Punch out a flub after you decide the surrounding take is the master
cut_video stitches KEEP ranges to skip a middle section. Punching a miss, or punching before picture lock, spends a cut on a performance you will replace whole.
Skipping a flub is a KEEP-list problem. cut_video takes multiple [start, end) ranges and concatenates them. To drop 1:00–1:15 from a 3-minute file you pass [0, 60) and [75, 180) — everything except the part you do not want. The mental model is easy to invert. The credit model is easy to waste. If the whole take is wrong, you do not need a hole. You need a new take.
Cut a section out of a video is the job. Standard editor billing. Hard cut at each seam by default. For a transition, describe that to edit_video instead.
A hole is not a regen
People punch first because the line at 1:07 is embarrassing and the rest "feels fine." In generated video, the rest often shares the same identity drift. Watch past the flub. If the face is unstable throughout, a punch is cosmetics. Regen.
If the face is stable and 15 seconds are actually dead, then punch the keeper. Do not caption, score, or crop before the punch. Every later timestamp moves. Timed overlays especially die.
Seams are visible. A hard cut in a talking head is an edit. If you needed a dissolve, that is a different EDL on the same locked parent, not a reason to punch a maybe with a pretty transition.
The AI video generator is the parent. This is surgery on a parent you trust.
Order
- Confirm the surrounding performance is the master.
- Name KEEP ranges (not delete ranges).
- Cut. Inspect the seam.
- Then type, music, reframes — on the child.
estimate_cost on a long source. The leak is not the one cut. The leak is cutting, finishing, then regenerating the whole file because the punch did not fix the eyes.
FAQ
What if I list the bad range by accident?
You keep the flub and drop the good parts. Double-check the KEEP list on a keeper, where the mistake is embarrassing, not on a miss, where it is also expensive.
Can I punch several sections?
Yes. Several KEEP ranges, in order. Still after you believe the leftover will ship.
Should I isolate audio before punching?
Only if the leftover mix is the mix you will ship and it is dirty. Isolating the full miss then punching is a rescue on seconds you will delete.
Is this how I remove a middle shot from a multi-clip timeline?
This tool cuts one file. A multi-clip assembly is edit_video or compose_video_with_overlay on keepers. Do not squash a sequence into one file just so you can punch it.