Efficient Editing Workflows

A few simple habits can make your editing process significantly faster and more enjoyable. Here's how experienced StarZero Agents users approach their projects.

Plan Before You Build

Before you start assembling clips, take a moment to decide:

• Target duration — How long should the final video be?
• Aspect ratio — 16:9 for YouTube? 9:16 for TikTok/Reels/Shorts? 1:1 for Instagram?
• Platform and purpose — Where will this video live? Who is the audience?

Having these answers upfront helps you (and StarZero Agents) make better decisions throughout the process.

Search First, Edit Second

Resist the urge to start building your timeline immediately. Instead:

1. Search for the clips you need
2. Review the results — watch the previews, compare options
3. Select the best clips
4. Then start assembling your project

This approach avoids the frustration of building a timeline, realizing a clip doesn't work, and having to start over.

Use Low-Quality Previews Liberally

Low-quality renders are free and fast. Use them at every stage:

• After assembling your initial timeline — does the flow make sense?
• After adding captions — are they readable and timed correctly?
• After setting focus hints for portrait — are subjects centered properly?
• After any significant changes — does the updated version work?

Think of previews as your "save and check" button. There's no reason to skip them.

Switching Between Projects

You can create multiple video projects within a single chat. When you want to work on a different video:

• Create a new project or switch to an existing one using the project dropdown in the editor
• Your current project is saved automatically when you switch
• Only one project is active at a time

Save Multiple Versions

Within the same chat, you can save different versions of your project. This is useful when you want to:

• Try a different arrangement without losing the current one
• Create variations (e.g., a 60-second and a 30-second version)
• Keep a "safe" version while experimenting

Just ask StarZero Agents to save a version before making big changes.

Be Specific With Instructions

Clear, precise instructions get better results:

Vague	Specific
"Add something from video A"	"Add a 10-second clip from video A starting at 2:15"
"Make it shorter"	"Trim the second clip to 5 seconds"
"Add some text"	"Add the text 'Part 1: The Beginning' at the start, display for 3 seconds"

You don't always need to be this precise — sometimes "find the best opening hook" is exactly the right instruction. But when you know what you want, being specific saves time.

Use the Visual Editor for Fine-Tuning

The drag-and-drop timeline editor is often faster than typing for certain tasks:

• Reordering clips — Drag them to a new position
• Trimming — Adjust clip start and end points visually
• Reviewing flow — Scrub through the timeline to check pacing

Use chat for finding clips, making creative decisions, and setting up complex edits. Use the visual editor for precise adjustments.

Enable Captions Early

If your video will have captions, turn them on early in the process. This way, you can check them in every preview render and catch issues before the final render. It's much easier to fix caption timing or wording as you go than to discover problems at the end.

The Ideal Editing Flow

Here's a streamlined process that works well for most projects:

1. Start a new chat and select your content
2. Search and find the clips you want
3. Build your timeline — arrange clips in order
4. Preview at low quality
5. Refine — adjust timing, reorder, trim
6. Add captions and text overlays
7. Preview again — check everything together
8. Set focus hints if rendering in a different aspect ratio
9. Preview one more time in the target aspect ratio
10. Final render in high quality

Not every project needs all these steps, but this order minimizes rework and credit usage.