How to Edit Videos With VLC Player
By Finn McCuhil
VLC, VideoLan's free video player, is a flexible media player that plays and records a variety of formats. Its one weak point would be extremely limited editing capabilities. The only editing function available in the VLC player is the ability to record clips from existing videos. In keeping with the rest of VLC's functions though, once you know where the controls are, it is a simple process.
Open the VLC player. Click "View" in the main menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click "Advanced Controls" in the drop-down menu. Four additional buttons appear immediately above the existing player controls. The additional buttons allow you to record, capture a snapshot from the video, loop the video and advance the video frame by frame.
Select a media file for playback. Click "Media" in the main menu bar. Click "Open" in the drop-down menu, browse for the file and double-click the file name to open it.
Click the "Record" button when the video reaches the point at which you want to start recording.
Click the "Record" button again to end the clip at the desired point. The file is automatically saved in the Videos folder under Documents on your hard drive. The new clip's file name will begin with "vlc-record" and the current date.
References
Tips
- A new file is created each time you start and stop the clip recorder. Editing several clips will not result in a single file with multiple clips.
- VideoLAN Movie Creator, VLMC, expands on the capabilities of VLC with a more robust set of editing tools.
Writer Bio
Finn McCuhil is a freelance writer based in Northern Michigan. He worked as a reporter and columnist in South Florida before becoming fascinated with computers. After studying programming at University of South Florida, he spent more than 20 years heading up IT departments at three tier-one automotive suppliers. He now builds wooden boats in the north woods.