Hi, Asher,
Well, I have my breakfast in front of me (what one might call a "breakfast burrito") so I am prepared to proceed. (Carla is at a "function" - not to be confused with "functional" - breakfast).
The editing paradigm and interface of the AVS Video Editor are vary similar to other well-known editors in this genre, such as Ulead Video Studio and its successor by Corel.
Basic longitudinal editing is non-destructive. Suppose our task is to take a clip from the camera and just trim off starting and ending material not wanted in the finished movie. We "import" the file to a holding area, and then drag its icon onto the timeline.
We can then trim off the unwanted material in several ways. We can do it right on the timeline, "playing" the clip, or stepping forward and backward (1/50 sec at a time - not a frame), or we can move through the material with a play cursor. When we have the cursor positioned at the start of the desired material, we can "cut" the clip there (breaking it into two "scenes'). We then just delete the first "scene" (which has the unwanted preliminary material). The gap this leaves is of course automatically closed up.
We can also open a Trim window, where we can do this with greater finesse. We can play the material, forward or backward, at normal speed, or faster, or slower. We can of course step in "pseudo-frames", or move with a cursor. At the critical points, we call for a "Mark In" or "Mark Out" tag. When we exit the Trim window, only the material between Mark In and Mark Out will appear on the timeline.
However, if we later decide we should have left a little more of the "preamble", we can return to the Trim window. The entire source clip will be accessible. We can move the Mark In point to our new starting spot and exit.
AVS offers an obscene repertoire of transitions, used to move from one scene to the next with other than a "flash cut"
Suppose we have two scenes, A and B, adjacent. We wish to transition from A to B by way of, for example, a lateral wipe. (I know that's not a likely choice, but in fact the most likely transition involves some slight time complications, so I don't use it for the example.)
We open a panel with the repertoire of transitions shown as icons and drag the lateral wipe transition icon to our timeline, depositing it roughly at the boundary between the A and B scenes.
Any transition deposits initially with a duration of 2 seconds. A corollary in this example is that the start time of scene B is automatically advanced to 2 seconds before the end time of scene A. This overlap is what the "wipe" works on.
We can then change the duration of the transition, either by dragging directly on the timeline or numerically in a transition properties window. In either case, the starting time of the B scene is adjusted to fit.
If we wish, we can "lift" several scenes out of a single source clip in one operation, using a multiple-trim window. In effect, a Mark In-Mark Out pair is established for each such scene.
When we exit the window, the new scenes are initially adjacent in the time line, but can readily be moved by drag and drop or cut and paste to their desired locations in the movie.
Hopefully, this gives you some insight into the flavor of editing with the AVS Video Editor (and, generally, with several of its competitors, as well).
Best regards,
Doug