I’ve recently started editing longer videos in Shotcut, and I’m looking for advice on keeping projects organized as the timeline becomes more complex.
My projects usually include:
Multiple video and audio tracks
Background music and sound effects
Text overlays and transitions
Color correction on selected clips
As the project grows, I find it harder to manage the timeline efficiently, and simple edits can take longer than expected.
I’m curious how experienced Shotcut users organize larger projects. Do you separate different sections onto dedicated tracks, use proxy editing, or have another workflow that keeps everything easy to manage?
Also, are there any built-in features or lesser-known tips that significantly improve editing speed when working with long videos?
Imo it is btter to render partially and keep rendering in parts seperating your wokflow into steps - > video time step, color correction step, and on and on.
Depends on how large, Shotcut starts becoming laggy if you reach hundreds of clips in the timeline with hundreds of filters on them.
So you can either do the basic editing/trimming first, then export an intermediate and then add your filters there.
Or, more straightforward, split the project into smaller 15 mins clips then merge them together at the end (either with ffmpeg, or by loading mlt in mlt to export them all in one go).
I’ve personally tried both of these and with my style of editing I can go for 30-40mins projects in one go before it starts to be visibly laggy. Also if I am careful not to use undo (see this discussion) I can actually go even longer - but I am saving very often (TIP: use the Backup and save action) to make sure I have a backup in case something goes wrong.