto-Zoom Clicks · Remove Silences · Remove Fillers · Generate Captions · Auto-enhance · Polish Voice · Auto-Duck Music — each with an Apply button.
- PLATFORM: Fit / Fill plus targets — TikTok, YT Shorts, IG Reels, IG Feed, FB Reels, Square, YouTube, X/Twitter, Original. Click one to reframe.
Clip Browser — search and drag video files in to build a multi-clip project.
How to use the preview
The center preview plays your video with all edits applied — color, captions, zoom, titles, reframing. Click ▶ to watch.
Preview vs. file: the on-screen preview is decode-optimized for smooth scrubbing and can look marginally different on some Macs. The exported file is the source of truth — frame-accurate and A/V-synced. If you think the preview looks off, export and check the file.
What do the eight inspector tabs do?
| Tab | What it controls | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Clip | Trim (start/end/duration) + Audio Timing (J/L-cut) | 9, 14 |
| Effects | Color looks, intensity, Color Match, Scopes, Color Board, visual FX | 16, 17 |
| Transform | Position, scale, rotation, opacity, anchor, keyframes | 12 |
| Titles | Text, kinetic animations, gradient fill, stroke/shadow | 18 |
| Transitions | Apply transitions at cut points | 15 |
| Captions | Transcribe, presets, edit text, export SRT/VTT/CSV | 11 |
| Callouts | Arrows, boxes, spotlights, keystrokes, numbers, blur | 19 |
| Webcam | Camera bubble position, size, style | 5 |
How to use the timeline and transport
Transport: ▶ play/pause · A / B select-vs-seek mode · ↶ / ↷ undo/redo · 🗑 ripple-delete · 1× speed · timecode HH:MM:SS:FF · 🔍-/🔍+ zoom the timeline.
Timeline: the waveform shows audio (tall = speech, flat = silence), thumbnails show the picture, the playhead marks your position, and yellow brackets mark cut points.
What is the fastest editing path?
For most videos:
- AI Tools → Remove Silences, Remove Fillers.
- Captions → Generate, pick a preset.
- AI Tools → Auto-Zoom and pick a Platform.
- (Optional) Effects/Color, Titles, Transitions, Callouts.
- Export.
Everything else in this guide refines that path.
Editor FAQ
Where do I find color grading / captions / titles? All in the right inspector — Effects (color), Captions, Titles tabs respectively.
Why does my preview look slightly out of sync but the export is fine? The preview is optimized for scrubbing; the exported file is frame-accurate. Trust the file.
How do I add more clips? Open the Clip Browser tab and drag video files in (see Importing media).
Can I undo anything? Yes — full undo/redo via the transport or ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z.
Pro tips & gotchas
- Layout = AI Tools sidebar (left) · preview (center) · inspector with eight tabs (right) · timeline (bottom).
- The inspector tabs are context-aware — select a clip or overlay and the relevant tab’s controls light up.
- Press Space to play/pause the preview from anywhere in the editor.
- Everything is non-destructive and undoable with ⌘Z — experiment freely.
Related: Timeline editing → · AI cleanup → · Captions → · Export →