Focus field guide / 02

Turn a cut-heavy recording into the shots you want.

Focus detects camera cuts in a recorded program or long edit. Create segments from the findings, move through them with U and I, and decide what stays with J and K. Then export the selected result.

Try it with your videoRead the steps
Recorded program
Detect cuts
Review shot by shot4 / 4 kept

Click this example, then try U, I, J and K on your keyboard.

Illustrative edit using generated program frames. The keys change this demo only; no video is processed here.

01Detect camera cuts
02Review with four keys
03Export a new video

In short

Detect Video Cuts and Export Selected Shots Losslessly

Updated · Focus

Open the recording in Focus and run Detect cuts on the entire clip. Create segments from the results, use U and I to move between shots, and J and K to keep or remove them. Export with Fast Lossless when available; cuts may shift to nearby keyframes.

The real workflow

Detect, decide, export.

Use this when some shots in an existing recording matter and the rest do not. In this example, we keep the practical demonstration and skip unrelated cutaways.

  1. 01

    Open the source in Quick Edit.

    Open your local recording in Focus. Keep the source view visible so every decision stays tied to its original position.

    Open video / Quick Edit
    Captured in the Focus app
  2. 02

    Detect cuts, then create segments.

    Choose Detect cuts → Entire clip above the timeline. Review the findings, then use Result actions → Create segments from results. Detect cuts alone does not change the edit. The Edit sidebar's Auto-split video is a faster direct route.

    Detect cuts / Entire clip
    Captured in the Focus app
  3. 03

    Choose shots with U, I, J, K.

    U goes to the previous segment and I to the next. J keeps the current segment; K removes it from the result. Play the source as needed and correct any missed or false cut with the edit controls.

    U / I / J / K
    Captured in the Focus app
  4. 04

    Export the kept result.

    Click Export and choose Fast Lossless when preflight allows it. This copies source streams. With multiple kept ranges, cut points can move to nearby keyframes. Choose Frame Accurate when the exact frame matters; it re-encodes.

    Export / Fast Lossless
    Captured in the Focus app

Before you export

Does Detect cuts remove unwanted shots automatically?

No. Detect cuts produces findings. Create segments from results, then choose which segments to keep or remove. Auto-split video in the Edit sidebar creates those segments directly.

What do U, I, J and K do?

U moves to the previous segment, I to the next, J keeps the current segment and K removes it. These shortcuts work while Quick Edit is active and a text field or dialog is not taking the keys.

Will Fast Lossless cut on the exact frame?

For several selected shots, cuts can align to nearby source keyframes. Review the exported joins. Choose Frame Accurate if exact frames matter; that mode re-encodes.

Focus

Keep the shots you need. Leave the rest behind.

Try the four-key review on one recording and inspect a short export before you process a full program.

Try it with your video
Another field guideHours of mostly empty footage?

Find every passage where someone appears without watching the whole recording.

See the people-finding guide