Trim the keeper's in and out, not a take still in taste

A trim is the simplest cut_video job: one range to keep, in seconds from the start, a new file out. No re-edit. No dissolve. If the parent is a miss, you now have a shorter miss. If you still might regen, the in-point you picked is a comment on a performance that will not exist.

Trim a video is the job. Standard editor billing. estimate_cost on a long source. Frame-level honesty depends on the source frame rate. For removing a middle section, that is cut a section out — same tool, more ranges.

Short is not the same as chosen

Teams trim first because platforms are impatient. Impatience does not grade a take. Watch the whole sample. If the eyes are wrong at 0:03, trimming to 0:02–0:06 does not fix 0:03. Regen. If the eyes are right and the handles are long, then trim the keeper.

Captions, music, and overlays after the trim. A burn-in on the untrimmed file will not follow the new in-point. You will recaption anyway. Do it once.

This trims one video. Combining trimmed pieces from multiple sources is compose_video_with_overlay with per-item start_sec/end_sec — still on keepers, still later.

The AI video generator produces the parent. Trim is a child. Keep the parent until you are sure. A trim is not reversible from the output alone.

Handles exist so you can recut. Burning them off a candidate deletes the only cheap way to change your mind. If a client still might want the breath before the line, you did not have lock, and you did not have an out-point. Wait.

Order

1. Approve the take.
2. Name one KEEP range.
3. Cut. Then finish type and audio on the child if they are not already baked (they should not be).

FAQ

Can I trim as a way to A/B the first two seconds?

A/B hooks on a locked body. Trimming two copies of a maybe is two leftovers. If the hook is a separate clip, that is the hook catalog, applied later.

Does cut_video change speed?

No. Speed is edit_video with a description. Do not trim hoping it "feels faster." It will feel shorter.

Should I upscale then trim?

Trim first on the locked picture, then upscale the child you will deliver. Upscaling seconds you will cut is the resolution leak.

What if I need several ranges, not one?

You are on the sibling page. KEEP list, not delete list. Same later-step rule.