Guide
A talking head video before and after editing: six changes on the same clip
Updated
Here is one 40-second example clip of a shop owner, before and after editing. You see what gets cut, what gets added, and how to test any editor on your own clip.
In short
- Editing a talking head video cuts the ums and long pauses, adds captions, and shows what you mention on the words where you say it.
- With the sound off, the raw clip is only a face talking, while the edited one can be followed from its captions and pictures.
- In Cutroom's Magic Editor, you press "Make my video" once and Jacob, its AI editor, makes all six changes on this page in its first edit.
- After the first edit, you ask Jacob for changes in plain words, and each one comes back as a new version you can go back from.
- Editing can't fix bad sound, a wrong fact or a blurry clip, so get those right while you film.
What does editing change in a talking head video?
In a short talking clip, most of the difference comes from six changes. Here they are in general, and the next section shows each one on the same example clip.
- The ums, false starts and repeats come out, so you sound sure of what you say.
- Long pauses get shorter, though cutting them too tight can make you sound rushed.
- Captions run along with your voice, so people can follow you with the sound off.
- Your screenshot shows on the word where you mention it.
- A stock clip covers a moment where you have nothing of your own to show.
- Music runs under your voice, and the video ends on a clear line instead of just stopping.
Six changes on one example clip, before and after
The example is an online shop owner talking about her morning. Before is the clip straight off her phone, and after is the edit.
She uploaded one screenshot, dashboard.png, and typed “Shop the range” as what people should do after watching. Then she pressed "Make my video" once, and Jacob, the AI editor in Cutroom's Magic Editor, made everything in the after.
- Before, she says “Um, so, I, I think the dashboard”. After, the video starts on “I think the dashboard”.
- Before, she goes quiet for a long moment ahead of “even before my first coffee”. After, it's a short breath.
- Before, there are no words on screen. After, captions follow her voice, and the word “open” is set big in a bright highlight colour.
- Before, you only see her face when she says “dashboard”. After, her dashboard screenshot shows on that word.
- Before, “coffee” is just her talking. After, a stock clip of coffee being poured plays on it, because she had no file for it.
- Before, the clip has only her voice and stops on her last word. After, calm music runs under her and the video ends on the line she typed in, “Shop the range”.
An online shop owner's morning tip, before and after
Everything in the after is Jacob's first edit from one press. Each chat request after that makes a new version.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 40-second phone video of an online shop owner talking about her morning
“Um, so, I, I think the dashboard is, uh, is the first thing I open, … (pause) even before my first coffee.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Steps style
“I think the dashboard is the first thing I open, even before my first coffee.”
- On “dashboard”: her screenshot dashboard.png in a floating window
- On “coffee”: a stock clip of coffee being poured, because she uploaded nothing for it
- On “open”: the word set big in a bright highlight colour
- Under the whole video: captions that follow her voice
- Under the whole video: calm music under her voice
window: dashboard.png
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make the key words stand out more”v2the same edit with “dashboard” and “coffee” standing out too, in the same colour
- “Change the call to action to Shop the new range”v3the same edit, now ending on “Shop the new range” instead of “Shop the range”
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Changing the edit after the first version
After the first edit, she asks Jacob for changes in plain words. Each one comes back as a new version she can go back from.
Some changes she can also make herself, by tapping words or in the settings, which costs nothing.
- If the first edit feels rushed, she types “Keep my pauses, it feels too rushed”, and the next version keeps her own pauses between sentences.
- If Jacob cut a word she needs, she taps it in the transcript and it comes back, for free.
- A chat message that changes the video costs 40 credits, and a question that changes nothing is free, up to 20 a day.
- While Jacob works on a change, you wait until it's done before asking for the next one. You can stop it, and you get your credits back if you do.
- Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
Which changes are free
Prices in credits from Cutroom's price list.
| Change | Ask Jacob in the chat | Do it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Bring back a cut word | 40 credits | Tap the word, free |
| Fix a misheard caption word | 40 credits | Tap the word, free |
| Keep your pauses | 40 credits | Set Pace to Keep my pauses, free |
| Go back to an earlier version | Free | Free |
Change: Bring back a cut word
- Ask Jacob in the chat
- 40 credits
- Do it yourself
- Tap the word, free
Change: Fix a misheard caption word
- Ask Jacob in the chat
- 40 credits
- Do it yourself
- Tap the word, free
Change: Keep your pauses
- Ask Jacob in the chat
- 40 credits
- Do it yourself
- Set Pace to Keep my pauses, free
Change: Go back to an earlier version
- Ask Jacob in the chat
- Free
- Do it yourself
- Free
How to make your own before and after
The fairest test of any editor, by hand or by AI, is your own clip next to its edit. Keep the raw file, so you can compare the two side by side.
- Film one clip of 30 to 60 seconds the way you normally talk, ums and all.
- Play the raw clip and the edit with the sound off, and check whether you can follow the edit from its captions and pictures alone.
- Compare the two lengths, because every second the edit cut is a second your viewer no longer sits through.
- Listen for a word you needed that got cut, and for a pause cut so tight that you sound rushed.
- Check that each screenshot shows on the words where you mention it, not a sentence early or late.
What editing cannot fix in a talking clip
Editing works with what you filmed. These problems are easier to fix before you press record than after.
- Background noise stays. Cutroom levels the sound of the export, but it doesn't remove noise, so film somewhere quiet.
- A wrong fact stays wrong, because there's no new speech or cloned voice. Film that line again.
- Your sentences stay in the order you said them. Jacob can cut a sentence but can't move one.
- A wide clip loses its sides, because the finished video is vertical. Film upright if you can.
- A dark or blurry clip stays dark or blurry. Jacob can make the colours warmer or black and white, not sharper.
Questions people ask
- What does a talking head video look like after editing?
- Tighter and easier to follow. The ums, false starts and long pauses are gone, captions run along with your voice, and screenshots or clips show what you mention.
- How much shorter does a talking head video get after editing?
- It depends on how you talk. A clip full of ums, restarts and long pauses shrinks a lot more than a clean one, so time your raw clip and the edit side by side to see your own number.
- Is the before and after on this page a real customer video?
- No. It's a drawing of an example clip, made so you can see every change clearly. It isn't a customer video or a claimed result.
- How much does editing a talking head video cost in Cutroom?
- The first edit costs 250 credits and the export 30 credits per started minute. Your first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it.
- Can I undo a change?
- Yes. Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
- Can editing fix bad audio?
- Only partly. Cutroom levels the volume of the export, but background noise isn't removed, so a noisy room still sounds noisy. Film somewhere quiet.
- Why does my edited video feel rushed?
- Usually because the pauses were cut too tight. In the Magic Editor, ask “Keep my pauses, it feels too rushed”, or set Pace to Keep my pauses, which is free.
Film one clip of you talking and see your own before and after. Your first video is free.