Render several takes of one AI shot and keep the best

The same prompt can produce a stiff clip, a lovely clip and everything in between. Set the Number of takes control and the Video tab renders several versions at once, so you can judge them together.

Set the number of takes

1. Open the left panel, choose AI Gen, then Video.
2. Write your prompt and choose the model, resolution, duration and aspect ratio as usual.
3. Find the stacked-layers button titled Number of takes in the row under the prompt. It reads x1. Click it and choose x2, x3 or x4.
4. The main button now says Generate 3 videos, or 2 or 4, to match. Click it.

The same four choices also sit in the Number of takes row that opens when you click the sliders button, More settings. DepCut remembers your choice for next time.

Each take is a separate render and spends credits like any other generation. The prompt box empties as soon as you click, so copy the prompt first if you plan to tweak it. You can also reload it later, as described below.

Watch them render

Every take gets its own row below the button. It shows your prompt and Rendering… with a running clock. The takes run side by side, and you can keep editing while they work. A take that fails shows its error with a Retry arrow and a dismiss button, and the other takes carry on.

Compare and choose

Finished takes become tiles. Use this routine to pick one:

1. Hover each tile to play it with sound.
2. Click the expand button on the best two for a larger look.
3. Watch the first and last second closely. A clean start and end make a clip easy to cut around.
4. Check faces, hands and any moving text, and listen for audio that matches the scene.
5. Click + (Add to timeline) on the winner.

Clear out the rest from each tile's … menu with Delete. Delete removes the clip's file. When a timeline clip plays that file, DepCut asks you to confirm first, because the clip goes with it and the deletion cannot be undone.

Iterate from a take

The … menu on a tile has two more useful items. Use this prompt reloads the words that made the take, so you can change one phrase and render again. Copy reference gives you an @ handle for the take. Paste it into the next prompt to use that clip as a reference, in either Frames or Ingredients mode.

When extra takes help

• The prompt is right but the motion varies. Try x3 and keep the smoothest.
• You are using a reference picture and want to see how closely each take follows it.
• You are testing a new phrase. Stay on x1 and change one phrase at a time, so you know which edit made the difference.

Try a batch

Open DepCut, set x2 on your next AI shot and keep only the take you would cut in.