# Your first video

> From nothing to a finished video cut to the beat, in about five minutes, even if you have never edited before.

https://driftedit.app/manual/first-video/

This chapter makes a short video from your own clips and a song, with auto mode, then changes a few things by hand and exports it. You need a few video clips or photos and a song on your device. If you have no song, the Library has beats you can use.

## 1. Open the studio
Go to **studio.driftedit.app** in Chrome or Edge. On your first visit it opens on an empty project, ready to edit; later it reopens your last one, and **File**, **New project** starts another. There is nothing to sign up for.

## 2. Bring in your clips and your song
Press **Import** in the **Media** panel on the left, and choose your clips, photos and song. You can also drag the files from a folder and drop them anywhere on the studio.

Each file appears as a tile in the Media panel. A video shows a moving preview when you hover over it; a song shows its waveform. The files stay on your device: importing only lets the browser read them.

![The Media panel with clips, photos and a song imported](https://driftedit.app/manual/shots/media-light.webp)

*The Media panel after importing*

> [!NOTE] No song?
> Open **Library** on the left, choose **Beats**, and drag a beat onto the timeline. Auto mode can use it like any song.

## 3. Let auto mode make the edit
Open **Auto** on the left. DriftEdit has already found your song and your footage.

1. Under **Song**, check that your song is chosen. Press **Listen** to hear the part of it the edit will use.
2. Under **Style**, choose how the edit should feel. **Hype** cuts fast on every kick; **Cinematic** holds shots longer with slow push-ins; **Clean** cuts on the bar, with slow push-ins and no effects. The chapter [Auto mode](https://driftedit.app/manual/auto-mode/) describes all nine.
3. Under **Length**, choose how long the video should be, from 10 to 60 seconds.
4. Press **Make the edit**.

DriftEdit reads the song (its tempo, its bars, every kick and the drop), looks through your footage for sharp, moving moments, and places the best of them on the beats. A bar shows what it is doing. After a few seconds, the edit is on the timeline.

![The Auto panel with a song, a style and a length chosen](https://driftedit.app/manual/shots/auto-light.webp)

*The Auto panel*

## 4. Watch it
Press `Space` to play and pause, or the play button under the viewer. Click anywhere on the ruler above the timeline to jump there.

Not quite right? Press **Another take**: the same song and style, cut another way. Or choose another style and press **Make the edit** again.

## 5. Change something by hand
Everything auto mode made is an ordinary clip on the timeline. Try one of these:

- **Swap a shot.** Select the shot and press `Delete`, drag a better clip from the Media panel into the gap, and trim it to fit.
- **Trim a shot.** Drag the left or right edge of a clip to make it shorter or longer.
- **Delete a shot.** Click a clip and press `Delete`.
- **Add a title.** Open **Text** on the left and click a style: a title in it appears at the playhead. Or drag a style onto the timeline where you want it. Type your words in the inspector on the right, or double-click the title in the viewer and type there.

> [!TIP] Keep your changes and remake the rest
> Changed a few shots and want auto mode to try again around them? Press **Remake around my changes** in the Auto panel: anything you changed by hand stays exactly as it is.

## 6. Export it
Press **Export** at the top right.

1. Choose the **Resolution** (1080p is right for most social media) and the **Frame rate**.
2. Check the **File name**.
3. Press the export button. The video is made in the browser tab; a bar shows the frames as they are done. Keep the tab open until it finishes.

The finished MP4 is saved to your device, ready to post.

![The Export window](https://driftedit.app/manual/shots/export-light.webp)

*The Export window*

## What next
- Learn your way around in [The studio at a glance](https://driftedit.app/manual/studio/).
- Make the edit your own with [effects](https://driftedit.app/manual/effects/), [transitions](https://driftedit.app/manual/transitions/) and [text](https://driftedit.app/manual/text/).
- Follow a complete recipe in [Workflows](https://driftedit.app/manual/workflows/): a phonk car edit, a travel montage, a talking video for YouTube.