An easier QuickTime Pro file splitting technique

Apr 17, '07 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: luomat

I have a long file (call it movie.mov) that I want to split into several different parts. This can be easily accomplished using Quicktime Pro, but usually it requires dragging the selectors around to the start and end points, which can be difficult to target precisely, especially on a longer movie (I'm working with one now that started out as almost two hours). On the other hand, pausing the movie and moving the cursor using the left and right arrow keys moves so slowly, it seems to take forever to get to the right moment. 2br Then I found an easier way: using the keyboard (at least for the important parts):

  1. Duplicate the master file. Use the copy for these edits. Because accidents happen.
  2. Use the mouse to drag the selector to the approximate point, but stop before the point you want to be the end of your clip.
  3. Press the Space Bar to start the movie playing. When you get to the point you want to cut, press the Space Bar again to pause.
  4. Now put the cursor over the time slider and press Command-B. This tells QuickTime to "Select None," but it has the side effect of making the selectors (which you use the mark the start and end points of your cut) jump to exactly the current position.
  5. Drag the left selector all the way to the left (the beginning of the movie). This will give you a selection of the entire clip you want from the beginning to the point you marked.
  6. Press Command-X to cut the clip, Command-N to open a new player window, and Command-V to paste the clip into the new player.
  7. Press Command-S to save (you'll have to give the new movie a name), then Command-W to close the window.
And now you're back at the file you started with, except without the clip you just saved, so you can repeat the process. Each time it gets easier to get to the selection point, since you are always starting from time 00:00, and always dealing with a progressively shorter movie.

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