Not for: Not a DJ app, and not a template that drops your clips into someone else’s timing.
The song is the runtime
Shape the music first. A one-minute song is a one-minute reel; a three-minute song is a three-minute highlight. Trim it to the film you promised before you press Create.
Choose the song for the day
Pick the song before you look at a single clip. A song with space in it suits vows, slow walks and long looks; a driving track suits a dance floor, a crowd or a finish line. The cuts land on its beat, so choose a rhythm that suits the day as well as a length. If the couple or the client chose the track, start there: it is the one part of the film they have already approved.
Trim before you press Create
Most songs run longer than the film you sold. Cut the song to the length you promised first: drop a long intro, end on a chorus rather than a fade, or close on the last held note. Whatever is left is the runtime. A four-minute track trimmed to three is a three-minute reel, and the last shot lands where the song ends.
On the beat
The cuts land on the song’s beat. Load a score or a live track, and when one song will not carry the whole film, join songs with a cut, crossfade or gap.
Two songs, one reel
One song will not always carry a whole day. Join two, and the reel follows the join. A cut suits a hard change of energy, like the ceremony ending and the party starting. A crossfade suits a slow turn from one mood to the next. A gap leaves a moment of silence before the next song starts.
Speech inside the song
Vantacut hears speech in 22 Indian languages and English. When a line of dialogue stays in the reel, the song ducks under it and comes back after, so a vow, a toast or a laugh sits inside the music instead of fighting it. One or two lines are usually enough for a highlight; the whole speech belongs in the long film. If the cut kept the wrong line, swap the clip on the timeline.
Then Auto-Edit
Pick a theme, add a brief if you like, press Create and answer up to three questions. The reel opens as a new timeline: walk it, swap in what the song skipped, and export on the same computer.
After the cut
The reel is ordinary clips on ordinary tracks. If a cut lands half a beat from where you wanted it, trim it by hand; transitions are built on real handles, with the audio crossfaded to match. If the whole reel feels wrong, run Auto-Edit again with a different song, a different trim or a different theme. The new reel opens as its own timeline, and each clip is only watched once, so the footage is not analysed again.
Your footage stays on your computer
Editing, playback and export run on your computer, and your original footage and songs never leave it. To find moments, Auto-Edit shares low-quality copies of your clips, still frames and the speech, and the app asks once before anything is sent. The editor works worldwide, in English; credit packs are priced in Indian rupees.
Questions
Can I use two songs?
Yes. Join songs with a cut, crossfade or gap, and the reel follows.
Can I use the live concert mix?
Yes. Load it as the song. The cut follows that file.
Will speech fight the music?
No. Keep a line of dialogue in the reel and the song ducks under it.
Get the editor
Windows and Linux now; macOS is coming. The editor is free; create your account when it first opens.