Quick Tip: Trim Clips to the Playhead in Premiere Pro

This quick workflow fix will save you time and frustration in your next editing session. Here’s how to easily trim clips to the playhead in Premiere Pro.

Deadlines are a big part of video production — and meeting them can sometimes prove rather difficult. Here’s an easy, basic tip for your next edit that’s guaranteed to help you salvage your patience and maintain happy video editor thoughts.

Trimming a clip in the middle of your work can often mess up your audio sync. Luckily, there’s a simple way to trim your clip without having to manually drag the clips before or after your targeted clip.

How to Execute a Basic Trim in Premiere Pro

To put this technique to use, employ the shortcut Option+Q for Previous Edit to Playhead and Option+W for Next Edit to Playhead.

How to Execute a Ripple Trim in Premiere Pro

Lets say you want to use this same type of shortcut for trimming clips, but you don’t want the gap left in between clips. By simply pressing Shift+Q you can Ripple Trim the Previous Edit to the Playhead. The gap disappears with this shortcut.

Now that you know how to fill in the previous clip, Ripple Trim the Next Edit to the Playhead by hitting Shift+W. 

Mind-blowing, right? So simple, so fast. Apply this shortcut to your workflow immediately!

Know of any other easy shortcuts for Premiere Pro? Share in the comments below!