How do I trim in VLC Mobile?

Trimming a video means cutting out unwanted sections from the beginning or end of a video to keep only the most relevant parts. Users may want to trim videos on their phones for several reasons:

• To remove boring or irrelevant sections and focus on the main action
• To cut out mistakes or bad takes
• To shorten long videos for sharing on social media or messaging apps
• To isolate a specific clip or moment from a longer video

Trimming on a phone allows users to edit videos on the go without needing to transfer them to a computer first. Mobile apps make it quick and easy to trim videos right on a user’s device. With just a few taps, users can cut videos down to only the best parts to share with friends or post online.

Prerequisites

Before you can trim a video in VLC Mobile, you need to make sure you have the app installed and have a video ready that you want to trim. Here are the prerequisites:

• Install VLC Mobile on your Android device from the Google Play Store. VLC Mobile is a free video player app. (Source)
• Locate a video on your device that you want to trim. This can be a video you recorded yourself or downloaded online.

Once you have VLC Mobile installed and have picked out a video to trim, you’ll be ready to move on to the steps for trimming the video.

Open the Video

The first step is to launch the VLC mobile app on your device. Once it’s open, locate and select the video file you want to trim. VLC supports most common video formats like MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV and more. You can access videos stored locally on your device or from cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox if you have them linked.

To open a locally stored video in VLC mobile:

• Navigate to the folder where your video is saved on your device’s storage.
• Tap the video to select it.
• This will launch the video within the VLC player.

That’s all there is to opening a video you want to trim in VLC mobile. You should now have the video loaded and ready in the VLC app.

Tap the Clip Icon

Once you have opened the video you want to trim, tap the scissor or clip icon at the bottom right of the screen. This icon looks like ✂️ or ✄. Tapping this icon will open VLC’s trimming mode.

According to the VLC Help website, “We can find these functions under advanced controls menu” when referring to the ability to trim videos in VLC. https://www.vlchelp.com/cut-trim-videos-with-vlc-media-player/

Set the Start Point

Once you have opened the video you want to trim in VLC Mobile, tap the clip icon at the top right of the screen. This will open the trimming interface. To set the start point for your trimmed video, simply drag the left bracket to the desired start point. You can preview the trimmed section as you drag the bracket to ensure you have selected your ideal start point.

According to the Shotcut forum, when trimming video you can “Put the video on the timeline. S splits. Use Shift I for Set Start Point.” This shows that various video editing software utilizes set start points to allow precise trimming.

Sources:

[1] “Set Start Point” and “Set End Point”, from Windows Movie Maker

Set the End Point

Once you have set the start point for your trimmed video, you need to set the end point. To do this in VLC Mobile:

1. Tap and hold on the right bracket located under the video timeline.
2. While holding, drag the bracket to the desired end point of your trimmed video.
3. Release your finger when the bracket is positioned at the precise end point.

Setting the end bracket determines where VLC Mobile will stop playing the video during playback. Everything to the right of the end bracket will be trimmed off in the exported video.

Take your time setting the end point and preview the trimmed footage to ensure you have the perfect cut. Setting precise start and end points is crucial for getting the best trimmed video clip possible in VLC Mobile.

Preview

Once you have set the start and end points for your trimmed video, you can preview it to make sure you have selected the portion you want. In VLC mobile, tap the play icon to preview your trimmed video. This allows you to see exactly what the final output will look like before saving the new trimmed video.

Previewing is an important step as it lets you double check that the start and end points are exactly where you want them. You may need to adjust the start and end points multiple times to get the perfect trim. Tap the play icon after each adjustment to preview again until it looks right.

Save the Trimmed Video

Once you have set the start and end points for your desired trimmed video clip, it’s time to save it as a new file. Here’s how to do it in VLC for Mobile:

Tap the floppy disk icon in the bottom toolbar to open the save menu. This is the key step for saving your trimmed video clip. Selecting this icon will prompt VLC to export just the trimmed section into a new video file.

In the save menu that opens, you can choose the folder location, filename, and video format for the exported clip. It’s recommended to use a common video format like MP4 so the trimmed video will be compatible with most devices and platforms.

After configuring the export settings, tap “Start” and VLC will process the video trim and save the new file. Depending on the video length, this may take a few minutes.

Once completed, you will find the trimmed video clip in your selected destination folder, ready to share or use however you need. The original full-length video will remain untouched and unaltered.

Find the New Video

The trimmed video will be saved to your device storage. You can access it through the VLC Library.

On Android, go to VLC and tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top left. Then select “Library” and you will see the trimmed video in the list. It will be titled “vlc-record-DATE-TIME” to distinguish it from the original.

On iOS, launch VLC and tap on “Library” at the bottom. The trimmed video will be in the list of videos with the title “vlc-record-DATE-TIME”.

Once you find it, you can rename the trimmed video to something more descriptive if you want. But VLC will save it with the default name initially.

Knowing where VLC saves the trimmed video makes it easy to find later and share or edit as needed.

Conclusion

In summary, trimming videos on your phone using VLC Mobile is a straightforward process. The main steps are opening the video in VLC Mobile, tapping the clip icon, setting start and end points, previewing, and saving the trimmed video. Some key benefits of trimming videos on your phone include:

It’s fast and easy – no need to transfer files to a computer and use video editing software. You can quickly trim videos right on your phone on the go.

Saves storage space – removing unwanted sections of a video can significantly reduce file size.

Sharing is simplified – trimmed videos are smaller so they upload and share faster. Creating shorter versions makes it easier to share videos online.

Overall, having the ability to trim and edit videos directly on your Android device using VLC Mobile is a convenient way to customize and improve your videos.