AI Assisted Footage Search and Rough Cut

AI Assisted Footage Search and Rough Cut

What it does

Transcribes source footage, indexes content semantically, enables segment search, and produces rough-cut assembly plans.

When to use

• Large raw footage libraries needing searchable transcripts
• Finding specific moments by meaning, not filename
• Planning rough cuts before fine editing

Inputs

• Video/audio files or existing transcripts
• Search query or rough-cut brief

Outputs

• Timestamped transcript index
• Matching segment list with in/out points
• Rough-cut plan (ordered segments)

Steps

1. Transcribe footage (WhisperX or equivalent) with word-level timestamps.
2. Build searchable index (speaker, keywords, semantic tags).
3. Run search query; return ranked segments with timestamps.
4. Assemble rough-cut plan from selected segments.
5. Export EDL or clip list for LosslessCut/ffmpeg handoff.

Quality checklist

• Transcript timestamps align with audio
  
• Search results include confidence/rationale
  
• Rough-cut plan has no overlapping segments
  
• Total duration matches brief
  

Reference repos

• StoryToolkitAI, WhisperX, LosslessCut