A multimedia editing application includes a plurality of gestures that are used to control transport and playback, timing, editing, view management, and other functions of the application. The gestures have shapes or characteristics that are visually mnemonic of their associated functions or the objects on which the functions operate, but which themselves are not linguistic forms such as letters or numbers which are derived from the names of the associated functions. The visual mnemonics may connote the motion or shape of a part of the human body.