Talking-Head Cutter
The Talking-Head Cutter is an AgentReel tool that makes a rough cut of a talking-to-camera recording. It transcribes your MP4 or MOV word by word and marks every long pause, filler word and abandoned take as a cut. You check the cuts in the transcript, then render one jump-cut MP4 or export an editable timeline for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
Is it free? No. The cutter uses purchased credits. A 10 minute recording costs about 7 credits to analyze and a 5 minute cut costs about 7 credits to render. Changing the cut, the preview and the timeline export cost 0 credits.
Quick answers
What does the cutter remove?
Pauses longer than your threshold, filler words such as um, uh and erm (and like or you know when they stand alone), and the earlier attempts of a sentence you said again. In Chinese it removes fillers such as 嗯 and 呃. Only your last complete take stays.
Can I keep a cut it made?
Yes. Every cut is struck through in the transcript. Click it to keep it, or click again to cut it. The preview updates at once, and nothing is charged until you render.
Does it work with my editing software?
Yes. The timeline export is a ZIP with FCPXML for Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro 7 XML for Premiere Pro, and SRT captions. Relink the clip to your original recording and every cut is in place.
Which languages does it support?
English and Chinese speech.
What you can make
- A tight jump cut of a YouTube talking-head video, without the dead air.
- A clean course lesson or tutorial with the false starts removed.
- A rough cut that you finish in Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
- A captioned version for social media, with a subtle punch-in that hides the jumps.
How it works
- Open the cutter. Go to the Talking-Head Cutter.
- Upload the recording. Drop in one MP4 or MOV with a sound track, straight from your camera or phone. A large file is fine.
- Let AI find the cuts. The recording is transcribed with word timings, and pauses, fillers and retakes are marked.
- Review the transcript. Click any struck word or pause to keep it, and move the pause slider. Preview the result in the browser.
- Render or export. Render one jump-cut MP4 with optional captions and punch-in, or export the timeline.
- Download. The cut is saved in My Works.
Options and limits
| Item | Limit / options |
|---|---|
| Source | One MP4 or MOV per project, with a sound track |
| File size | Up to 5 GB |
| Length | Up to 31 minutes |
| Speech | English or Chinese |
| Pause threshold | 0.2 to 3 seconds, with about 0.1 second of padding kept around each word |
| Cuts | Long pauses, filler words, earlier takes of a repeated sentence |
| Captions | Optional, burned in, 3 styles: box, outline, yellow |
| Punch-in | Optional 1.08x zoom on every other cut |
| Output | MP4 in the shape of your recording, up to 1920 px on the long side, 30 fps, normalized sound |
| Timeline export | FCPXML, Final Cut Pro 7 XML and SRT in one ZIP |
Some phones record HEVC MOV files, which only Safari previews. The cut, the render and the export still work, and the rendered MP4 plays everywhere.
Pricing
Each step is charged on its own, and a step that fails is refunded automatically.
| Step | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Reading the recording | About 2 credits, once per recording |
| Transcript with word timings | About 2 credits for 5 minutes, 6 for 15 minutes, 12 for 31 minutes |
| Retake check | About 1 credit |
| Render | About 2 credits per 2 minutes of finished cut, plus 1 credit to join the parts |
| Changing cuts, preview, timeline export | 0 |
A 10 minute recording costs about 7 credits to analyze. A 5 minute cut costs about 7 credits to render. The cutter uses purchased credits only. See Credits, plans and free usage.
Tips for better results
- Record with clean sound. Clear speech gives exact word timings and better cuts.
- Say the whole sentence again. When you restart, repeat the full sentence, so the cutter can keep the last complete take.
- Start with the default pause threshold. Move the slider only if the cut feels too tight or too loose.
- Export when you want to polish. Use the timeline export to add B-roll and music in your own editor.
FAQ
What does the cutter make?
One MP4 jump cut of your own recording, with every cut you approved removed and the sound normalized, plus optional burned-in captions.
Can I render again after a change?
Yes. Change the cut and render again. Each render is charged on its own.
Can free credits pay for it?
No. The cutter uses purchased credits. Free credits pay for Z-Image images, video templates and Code to Video only.
What if a step fails?
The credits for the failed step come back automatically.