Fast Video
Editing Guide.

Day One Checklist.

Work through this list before opening any video file. Tick each item as you complete it. Should take roughly half a day, end to end.

The Challenge.

Why this workflow exists, and what it is replacing.

We produce video content. We do not enjoy — and have no business spending hours on — the mechanical parts: trimming, sorting clips, captioning, reframing for different platforms, repurposing long videos into short ones. That work is repetitive, time-consuming, and adds little creative value.

Traditional video editors like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve are powerful but slow. They require timeline thinking, keyboard shortcuts, scrubbing back and forth, manual cuts. A single 30-minute video can take 4–6 hours to edit cleanly.

This guide replaces all of that with a two-tool workflow that handles 95% of the work automatically. The remaining 5% is the part that actually needs a human: judgment, creative decisions, quality review.

Workflow at a Glance.

The whole process in six steps. The next sections expand each one in detail.

Day One Setup.

The 30-minute configuration that sets up everything. Do this once.

1. Folder structure

Create a single parent folder (call it Video) with three subfolders:

• Raw — original camera files, organised by date and shoot name.
• Projects — active work. Descript projects live elsewhere, but keep export-staging files here.
• Exports — finished long versions and shorts, organised by publish date.

Use a simple naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD_topic_version. Example: 2026-05-18_studio-interview_long-v1.mp4.

2. Descript account and app

1. Go to descript.com and create an account using the company email.
2. Choose the Creator plan (~$24/month, or ~$16/month if billed annually).
3. Download the desktop app from the dashboard. Install it. The desktop app is significantly faster than the browser version — always use it.
4. On first launch, accept the intro tour. It takes about 10 minutes and is genuinely useful.
5. Open Preferences → AI and check that Underlord is enabled.

3. Submagic account

1. Go to submagic.co and create an account.
2. Choose the Pro plan (~$20/month).
3. Submagic runs entirely in the browser. There is no desktop app — bookmark it.
4. Spend 5 minutes browsing the caption style presets. Pick one or two you like — you will use the same one consistently.

4. Adobe Podcast Enhance (optional, free)

1. Bookmark podcast.adobe.com.
2. No account needed for short clips. Use it whenever raw audio is noisy.

Descript — Deep Guide.

This is where 95% of your work happens. Master this tool and the rest is detail.

What it is

Descript is a video and audio editor that lets you edit by editing the transcript. When you upload a video, it transcribes the audio automatically. From that point, every word in the transcript is locked to the matching moment in the video. Delete a sentence — the clip disappears. Rearrange paragraphs — the footage follows. This eliminates the timeline entirely for most editing tasks.

What is possible

• Auto-transcription, 95%+ accuracy, 30+ languages
• Edit video by deleting transcript text
• Remove filler words in one click
• Studio Sound — AI audio cleanup
• Generate captions with one click
• Multi-track timeline (when needed)
• Screen and webcam recording built in
• Voice cloning (Overdub) for fixes
• Eye Contact — fixes camera gaze
• Green Screen — AI background removal
• Underlord — AI co-editor for prompts
• Translate to 20+ languages
• Auto-generate titles, descriptions, show notes
• Export to YouTube, social, podcast hosts directly
• Multi-aspect-ratio exports (16:9, 9:16, 1:1)
• Brand kits for consistent styling

Your first project — step by step

1. Open Descript. Click New Project. Give it a clear name matching your folder convention.
2. Drag in your raw video. Descript begins transcribing immediately. Wait until it finishes — usually 1–3 minutes for a 30-minute video.
3. Read the transcript top to bottom. Treat this like reading a Word document. Get a feel for what was said before editing.
4. Make a rough cut by deleting text. Select the words, sentences, or paragraphs that don't belong — bad takes, tangents, repeated material, dead air. Press delete. The video shortens itself.
5. Run "Remove Filler Words" from the Underlord menu. This deletes every "um," "uh," "like," and "you know" in seconds. Review the result quickly to make sure no real words were caught.
6. Run "Studio Sound" on the audio track. This single click cleans up background noise, levels the voice, and makes everything sound studio-recorded.
7. Use Underlord for the bigger asks. Open the Underlord panel (right side) and type prompts like the ones in the next section. Treat it as a junior editor.
8. Generate captions. Click Captions → Add Captions. Pick a style. Done.
9. Preview the full edit. Play it through end to end. Trust your ear — if something feels wrong, fix it.
10. Export the long version. Click Publish → Export → Video. Choose 16:9, 1080p or higher. Save to the Exports folder.

Core technique — editing by transcript

This is the central skill. Master it and Descript becomes second nature.

