Cutaway / Insert — effect skill for cuts & pacing

For AI agents: find the right skill in one call — curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>" returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add .md to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page.

Briefly leave the main shot for a detail or related shot, then come back. Shows what is talked about and hides edits.

What it does

Main speaker, then 1–3 s of the object, screen or place mentioned, then back to the speaker.

When: Explainers, interviews, product demos, and to cover a cut in the main shot.

Watch out: Inserts unrelated to what is being said feel like filler.

Timing: 1–3 s per insert

Also called: insert shot, cutaway, cut-in, detail shot

In FFmpeg

Overlay the insert on top of the continuous main shot between 3 and 5 s (main audio continues):

ffmpeg -i main.mp4 -i insert.mp4 -filter_complex \
"[1:v]trim=0:2,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS+3/TB,scale=1920:1080[ins];\
 [0:v][ins]overlay=eof_action=pass[v]" -map "[v]" -map 0:a out.mp4

In HyperFrames

Put the insert on a higher z-index over the main clip:

<video id="ins" class="clip" src="insert.mp4" data-start="3" data-duration="2" muted data-track-index="1" style="z-index:2"></video>

In Remotion

<AbsoluteFill><Video src={main} /></AbsoluteFill>
<Sequence from={90} durationInFrames={60}><Video src={insert} muted /></Sequence>

In CapCut

Drag the insert onto the track above the main track (Overlay on mobile), stretch it to full frame, mute it.

Where this comes from

Use when

Not for

Install

Example output

https://s3.varg.ai/how-to/previews/84c67c11caa8/take-cutaway-insert.mp4 — insert between two shots, with the timeline strip of the edit. Footage: Tears of Steel (2012), (CC) Blender Foundation | mango.blender.org, CC BY 3.0; Sprite Fright (2021), Blender Studio | studio.blender.org, CC BY 4.0. (credit: Rendered by varg · Tears of Steel (2012) + Sprite Fright (2021))

More cuts & pacing skills