A fast editing routine

Most edits go faster in one order, because later steps depend on what the earlier ones leave behind. This routine is the order the tools themselves suggest. Skip any step you do not need.

The routine

1. Settle the transcript first. Choose the model and the language, transcribe once, and read the first minute. Re-transcribing later resets your script edits, so this is the cheapest moment to get it right. See Get accurate transcripts.
2. Cut the big things. Select a sentence or a section in the script and press Delete. Remove tangents and retakes by hand first, because the clean-up tools only see what you have left. ⌘ ⌫ ignores words instead: they stay on screen, struck through, until you decide. ⇧ ⌘ ⌫ restores them.
3. Run the three clean-up tools. Open AI (⌘ 4), choose the Clean up tab and work down the list:
   Each tool's Remove all or Shorten all is one undo step. See Remove filler words and pauses.
   • Remove repetitions first. It keeps your last take of a phrase said twice, so it clears restarts before the next tool looks at them.
   • Remove filler words next. Use Ignore on the first pass if you are unsure, and finish with Remove ignored text.
   • Shorten word gaps last. It skips pauses that your cuts already cover, so it works on what is left.
4. Correct the wrong words. Press C on a word. Do this before captions, because captions and subtitles use the corrected text.
5. Style the picture. Work down the rail in the order it lists them: Screen, Zoom, Cursor, Webcam, Layouts, Captions. Zooms are added when a recording becomes a project, before you cut anything. After large cuts, press Redo auto zooms in the Zoom panel so they match what is left.
6. Add graphics and sound. Titles, lower thirds and callouts from the Graphics panel, then Enhance voice and music in the Audio and Media panels. Keep music well under your voice. See Get clean sound.
7. Let the AI take the repetitive parts. Direct my video writes a priced plan for graphics, zooms, captions and sound. Run it after your own cuts, so the plan fits the video you will publish. It saves a checkpoint before each task.
8. Test a short range. Set an in point (I) and an out point (O), choose In to out under Range, and export that part. It shows you the captions, loudness and format before you wait for the whole file.
9. Export the whole thing. ⌘ E opens Export. See Export for each platform.

Habits that keep you safe

Trust autosave, and watch the indicator. Cutscript saves as you work. A check mark in the top bar means everything is saved, and its tooltip reads "All changes saved". If a save fails, the indicator turns into Retry save. Press it before you close the project.

Use checkpoints before you try something big. Every message in the AI chat has Restore, which brings the project back to how it was before that message, as one undo step. Direct my video saves one before each task. See Notes and checkpoints.

Make a composition for each version. One recording often needs a long cut and a short one. A composition keeps its own name, cuts, graphics, captions and shape inside the same project, so you do not copy the project. Make one from the menu at the top of the script, or right-click selected words and make a composition from only those. See Compositions and clips.

Leave notes to yourself. Press ⌥ ⌘ N or + Note to add text between lines of the script. Notes are never spoken and never appear in the video.

Keep your source files where they are. Cutscript refers to imported media in place and does not copy it. If you move a file, the project shows Relink, and the preview's missing-file card has Locate. To move a whole project, use Export project package…: one .csproj file with the media, compositions, graphics and brand kit, which opens on another computer as a new project. See Projects, files and relinking.

Keys worth learning

The full list is in Keyboard shortcuts.

Related

• Record so editing is easy
• Edit by editing text
• The timeline