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Edit your video in the transcript and timeline

Learn how to edit your draft in the transcript and on the timeline: cut and restore text, trim and rearrange clips, and add markers, color labels, and B-roll.

Written by Nandita Kothari

Once your draft is generated, Selects gives you several ways to refine it: edit through the transcript, adjust clips on the timeline, add B-roll, and run AI cleanup tools.

Rename your draft

Double-click the draft's tab at the top of the timeline to rename it, or right-click the tab and choose [Rename]. Give it something recognizable so it is easy to tell apart from other versions.

A draft tab right-clicked above the timeline, with a box around Rename. The menu also lists Close tab, Close other tabs, Duplicate, Mention in chat, Delete, Timeline settings, Handoff, Export video, Export transcript, and Open in new window.

Text-based editing

The [Transcript] tab on the right shows every word in your draft, with a badge for each speaker. Click any word to jump to that moment in the preview. Edit the transcript like a script and the video follows. Editing works in drafts. On a synced timeline, the transcript is for reading.

Cut and restore content

Select the text you want to remove and press [Backspace], or right-click and choose [Cut]. The corresponding clip disappears from the timeline immediately.

To restore a cut, select the grayed-out text and press [Backspace] again, or right-click and choose [Uncut]. Cut text stays in the transcript, grayed out, so you can restore it at any time. If you don't see it, click the settings icon at the top right of the window and turn on [Show cuts (grayed out)] under Transcript.

The settings menu at the top right of the window. Step 1 marks the settings icon and step 2 marks Show cuts (grayed out) under Transcript. Below the menu, cut text shows in gray.

Edit words in the transcript

Double-click any word to edit it directly, or press [Tab] to enter edit mode on the selected word. Useful for fixing transcription errors before you make cuts based on the text.

Press [Enter] at any point in the transcript to split a caption at that position.

Copy words into another draft

You can copy words from the transcript and paste the matching footage into another draft as a clip.

  1. Select the words in the transcript.

  2. Press [Cmd + C] (Mac) or [Ctrl + C] (Windows), or right-click and choose [Copy].

  3. Open the draft you want to add the footage to, click its timeline, and move the playhead to where the clip should go.

  4. Press [Cmd + V] (Mac) or [Ctrl + V] (Windows). The footage goes in at the playhead and replaces what was there. To insert it and push the later clips back instead, press [Cmd + Shift + V] (Mac) or [Ctrl + Shift + V] (Windows).

Two screens side by side. Left: words selected in the transcript (step 1) and right-clicked, with step 2 on Copy. Right: the timeline of another draft, with step 3 on its tab and step 4 beside the Cmd + V keys at the playhead, where the footage goes in.

Pasting works in drafts, not in synced timelines. The words are also copied as plain text, so you can paste them into a script or document.

Timeline editing

Trim and rearrange clips

Drag the edges of a clip on the timeline to trim its start or end.

Animation: the right edge of a clip on the timeline is dragged left to trim it, leaving a gap before the next clip.

Hold [Cmd] (Mac) or [Ctrl] (Windows) while you drag an edge to close or open the gap as you trim. Drag a clip to move it left, right, or to another track. A dragged clip replaces what it lands on.

Animation: with Cmd held (the key shows on screen), a clip's edge is dragged to trim it and the clips after it move up, so no gap is left.

Animation: with Cmd held, a clip's edge is dragged outward to make it longer, and the clips after it move along to make room.

Hold [Cmd] (Mac) or [Ctrl] (Windows) to insert it and push the clips after it instead, or [Opt] (Mac) or [Alt] (Windows) to drop a copy.

To change how fast a clip plays, right-click it on a draft or synced timeline and choose [Speed / Duration]. The [Adjust] tab opens at the [Speed] group, where you can set an exact speed or an exact length. Turn on [Preserve audio pitch] to keep voices from sounding higher or lower. You can also ask chat to change a clip's speed.

Adjust volume and fade audio in and out

You can adjust a clip's volume right on the timeline. Drag the line across its waveform up to make the clip louder or down to make it quieter, anywhere from -60 dB to +12 dB. This works in drafts and synced timelines.

You can also fade a clip's audio in or out. Hover over the clip to show a handle at each top corner of its waveform, then drag a handle inward. The shaded area shows how long the fade lasts. Drag the handle back to the edge to remove the fade.

Animation: an audio clip on the timeline is hovered and the handle at the top corner of its waveform is dragged inward, drawing a shaded fade.

Fades work in drafts, not in synced timelines. A fade stays with the clip when you move or copy it. If you split the clip, each piece keeps only the fade on its outer end.

Volume changes and fades play in the preview and in videos you export from Selects. When you hand off to Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve, the volume level carries over but fades don't.

Add markers

Press [M], while playing or paused, to drop a marker at the playhead. You can also click the More menu, the button with three dots, and choose [Add marker]. It needs a clip under the playhead. Use markers to flag sections to revisit, note areas that need work, or leave notes for collaborators.

The marker row under the timeline ruler. An arrow from the M key points to the new marker at the playhead.

Color-code clips

Color labels help you tag clips on the timeline, and they carry over to Premiere when you hand off. Select one or more clips, right-click, hover [Color label], and pick from eleven colors. Choose [None] to clear a label. Your labels survive camera switching and prompt-based edits, so you are not redoing them after every pass.

A clip right-clicked on the timeline, with a box around Color label in the menu. The submenu lists None, then Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime, Green, Cyan, Blue, Violet, Fuchsia, and Stone.

You can also ask chat to do it, for example "color every clip from the second interview orange".

Add or swap B-roll

B-roll sits in the project panel with the rest of your files. Drag a clip onto the timeline to place it by hand, or ask chat to find and place cutaways for you.

To swap existing B-roll, delete the clip on the timeline and drag the replacement onto the same spot. Learn more in Add B-roll and audio to your edit.

Assign speakers and switch cameras

A speaker badge appears next to each segment. To reassign a speaker, click the badge, or right-click the segment and choose [Speaker]. On the Selects and Adobe Premiere shortcut presets, you can also press [Opt + 1–9] (Mac) or [Alt + 1–9] (Windows). On the Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve presets, press [Control + 1–9] (Mac) or [Ctrl + 1–9] (Windows).

To switch which camera angle is shown for a segment, select the clip on the timeline and press [1] through [9] on the Selects and Adobe Premiere presets to switch to that camera track. On the Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve presets, press [Opt + 1–9] (Mac) or [Alt + 1–9] (Windows).

Before you export

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