How to trim and cut a screen recording on Windows
Remove the start, the end and the mistakes from a screen recording on Windows. Trimming, splitting and ripple cuts explained, with the shortcuts.
Updated · 2 minute read · By the Sceed team
To trim a screen recording, open it in an editor, mark the part you do not want and delete it. In Sceed, press I and O to mark a range and Delete to remove it; everything after closes up. Press S to split at the playhead. On Windows 11 you can also trim the two ends of a clip in the Photos app or Clipchamp.
Trim, split, cut
Trim removes time from the beginning or the end.
Split divides the recording in two at the playhead.
Cut removes a range from the middle. A ripple cut closes the gap; everything after moves earlier.
What to cut from a screen recording
The first seconds, where you find the window and take a breath.
The last seconds, where the mouse travels to the Stop button.
Waiting: installs, uploads, page loads, builds.
Mistakes and the "sorry, let me do that again".
Long pauses while you think. Viewers do not need them.
With the tools in Windows
The Photos app in Windows 11 can trim the ends of a video and save a copy. Clipchamp, also included with Windows 11, is a full timeline editor that can split and delete. Both treat the recording as a finished picture: the cursor and everything else is already burned in.
In the recorder’s own editor
Editing where you recorded has one large advantage: the edits apply to the take before the cursor, zooms and effects are drawn. In Sceed, zooms, blurs and other blocks stay attached to the moment in the recording they belong to, so cutting ten seconds from the middle does not push them out of place.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or pause |
| J, K, L | Play backwards, stop, play forwards and faster |
| S | Split at the playhead |
| I and O | Mark the start and end of a range |
| Delete | Remove the selected block or the marked range |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
With Sceed, step by step
- 1
Play to the mistake
In the Sceed editor, press Space to play, or J, K and L to shuttle.
- 2
Mark the range
Press I where the bad part starts and O where it ends.
- 3
Delete it
Press Delete. The range is removed and the rest of the video moves up to close the gap.
- 4
Tidy the ends
Do the same for the fumbling at the start and the reach for Stop at the end.
- 5
Speed up the slow parts
For a wait you cannot cut, such as an install or a loading bar, speed that stretch up instead.
New to Sceed? Install to export in five steps.
Questions
How do I trim a video on Windows 11 without installing anything?
Open it in the Photos app and choose Trim to cut the start and end, or open it in Clipchamp for cuts in the middle.
What is a ripple cut?
A cut that also closes the gap it leaves, so the video stays continuous. Sceed’s range delete is a ripple cut.
Will cutting move my zooms and effects?
Not in Sceed. Blocks are stored against the recording’s own time, so they stay on the moment they were placed.
Can I speed up part of a recording?
Yes. Speed up or slow down a stretch of the timeline in Sceed, for example to get through an install quickly.
Keep reading
More guides on editing
- How to zoom in on a screen recordingAdd smooth zooms to a screen recording so viewers can read the small things: when to zoom, how far, and how to do it on Windows without keyframes.
- How to smooth the cursor in a screen recordingFix a shaky, jittery mouse pointer in a screen recording. How cursor smoothing works, and how to change the cursor’s size, look and colour after recording.
- How to blur sensitive information in a screen recordingHide emails, names, API keys and account numbers in a screen recording. How to blur a region after recording on Windows, and how not to show it at all.