• Read the transcript like editing prose. Cut what's boring, weak, off-topic, or duplicated.
• Use Cmd/Ctrl+D (or just press delete) to remove selected text. The video updates instantly.
• Use strike-through (mute) to temporarily silence parts without deleting them — useful for second-guessing yourself.
• You can rearrange entire sections by cutting and pasting paragraphs in the transcript.
• Do not open the timeline view unless you absolutely need to overlay B-roll or fine-tune a transition. The timeline is a trap that pulls you back into manual editing.

Gotchas to watch for

• Names and technical terms transcribe poorly. Always spot-check spellings of people's names, product names, and jargon before exporting captions.
• Don't trust automatic punctuation completely — review for missed sentence breaks that could change meaning.
• Filler word removal sometimes catches real words, especially short words like "I" or "a" in fast speech. Quick scan after running it.
• Underlord is a draft, not a final. Always review what it produced before accepting.
• Save often. Descript saves automatically, but force a save before any major Underlord operation.

Underlord Prompt Library.

Copy-paste these directly into the Underlord chat panel inside Descript. Adapt the bracketed parts as needed. Click any prompt to copy it.

Submagic — Deep Guide.

After the long version is exported from Descript, this is where you make the vertical shorts.

What it is

Submagic takes a long-form video and turns it into vertical short clips with animated captions, ready for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. It uses AI to find the strongest moments, reframes to 9:16, and applies a chosen caption style automatically.

What is possible

• Auto clip detection from long videos
• Smart reframing to 9:16 vertical
• Animated word-by-word captions
• 30+ caption style presets
• Emoji injection for keywords
• B-roll suggestions
• Background music library
• Sound effects on keywords
• Multi-language captions (50+ languages)
• Custom brand presets for consistency
• Direct publishing to social platforms
• Bulk processing of multiple clips

Your first short — step by step

1. Open Submagic. Click Create new project.
2. Upload your long video — the export from Descript, not raw footage. Submagic works best on already-edited content.
3. Choose "Auto-clip" when prompted. Submagic analyses the video and proposes 5–10 short clips, each typically 30–60 seconds.
4. Review the suggested clips. Watch each one. Reject the ones that don't work standalone. Approve the strongest 3–5.
5. Pick your caption style. Use the same preset every time for brand consistency. Choose once, save as default.
6. Trim within each clip if needed. Submagic has a basic editor — you can shorten clips, adjust timing, fix the start point.
7. Review the auto-reframing. Submagic crops to 9:16 automatically. Check that the subject stays in frame — adjust if it cropped wrong.
8. Add B-roll suggestions if useful. Submagic offers stock footage and emoji overlays — use sparingly. Less is more.
9. Export each clip. 9:16, 1080×1920, MP4. Save to Exports.
10. Upload to social platforms manually. Don't auto-publish via Submagic — always review on the actual platform before posting.

Core technique — consistency wins

The single biggest mistake on Submagic is over-customising every clip. Resist this.

• Pick one caption style. Use it on every short. Audiences recognise consistent visual identity.
• Pick one font. Same reason.
• Save your settings as a brand preset so every new project starts the same way.
• Resist emoji injection unless the brand voice calls for it. Most professional content looks cheaper with emojis.

Gotchas to watch for

• The AI's "best moments" are not always your best moments. Always review the suggestions. Often the 4th suggestion is better than the 1st.
• Auto-reframe sometimes crops the wrong subject, especially with multiple people on screen. Check every clip.
• Captions may misspell names — same issue as Descript. Spot-check before exporting.
• Don't process raw footage. Always send the cleaned, exported long version from Descript. The output quality depends on the input quality.
• Watch the credit / minute limits on your plan. If you exceed them, the plan will throttle.

Audio Polish.

For raw audio that needs cleanup before going into Descript. Free, fast, no signup.

Descript's Studio Sound feature handles most audio cleanup automatically. But for genuinely rough audio — heavy room noise, echo, distant microphone — running it through Adobe Podcast Enhance first produces noticeably better results.

When to use it

• The raw recording has loud room hum, fan noise, or HVAC.
• The speaker was too far from the microphone.
• There is noticeable echo or reverb.
• The recording was made in a non-treated room.

When to skip it

• Audio sounds clean already — Studio Sound in Descript will be enough.
• The video is shorter than 60 seconds — not worth the extra step.
• You are in a hurry and the audio is "good enough."

How to use it

1. Extract the audio from your raw video (any audio editor, or use a free tool like ffmpeg).
2. Go to podcast.adobe.com. No login needed for short clips.
3. Drag the audio file onto the page.
4. Wait 30–60 seconds. Download the enhanced version.
5. Replace the audio in your raw video, then import to Descript.

