last update: 07.04.2020

Cut and trim videos with Avidemux (Windows/Linux)

There are often unwanted sequences at the beginning or end of a self-produced video by switching the camera on and off. In those cases you may want to remove a sequence from the video easily. Avidemux offers Linux and Windows users a quick and easy way to shorten and cut videos.

Overview


Important notes are marked yellow.

Additional information is marked in blue.

Required equipment

Guide

Open a video

To be able to edit a video, it must first be imported into the program. To do this, click “Open” in the “File” menu. In the new window select the desired video from your hard drive.

Cut off the beginning

To remove unwanted sequences at the beginning of the video, move the slider on the timeline to the point where you want the video to start.
Now the front part can be separated with the B button (B = before) and deleted with the Delete button.

Attention: the backspace key does not work here, only the delete key!

Tip: You can also use the arrow keys on the keyboard or the arrow buttons under the timeline. You can use the double arrows to fast-forward or rewind faster.

Remove the end

To remove unwanted sequences at the end of the video, position the Timeline slider where you want the video to end.
Now press the A button (A = after). Now everything up to the end is marked and can be deleted with the delete button.

Cut a sequence out in the middle of the video

To cut in the middle of the video, the slider must first be set to the beginning of the sequence to be removed.
Then press the A Button.
Now move the slider to the point to where you want to remove everything.
Then press the B button.
The area in between is now automatically marked and can be deleted via Remove.

Save the video

On the left side there are several possibilities to adjust presettings. Select MP4 or MP4v2 (Muxer) for the output format.
To save the video as MP4, go to the “File” menu and click “Save”.
Select a location in the new window and name the video. Press “OK”. You will receive a notification about the successful saving process.

You can only save the file type that you have previously selected as the output format in the program.

Use the MP4v2 format as it is compatible with most players.

Notes

Avidemux is a simple program to cut sequences from videos or to shorten the beginning and end. You cannot move the sequences around, swap the order or even insert a video clip into the video.
If you want to do that, please refer to the related links.

There are many other, but more complex programs that can be used to cut and edit videos.

Next steps


Info & Contact

License notice

Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
This tutorial for the creation of digital teaching material of the center for Technology-Enhanced Learning (ZML) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Imprint

Publisher
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
Kaiserstraße 12
76131 Karlsruhe

Contact
Karl-Friedrich-Str. 17
76133 Karlsruhe
Germany
Tel.: +49 721 608-48200
Fax: +49 721 608-48210
E-Mail: info@zml.kit.edu