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# Lightworks Markers vs. Subclips: Organize a Long Source Clip
- URL: https://lightworksguide.net/editing/lightworks-markers-vs-subclips/
- Published: 2026-11-09T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T12:11:28.000Z
- Author: Lucas Bennett
- Tags: editing

Use a cue marker if you only need to return to one moment, a ranged cue marker if a span needs marking for review, and a subclip if that span needs its own named entry in the Content Manager. The [subclip remains a reference to the original recording](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips), with its own name and metadata but no media of its own.

My default is to keep early review notes as cues and make subclips only for excerpts that will be selected repeatedly. That leaves the long recording available for context while the useful answers get clear names. All three can live in one source, so there's no need to turn every marker into another project item.

## Choose the result you need

Imagine one long interview containing an opening question and a promising answer. The examples below refer to that hypothetical recording throughout.

| Your next task                                       | Use               | What you get                                                        |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Return to the frame where the opening question ends. | Point cue marker  | A bookmark on the source for one frame.                             |
| Identify the complete answer for a second review.    | Ranged cue marker | A named span on the source's scrub bar.                             |
| Choose that answer repeatedly as an excerpt.         | Subclip           | A named Content Manager item referencing the selected source range. |

The [point and ranged cues identify frames and sections](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/clip-information-and-metadata); the subclip gives the selected section a separate project entry. Making it does not render an excerpt file. Keep the original media available and backed up, whichever organising tool you choose.

![A point cue bookmarks one moment, a ranged cue identifies a span, and a subclip names a reference to that source range](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/10/lightworks-markers-vs-subclips-body1-redo-v2.webp)

Use a cue to revisit a moment or span. Make a subclip when that excerpt needs its own reusable named entry.

## Start in the intended Source viewer

Open the long interview by [double-clicking its tile or list entry, or dragging its tile onto the source viewer](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/reviewing-source-clips). Confirm the recording's name at the top before adding anything. The source you are reviewing and the sequence you are editing are different contexts; a playhead parked on the timeline does not identify the source selection.

The actions below follow the current Knowledge Base pages, so match the button and command names to your installed build and use your own shortcut assignments. The documented keys are I for Mark in, O for Mark out, M for a cue, P for Unmark, and / for Make subclip; button or command alternatives are included at each step.

Check for existing In and Out marks. If they describe a selection you still need, preserve its boundaries before clearing it. For a fresh selection, the [Unmark command clears the marks and returns the selection to the full clip](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/reviewing-source-clips); its documented standard key is P. This changes the selected range, not the source media. I'd clear stale marks before each new cue: an existing In point can turn the next cue into a range when a single point was intended.

## Bookmark one moment

1. **Start with the correct source and no unwanted range marks.** Confirm the interview's name and clear stale marks as described above. Preserve any purposeful selection first.
2. **Park at the frame you need to find later.** In this example, choose the end of the opening question. Use playback or the source scrub bar to find the intended frame.
3. **Add the cue.** [Press M or click the cue marker button below the viewer](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/clip-information-and-metadata), using your mapped command if the shortcut differs. Give it a useful name such as `Opening question ends`; a description can record why this moment matters.
4. **Read it again from the source.** [Click the cue on the viewer's scrub bar to open its details](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/clip-information-and-metadata). Check its name and location rather than assuming it selected the complete answer.

A point cue is useful when your next task is to return to that instant. It does not isolate the answer that follows. If you need its extent visible during review, mark the answer as a range.

## Mark the answer for review

1. **Prepare a fresh source selection.** Keep the same interview loaded. If previous marks could interfere, preserve any wanted boundaries and use Unmark before setting the new start.
2. **Set the beginning.** Park at the answer's intended start and use the source Mark in button or the mapped I command.
3. **Park at the end, then add the cue.** The [documented ranged-marker procedure uses an In point, a parked end, and the cue marker command](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/clip-information-and-metadata). Press M if your keyboard mapping matches, or click the cue button. Name the span `Review opening answer`.
4. **Inspect the range.** Check the coloured line across the source scrub bar against the answer you meant to identify. Open its details there when you want to read or change the note.

For a second review I prefer the range to a subclip. It keeps the full recording available while showing the answer's extent, and it can hold a review note without adding another named clip to the selects. If the line starts or ends in the wrong place, recheck the Source item, its marks, and the parked position before creating more objects.

