How to do three-point editing

Three-point editing means you set three of the four points of an edit (a source in, a source out and a place on the timeline, for example) and the editor works out the fourth. In Video by Zaweba, open View > Source monitor, play the clip from the bin, press I and O to mark the part you want, park the timeline playhead where it should go, and press F9 to insert or F10 to overwrite.

Dragging clips onto a timeline works fine for short projects. Once you are cutting interviews, long recordings or many takes, three-point editing is faster and more precise. You choose exactly the frames you want while watching the source, then drop them in with one key.

The four points

Every edit has a source in and out (which part of the clip) and a timeline in and out (where it goes and how long). Three of those decide the fourth. The most common form is source in, source out and the playhead: the marked range lands at the playhead and its length comes from the source marks.

The other form uses timeline marks. Mark in and out on the timeline as well, and the timeline range sets the length. Then Edit > Fit to fill changes the clip's speed so the source range exactly fills the timeline range, which is useful for covering a precise gap.

Marking and placing a clip

Open View > Source monitor. It sits beside the program monitor with its own playhead, and plays whichever file you select in the media bin.

Find the moment. Use J, K and L to play backwards, stop and play forwards, pressing J or L again to go faster, and step frame by frame to land exactly.

Press I at the start of the part you want and O at the end. These marks are saved with the media item, so they are still there next time you open the same clip.

Choose where it goes. Park the timeline playhead at the edit point. Check track targeting: the T switch on each track header marks which tracks the edit will use.

Press F9 to insert. The marked range goes in at the playhead and everything after moves later to make room.

Or press F10 to overwrite. The marked range replaces whatever was on the timeline for that length, and nothing moves.

Insert or overwrite

Insert is for building a sequence and adding new material in the middle without losing anything. Overwrite is for replacing a section, such as dropping a cutaway over an interview while the sound carries on underneath. A common pattern is to lay the interview down with inserts, then cover jump cuts with cutaways using overwrite on a video track above.

Getting good at it

Keep your hands on the keyboard. J, K, L, I, O, F9 and F10 cover most of the job without the mouse. If F9 and F10 are awkward on your keyboard, Edit > Keyboard shortcuts lets you move them.

Use sync lock. The S switch on each track header keeps tracks moving together when you insert, so music and titles further down the timeline stay in step.

Lift and extract are the opposites. Mark a range on the timeline, then lift (;) removes it and leaves a gap, while extract (') removes it and closes the gap.

Use subclips for long recordings. Mark a good section and keep it as a subclip, so you don't have to find it again in a long file.

Match frame helps going the other way. Shift+F finds the source frame of the clip under the playhead, which is handy for grabbing a few more frames of a shot already cut in.

Video by Zaweba is free software that runs offline on Windows with no account, with three-point editing built in from the start.