How to Make TikTok Edits on CapCut

You’ve seen those slick TikTok edits with killer transitions and perfectly synced audio, and now you want to make them yourself. The great news is you don’t need expensive software or a powerful computer, the entire process can happen right on your phone using CapCut. This guide will show you exactly how to make compelling TikTok edits on CapCut, starting with the basics and moving up to the advanced tricks that will make your content stand out.

Why CapCut is the Go-To Editor for TikTok

There's a reason nearly every TikTok editing tutorial mentions CapCut. It's the unspoken official editor for the platform, and for good reason. First, it's completely free to use, without intrusive watermarks or annoying feature paywalls that get in your way. Second, it's owned by ByteDance - the same company that owns TikTok - which means it has seamless integration and features designed specifically for creating short-form vertical videos.

But the biggest advantage is its power. For a mobile app, CapCut is packed with features that rival some desktop editing software. You get access to multi-track editing, keyframes, chroma key (green screen), advanced audio tools, and a massive library of effects, transitions, and filters that are constantly updated with trending styles. It gives you the power of a pro editor with the convenience of a mobile app.

Getting Started: Your Quick Tour of the CapCut Interface

Opening CapCut for the first time can feel a little busy, but you only need to know a few key areas to get started. Tapping "New project" will take you into the main editing screen. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• The Preview Window: This is the large area at the top where you can watch your video playback as you edit.
• The Timeline: The bottom half of the screen is your timeline. This is where you arrange your video clips, audio tracks, text layers, and effects in chronological order. Think of it as your editing workbench.
• The Toolbar: Directly below the timeline is your main toolbar. This is where you’ll find all the primary editing functions like Edit (for trimming, splitting, speeding up), Audio, Text, Effects, Filters, and Overlay. This bar changes contextually, so when you select a clip, it shows you tools for editing that specific clip.
• The Export Button: This little arrow icon in the top right corner is what you’ll press when your masterpiece is ready to be saved to your phone or shared directly on TikTok.

Your First TikTok Edit: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let's walk through the fundamental steps of creating a simple TikTok edit. The process involves importing media, cutting it to the right moments, and setting it to music.

1. Import Your Clips

Starting is simple. Tap New project. CapCut will open your phone's photo library. Select the video clips and photos you want to use for your edit. You can select multiple files at once. After you've chosen them, tap the Add button. Your selected clips will now appear in order on your editing timeline.

2. Trim and Split Your Clips

Very rarely will you use an entire video clip as is. Your first job is to cut out the excess and find the most interesting moments. In CapCut, you have two main ways to do this:

• Trimming: Tap on a clip in the timeline. You'll see white handles appear at the beginning and end. Simply tap and drag these handles inward to shorten the clip from either side. This is great for cutting off the start or end of a shot.
• Splitting: Sometimes you need to cut out a section from the middle of a clip. To do this, drag the white playhead (the vertical line) to the point where you want to make a cut. Tap the clip to select it, then find the Split button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. This will slice your clip into two separate pieces. You can then split it again further down the line and delete the unwanted middle section.

Pro Tip: Practice making lots of quick cuts. TikTok videos move fast. Keeping your clips short and punchy (1-2 seconds each) is a good way to maintain viewer engagement.

3. Add Music and Sound Effects

Sound is half the experience on TikTok. To add music, tap the Audio button on the main toolbar. You have several options:

• Sounds: This connects directly to TikTok's massive library of trending songs and audio clips. You can search for a specific sound, browse by genre, and find what's currently popular. This is the best option for using commercial music, as it’s properly licensed for use on TikTok.
• Extracted: This surprisingly useful feature lets you pull the audio from another video on your phone. If you have a screen recording of a TikTok with a unique sound you want to use, you can extract just the audio and apply it to your video.
• Your Device: If you have your own music or sound effects saved on your phone, you can import them from here.

4. Sync Your Video to the Audio Beat

This is the secret sauce for many impressive edits. Syncing your video cuts to the beat of a song creates a satisfying rhythm that mesmerizes viewers. CapCut makes this incredibly easy.

Once you’ve added an audio clip to your timeline, tap on the audio clip itself. In the bottom toolbar, you'll see an option called Beats (it might be labeled as "Beat" with a flag icon).

• Auto-generate: CapCut's AI can analyze the song and automatically add beat markers for you. You have two options, Beat 1 (which marks a more dynamic rhythm) and Beat 2 (which marks just the dominant kick/snare). This is the fastest way to get started.
• Add Manually: For more control, you can play the song and tap the Add beat button rhythmically, placing your own beat markers exactly where you want a visual change to happen.

After you’ve added beat markers (they appear as small yellow dots on the audio clip), you can easily trim and arrange your video clips to start and end right on those dots. Zoom in on the timeline to get precise placement. When the visuals change perfectly in time with the music, your edit instantly feels more professional.

