The problem
A long interview takes hours to cut down by hand. If a producer edits 6 interview-led videos a month and each rough cut takes 3 hours, that's 18 hours a month.
What the AI does
Descript transcribes your footage and lets you edit the video by editing the text. Its site lists cutting filler words, AI noise removal and voice enhancement (Studio Sound) and captions. Cut the interview in the transcript, then export or finish elsewhere. The Hobbyist plan is for 1 person with 10 media hours and 400 AI credits a month, with watermark-free export up to 1080p. The Free plan has 1 media hour, 720p and a watermark.
A worked example
A video production company in Manchester makes 6 interview-led case-study films a month for business clients. One editor cuts a 45-minute interview down to a 3-minute film.
Before
6 rough cuts at 3 hours each: 18 hours a month
After
If transcript editing brings each rough cut to about 1.5 hours: 9 hours a month
What it's worth
About 9 hours a month saved (540 minutes), worth about £360 at £40 an hour, if transcript editing really halves the rough cut (an assumption to test on a past project). The 6 interviews total 4.5 media hours, within Hobbyist's 10. Cost: $16 (about £12) a month billed annually, or $24 (about £18) a month billed monthly, for one editor. The plan is called Hobbyist, so check Descript's terms allow commercial use.
How to set it up
- Try the Free plan on one past interview to see how accurate the transcript is for your speakers.
- Check the Hobbyist plan's terms allow paid client work and look at the export options you need.
- Edit the rough cut in the transcript, then listen through for cuts that sound unnatural.
- Check captions and names against the speaker before anything is sent to a client.
- Finish colour and sound in your usual editor if you need to, and keep the original files.
What goes wrong
- Transcripts mishear names and technical terms. Check them before cutting on the text.
- Deleting words in the transcript can change what a speaker meant. Review every cut with the context in mind.
- Descript's site doesn't say whether customer content trains AI models. Check its privacy terms before uploading client footage.
- Plans have limits (10 media hours and 400 AI credits a month on Hobbyist), and people on camera need to have agreed to be recorded.