Slip Edit

A slip edit adjusts which portion of a source clip is displayed by a clip that's already been placed in the timeline — without changing where the clip sits in the sequence or how long it plays. Imagine a clip in your timeline that shows 5 seconds of a longer 15-second source recording. A slip edit "slips" the viewing window through the source material: you move both the in point and out point by the same amount simultaneously, so the clip still shows exactly 5 seconds, still occupies the same position in the timeline, but now shows a different 5-second portion of the original 15-second recording. The clip is like a window over the source footage: you're moving the source, not the window.

The contrast with a slide edit clarifies the distinction: slide moves the window (the clip's position in the timeline); slip moves what's inside the window (the portion of source footage shown) while keeping the window fixed. Both operations are "duration-neutral" — they don't change the total sequence length — but they're solving different problems. Use a slip when the timing of the clip in the sequence is correct, but the specific moment of footage shown within that clip needs to change. Use a slide when the footage content is correct but the timing of when it appears in the sequence needs to shift.

For editors with B-roll clips in an interview-driven video, slip edits are an efficient way to fine-tune which specific moments of B-roll footage are displayed during a particular section of dialogue. If a B-roll clip of someone using a product is placed to show during a specific dialogue moment, but the most visually interesting part of that B-roll action occurs slightly earlier or later in the source clip, a slip edit shifts which portion of the B-roll plays during that window — without requiring any repositioning of the clip in the timeline. It's the precision tool for "show me a slightly different part of this same footage in this same spot."