How to Cut Videos Faster with AI-Assisted Story Editing in Premiere Pro
Export a transcript from Premiere Pro, attach it to Chat Video Pro, and get a complete rough cut inserted directly into your timeline — with section markers, verbatim soundbites, and exact timestamps.
The Problem
For dialogue-heavy content — interviews, podcasts, documentary footage — the hardest part of editing isn't the cut itself. It's finding the moments. Scrubbing hours of footage to locate the best soundbites, structure a narrative arc, and deliver multiple platform versions from one shoot can take days of work before a single clip is placed.
The standard workflow compounds the problem: watch everything, take notes, repeat for every deliverable. By the time you start cutting, you've spent more time on research than editing.
This workflow is built for dialogue-heavy content. Story Cutter reads spoken word from a transcript. It identifies and structures soundbites — it does not analyze b-roll, graphics, or visual-only footage.
The Solution
Export a transcript from Premiere Pro's built-in Text panel, attach it to Chat Video Pro, describe your goal, and click Insert Rough Cut. Your entire first cut — trimmed soundbites in story order, with section markers on the timeline — appears in Premiere Pro in seconds.
No scrubbing. No manual logging. No switching apps. The AI finds the moments; you make the creative decisions.
For multi-deliverable shoots, /batch generates a TikTok cut, a YouTube cut, and a long-form version simultaneously from the same transcript — all in a single message.
How It Works
1. Export Your Transcript from Premiere Pro
Open the Text panel in Premiere Pro (Window → Text), transcribe your footage, then click the three dots (⋯) → Export as transcript file → save as a .json file.
Use Premiere Pro's native export. The
.jsonformat carries timestamp data tied to each clip's exact position on your timeline. SRT, VTT, plain text, and exports from Descript, Rev, or Otter are not supported.
2. Start Story Cutter and Attach the Transcript
Click the Story Cutter conversation starter in Chat Video Pro. Use the paperclip (📎) button to attach your .json transcript. A purple pill appears in the composer confirming the transcript is loaded.
When the pill appears, click it to link Story Cutter to the exact Premiere Pro timeline you transcribed. If your transcript file name matches your timeline name, it links automatically.
Don't move clips after transcribing. Timestamps are tied to clip positions. Rearranging footage breaks the sync and requires a new transcript export.
3. Attach a Script or Creative Brief (Optional)
Attach any reference document alongside your transcript — a shooting script, interview outline, client brief, or show format. Story Cutter reads it and uses it as a structural guide for soundbite selection and ordering. The more specific the brief, the more intentional the cut.
Useful documents to attach:
Original shooting script or interview question set
Client brief or creative direction PDF
Show bible or episode format
Notes from a previous cut
Supported formats: .pdf, .docx, .txt, .md
4. Write Your Prompt
Describe the goal in one or two sentences. Tell it the platform, runtime, and what the video is about:
"5-minute YouTube tutorial about how to set up a Premiere Pro workspace. Start with a strong hook, end with a CTA to subscribe."
"60-second Instagram Reel from the Q&A section. Energetic, hook-first, no interviewer questions."
For more complex briefs, use /creative brief to plan the structure before cutting.
5. Review the Paper Cut and Insert
Story Cutter streams back a structured paper cut — verbatim quotes, HH:MM:SS:FF timestamps, section labels, and editor notes.
Three ways to use the results:
Click a timestamp
Jumps your Premiere Pro playhead to that moment so you can preview it
Click ↓ on a soundbite
Inserts just that one soundbite at your playhead
Insert Rough Cut
Places the entire selection onto your timeline at once, in story order, with section markers
Insert Rough Cut is the fastest path to a first cut. Scroll to the bottom of the paper cut, click the button, and the whole edit lands on your timeline — trimmed and structured — ready to refine.
6. Refine in the Same Thread
Story Cutter holds the full context of your transcript and previous selections. Refine without re-explaining:
"Cut 30 seconds from section 2 — it runs too long"
"The opening doesn't land — find a stronger hook"
"Replace the third soundbite, it feels repetitive"
"Remove anything about pricing"
"Find a cleaner close"
Each refinement produces a new paper cut with an updated Insert Rough Cut button. Keep iterating until it's right, then insert.
Hard Constraints: Precision Editing
Add precise constraints at any point in the conversation:
Timecode range
"Only use footage between 00:05:00 and 00:45:00"
Required topics
"Must include the part about the funding round"
Excluded topics
"Skip anything about the early team"
Named soundbites
"Start with the line about failure"
Start/end moments
"Start at 00:03:22, end with the outro"
Tone
"Keep the tone measured — no hype"
Constraints stack. You can combine multiple in a single message and they apply directly to the next paper cut.
/batch — Multiple Deliverables, One Pass
For shoots where you need TikTok, YouTube, and long-form versions, /batch generates all of them from one transcript in a single message.
Each task produces its own paper cut and Insert Rough Cut button. Results appear in sequence in the same thread.
Using /batch with a brief: If you attach a document that enumerates multiple version goals ("Version 1: founder story. Version 2: product demo. Version 3: customer outcome"), /batch treats each as a separate cut target.
/batchprocesses one transcript at a time — it produces multiple cuts from one source, not from multiple separate transcript files.
Common Use Cases
Long-form interview to multi-platform Upload the transcript, run /batch for TikTok + YouTube Shorts + long-form in one pass. Three paper cuts, three Insert Rough Cut buttons. Done.
Script-guided documentary Attach your scene breakdown or narrative outline alongside the transcript. Story Cutter surfaces soundbites that match your intended arc and structures the cut to follow your document.
Branded content with a client brief Write the creative brief as a PDF — include tone, required topics, structure, and anything to avoid. Attach it with the transcript. The cut follows the brief without rounds of back-and-forth.
Large transcript, fast selects Run /select pass to surface every strong moment categorized by type — hooks, value moments, emotional peaks, CTAs. Then use individual ↓ inserts to hand-pick the best ones into your edit.
Slash Commands
/batch
Multiple deliverables from one transcript in one pass
/social clip
60-second social-optimized cut
/select pass
Full transcript scan — surfaces best moments by category
/top 5 soundbites
Five strongest moments with platform recommendations
/creative brief
Plan-first flow — outlines the cut before generating it
/new video
Clears the transcript and resets for a new project
Story Structures Available
Request any of these by name, or let the AI choose based on your platform and content.
TikTok / Reels / Shorts
Hook → Payoff → Proof → CTA
YouTube (2–3 min)
Problem → Credibility → Steps → Result → CTA
Tutorial / Educational (4+ min)
Cold-Open → Context → Rising Tension → Resolution → Reflection
Documentary
Three-Act: Setup → Confrontation → Resolution
Next Steps
Story Cutter Assistant Guide — Detailed setup, multicam configuration, Insert Rough Cut behavior, and all slash commands
Usage and Pricing — Understand how credits work
Related Workflows:
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