Cutomatic Manual

Complete Reference Guide for Video & Audio Silence Removal

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. System Requirements
3. Getting Started
4. Core Features
5. UI Navigation & Controls
6. Silence Detection Settings
7. Project Save & Load
8. Workflows & Examples
9. Export & Output
10. Troubleshooting
11. Advanced Features
12. Support

Overview

Cutomatic is a macOS desktop application for automatically detecting and removing silence from video and audio files. It is designed for video editors, podcasters, and content creators who need to trim silent sections efficiently while preserving precise timing synchronization for professional editing software like Final Cut Pro.

What Cutomatic Does

• Silence Detection — Analyzes audio tracks to identify silent sections
• Visual Preview — Displays a waveform with detected silences marked for review
• FCPXML Export — Generates Final Cut Pro XML markers for seamless editorial integration
• Audio/Video Export — Saves processed audio, trimmed video, or both depending on the selected export mode
• Trim Preview — Plays back the trimmed result inline to verify before export
• Preset Management — Save and reuse detection settings for consistent results

Supported Formats

System Requirements

• OS: macOS 12.0 (Monterey) or later
• RAM: 4 GB minimum; 8 GB or more recommended
• Disk Space: 2 GB free for temporary processing
• Screen Resolution: 1368 × 938 minimum

Getting Started

License Activation

Cutomatic includes a 14-day free trial. The trial badge in the title bar displays your remaining days (e.g., “Trial 12d”). To activate a purchased license:

1. Click the trial badge in the title bar.
2. Enter your purchase email and license key from your confirmation email.
3. Click Activate.

Once activated, trial reminders are removed and full export mode is permanently enabled. If your trial expires before activation, click the same badge to reopen the registration panel.

Core Features

1. Media Loading

Video Import

Click the video icon card on the left panel to load a video file (MP4, MOV, M4V, or AVI) by dragging and dropping, or by clicking to browse. The file name, duration, and format are displayed after loading.

External Audio Import

Click the waveform icon card on the left panel to load a separate audio file (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, or AIFF). When an external audio file is loaded, Cutomatic analyzes that audio instead of the video’s embedded track. This is useful when the video has poor audio quality or when you have a higher-quality recording from a separate microphone. Ensure the external audio is in sync with the video for accurate cut alignment.

After Loading

• The waveform loads automatically in the Waveform and Detected Silences section.
• Video and audio metadata (duration, frame rate, sample rate) is extracted.
• The preview player becomes ready to use.

2. Silence Detection

Cutomatic identifies silent sections using two primary parameters and one optional filter.

Silence Threshold (dB)

• Range: -70 dB to 0 dB
• Default: -60 dB
• Audio quieter than this value is treated as silence.
• -70 dB — Conservative; only very quiet audio is cut
• -60 dB — Moderate default for typical speech recordings
• -30 dB — Aggressive; louder pauses are also treated as silence

Minimum Silence Duration (ms)

• Range: 100 ms to 2000 ms
• Default: 200 ms
• Sets the minimum length of silence required before it is flagged for removal.
• 100 ms — Catches breath sounds and short pauses
• 200 ms — Skips plosives; catches natural speech pauses (recommended)
• 500+ ms — Only long gaps and major silences are detected

Skip Clips (frames)

• Range: 0–60 frames
• Default: Off (0)
• After silence is removed, any remaining audio clip shorter than this frame count is also discarded.
• Example: At 30 fps, a value of 10 removes clips shorter than 0.33 seconds.
• Use 0 for most content; use 3–5 only to eliminate very short audio fragments.

3. Waveform and Detected Silences

The Waveform and Detected Silences section spans the lower portion of the app and shows your media timeline at a glance.

Scroll vertically over the waveform to zoom in or out for precise inspection.

4. Preview Modes

Source Preview

Plays the original, unprocessed video or audio exactly as loaded. Use this to confirm the file is intact before processing.

Trim Preview

Plays the edited version with silences removed. Use this to verify detected silences are correct before exporting. Switch between modes using the Source and Preview Trim toggle buttons in the preview area header.

5. Detected Silence Panel

After processing, the Detected Silence panel on the right displays:

• Found N silent sections — total count of detected silences
• Cut list — each silence with its start time, end time, and duration
• Delete (X) button — remove a specific cut if that section contains important content

To undo a removed cut, click the Undo button in the bottom-right corner of the app, or press Cmd+Z.

