AI Editors
Four editors. Same footage. Different eyes.
What is an AI editor?
An AI editor is the viewpoint shikomi.ai uses to watch your footage. It decides which moments to keep, where to trim, and how to order them — the same judgment calls a human editor makes while watching raw material.
shikomi.ai ships with four editors. They look at the exact same timeline, but they notice different things. The one you pick for each run decides what kind of cut comes out the other side.
The idea: same material, four kinds of thinking
Every piece of footage can be edited many ways. A 30-minute interview might become a tight emotional arc, or a methodical summary, or a playful detour through the best asides.
None of them are 'wrong.' They're just different edits for different moments in your workflow — you pick the one that fits what this particular cut needs.
The four editors
Storyteller
Builds an emotional arc.Reads the footage as a story. Picks moments that lift, turn, and land. Cares about how the piece feels from start to finish — the flow between clips, not just each clip on its own.
When you want the viewer to be carried through. Brand films, vlogs, interviews where the speaker's journey is the point.
Methodical
Covers everything important.Treats the footage as information to organize. Goes through every topic systematically and keeps the core points without losing nuance. Labels clips so nothing critical slips through.
When you cannot afford to miss something. Product demos, training videos, documentary source material, technical interviews.
Discoverer
Finds the unexpected angle.Looks for moments other editors would skip — the repeated phrase you did not notice, the contrast, the line that seems off-topic but loops back beautifully. Keeps it on-message but surprises you.
When a straightforward cut would feel predictable. Essay videos, creative content, the second cut of material you have already edited once.
Humanistic
Keeps the warmth in.Leaves in the small tangents and off-script moments that reveal the speaker as a person. About 60% on the main topic, 40% the asides that make it feel alive. Edits the way a good short documentary feels.
When the person on camera is the point. Founder interviews, personal stories, anything where character matters more than information density.
How to choose (and how to run more than one)
In Standard Mode you pick one editor per run. In Pro Mode you can run any combination of the four in parallel — each produces its own alternative cut on a separate V2–V5 track, so you can compare side by side and cherry-pick from each.
Finish image — Story or Digest
On top of the editor choice, you tell shikomi.ai what kind of feel you want from the finished cut:
Story
Natural flow, a little breath between clips, rhythm over density. Tends slightly longer.
Digest
Tight, information-first, maximum content inside your target duration.
Punchline detection (Pro)
During structural analysis the pipeline flags short, memorable phrases — the lines that carry the core message or show a personality. These can be preserved even when they are too short to be chosen as a clip on their own.
Target duration
Give a rough target (e.g. '3 min' or '1:30'). Most editors treat it as a guideline and aim close to it. Methodical treats it as a hard cap — if the target is 3 minutes, it will prune down to 3 minutes even if it means dropping coverage.
Tips
- →First time on a piece of footage? Start with Storyteller or Methodical in Standard Mode. Get a feel for what the AI sees before running multiple editors.
- →Pro Mode with Storyteller + Methodical is a great combo — you get a coherent arc plus a comprehensive safety net as an alternative cut.
- →When you have already edited a piece once and want to explore a different angle, run Discoverer or Humanistic on the same source.
- →Very short footage (under a couple of minutes) works best with a single editor. Running four editors on two minutes of material mostly produces overlap.