Split, trim, move and delete on the timeline

Most editing in Rooster happens in the script, and the timeline shows the result: every lane of the project against time. It is also where you move B-roll and music, trim clips, and make cuts the script cannot reach, such as in a stretch with no words.

Select

• Click a clip to select it. The playhead moves to where you clicked.
• Shift-click adds a clip to the selection; Command-click adds or removes one. Neither moves the playhead.
• Drag a box from an empty part of the timeline to select every clip it crosses. Hold Shift as you start to add to what is already selected.
• Edit > Select All, with the timeline focused, selects every clip.

A clip on a locked lane cannot join a selection.

Split

Move the playhead and press Split in the timeline's toolbar, or ⌘B. What it does depends on the selection - hover over it to see which:

• Once you have clicked a clip, it cuts the main recording in two at the playhead.
• Before you have, it begins a new scene at the playhead. That includes a project you have just opened, where Rooster shows the clip under the playhead as selected for you. See Divide a video into scenes.

B-roll and music clips are not split; trim them instead.

Trim and move

• Trim: drag the start or end edge of a clip. Every clip stays at least a tenth of a second long.
• Move: drag the middle of a clip. B-roll, element and music clips move in time along their lane. Main-recording clips change order among themselves rather than sliding freely.

While you drag, edges snap to the playhead, to other clips' edges and to caption edges, with a guide line to show it. Hold Option to drag without snapping.

Delete

Select one or more clips and press Delete, press the bin in the toolbar, or right-click and choose Delete - Delete Clips for a selection of several.

Deleting part of the main recording closes the gap: everything after it moves up. Rooster always keeps some of the main recording; to delete most of it, split it first and delete the part you do not want. A selection is deleted whole, as one step you can undo with ⌘Z.

Zoom

Use the zoom slider and the zoom out and zoom in buttons in the toolbar, or the button that fits the whole project in view. ⌥⇧⌘T hides and shows the timeline.

Lanes and layers

From top to bottom: elements, then B-roll and camera, then the main recording and its sound, then music and captions, as the project needs them. To hide or lock a lane, or change which layer draws in front, use the Layers list in Adjust with nothing selected. Right-click a clip and choose Rename Layer… to rename its lane.