UI Navigation & Controls

Layout Overview

[Video Card]          [Preview Player]        [Detected Silence Panel]
  Left panel         Center — source/trim     Right — cut list & count

                  [Waveform and Detected Silences]
                       Full-width lower section

Slider Row

[Min Silence Duration]   [Silence Threshold]   [Skip Clips]
      200 ms                   -60 dB               Off

Button Reference

Silence Detection Settings

How the Parameters Work Together

Threshold (-60 dB)  →  Raw silences identified from audio analysis
Min Duration (ms)   →  Silences shorter than this value are discarded
Skip Clips (frames) →  Any remaining clips shorter than this are removed

Recommended Settings by Recording Type

Saving a Custom Preset

1. Adjust the sliders to your preferred values.
2. Click Process Media and verify the results.
3. Click the Presets button.
4. Click + New Preset, enter a name (e.g., “Podcast – Clean”), and click Save.

Presets are stored locally and available in all future sessions.

Project Save & Load

Cutomatic uses .ctom project files to save your work, including media references, detection settings, and detected cuts.

Save Project

• Click Save Project in the toolbar, choose File > Save Project, or press Cmd+S.

Save Project As…

• Choose File > Save Project As… or press Cmd+Shift+S to save a copy without overwriting the current project.

Open Project

• Choose File > Open Project or click the Open Project button.
• Select a .ctom file to restore all saved media, settings, and cuts.

Note: If a referenced media file has been moved or renamed, Cutomatic will display a warning but will still open the project so you can relink the file or continue working.

Export & Output

Open in FCPX

Exports the FCPXML marker file and opens it directly in Final Cut Pro in one step.

• Use this for the fastest path from Cutomatic into your FCP timeline.
• Final Cut Pro must be installed on your Mac.

FCPXML Export

Generates a Final Cut Pro XML marker file that maps detected silences to your video timeline.

• Output filename: [filename]_silence_removed.fcpxml
• Saved to: Your Downloads folder
• Import in FCP manually: File → Import → XML
• Result: A sequence with gaps at silence positions

Note: The original media file must remain at the same path used during export. If the frame rate of the source video does not match your FCP project, relink the media in FCP when prompted.

Export Media

Cutomatic supports exporting:

• Audio Only — trimmed audio saved as M4A, MP3, or WAV
• Video Only — trimmed video exported in a supported container, preserving the original video track
• Video + Audio — both video and audio combined into a single trimmed output file

When you click Export, an export panel appears so you can choose the export type and the audio source for the export.

Audio Only

• Output filename: [filename]_trimmed.m4a
• Format: M4A by default; other audio output formats may also be available depending on the source
• Compatible with: Podcast hosts, video editors, social media platforms, and archival workflows

Video Only / Video + Audio

• Output format: Uses the source container when possible (MOV, MP4, etc.) or falls back to a supported video format
• Preserves: original video timing and visual content while trimming silent sections
• Recommended: Use Video + Audio when working with recorded video that also contains the audio track you want included

Steps:

1. After verifying results with Preview Trim, click Export.
2. Choose Audio Only, Video Only, or Video + Audio in the export panel.
3. Select the audio source if needed: Video Audio or External Audio.
4. Choose a save location and click Save.

Troubleshooting

No silences detected after processing

• Click Process Media if you have not done so yet.
• Raise the Silence Threshold toward -40 dB to detect more pauses.
• Reduce Min Silence Duration to 100 ms.
• Reprocess.

Too many silences detected — speech is being cut

• Lower the Silence Threshold toward -70 dB to make detection more conservative.
• Increase Min Silence Duration to 300–500 ms.
• Reprocess and review with Preview Trim.

Waveform won’t load

• Confirm the file format is supported (MP4, MOV, MP3, WAV, etc.).
• Open the file in QuickTime to verify it is not corrupted.
• For files larger than 2 GB, consider splitting the file before importing.
• Restart Cutomatic and reload the file.

Export fails or access is denied

• Verify you have write access to the chosen export folder.
• Ensure at least 500 MB of free disk space is available.
• Try saving to a different folder and retry.

FCPXML markers are misaligned in Final Cut Pro

• Confirm the video frame rate matches your FCP project settings.
• Ensure the original media file is still at the same path used during export.
• In FCP, use Relink Files if prompted.

App is slow or freezes

• Close other applications to free memory.
• Restart Cutomatic if it becomes unresponsive.

Advanced Features

Batch Processing with Presets

To process multiple similar files efficiently:

1. Save your preferred settings as a preset (see Saving a Custom Preset).
2. Load the first file, select the preset from Presets, and click Process Media.
3. Verify, export, then load the next file.
4. Select the same preset and repeat.

Manual Cut Editing

After processing, individual cuts can be reviewed and removed:

1. Scroll the Detected Silence panel to find the cut you want to remove.
2. Click the X button next to it.
3. Click Undo (bottom-right) or press Cmd+Z to restore a removed cut if needed.
4. Click Preview Trim to verify the updated result.
5. Export when satisfied.

External Audio Analysis

Load a video and a separate audio file together to use the higher-quality audio for analysis without affecting the video timeline. The FCPXML export applies video timecodes while using the external audio for silence detection.