Text-Based Editing: How to Edit Your Video 10x Faster with Auto Transcription

Introduction

Cutback uses AI to recognize speech and automatically generate transcriptions, allowing you to edit videos just like editing a document. Since Cutback runs directly inside Adobe Premiere Pro, you can simply add it to your existing workflow and experience video editing up to 10x faster.

This page covers:
✅ How to edit faster and easier using transcriptions ✂️
✅ Features to help with efficient rough cuts 🔧
✅ Frequently asked questions 💬

Getting Started

Step 1. Open a new project file in Adobe Premiere Pro and prepare your audio and video files in the sequence.

Step 2. In the top menu of Premiere Pro, go to [Window] > [Extension] > [Cutback] to launch Cutback.

Step 3. Select the [Auto rough cut] menu.

Step 4. Configure the settings for video transcription:

1. Select Range: Choose the range for transcription

   • [Whole sequence]: Generates transcript for all tracks in the current sequence.

   • [Select Clip]: Generates transcript only for selected clips in the sequence.

   • [In/Out]: Generates transcript only for In/Out points set in Premiere Pro.

2. Select Language: Choose the language spoken in the video. Only one language can be selected at a time.

3. Preview On/Off: If preview is turned on, you can review the edits before applying them to the sequence.

   Note: Turning on preview will require encoding time. If you're editing a long video or need faster performance, turning it off can speed up subtitle generation.

4. Speakers:

   • If you have only one speaker, select [One person]

   • If you have more than two speakers, select [Multiple]

     • If each speaker has a separate mic and is recorded on different audio tracks, you can select [Audio separated] and assign names to each track.

     • If all voices are on a single audio track, you can select [Audio not separated] and enter the number of speakers. AI will distinguish them by voice.

5. Video: Choose the number of video tracks. If there are multiple speakers with separate audio tracks, you can also assign corresponding video tracks.

6. Names & terms: Provide extra context to help AI generate accurate subtitles.

   • Keywords: Enter specific keywords like names or proper nouns to improve subtitle accuracy.

   • Script reference: Paste the script so AI can reference it while generating subtitles.

Step 5. When you’re done setting up, click the [Transcribe video for auto rough cut] button.

10x Faster Rough Cutting Using Transcriptions

With Cutback, you can edit your video like editing a document—by reading and trimming based on the transcription.

❗ Before You Start

• Once you click [Transcribe video for auto rough cut], any edits made to the sequence in Premiere Pro will not sync with Cutback, which can cause misalignment between the transcription and your timeline. To prevent this, audio tracks are locked by default while working in Cutback.

• Edits made in the sequence are not reflected in Cutback.

  Make sure to finish your work in Cutback and click [Apply to sequence] before making any additional edits directly in the sequence.

• Your progress is automatically saved per sequence in real time.

  If you restart Premiere Pro and open the same sequence, launching Cutback will restore your previous work.

Step 1. Delete Cuts
No need to scrub through the entire video. Just read the transcription in Cutback and trim it quickly.

• If you want to delete an entire chapter, click the button in front of the chapter title and select [Delete chapter].

• To delete a sentence, click the scissor icon next to the sentence or press the shortcut key l to delete the entire sentence.

• To delete a word, click or drag to select it, then right-click and choose [Delete video], or press the shortcut key k.

Step 2. Fine-tune Your Cuts
If you want more precise control over the cuts, click the [Timeline] button at the bottom left to edit in timeline view.

• Step 3. Apply to Sequence
  Deleted words or sentences are shown in gray and not applied to the sequence immediately.
  Click the [Apply to sequence] button at the bottom right to reflect your edits in the Premiere Pro sequence.

Explore More Features in Cutback

1. Easily Add Zoom Effects

   Drag over the text where you want to apply a zoom effect, and click on [Zoom].

   

   • Scale: Set how much to zoom in or out.

   • Anchor Point: Choose the focal point in the frame.

   • Start/End Transition: Set the duration for the zoom in or out effect.

     
     

2. Easily Add Resources (B-roll)

   Drag over the text, and click on [Resource] to add image, video, gif, or sticker with ease.

   

   Note:
   For more details on b-roll resources, please refer to the guide.
   Copyright for b-roll resources provided by Cutback depends on the individual source sites.

3. Useful Tools in the Menu Bar

   

   • Undo / Redo: Use these buttons to undo or redo any edit made in Cutback. You can also use the shortcut keys u (undo) and r (redo) for quick access.

   • Time Machine: If you've already applied edits to the sequence but want to go back, use Time Machine. Before clicking [Apply to sequence], Cutback saves a backup. Click the Time Machine button to return to that state.

   • Find/Replace Words: You can search for and replace words in the generated transcription. Use the shortcut key f to open the tool quickly.

   • Export Transcription: Export the transcription as a .txt or .srt file. You can also copy chapters and timestamps from Smart Summary to use as YouTube chapters.

     
     

4. Add marker: Want to leave a note for editing later in Premiere Pro? Press i to add a marker with a memo at the current timestamp in the sequence.

   
   

5. More ways to use AI Smart Summary

   • Click a summary to instantly jump to that chapter in the timeline.

   • Click a chapter title to open [Ask assistant] for editing that specific section.

     
     

6. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

   • To move between words: w a s d

   • To delete a word: k

   • To delete a line: l

   • To speed up playback: > (shift + .)

   • To slow down playback: < (shift + ,)

     Tip: Click the keyboard icon at the top right of the Cutback window to view more shortcuts.

     

Frequently Asked Questions

• I want to reload the transcript I was working on.

  If you've previously generated transcript for a sequence, the transcription file will remain available even after restarting Cutback or Premiere Pro.

  Go to [Auto rough cut] and select [Open], or click on [Transcribe video for auto rough cut] > [Open previous transcript] to load the subtitle file.

  ❗Caution❗

  • If there’s an existing subtitle file and you select [Transcribe video to edit captions] > [Transcribe again], it will overwrite your previous work. The previous file cannot be recovered, so proceed carefully.

  • Also, if you edit the sequence in Premiere after applying subtitles via Cutback, and then reopen Cutback, subtitle sync issues may occur.

• How is transcription usage counted?

  Transcription usage is based on the length of the video you transcribe.

  
  

• How can I check my transcription usage?

  You can check this month’s usage on the Cutback website under [Dashboard] > [Usage].

  
  

• The [Apply to sequence] button is grayed out.

  If no changes have been made in Cutback, the [Apply to sequence] button will remain inactive. Try deleting or editing a word to activate it.

  
  

• I clicked [Apply to sequence], but it says it can’t delete subtitle tracks.

  Delete all “Subtitle” tracks from the Premiere Pro sequence. If you’re using a nested sequence, check for subtitle tracks inside the nested timeline as well.

  
  

• I want to add line breaks to my transcription.

  Line breaks aren’t supported in [Rough cut] mode. To edit subtitles, switch to [Edit captions] mode.