# Cut this down to 60 seconds

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/cut-it-down-to-60-seconds
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Type "Cut this down to 60 seconds" and Vidiyo shortens your video in order of least harm: confirmed pauses, repeated takes, false starts, then tangents. It shows you a plan of what it will remove, keeps every word that carries meaning, and asks you before dropping a whole idea to hit the length.

## What to say

> Cut this down to 60 seconds

Category: Cuts

## What Vidiyo does

1. Reads the whole transcript and the current length.
2. Shows a plan of what it will remove and why, with what it assumed kept apart.
3. Removes confirmed pauses, repeated takes and false starts first.
4. Cuts tangents and repeated explanations where the meaning survives.
5. Asks you which idea to drop if the video is still too long.
6. Reports the length before and after, and anything it chose to keep.

A target length is one of the most common edit notes, and one of the easiest to get wrong. This prompt makes Vidiyo trim in order of least harm, so you lose silence and repeats before you lose ideas.

## What does Vidiyo do when you say this?

Vidiyo reads the full transcript, shows you a plan of what it will remove, then cuts in order: confirmed pauses, repeated takes, false starts, then tangents. It keeps every word that carries meaning. If the video is still over the target after that, it asks you which idea to drop instead of guessing.

The plan card separates what you asked for from what the assistant assumed, such as which take to keep. You can correct an assumption before it builds on it. When it finishes, it reports the length before and after.

## How do you phrase it?

State the length, and add what must survive if you know:

- "Cut this down to 60 seconds"
- "Get it under 45 seconds without losing the demo"
- "Make it a 30-second version for Reels"
- "Trim to a minute, keep the intro and the ending as they are"
- "What would you cut to get this under a minute?"

The last one is a question, so Vidiyo answers it and changes nothing. That's a good way to see the options first.

## How would you do this by hand?

By hand, you watch the whole video, note what can go, cut it, check the duration, then go back for a second and third pass when you're still over. Each pass means listening again for rough cuts. The judgment of what matters is still yours either way. What changes is that you review one proposed cut instead of building it.

## What should you check afterwards?

Watch the cut once from start to finish and listen for jumps in logic, like "as I said" pointing at something that's gone. Check that the ending still pays off what the opening promised. If a tangent you liked was removed, name it and ask for it back. For a vertical version of the same video, do the length cut first and then ask to make it vertical.

## Honest limits

- No speed ramps or speed control, so length comes only from cuts.
- Timelines max out at 5 minutes.

## Frequently asked questions

### Will Vidiyo always hit exactly 60 seconds?

It aims for the length you ask for, but it won't cut a meaningful word just to hit a number. If the content needs 64 seconds, it tells you and asks what to drop.

### Can I protect a section from being cut?

Yes. Say "keep the demo part" or "don't touch anything after 0:40" and the assistant works around it.

### Does it speed up my video to fit?

No. Vidiyo has no speed control. It reaches a length by cutting, never by playing footage faster.

## Related

- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Rough cut](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/rough-cut)
- [Retention rate](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/retention-rate)
- [How to edit a talking-head video fast](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/edit-talking-head-video-fast)
- [Find the best 30-second clip for a Short](https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/find-the-best-short-in-a-long-video)

Download Vidiyo for Mac (free during the beta): https://getvidiyo.app/download