Opening a video editor for the first time can feel like a lot at once, especially if the timeline, tools and menus aren't laid out the way you're used to. This walkthrough covers the basics of setting up your first project so you're not guessing at what each icon does.
1. Sign in and land on the home screen
After installing the app, you'll sign in with your existing Instagram account. There's no separate password to create. Once you're in, you'll land on a home screen that shows your drafts, if you have any, along with an option to start something new.
2. Choose your starting point
You can start a project two ways: import clips already sitting in your camera roll, or record fresh footage directly inside the app. If you're recording fresh, take a moment to check resolution and frame rate before you start — it's easier to set those once than to fix mismatched footage later.
3. Get familiar with the timeline
Everything happens on a single horizontal timeline at the bottom of the screen. Clips sit side by side, and you can trim, split or reorder them by dragging. Zooming in gives you frame-level precision for lining up a cut exactly where you want it.
4. Add your first layer of style
Before you get deep into effects, it's worth doing one full pass of just cuts — get the pacing right first. Once that's locked, layer in text, filters, sound and stickers on top. Doing it in that order tends to save you from re-timing effects every time you change a cut.
5. Save as a draft
You don't need to finish in one sitting. Projects save automatically as drafts, and you can pick them back up later from the home screen, on the same device or another one signed into the same account.
- Start with pacing, add styling second
- Set camera settings before recording, not after
- Drafts sync to your account, not your device
Ready to try it yourself? Get Edits from the official store.
Go to download page