FirstCut

What is FirstCut?

FirstCut is a browser-based narrative editor for speech-driven video like interviews, documentaries, podcasts, and courses. It transcribes your footage, suggests story arcs made of beats and clips, and lets you refine them down to single words. When the story works, you export it to Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro.

Top Features:

• Story arcs: generate several narrative versions from the same footage and compare them.
• Beat editing: reorder, rename, add, or delete beats, each with its own instruction.
• Word-level cuts: remove or restore single words directly inside each clip transcript.

Use Cases:

• Interview edits: find the strongest story inside hours of recorded interview footage.
• Podcast highlights: pull a tight, story-led cut from a long podcast episode.
• Course trimming: shape lectures and webinars into focused lessons before final polishing.

Who Can Use FirstCut?

• Documentary editors: explore different narrative directions before spending hours on the timeline.
• Video producers: hand clients a structured rough cut faster than manual review.
• Educators: turn recorded webinars and lectures into shorter, clearer story-driven videos.

Pricing

• Free ($0): 30 minutes of imported footage and 5 AI cuts every month.
• Starter ($15 monthly): 5 hours of footage and 30 AI cuts with email support.
• Creator and Studio ($39 and $99 monthly): 15 or 40 hours of footage with 100 or 250 AI cuts.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Private footage: video stays on your computer, and only the audio gets uploaded.
• Pro exports: sequences open in Premiere Pro, Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and Media Composer.
• Fair metering: re-cutting imported footage costs no extra media hours for three months.

Cons:

• Speech only: the AI reads transcripts, not pictures, so visual footage gains little.
• Not a finisher: you still need another editor for color, graphics, and mixing.
• Solo operation: one person builds and runs it, which may worry larger studios.

FAQs:

1) Does my video get uploaded?

No, footage stays on your computer and only the audio goes for transcription.

2) Which editors can I export to?

Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and Media Composer via standard formats.

3) Is there a free plan?

Yes, it includes 30 minutes of footage and 5 AI cuts every month.

4) Does it generate new video?

No, it only selects and orders moments from your own footage.

5) What if I run out?

Paid plans can buy top-ups at $3 per media hour or $15 per 50 cuts.