Timeline & Editing

Master the magnetic timeline, clip types, trimming tools, transitions, compound clips, and multicam editing.

Magnetic Timeline Concepts

The AIVE ONE Beta timeline uses a magnetic (connected) editing model. Unlike track-based editors where clips can float independently on numbered tracks, the magnetic timeline enforces temporal relationships between clips.

How it works

• No gaps by default. When you remove a clip from the Primary lane, clips to the right automatically slide left to close the gap. This keeps your edit tight without manual gap management.
• Connected clips maintain sync. Clips in the B-Roll, Titles, Dialog, and SFX lanes are connected to a specific point on the Primary lane. When you move or ripple a Primary clip, all connected clips move with it.
• Position locks. If you need a clip to stay at an absolute timeline position (e.g., a title card at exactly 00:05:00), right-click and choose Lock Position. Locked clips display a pin icon and will not be displaced by ripple edits.

The storyline backbone

The Primary lane is the backbone of your project. It defines the chronological sequence of your edit. Every other lane connects to it. Think of the Primary lane as the spine, and the other lanes as ribs that travel with it.

Clip Types

AIVE ONE Beta supports five categories of timeline clips, each with distinct behaviour and appearance.

Detaching audio from video

Right-click any video clip and select Detach Audio (or press Ctrl+Shift+S). The audio portion becomes an independent clip in the Dialog lane, allowing you to edit audio and video separately while maintaining their connection point.

Semantic Lanes

AIVE ONE Beta's timeline is organized into seven semantic lanes rather than generic numbered tracks. Each lane has a defined role and color.

The Primary lane is the connected backbone. When you add, remove, or ripple clips in the Primary lane, connected clips in other lanes move with it to maintain sync.

Editing Modes

There are three ways to place clips on the timeline:

• Overwrite (D) — The incoming clip replaces whatever it overlaps. Use this when you want to swap footage in place without changing the timeline duration.
• Insert (W) — The timeline ripples to make room. All clips to the right shift forward. Use this to add new material between existing clips.
• Connect (Q) — The clip attaches to a lane above or below the Primary without disturbing the storyline. Use this for B-roll, titles, and music.
• Append (E) — The clip is added to the end of the Primary lane. Fastest way to build a rough cut.

Trimming Tools

Hover over the edge of any clip to reveal the trim handle. AIVE ONE Beta provides four trimming modes for precision editing.

Ripple trim (default)

Drag a clip edge to extend or shorten it. The timeline ripples, automatically closing or opening gaps. This is the most common trim operation and keeps your edit tight.

Roll trim

Hold R while trimming to roll the edit point between two adjacent clips. The outgoing clip gets shorter as the incoming clip gets longer (or vice versa), keeping the overall timeline duration unchanged. Useful for fine-tuning a cut point.

Slip

Hold S while dragging a clip to change which portion of the source media is shown, without moving the clip on the timeline or changing its duration. The Viewer shows the new in-point and out-point side by side.

Slide

Hold S and Option while dragging to slide a clip between its neighbours. The clip's content stays the same, but its position shifts, and the adjacent clips' in/out points adjust to compensate.

Blade tool

Press B to activate the Blade tool. Click anywhere on a clip to split it at that point. The Blade respects snapping — it will snap to the playhead, markers, and clip edges. Press Shift+B to blade all clips at the playhead position across all lanes simultaneously.

Transitions

Transitions smooth the visual or audio cut between two adjacent clips. AIVE ONE Beta includes over 30 built-in transitions across four categories.

Applying transitions

1. Select the edit point between two clips (click the cut line).
2. Press Cmd+T to apply the default cross-dissolve, or open the Transitions browser in the left sidebar to browse all options.
3. Drag a transition from the browser and drop it onto the edit point.
4. Adjust the duration by dragging the transition's edges, or enter an exact value in the Inspector.

Transition categories

• Dissolves — Cross-dissolve, additive dissolve, dip-to-color. Subtle and professional.
• Wipes — Directional wipes, clock wipe, iris wipe. Geometric transitions.
• Slides — Push, slide, swap. One clip physically moves to reveal the next.
• Effects — Blur, zoom, glitch, light leak. Stylised transitions for creative edits.

Audio transitions

Audio transitions are applied automatically when you add a video transition. You can also apply them independently: select an audio edit point and press Cmd+T to add a crossfade. Adjust the crossfade curve (linear, equal power, or S-curve) in the Inspector.

Compound Clips

Compound clips let you group multiple clips into a single container. This is useful for organising complex sequences, applying effects to multiple clips at once, or reusing clip groups.

Creating compound clips

1. Select multiple clips across any lanes.
2. Right-click and choose New Compound Clip (or press Cmd+G).
3. The selected clips collapse into a single green compound clip on the timeline.

Editing inside a compound clip

Double-click a compound clip to open it in a nested timeline. Edit the contents as you would any timeline. Click the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the timeline to return to the parent timeline.

Breaking apart compound clips

Select a compound clip and press Cmd+Shift+G to break it apart, returning the individual clips to the parent timeline.

Multicam Editing

AIVE ONE Beta supports multicam editing for synchronising and switching between multiple camera angles in real time.

Setting up a multicam clip

1. Select all the camera angles in the Media Browser.
2. Right-click and choose New Multicam Clip.
3. AIVE ONE Beta synchronises the angles using one of three methods:
   • Audio waveform (default) — matches audio patterns across all angles. Works with any camera.
   • Timecode — uses embedded timecode. Requires all cameras to be timecode-synced.
   • In-point — aligns clips at their in-points. Manual but reliable fallback.
4. The multicam clip appears in your Media Browser with a special multicam icon.

Cutting in the multicam viewer

1. Add the multicam clip to the Primary lane.
2. Open the Multicam Viewer from View > Multicam Viewer or press Cmd+Shift+7.
3. The viewer shows all angles simultaneously in a grid.
4. Press Play and click on the angle you want to switch to. AIVE ONE Beta inserts a cut point and switches the active angle at the playhead position in real time.
5. After your live cut, refine the edit points using standard trimming tools.

Switching angles after cutting

To change the active angle of an existing segment: position the playhead over the segment, then press the angle number (1, 2, 3, etc.) or right-click and choose from the angle menu.

Markers

Press M to add a marker at the playhead position. Markers are visible as colored diamonds on the timeline ruler.

• Double-click a marker to edit its label and color.
• Use the Markers panel in the left sidebar to see all markers in a list and jump to them.
• Markers are included in your exported video as chapter markers (if the export format supports it).
• Use To-Do markers (orange) to flag sections that need attention. These appear in the AI Draft Review as action items.

Timeline Keyboard Shortcuts

The most important shortcuts for timeline editing. For the full reference, see Keyboard Shortcuts.