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OpenMontage/skills/creative/video-editing.md
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calesthio a3e735cc7a Initial release — OpenMontage: the first open-source agentic video production system
11 production pipelines, 47 tools, 124 agent skills.
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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-03-29 08:25:17 -07:00

2.5 KiB

Video Editing Skill

When to Use

Apply this skill when making editorial decisions for talking-head content: where to cut, what to remove, how to pace, and how to structure the final edit.

Tools

Tool Role
transcriber Analyze speech for filler words, dead air, false starts
video_trimmer Execute cuts and speed adjustments
frame_sampler Sample frames to evaluate visual quality at potential cut points
video_compose Assemble the final edit

Editing Principles for Talking Heads

What to Cut

  1. Filler words: "um", "uh", "like", "you know" — cut at word boundaries using word timestamps.
  2. False starts: When the speaker restarts a sentence, keep only the final take.
  3. Dead air: Silence longer than 1.5 seconds should be trimmed to ~0.5 seconds.
  4. Off-topic tangents: If the speaker wanders, cut to the next relevant segment.
  5. Repeated points: Keep the best delivery, remove redundant takes.

What NOT to Cut

  • Breath pauses: Natural 0.3-0.8 second pauses between sentences. These sound natural.
  • Emphasis pauses: Intentional pauses for dramatic effect.
  • Reactions and transitions: Verbal bridges like "So..." or "Now..." that provide flow.

Cut Technique

  • J-cut: Audio from the next segment starts ~0.5s before the visual cut. Makes transitions feel smooth.
  • L-cut: Audio from the current segment continues ~0.5s after the visual cut. Maintains continuity.
  • Hard cut: Instant transition. Use at major topic changes.

Pacing

  • Short-form (< 60s): Aggressive cuts. Minimal dead air. High energy.
  • Medium-form (1-10 min): Balanced. Keep natural pauses for breathing room.
  • Long-form (> 10 min): Let scenes breathe. Only cut obvious problems.

Edit Decision Structure

The edit_decisions artifact should include:

  • cuts: Ordered list of segments to keep (source, in/out points, speed)
  • overlays: Timed overlay placements (images, diagrams, lower thirds)
  • subtitles: Subtitle configuration (enabled, style, source file)
  • music: Background music settings (asset, volume, ducking, fades)
  • transitions: Transition type and timing between cuts

Quality Checklist

  • No visible jump cuts (smooth transitions between segments)
  • Audio doesn't pop or click at cut points
  • Pacing matches the content energy and target platform
  • Speaker's face is never covered by overlays
  • All cuts are at word boundaries (not mid-word)