AI Effects lets you describe a visual treatment in natural language. ChatCut uses a compatible built-in effect when possible and can create a custom effect or transition when the Library does not cover the request. Effects change timeline playback without rewriting the source video.
What do I need before writing the prompt?
- First check whether Library already has the Effect, LUT, Zoom, or Transition you need. A built-in effect can be dragged to the timeline without a prompt.
- When asking AI to create or apply an effect, prepare the target video clip or two adjacent clips for a transition.
- Decide the time range, intensity, and any faces, products, or text that must remain intact. Optionally prepare reference images, reference video, or color samples.
- Use Selection Mode or an
@mention to identify the target precisely.
Prompts you can copy
Apply a subtle cinematic grade to @selected-clip. Lower the highlights, add a small amount of teal to the shadows, keep skin tones natural, and do not change the exposure.
Add an eight-frame glass-refraction transition at the cut between @clip-A and @clip-B. Move left to right with soft edges and no bright flash.
Create a circular reveal mask over the first three seconds of @product-shot. Expand from the center of the product, keep the background unchanged, and reveal the full original frame at the end.
State the target, effect type, time range, intensity, and anything that must remain unchanged. A prompt that only says “make it cinematic” is harder to control.
Add a built-in effect manually
- Open Library. If it is hidden, use Workspace → Library.
- Browse Effects, LUTs, Zoom, or Transitions.
- Drag an Effect, LUT, or Zoom onto a compatible video clip. Drag a Transition onto the cut between two adjacent clips on the same video track.
- Select the affected clip or effect and adjust any available strength, duration, or other controls in the current toolbar.
- Delete the effect or use Undo to return to the previous state.
For portrait background removal, do not generate a custom shader. ChatCut Desktop provides the dedicated AI Portrait Cutout effect. See AI Background Removal.
What happens afterward?
If a prompt only asks ChatCut to “create” a custom effect, it may remain as a project resource. To use it immediately, say “create and apply it to @target.” Generation may show a credit confirmation; built-in Library effects normally require no generation.
To separate a person from the background instead of treating the whole frame, use the built-in effect covered in AI Background Removal.
See also Library, Selection Mode, Timeline, and Generation Confirmations and Auto-Allow.