About rolling and ripple edits

When you want to adjust the cut, or edit point, between two clips, use variations of simple trimming known as rolling edits and ripple edits. By using specialized tools, you can make adjustments in a single action that would otherwise require multiple steps to accomplish. When you perform ripple and rolling edits, the affected frames appear in the Program Monitor side by side.

Program Monitor and Timeline during a rolling edit

Rolling edit

A rolling edit trims an adjacent Out point and In point simultaneously and by the same number of frames. This effectively moves the edit point between clips, preserving other clips’ positions in time and maintaining the total duration of the sequence. Pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) when you begin to perform a rolling edit ignores the link between video and audio (known as an L‑cut or J‑cut).

In this rolling edit, the edit point is dragged earlier in time—shortening the previous clip, lengthening the next clip, and maintaining the program duration.

Ripple edit

A ripple edit trims a clip and shifts subsequent clips in the track by the amount you trim. Shortening a clip by ripple editing shifts all clips after the cut back in time; conversely, extending a clip shifts the clips that follow the cut forward in time. When you’re making a ripple edit, empty space on one side of the cut is treated as a clip and shifts in time just as a clip would be. Pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) when you begin to perform a ripple edit ignores the link between video and audio.

In this ripple edit, the edit point is dragged earlier in time—shortening the preceding clip and the total program duration.