How to keep the shots with writing in them long enough to read
Ask Vizard Agent to list the shots that contain readable writing before it starts cutting, and to give each of those a minimum duration. A shot of a hand moving can be a second long and still work. A shot of a specification panel cannot, and a pacing rule applied evenly across the film will cut both to the same length.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
Give Vizard Agent a constraint rather than a preference. Asking for the writing to be "visible" gets you writing that is technically on the screen. Asking for it to be readable gets you a shot long enough for somebody to actually read it. Name the failure too: trimming those shots to the same length as everything else.
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
The inventory comes first, before any pacing decision, because those shots have to be exempt from the rule the rest of the film follows. A shot list is a set of durations and content, and unless the writing is noted as content, nothing downstream knows that one two seconds is different from any other. In the session behind this article it:
- Analysed a long source video, read its transcript and built a lightweight copy for the visual analysis.
- Identified the shots with writing in them alongside the best product shots, then completed the list so no lettered shot was missed.
- Gave each of those shots a minimum duration and built the cut plan with the rest of the film paced freely.
- Assembled the condensed version to the three-minute target.
- Checked the legibility of the writing on the finished cut, ready to extend any shot where the text did not survive and re-balance the rest so the total still landed.
When does this not work well?
When there is too much writing. A film built around specification panels can't be condensed much without losing the thing it exists to communicate, and the honest answer is a longer cut or the information moved into graphics. Very small text was never readable at any duration, moving or rotating text needs longer still, and with a hard target length something else has to give.
Common questions
How long does writing need? Longer than you think, and it depends on the amount. Vizard Agent sets a floor per shot.
What if the target length is fixed? Then Vizard Agent takes the seconds from shots with no writing in them.
Does all writing count? No. Tell Vizard Agent which of it matters and background signage is ignored.