Tools to Skip.

If someone suggests one of these, the reasoning below is why we don't use it. Save the time, skip the discussion.

A Typical Day.

What it looks like to actually run this workflow, with realistic timings for a single 30-minute raw video.

• 09:00 · 5 min
  Open Descript, create new project. Drag in the raw video. Transcription begins automatically.
• 09:05 · 10 min
  Read the full transcript while Descript finishes processing. Get a sense of the content before editing.
• 09:15 · 15 min
  Make the rough cut. Delete bad takes, tangents, repetitions, dead air. Read each section and decide what stays.
• 09:30 · 5 min
  Run Underlord on filler words and Studio Sound on audio. Watch the result quickly. Trust but verify.
• 09:35 · 5 min
  Prompt Underlord for chapter breaks, a title, a description, and any other metadata needed.
• 09:40 · 10 min
  Add captions and review. Spot-check names and technical terms. Adjust caption style if needed.
• 09:50 · 5 min
  Watch the final cut end to end. Make any last adjustments. Export as 16:9 to the Exports folder.
• 09:55 · 15 min
  Open Submagic. Upload the long export. Choose Auto-clip. Wait for AI suggestions.
• 10:10 · 20 min
  Review suggested shorts. Approve the 3–5 strongest. Edit timing if needed. Apply consistent caption style.
• 10:30 · 10 min
  Export shorts. 9:16, MP4. Save to Exports. Upload to platforms manually with platform-appropriate captions.
• 10:40 · Done
  One long video + three to five shorts. 100 minutes of work, all platforms covered.

Quality Checklist.

Run through this before exporting any video for publishing. Takes 5 minutes, saves embarrassment.

Content

• The video starts with a clear hook in the first 5 seconds.
• The story flows logically from start to finish — no abrupt jumps.
• The strongest point is delivered in the first third.
• The ending feels intentional, not abrupt.

Audio

• Voice is clear and consistent in level throughout.
• No clicks, pops, or sudden cuts in audio.
• Background noise has been cleaned up.
• If there's music, it doesn't overpower the voice.

Captions

• All proper names are spelled correctly.
• Technical terms and jargon are accurate.
• Captions appear at the right time, not lagging or leading.
• Caption style matches the brand preset.

Visual

• Subject stays in frame throughout (especially for vertical shorts).
• No accidental cuts mid-sentence.
• Aspect ratio is correct for the platform (16:9 long, 9:16 short).
• Resolution is at least 1080p.

Metadata

• Title is descriptive and curiosity-driven.
• Description includes key points and timestamps.
• Filename matches the naming convention.
• File is saved to the correct Exports folder.

Troubleshooting.

The most common issues and how to fix them.

Descript

Transcription is wrong on a specific word. Click the word in the transcript and retype it. The video's audio doesn't change — only the visible text and any captions generated from it.

Underlord won't run. Check your monthly Underlord credit balance. Some operations cost more credits than others. Upgrade plan if needed.

Studio Sound made the voice sound robotic. Reduce the intensity slider — Studio Sound has a dial from 0 to 100. Try 60-70 for most voices.

Export is taking forever. Close other applications. Descript exports are CPU-heavy. A 30-minute 1080p export typically takes 5–10 minutes.

Project won't save / crashed. Force quit and reopen. Descript autosaves every minute. You'll lose at most a minute of work.

Submagic

Auto-clip didn't find good moments. The input was probably too unedited or too long. Try sending a tighter, shorter long-form export.

Captions are off-time. Click the caption block and shift the timing manually. There's a small offset slider.

The reframe cropped the wrong subject. Switch from auto-reframe to manual and drag the frame to the correct position.

Out of credits. Pro plan should be sufficient for our volume. If consistently hitting the limit, ask before upgrading.

General

Audio sounds bad after Studio Sound. Run the raw audio through Adobe Podcast Enhance first, then bring into Descript and skip Studio Sound.

I want to add B-roll, music, transitions. Descript can do all of these from the timeline view. But ask first — usually less is more.

I'm tempted to add a third tool. Don't. Ask first. The answer is almost always to use existing tools better.

Resources.

For when you want to go beyond this guide.

What to learn next, once the basics are second nature

• Descript brand kits — for consistent styling across all videos.
• Descript multitrack editing — for multi-camera shoots and B-roll overlays.
• Submagic API — for automating bulk short-form processing (advanced).
• Voice cloning (Overdub) — only with explicit permission from anyone whose voice will be cloned.