Summary
Introduce a real-time rating tool that allows editors to assign subjective interest values to timeline segments during playback. Ratings are stored as timeline-linked metadata and can be used for conditional navigation and batch editing.
This feature is intended to significantly accelerate rough cut workflows, especially for long-form footage.
Estimated time saving:20–30% reduction in rough cut timefor long recordings.
Core Concept
While playing back footage, the editor assigns a rating to the current moment.
The rating:
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Is stored only when the value changes
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Creates timeline segments based on rating transitions
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Is linked to precise timecodes
Input Methods
Primary input via:
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Keyboard shortcuts (e.g., 0–3 or 1–5)
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Mouse buttons (configurable)
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Mouse scroll wheel (increment/decrement rating)
Optional:
- UI slider for visual interaction
Keyboard and scroll input should be usable without moving focus away from playback.
Rating Modes (Selectable)
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1–5 star mode
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3-level mode (Keep / Maybe / Remove)
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0–3 quick numeric mode (optimized for speed)
Users can select preferred granularity in settings.
Timeline Visualization
A thin colored overlay at the top of the timeline:
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Green = highest rating
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Red = lowest rating
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Gradient in between
This provides an immediate visual heatmap of subjective interest.
Navigation Functions
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Jump to next segment where rating < n
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Jump to next segment where rating ≥ n
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Configurable pre-roll offset before jump target
Batch Operations
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Remove all segments with rating < n
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Create sequence from segments with rating ≥ n
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Playback only segments ≥ n (automatic skipping of others)
Batch operations should allow configurable trim margins before and after cuts.
Team Workflow (Optional Advanced Feature)
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Up to three independent rating tracks
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Optional average calculation
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Ability to toggle visibility per reviewer
Technical Considerations
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Ratings stored only when value changes
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Represented internally as time-segment metadata
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Lightweight storage footprint
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No frame-level continuous data required
Rationale
Current rough cut workflows require either:
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Manual markers
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Subclip creation
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Repeated timeline scanning
This feature enables:
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Fast subjective filtering
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Structured first-pass review
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Efficient second-pass refinement
It does not replace editing tools — it accelerates the selection phase.
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Some additional ideas:
I suggest adjustable trigger time for appraisal sections. For example, if value stays less than 0,3 seconds, that section is not yet registered. The next value that stays for more than specified amount of time, is registered instead to the section. This minimizes unintentional interest values, also minimizing storage foot print.
Maximum feasible appraisal granularity is six steps. I suggest:
0= remove
1= maybe needed for continuity, not very interesting
2= needed for continuity, somewhat interesting
3= interesting, plot is clearly developing
4= high points of action
5= decisive moments
Last two may also be combined. Then: 4= most interesting moments
There should be a number indicating current interest value in the review window.
In my opinion at least using of up and down arrows is ergonomically good enough way to use this many steps. Also using mouse up and down movement may be, if constant clicking is not needed. Maybe mouse button down + movement up or down is best option? Using mouse scroll wheel, maximum feasible granularity is five steps (0-4), because then moving between highest and lowest value is quick enough.
It may be a good idea to implement a progress bar of appraisal.
When using feature “Create sequence from segments with rating ≥ n”, resulting video should have fade outs of sound at the end of segments, if high sound levels are detected at the end of those clips.
Later it may be feasible to implement AI integration. Some things that may be used in this regard are sound levels, voices; e.g. recognition of shouts, and movement value estimations.