ZELLATimeline Editing in Zella: Cut, Trim & Ripple Delete
Quick answer: In Zella’s editor, click the timeline to move the playhead, press B to cut at that point, switch to A mode to select a segment, then press Delete (or 🗑) to ripple-delete it — the later content slides up to close the gap and the video gets shorter. Drag a clip edge to trim. Everything is undoable with ⌘Z.
On this page: the timeline · move playhead · cut · a vs b mode · trim · ripple delete · undo · impact · FAQ
What is the timeline?
The timeline at the bottom of the editor is where you shape the video by hand — cutting, trimming, and deleting sections. The waveform shows audio (tall = speech, flat = silence), thumbnails show the picture, and yellow bracket markers show your cuts.
Figure: ① B cuts at the playhead, ② A/B toggles select-vs-seek, ③ Delete ripple-deletes the selection, ④ dragging a clip edge trims.
For silence and filler words, don’t cut by hand — use the one-click AI cleanup tools, which find and ripple-delete every gap or filler at once.
How to move the playhead
- Click anywhere on the timeline to jump the playhead there.
- Press ▶ Play to scrub and stop where you want to act.
- 🔍- / 🔍+ zoom the timeline so you can work frame-accurately.
How to cut a clip at the playhead
A cut splits the clip into two segments at the playhead (it doesn’t delete anything — it creates an edit point for transitions, speed changes, or deletion).
- Press the B key (the fast way), or click the Cut tool in the top toolbar.
A yellow bracket marker appears at the split. Cuts have a short debounce so rapid presses don’t stack.
What are A mode and B mode?
The transport’s A / B toggle changes what clicking the timeline does:
- B mode — click to seek (move the playhead). Use while reviewing.
- A mode — select + seek to a segment. Use when you want to select a section to act on (e.g. delete).
How to trim a clip
To shorten a clip from its start or end without deleting from the middle:
- Hover the edge of a clip/segment in the timeline.
- Drag the edge handle (shown as a yellow indicator) inward to trim.
You can also set exact Start / End / Duration in the Clip inspector tab. A single edge drag can trim and close the gap in one gesture.
How to ripple-delete a section
A ripple delete removes a selected section and slides everything after it earlier so there’s no gap — how you cut out mistakes, dead air, or whole tangents.
- In A mode, select the segment to remove (press B at its start and end first if needed).
- Press Delete / Backspace, or click the 🗑 trash in the transport.
- The section is removed; later content ripples up to fill the gap and the total duration shrinks.
Captions, zooms, and other timed elements after the cut move with the timeline, staying aligned.
How to undo
Every edit is undoable: ↶ Undo / ⌘Z and ↷ Redo / ⌘⇧Z. The undo stack is full-depth — experiment freely.
What impact good timeline editing has
For content creators and video editors, clean manual cutting is what removes the “amateur” feel that AI cleanup can’t reach: a fumbled sentence, a tangent, a long pause where you lost your place. Tight pacing is the #1 driver of retention — cutting the slow middle of a take keeps viewers watching, and ripple-delete makes those cuts seamless instead of leaving awkward gaps. Combined with AI cleanup, a 10-minute raw take becomes a 5-minute video people actually finish.
Timeline editing FAQ
How do I cut a part out of the middle of a video? Cut (B) at the start and end of the part, select it in A mode, and press Delete to ripple it out.
What’s ripple delete? Removing a section and sliding the rest of the timeline up to close the gap, so there’s no empty space.
How do I trim just the start or end of a clip? Drag the clip’s edge handle inward, or set Start/End in the Clip tab.
Can I undo a delete? Yes — ⌘Z restores it.
Do my captions move when I delete a section? Yes — captions and zooms ripple with the timeline and stay aligned.
Pro tips & gotchas
- Core loop: click to place the playhead → B to cut → A to select → Delete to ripple-delete and close the gap.
- All cuts snap to the frame grid, so edits stay frame-accurate.
- Zoom the timeline in for precise trims; drag a clip edge to trim without cutting.
- Made a mess? ⌘Z walks back any number of steps.
Related: AI cleanup (auto silence/filler removal) → · Transitions → · Speed → · Editor overview →