Last updated on 8 December 2022
Splitting clips in Premiere is an essential skill to edit most types of projects within the software, and in this very quick & easy guide, we’ll explain exactly how to split a clip in Premiere Pro.
Feel free to learn more in our Complete Guide for Premiere Pro.
Quick Guide
The best way to split a clip in Premiere Pro is to use the keyboard hotkey “C“. This will select the “Razor” tool, then you can click anywhere on a clip and split it in half. Then you can press “V” to reselect your selection tool.
How to Split a Clip in Premiere Pro – Step by Step Guide
1. Select the Razor Tool
Suppose you have already got a project on the go. You can also select this tool by hitting the letter “C” on your keyboard; this is a default hotkey for Premiere Pro that selects the razor tool for you, so it is usually better to use this where you can. But you can cut your clips however you like.
2. Splitting your Clip
Once the razor tool is selected, your mouse cursor will turn into a little razor. You can now click anywhere on a clip located in your sequence. If you click while you have the tool selected, this will cut the clip, allowing you to move the split clip wherever you like within your sequence. And that’s it!
Why would you want to split a clip?
Splitting clips allows you to cut videos in half so you can trim and edit your video. It can’t be any more simple than that, really. There are a few methods for splitting the video clips depending on what stage you are at in the edit process.
Are there other ways to split a video clip?
Using the Source Monitor
Yes! You can also use the Source monitor to trim your clips before adding them to the timeline. From your media prpject panel, you can drag the video over to the Source Monitor and here you can cut clips down.
- Simply drag the video from the Project Panel to the Source Monitor
- Use the hotkeys I and O to place the in and out points.
- Then drag and drop the video into your timeline.
Summary
Splitting a clip within Premiere Pro is an effortless task, but we recommend that you learn the hotkeys for this in the Premiere Pro software so editing in the future is more time-efficient when creating projects.
