Timeline and Playback

The timeline sits at the bottom of the video editor. It shows every element in your video and exactly when each one is on screen. If you want your video to feel intentional rather than random, this is where that happens.

The video editor is included on Pro and Ultra (and during your 7-day trial). Starter covers images and carousels only.

What you're looking at

• Time ruler. The scale across the top, marked in seconds. Click anywhere on it to jump the playhead there.

• Playhead. The vertical line showing the current moment. The canvas always shows what the video looks like at the playhead.

• Element tracks. Every text, image, video, shape, counter, Lottie, or caption element gets a bar. The bar's position is when it starts, and its length is how long it stays on screen. Elements that don't overlap in time can share a row.

• Background track. A separate row for your background segments. Each segment has its own background and a transition into the next one. See "Scenes and Background Segments" for the details.

• Audio waveform. When you add a music track or voiceover, its waveform is drawn on the timeline so you can line visuals up with the sound.

• Minimap. A compact overview of the whole video that shows which part you're currently zoomed into.

Playback

Press Space to play or pause. The canvas updates in real time. Use the toolbar buttons to jump back to the first frame, mute playback while you edit, and change the timeline zoom level. To scrub, drag the playhead along the ruler or click any point on it.

Moving and trimming elements

1. Move in time. Drag an element's bar left or right. Its duration stays the same, only its start changes.

2. Trim. Hover the left or right edge of a bar and drag the trim handle. The left handle changes when the element appears, the right handle changes when it disappears.

3. Snap. While you drag, a snap indicator shows when your edge lines up with the playhead, another element, or a background segment boundary. This is the fastest way to make things start or end together.

Selecting a bar also selects the element on the canvas, so you can adjust its properties in the side panel while you time it.

Splitting the background

Park the playhead where you want a new scene to start and press S (or use the split button in the timeline toolbar). The background segment under the playhead splits in two, and you can give the new half its own background and transition. You can also right-click a segment for "Split at Playhead" and "Delete".

Keyboard shortcuts you'll use constantly

• Space play / pause

• S split background at playhead

• Cmd/Ctrl + Z undo, Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z redo

• Cmd/Ctrl + D duplicate, Delete remove

• Tab / Shift + Tab cycle through elements

• Arrow keys nudge 1px, Shift + arrows nudge 10px

The full list lives in the keyboard shortcuts panel in the editor.

Tips

• Stagger entrances. A headline that lands first, then body text a beat later, always reads better than everything popping in at once.

• Preview often. Timing changes that look tiny on the timeline can change the whole feel of a clip.

• Autosave runs in the background as you edit, so you can close the tab without losing timing work.

• If you'd rather not drag bars around, open the AI chat in the editor and describe the timing you want ("show the price after the headline, hold it for 3 seconds"). The AI edits the same timeline.