Ripple Edit
Remove one scene and everything shifts — like destroying a Horcrux: the timeline changes whether you intended it to.
A ripple edit is a timeline trim operation in which shortening or extending a clip not only changes that clip's duration but also automatically moves all subsequent clips in the timeline by the same amount to compensate. If you shorten a clip by 2 seconds using a ripple trim, all clips after it move 2 seconds earlier in the timeline — the gap that would have appeared is automatically closed. If you extend a clip by 2 seconds, all clips after it move 2 seconds later. The "ripple" analogy describes how a pebble dropped in water creates waves that propagate outward — the edit change propagates through the rest of the timeline, affecting all downstream content's position.
The alternative to a ripple edit is a simple trim (or "standard trim"), which changes the clip's duration but leaves all other clips in their existing timeline positions, creating a gap or overlap. The choice between ripple and standard trim depends on editorial intent: if you're trimming to maintain the overall program's timing while adjusting one element, use a ripple edit. If you're deliberately creating a gap or shortening into existing handles while keeping everything else fixed, use a standard trim. Most NLEs (Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Avid) use modifier keys to switch between ripple and standard trim behavior on the same tool.
For editors assembling an interview-driven video from a selects rough cut, the ripple edit is one of the most frequently used tools. When tightening a speaker's answer by trimming out a pause or a repeated phrase, a ripple trim ensures that all the following content stays properly sequenced without requiring manual repositioning of every subsequent clip. In Final Cut Pro's magnetic timeline (its default mode), all trims are effectively ripple trims — the timeline automatically closes gaps rather than leaving dead space. This makes the workflow more forgiving for producers and non-editors but can feel counterintuitive when you want to create intentional gaps or work with precise timecode positions rather than relative sequence ordering.
Related terms
- Trim— Like editing the Council of Elrond down to the bit where they actually decide something and move on.
- Timeline— The Fellowship's route from the Shire to Mount Doom — every moment in sequence, every clip in its place.
- Roll— Moving both clip edges simultaneously — the Ent who deliberates carefully before acting on the whole forest.
- Slip Edit— Changing which part of a clip plays without moving it — editing Frodo's memory while he's inside the Pensieve.
- Slide Edit— Moving a clip through time without changing its cut points — a Time-Turner for video content, minus the paradoxes.