Edit a full-length talk without chopping it into shorts

What the long-form cut is

When you film horizontally, or the talk runs long, Cutroom AI adds a long-form version next to the short ones: the whole talk at Natural pacing, in 16:9, with captions off. Natural cuts gaps over half a second down to 0.2 seconds, which keeps a lecture or interview sounding like a person thinking rather than a supercut.

The rest of the cleanup still applies. Hard fillers come out, retakes and false starts are removed, and the export evens loudness to -14 LUFS.

Chapters from the Clips tab

The Clips tab splits the edit into chapters from the transcript and gives each one a start time and a few words that name it. "Copy as YouTube chapters" copies the list in the format YouTube reads from a description.

YouTube has its own rules: at least three chapters, each 10 seconds or longer, with the first at 0:00. A short video may not split into chapters at all, and the tab tells you so.

How long a recording can be

Any recording up to 180 minutes opens on every plan, and the clip finder reads all of it. A full cleaned edit is capped by how much footage it uses: 3 minutes on Free, 30 on Starter and 60 on Pro.

Past your plan's cap, the full cut won't export, but clips from the same recording still will. Longer than 180 minutes? Split the file and import the parts.

How to edit a long recording

1. 01Film horizontally if the full talk is the main product. A vertical recording can still get a long cut, but it stays vertical.
2. 02Import the file with Talking head selected and set the spoken language.
3. 03Let the analysis run. On a long file this takes a while, since everything happens on your computer. Keep the tab open.
4. 04Set Pacing to Natural in the Cuts tab, then skim the transcript for anything you want out, like a tangent or a phone call. Strike it there.
5. 05Open "See versions" and pick "Long form, no captions", or keep editing the main project in 16:9.
6. 06Copy the chapters from the Clips tab, export the MP4 and download the SRT if you want captions on YouTube.

What it won't do

It doesn't export a project file for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut. If the video needs color grading, layered sound design or an editor's finishing pass, Cutroom AI can do the rough cut, but what you take into those tools is the MP4, not an editable timeline.

There's no screen recorder, so a tutorial that cuts between your face and your screen needs the screen part recorded elsewhere. You can add that file as a video overlay, up to 20 overlay layers per edit.

There's no team workspace. A project opens in your own other browsers, but you can't hand it to a colleague to finish.

When another approach is better

A heavily produced YouTube video, with motion graphics, several microphones on separate tracks and a colorist, belongs in a full desktop editor. Cutroom AI is for talks where the person speaking is the content: a lesson, a sermon, a webinar, a long interview filmed on one or two cameras.