Edit an Interview or Talking Head Video Step by Step

You have a long recording of someone talking and a short video to make. A talking-head edit has one job: keep the good takes and remove the stumbles, false starts and long pauses. Working from a transcript makes those easy to find.

Get a transcript and read it for cuts

1. Add the recording to the timeline. In Media, press Upload. The recording lands at the end of the main track.
2. Open the Subtitles tab. Choose the spoken language from the menu, or pick Detect language.
3. Click Generate subtitles. Transcription runs on a hosted model and spends account credits. You can keep editing while it works.

When the captions arrive, the Content tab lays the transcript out in paragraphs. Each caption has a timestamp chip, and clicking it moves the playhead there. A small chip between captions shows any pause longer than half a second, and a pause longer than two seconds starts a new paragraph.

Read through and look for false starts, repeated phrases, filler and tangents. Edits to the transcript text change the captions. Cuts happen on the timeline.

Make the cuts

1. Click the timestamp chip at the start of the part to remove, and press S.
2. Click the chip where the good take resumes, and press S again.
3. Click the middle piece on the timeline and press Delete.

Everything after the deleted piece slides left, captions and soundtrack included, so the rest stays in sync. At the very start or end of the recording, use the toolbar buttons Split and drop the left side and Split and drop the right side.

Leave a short breath of the speaker's own pause between sentences. Speech cut tight against speech sounds hurried.

Hide the jump cuts

Every cut inside one continuous shot is a jump cut. The speaker's head or shoulders shift slightly at the join. Two habits cover them.

• Punch in on alternate pieces. Select a piece, open the Framing tab and raise Zoom by a modest amount, such as 110 percent. When wide and tight pieces alternate, the change reads as a deliberate change of shot.
• Lay b-roll over the join. Add a cutaway as an overlay and mute it, so the speaker's voice runs on unbroken.

Do your cutting before you add layers. With only the main track present, Delete closes the gap for you.

Check the audio at each join

Press the Up and Down arrow keys to jump from edit to edit, and play a second or two around each. Listen for a clipped first word, a click, or a change in room tone. If the pieces differ in loudness, select each one and adjust Clip volume in the Volume tab. Nudge a clipped edge outward with the Trim tab, where Trim start and Trim end move an edge as you drag.

Add captions for the viewer

The captions you generated for editing can stay in the video. The Styles tab chooses their look, and the Options tab holds a Show subtitles switch, which turns them on or off in the picture. Captions inside a deleted piece go with it, and the rest slide left with the speech. Play through once to confirm they still match.

Make three cuts

Record a short piece to camera, bring it into DepCut, generate subtitles, and make three cuts using the transcript.