Shot Cuts

The Shot Cuts node finds where every shot of a video starts and ends. It lists each shot with its start, its end and its length. Turn on Save first and last frames to also get each shot's first frame and last frame as images.

The node measures the file itself. Every decoded frame is compared with the one before it, and a frame that changes sharply from a quiet background starts a new shot. It is the same rule that Video Mask uses to mask a video shot by shot.

The node runs locally, with no AI model and no provider key, so it works on every edition.

When to use it

• Get the shot list of an edit, such as an ad, a trailer or a music video, to rebuild or restyle it shot by shot.
• Save a still of every shot, to use as a reference image for image or video models.
• Measure the pacing of an edit, with the length of every shot at a glance.
• Find the cut points before Split into Chunks. Its Shots mode cuts a video at these same points.

Quick start

Inputs

Outputs

The Shots output looks like this:

{
  "shotCount": 3,
  "cutsSec": [2.5, 6.042],
  "durationSec": 9,
  "shots": [
    { "index": 0, "startSec": 0, "endSec": 2.5, "durationSec": 2.5, "firstFrameUrl": "https://…", "lastFrameUrl": "https://…" },
    { "index": 1, "startSec": 2.5, "endSec": 6.042, "durationSec": 3.542, "firstFrameUrl": "https://…", "lastFrameUrl": "https://…" },
    { "index": 2, "startSec": 6.042, "endSec": 9, "durationSec": 2.958, "firstFrameUrl": "https://…", "lastFrameUrl": "https://…" }
  ]
}

Settings

What counts as a cut

• A hard cut starts a new shot: one frame differs sharply from the frames around it.
• Gradual transitions are not cuts. A dissolve or a fade through black spreads the change over many frames, so the shots on both sides count as one.
• Flashes. A flash held for two or three frames that returns to the same picture is not a cut. A one-frame flash is a cut.
• A cut can be missed when a second large change follows it within three frames, such as a whip pan.

Credits

Shot Cuts costs one flat price per run, with or without frames, whatever the length of the video. The Run button on the node shows the price. Self-hosted Community and Business editions use no credits.

These runs fail, and their credits are refunded:

• A file that is not a readable video.
• A file over about 10.7 GiB. The download stops there.
• A video longer than 30 minutes. Trim it first.
• With frames on, a video with more than 1,000 shots. Turn frames off to get the times alone, or trim the video.

Tips

• Read one shot's times. Wire the Shots output into Extract Field, with the field shots and Output Type set to List, or into a list node. See Lists and batching.
• Rebuild a video shot by shot. Turn frames on, and use each shot's first frame as the start frame of a new clip.
• Cut one clip per shot. Use Split into Chunks in Shots mode.
• Frames are exact. They are the decoded frames, saved without loss, at the size of the video's picture.

Troubleshooting

From the API

POST /v1/shot-cuts with { videoUrl, frames? } queues a job and answers with its jobId. A malformed request answers 400 validation_error before any credits are held. The finished job's output_data.json is the Shots result above. With frames on, output_data.firstFrames and output_data.lastFrames list the frame images in shot order.

The SDK method is client.media.shotCuts, and the MCP tool is shot_cuts. See Run a single node, Media and uploads in the SDK and the MCP tools.