Marker clicks have different jobs in different views. The [timeline-ruler click moves the playhead, while a viewer scrub-bar click opens the marker's details](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/timeline-tools-and-commands). Use the source scrub bar for this logging task; do not infer that a timeline jump changed the source range.

![Clicking a cue marker on the Lightworks timeline ruler moves the playhead to it; clicking a ranged cue on the viewer scrub bar of the Interview source opens its details, with the name Review opening answer, a description field, colour swatches and Delete.](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/11/lightworks-marker-ruler-click-vs-scrub-bar-details.webp)

Click the timeline-ruler marker to navigate. Use the viewer scrub bar when you need to read or change the note.

## Make the reusable subclip

Once you want to select the opening answer as a named excerpt, create its subclip from the intended source range. A ranged cue helps you find what to review, but the single-excerpt steps below work from a deliberately marked source section, so check those boundaries explicitly.

1. **Load and confirm the original interview.** Return to its Source viewer and check the name. If another item or an earlier selection is active, stop and establish the correct source before continuing.
2. **Mark the answer's exact section.** Clear unwanted marks after preserving any selection you need. Park at the beginning and set Mark in. At the intended end, set Mark out, or use the [documented mark-and-park method with the playhead as the end](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/reviewing-source-clips). Use the viewer's In/Out buttons or your actual I/O assignments. Inspect the highlighted span; check that the first words and the answer's finish are included.
3. **Create the subclip.** Click the [Make subclip button on the source viewer](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips), or use Make subclip with its documented / assignment when that matches your mapping.
4. **Find the resulting item.** The [new subclip appears in the Content Manager and the Info panel's Associates tab](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips). Look for that item before repeating the creation command.
5. **Give it a useful name.** Name this excerpt `Best opening answer`. The [Info panel or a list-view Name field lets you rename a clip](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/clip-information-and-metadata); this changes the clip's name within the project rather than the underlying filename. Add a short comment if the reason for keeping the answer needs explanation.
6. **File and preview it.** Put the reference in a Selects bin if you want one place for reusable excerpts. Open the subclip in the Source viewer and check its beginning, end, and audio before inserting it into the sequence. A good name won't tell you whether its boundaries are right.

For a new Selects bin, the [plus button on the Bins heading creates a bin, and clips can be dragged into it](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/bins-collections-and-searching). Within one project, filing or copying a clip reference into another bin does not duplicate the media on disk. Keep this organisational choice separate from making a standalone delivery file.

If you cannot find the result, check the intended project's Content Manager and the source's Info Associates, then confirm you invoked Make subclip on a marked source. The [current guide describes a coloured flag on subclip tiles, thumbnails, and viewers](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips); still confirm the item's name and range. It also notes that still images cannot produce subclips.

## Review many selects without losing context

When the same recording holds several useful answers, I'd keep the first pass for review only, so that only the answers worth reusing become project items. Add meaningful cues as moments or spans turn up, then decide which excerpts deserve named entries.

A deliberate one-excerpt-at-a-time pass uses Go to next or previous cue marker: inspect the surrounding speech, mark each section, make its subclip and name it by its purpose. The [current guide also describes making subclips from named markers with no In/Out marks set](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips): a ranged marker supplies its range, while a point cue runs to the next marker or clip end. Unnamed stretches are left out and existing subclip ranges are skipped. Where boundaries must be exact, I'd stay with the one-at-a-time route, since a point cue in the marker method runs on to the next marker or the clip end.

![A marked interview source range and Make subclip control beside the named Best opening answer entry](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/10/lightworks-markers-vs-subclips-body3-redo-v3.webp)

Mark the intended source boundaries, use Make subclip, and find the new named entry. Keep the original recording available.

In this interview, the point cue helps you locate the question's end, the ranged cue keeps the answer visible for review, and `Best opening answer` is the reusable select. Keep them only while they help you retrieve the material. A cue's location isn't an edit decision on its own, and a new subclip doesn't reach a sequence until you insert it.

Leave the original recording accessible and keep an independent media backup. The subclip's [playback still uses the relevant part of the original clip](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/logging-and-subclips); its separate name does not make it independent media. Before cutting from it, confirm the intended source, the excerpt boundaries, and the sound. If the source has gone offline, restore access with the [media-offline recovery workflow](https://lightworksguide.net/fix/media-offline/) rather than making another subclip of the unavailable material.