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How To Trim and Cut Video Clips in VLC Media Player on a Mac

VLC media player is a popular free and open-source cross-platform media player that can play most video and audio files. It is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and more. While VLC is primarily a media player, it does include some basic video editing functionality that allows you to trim and cut video clips on your Mac.

Prerequisites

Before you can trim or cut video clips in VLC on your Mac, you need:

  • VLC media player installed on your Mac. You can download it for free from the official VLC website.
  • The video file you want to trim/cut added to your VLC media player library or playlist. VLC supports most common video formats like MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV and more.

Step 1: Set Output Folder

When you trim or cut video clips in VLC, it saves the edited video in a specified output folder on your Mac. So the first step is to set the output folder:

  1. Open VLC media player on your Mac
  2. Go to VLC > Preferences
  3. Click on the Input/Codecs tab
  4. Under ‘Record directory’, click Browse to choose where you want the trimmed video clips to be saved
  5. Click Save to save the preferences

Step 2: Add Video to Playlist

Next, add the video file you want to trim/cut to the VLC playlist:

  1. In the VLC menu bar, go to Media > Open File
  2. Browse and select the video file
  3. The video should now be added to the VLC playlist

Alternatively, you can simply drag and drop video files into the VLC window to add them.

Step 3: Trim/Cut the Video

Now comes the part where you actually trim or cut the video clip using VLC’s recording feature:

  1. In the VLC playlist, double click the video to start playback
  2. Click Playback > Record to start recording
  3. Play the video and pause playback at the point where you want the video clip to start
  4. Click Playback > Record again to stop recording
  5. Resume playback and pause again at the point where you want the video clip to end
  6. Click Playback > Record again to stop recording

The trimmed/cut video clip will now be saved as a new video file in the output folder you configured earlier.

Tips

  • You can trim multiple sections of a video by starting and stopping recordings at different points. Each trimmed section will be saved as a separate video file.
  • Use the keyboard shortcuts ⌘ + R to start/stop recording instead of clicking the Record button.
  • You can trim very precisely using the frame by frame shortcuts ] (faster frame) and [ (slower frame).

Alternative Method – Use VLMC

VLC Media Player is developing a dedicated video editor and NLE (non-linear editing) software called VLMC (VLC Media Cutter). It is currently in alpha stage but shows promise as a good alternative to trim and cut video clips without having to use VLC’s recording feature.

VLMC is cross-platform and open source just like VLC. It focuses solely on video editing instead of playback. You can download VLMC here but keep in mind it is still under development.

Conclusion

While VLC media player is designed primarily for video playback, its recording feature does enable you to easily trim and cut video clips on your Mac. Just add the video to VLC playlist, set output folder in preferences, and use the record button to select clip start/end points.

An upcoming dedicated video editor by the VLC team called VLMC shows potential as an alternative solution focused solely on video editing.

So in summary, VLC can handle basic trimming and cutting needs but for more advanced editing, a dedicated video editing software like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro or iMovie may be better options.

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