Troubleshooting and FAQ

I applied a transition but nothing happened

Transitions only change the first or last second of a clip. Move the playhead to the clip's start or end, or watch the automatic preview. See Effects vs. transitions.

I applied an effect but the picture didn't change

Make sure the playhead is over the clip and the clip isn't hidden by a clip on a higher track. Check the effect chip at the top of Effect Controls. Effects for audio (Boost, Audio Fade) don't change the picture.

A file won't import

Its codec probably isn't supported (for example ProRes or AVI). Convert it to H.264 MP4.

My clips are red and striped

The media is offline. See Offline media and relinking.

A video has no sound in the timeline

The file has no audio track (it shows no audio in the Project panel), the audio track is muted, another track is soloed, or the audio clip was unlinked and deleted.

Playback stutters

Lower the number of simultaneous video tracks, close the Multi-Camera view when not needed, or use smaller proxy-resolution files. Export is not affected — it is frame-accurate.

Export says "The export range is empty"

Choose Entire Sequence, or drag the In/Out handles on the range bar in the Export dialog to choose the part you want. Press ⌥X in the timeline to clear old In/Out points. See Markers and sequence In/Out.

Export used real time instead of Fast

A clip needed real-time processing (for example audio with changed speed). The message in the Export dialog explains why.

The timeline keeps zooming by itself

That's Auto-fit keeping all clips visible. Zoom manually to turn it off, or click Auto-fit. See Zooming.

I deleted something by mistake

Press ⌘Z. Up to 300 steps can be undone.

Shortcuts show the Mac keys: on Windows and Linux use Ctrl for ⌘ and Alt for ⌥.