How to Reverse & Freeze-Frame a Video (Time Remap)
Reverse and freeze aren’t separate buttons — they’re two shapes of the same control. Time Remap maps where the playhead sits to which frame of your footage plays. Hold a frame and you freeze; run the frames backwards and you rewind.
Some of the most-shared video moments are just time, paused or reversed: a splash un-splashing, a freeze on the punchline, a skater landing in rewind. In ExpoCut both come from one place — Time Remap, a small keyframe table that decides which frame of your footage plays at each moment of the timeline.
The one idea behind both
Time Remap maps two clocks:
- Playhead (ms) — where you are on the editor timeline.
- Source (ms) — which frame of the clip shows there.
Normally they march together 1:1 — playhead 1000ms shows source frame 1000ms. Every trick on this page is just a different shape of that mapping:
- Freeze — hold the Source value still while the Playhead keeps moving.
- Reverse — make the Source value count down as the Playhead counts up.
- Speed — make Source move faster or slower than the Playhead.
Step 1 — Find Time Remap
Select your clip to enter its transform tools, scroll the toolbar to the end, and open Properties.
Properties — opens the clip’s Layer Properties
In Layer Properties, switch on Enable Time Remap. A keyframe table appears: each row is one Playhead → Source pair, and ExpoCut sorts the rows by playhead time automatically.
Enable Time Remap — map playhead time → source frame
Each row: where the playhead sits, and which source frame plays there
Step 2 — Freeze a frame
To hold a moment, give two keyframes the same Source value across a span of Playhead time. The frame in between has nowhere to advance, so it sits still.
A two-second freeze on the frame at one second, then resume:
| Playhead (ms) | Source (ms) | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | plays normally from the start |
| 1000 | 1000 | …up to the freeze point (still 1:1) |
| 3000 | 1000 | 2s where Source is held → freeze |
| 5000 | 3000 | resumes normal speed afterwards |
Drop a title or a zoom keyframe over the held stretch so the frozen frame does real work — a “record-scratch, you’re probably wondering how I got here” intro, or a beat of emphasis on a reaction.
Step 3 — Reverse a clip
To play backwards, make the Source count down while the Playhead counts up. For a clip you want to fully reverse over two seconds:
| Playhead (ms) | Source (ms) | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2000 | starts on the clip’s last frame |
| 2000 | 0 | …and walks back to the first — plays in reverse |
Because the mapping between keyframes is linear, the footage runs smoothly backwards — not stepped. Reverse is deceptively powerful: a poured drink un-pours, a mess un-spills, or you snap back a beat for comedy.
Reverse a section, not always the whole clip. Split the clip first, then add a descending Source span on just one piece to play forward → rewind → continue.
Combine them: the boomerang
Forward then backward, in one table, makes a seamless loop that never visibly jumps:
| Playhead (ms) | Source (ms) | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | plays forward… |
| 2000 | 2000 | …to the end |
| 4000 | 0 | …then runs back to the start |
Stack a freeze on the turnaround — hold the peak frame for a beat before it reverses — and a plain clip becomes a crafted sequence.
Where to go next
- Smooth speed changes: slow motion & speed ramps.
- Animate over a freeze: keyframes & motion paths.
- Loop it cleanly: transitions between clips.
One table, two clocks. Hold the Source to freeze, count it down to reverse — and let time do the heavy lifting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reverse a video clip?
Open the clip's Layer Properties, enable Time Remap, and add two keyframes where the Source time counts down as the Playhead time goes up — e.g. playhead 0ms → source 2000ms, playhead 2000ms → source 0ms. The footage plays backwards. Great for rewind gags and seamless boomerang loops.
How do I freeze a frame in a video?
In Time Remap, add two keyframes with the same Source value but different Playhead values — e.g. playhead 1000ms → source 1000ms and playhead 3000ms → source 1000ms. The frame is held for those two seconds, then a later keyframe resumes normal playback.
What is Time Remap?
Time Remap maps playhead time (where you are on the editor timeline) to source media time (which frame of the clip plays there). Identity is 1:1. Bend that mapping and you get speed changes, freezes, and reverse — all from the same keyframe table.
Related guides
Bend the clip's timeline
Reverse for loops and rewinds, freeze for emphasis — both come out of one Time Remap keyframe table. Play with time.
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