How to Edit Videos on Mac: Talking-Head Guide

To edit a video on your Mac, import the recording, cut the dead air and bad takes, add subtitles and export a file. For talking-head footage, ClipsPal makes the first cut and leaves a timeline. It needs macOS 14 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel) and is a free download.

How to edit a video on your Mac, step by step

1. Choose New video, then Import files. You can import camera clips, audio or a whole folder of clips.
2. Choose the spoken language, the video format and the AI for this video. Add direction if you want the edit to follow a style or a focus.
3. Choose how much automatic motion, visual support, camera emphasis and sound you want. These settings only control the automatic pass, and you can add or remove items later.
4. Let ClipsPal run. It transcribes the clips on your Mac, removes verified pauses and failed takes, then edits the whole video. Follow each stage in Director.

If a stage fails, open its details in Director and choose Retry. Your prepared clips and saved edit stay available. The full click paths are in the ClipsPal docs.

Recorded on an iPhone? The iPhone recording walkthrough follows the same path. On a laptop, the video editor for MacBook Air page covers Apple Silicon, and the ClipsPal homepage shows the editor at work.

How to cut and trim the edit by hand

The automatic pass is a draft. Open Need decision to review pending cuts in video order. Play Original and After cut, then choose Cut to accept a proposed cut or Dismiss to keep the passage.

Open Removed to see discarded footage. Drag the edges of a removed block to bring part of it back, or restore the whole block.

On the timeline, drag an item to move it and drag its edges to trim it. Select a camera piece to split it. Undo and Redo apply to your manual edits.

Prefer to work in the words? Editing through the transcript lets you select text to cut or restore speech.

How to add subtitles, zoom-ins and sound

Use the subtitles selector above the video preview and choose Sentence, Word by word or Subtitles off. Click the Subtitles track name to change font, size, colour, position and style.

To fix a misheard word, click it in the preview or the timeline and edit it in the transcript.

The manual Add controls above the timeline place a visual, a punch-in, a heading or a sound at the playhead. A punch-in adds camera emphasis, and you choose its motion style, scale and focus point.

You can also type a request to Director in plain words, such as "Keep the examples, but tighten the introduction."

How to export an edited video on Mac

1. Choose Export, then Video, Editor or SRT only.
2. For video, pick 1080p or 2K · 1440p.
3. Turn on Subtitles in video → Burned in if you want captions drawn into the file. Choose whether to include a separate SRT.
4. Set the export speed if you need it, then export. Open folder shows the finished file.

Exports queue on your Mac, and ClipsPal does not post anywhere. Editor exports a timeline for Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, with camera clips, visuals and sounds on separate tracks.

Leaving iMovie? See the iMovie alternative for Mac.