Slip Edits

A Slip Edit changes the content of a clip without changing its position or duration on the timeline.

Why Use a Slip Edit?

Imagine you have a 5-second clip of a car driving by, squeezed perfectly between two other clips. You realize the car doesn't enter the frame until the 2nd second of the clip, so the first second is just empty road. You want the action to start sooner.

If you trim the clip and drag it, you will mess up the timing of your entire sequence and misalign the clips next to it. Instead, you use a Slip Edit. This keeps the clip exactly 5 seconds long and exactly in the same spot on the timeline, but "slips" the underlying media file backward or forward through that 5-second window.

How to Perform a Slip Edit

1. Select the Trim Tool by pressing T.
2. Hover your cursor over the upper half of the clip's thumbnail on the timeline.
3. The cursor will change into a Slip icon (a box with two arrows pointing in opposite directions).
4. Click and drag left or right.

As you drag, look at the Program Monitor. ORAPHIM will display a dual-screen view:

• The left screen shows the new first frame of your clip.
• The right screen shows the new last frame of your clip.

When you release the mouse, the clip remains the exact same length on the timeline, but you have successfully slipped the underlying media to show a different portion of the shot.

Use Slip in a production project

1. Open Edit workspace and select the intended clip, edit point, track, or timeline range.
2. Establish the correct input state first—timing, media link, layer/node enable state, project settings, or source selection as relevant.
3. Apply or adjust Slip with one clear goal. Change the smallest set of controls needed to reach that goal so the result remains understandable and reversible.
4. Review the complete affected range in context. Scrub difficult frames and also play at normal speed when motion or audio is involved.
5. Save a named milestone before moving into another major operation, especially after graph changes, tracking, AI processing, relinking, simulation, or delivery setup.

Practical guidance

A slip changes which source frames appear while keeping the clip's timeline position and duration fixed. Use it to improve internal timing without moving neighboring edits.

A useful test is a short 5–10 second section containing both an easy case and a difficult case for this feature. Tune against the difficult moment without breaking the easy one. If two approaches are plausible, duplicate/version the project state and compare them rather than stacking both together blindly.

Verify the result

• Play through the edit at normal speed and check upstream/downstream timing.
• Toggle/bypass the operation where possible and make sure the change you intended is actually responsible for the result.
• Check selection, visibility/mute/solo state, node connections, track locks, range, and source identity when the result appears missing.
• Save and reopen before treating a complex setup as reusable.
• If this feature changes final pixels or audio, render a short review and inspect the file outside Oraphim.

Related guides

• Clips
• Editing Overview
• Markers
• Multicam