You build an edit by adding clips to the timeline — either by dragging them straight from the library, or by loading a clip in the preview monitor and adding it with Insert, Append, or Drop. Each of these places the clip differently, and the Reflow Timeline shifts the surrounding clips to fit. See Timeline overview and tools for how reflow and attached clips work.
Drag a clip from the library#
- In Sequence, open the project and the timeline you want to edit.
- In the library, find the clip you want.
- Drag it into the timeline and release it where you want it to land.
The clip appears at the drop point and the timeline reflows to keep the rest of your edit intact.
To add only part of a clip, set an in and out point in the preview monitor first, then drag just that range into the timeline. See Preview and play back your media.
Add from the preview monitor#
Load a clip in the preview monitor, then use one of the add controls to place it in the timeline at the playhead (or, if you're skimming, at the skimmer position). The add buttons sit at the left of the preview monitor's control bar; on a narrow layout they collapse into a single Add to timeline… menu.
- In Sequence, select a library item so it loads into the preview monitor.
- Optional: set an in and out point to mark the portion you want, or click Mark as Select (or press M) to save that range as a reusable select. See Preview and play back your media.
- Move the playhead in the timeline to where the clip should go. (Skip this for Append — it always adds to the end.)
- Do any of the following:
- Insert: Click Insert into main storyline (or press ,). Sequence drops the clip into the primary lane at the playhead and pushes the later clips to the right to make room. The playhead then jumps to the end of the clip you just added, ready for the next one.
- Append: Click Append to end of storyline (or press .). Sequence adds the clip to the end of the primary lane, after the last clip, wherever the playhead is.
- Drop: Click Drop clips on top of storyline (or press ;). Sequence places the clip as an attached clip on top of the primary lane at the playhead, leaving the primary-lane clips where they are. The attached clip anchors to the primary-lane clip beneath it.
Sequence selects the new clip so you can move, trim, or delete it right away.
Note
Insert and Drop both need a playhead position, so nothing happens if the timeline has no playhead yet — set one first, or use Append. These shortcuts are single keys, the same on macOS and Windows.
How each verb reflows the timeline#
The difference between the three verbs is what happens to the clips already in your edit:
Insert ripples. Everything after the playhead moves later by the length of the added clip, so no existing clip is overwritten. Use it to drop a shot into the middle of a cut.
Append extends. It only ever adds to the end of the primary lane, so it never disturbs the clips already in the timeline. Use it to build a sequence in order.
Drop layers. The clip lands above the primary lane as an attached clip rather than in the main cut, so it plays over whatever is beneath it and the primary lane's timing is unchanged. Use it for overlays, insert shots, and cutaways. Drop isn't available in a multicam timeline.
In a multicam timeline, Insert and Append add to the current multicam angle instead of the main storyline. See Multicam angles.
For a full list of the tools and their shortcuts, see The control bar tools. To retime a clip against its neighbors after you've placed it, see Slip, slide, and roll with Advanced Trim.