How to Trim Video, Audio & Images

/ Joe Wolff

The need to trim video, audio, and images is like the need to cut your hair: yes. No matter how great your raw footage or solo track, trimming is a critical part of the editing process, especially when prepping your content for an audience.

So let’s get right to it. Whether you need to trim a little bit off the front of a clip or a little bit off the end, here’s how to trim, clip, cut, [insert your favorite verb here] videos in seconds with WeVideo's easy-to-use Trim tool.

How to trim a video in 4 easy steps

  1. Open your video clip in our video editor (pssst…you can do this for free).
  2. Select the clip on your Timeline, then use the Trim tool to trim the beginning or end.
  3. Customize further: edit video clips together, add text, music, transitions, and more.
  4. Export your project and share!

There’s the quick and easy. Read on for the full download on trimming video, audio, and images in both our desktop editor and the WeVideo mobile app.

Step 1: Open your video clip

WeVideo homepage, with blue rectangular outline highlighting where to click in order to start a new project.

In WeVideo, click Create new > Video, then choose whether to use the full-featured editor (see: all the options) or a simplified version for quick and basic editing.

Already have a project cooking? Great. Open it from your Projects folder on the left.  

Step 2: Use the Trim tool

WeVideo web editor, with summer promotion project open and arrow highlighting where to trim a clip. Blue text: "Hover over the beginning or end of a video or audio clip to trim it."

Time to trim! Select the video clip or image (or audio clip) from your Timeline. Once it’s selected, hover over either the beginning or end of the clip, and you’ll be prompted to trim via the ←→ icon. Click on it, then hold and drag. Voila!

Pro tip: Need to get granular with the amount of video that you slice off? Use the magnifier in the bottom right corner of the editor to zoom in on your footage, as close as 1/10 of a second!   

Step 3: Customize further

WeVideo web editor with blue rectangular outline highlighting tabs menu on left for customizing project. Tabs include: Videos, Images, Audio, Text, Transitions, Extras, and Backgrounds.

Once you’ve clipped your video, what’s next? WeVideo comes loaded to the brim with tools you can use to customize your video exactly how you want. Merge clips together, add music, text, transitions, and more. 

Step 4: Export and share

WeVideo web editor download menu.

When your video’s all set, click Finish (blue button) in the top right corner to export and share with your crowd. You’ll be prompted to name the project if you haven’t already. Choose to export as an MP4, MP3 (audio only), or GIF. Then select your resolution.

Fun fact: WeVideo Professional and Business subscribers have a treasure trove of social sharing options directly from the WeVideo editor. Boom!

How are trimming, splitting, and cropping different?

Trimming, splitting, and cropping clips are common video editing techniques (and all can be done quickly in our online video editor!), but they all do different things.

Trimming clips:

As we’ve explained, when you trim a clip, you shorten it. There’s a variety of reasons to do this: unnecessary footage, length constrictions, emphasizing the most important part of a clip, matching footage with music, etc.

Splitting clips:

Splitting (or slicing) a clip means cutting it into separate pieces. If you’re working with a really long clip, then splitting it into multiple clips can be helpful (and afterward, you’ll probably find yourself trimming or cutting sections altogether).  

Cropping clips:

When you crop a video, you remove an unwanted area of the clip. Note, you aren’t changing the video’s length at all; rather, its aspect ratio. A common reason to do this would be when creating social media content.

For example, Instagram has different video length, aspect ratio, and resolution specs depending on what type of video content you make.

How to trim videos in the WeVideo mobile app

Two mobile screenshots side-by-side, showing how to trim a video clip in the WeVideo mobile app.

There’s nothing better than being able to edit on the go with the WeVideo mobile app (available for iOS and Android 😏). And just like in the web-based video editor, trimming a clip is easy-breezy.

To clip a video in the WeVideo mobile app:

  1. Tap the (+) button to select a video, or open an existing project from your homescreen. 
  2. Select the desired video clip on your Timeline.
  3. Use the sliders on either side of the selected clip to trim it.
  4. Tap off the clip in order to save your changes.

The best part? All paid WeVideo subscribers can start projects in the mobile app, then quickly copy them over to our web editor to continue working. Enjoy the creative flexibility of editing on the mobile app, plus the robust tool selection on desktop.

Download WeVideo for mobile:

App Store

Google Play