Leveling Up Your Edits: Popular CapCut Features

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can start adding flair with transitions, effects, and text to make your edits pop.

Dynamic Transitions

To add a transition, simply tap the small white square icon that appears between two clips on your timeline. This will open CapCut's transition library. Avoid the basic fades and wipes. For a TikTok feel, look in these categories:

• Camera: Transitions like Pull in, Pull out, and Shake provide energetic movement.
• MG: This category contains clean, graphic-style transitions that are popular in edits, like Mix or Spin.
• Blur: Simple blur swipes or radial blurs can create very smooth-looking cuts.

Remember, less is often more. Sticking to one or two styles of transitions throughout a video creates a cleaner, more cohesive look.

Animated Text and Captions

Clear, engaging text hooks viewers in the first few seconds. Tap the Text button on the main toolbar to add a text layer. But don’t just leave it static! After typing your text, use these features:

• Animation: This tab gives you in, out, and loop animations for your text. A simple "Fade in" or a dynamic "Typewriter" effect makes your text feel more alive.
• Styles &, Effects: Here you can add shadows, outlines, and glows to make your text readable over any background.
• Keyframes: For ultimate control, you can animate text yourself. Add a keyframe, move the text. Move forward in the timeline, move the text again, and a second keyframe is automatically added. CapCut will animate the movement from A to B.

Speed Ramping for Creative Flow

Varying the speed of your clips is a classic editing trick. Instead of just making a whole clip faster or slower, use Speed Ramping for dramatic effect. Select a clip and go to Speed >,, Curve.

CapCut gives you presets like Bullet Time or Jump Cut that create dynamic speed changes. You can also tap Custom to edit the curve yourself. Drag points on the curve up to speed up that part of the clip and drag them down to create slow motion. This is perfect for emphasizing an action - slowing down right at the climax and speeding up right after.

Advanced CapCut Tricks for Viral Potential

Ready to try the techniques that make the top editors stand out? These features are surprisingly easy to use in CapCut.

The Power of Keyframes for Animation

Keyframes are markers that tell CapCut a property of a clip (like its position, size, or opacity) at a specific point in time. By setting two or more keyframes, CapCut automatically generates the animation between them.

Here’s a simple example: a slow zoom-in effect.

1. Select a clip and move your playhead to the beginning of it.
2. In the toolbar that appears above the timeline, tap the small diamond icon with a plus sign. This adds your first keyframe, locking in the clip's current size and position.
3. Now, move the playhead to the end of the clip.
4. Pinch-to-zoom in on your clip in the preview window to your desired end point. CapCut will automatically add a second keyframe.

Now, when you play the clip, you’ll see it smoothly zoom from the starting size to the ending size. You can use keyframes to animate position, rotation, scale, and even opacity, giving you full control over your visuals.

Using the Overlay Feature

The Overlay feature lets you place a video or photo on top of another video clip, also known as picture-in-picture. This is great for reaction videos, gaming content, or creative edits.

On the main toolbar, tap Overlay >,, Add overlay and select the media you want to place on top. You can then resize and reposition it in the preview window. Combine this with the Remove BG tool (select the overlay clip and find 'Remove Background') to magically cut out people or objects and place them in entirely new settings.

Exporting and Sharing to TikTok

Once your edit is complete, it's time to export. Tap the resolution number at the very top of your editing screen (it usually defaults to 1080p). For the best quality on TikTok, use these settings:

• Resolution: 1080p is the ideal balance for clarity and file size.
• Frame Rate: 30fps is standard, but if your video has a lot of smooth motion or was filmed at 60fps, exporting at 60fps can make it look extra fluid.
• Code Rate (Bitrate): Leave this on 'Recommended' for the best balance.

After adjusting, tap the export arrow in the top-right. Once it's done rendering, CapCut gives you a shortcut to Share to TikTok, which takes you directly to the TikTok app with your video ready to go. You can add your final trending sounds, hashtags, and caption there before posting.

Final Thoughts

Making professional-looking TikTok edits is completely within your reach with CapCut. By getting comfortable with trimming clips, syncing them to audio, using transitions, and adding dynamic text, you have everything you need to create videos that hold a viewer’s attention and show off your personality or brand.

Once you’ve poured your creativity into a great edit, the last thing you want is for it to get lost in a messy content calendar. We originally built Postbase because we were tired of tools that just couldn’t handle short-form video properly. With our platform, you can plan your TikToks with a simple visual calendar and reliably schedule them to go live alongside your Reels and Shorts, without worrying about your social accounts constantly disconnecting or posts mysteriously failing to publish. It’s a modern tool designed to just work for the video-first world we actually create for.