There are two moments where you can start creating a draft manually:
When a project is first created: select [I'll do it myself] from the prompt that appears after analysis completes.
After that: click [+ New Draft] in the workspace to create a new blank timeline.
Build your edit
Add topics or subtopics
In the left panel, browse the topics and subtopics Selects detected in your footage. Click [+] on any topic or subtopic to add it to your draft, or drag it directly onto the timeline.
Tip: Use search to find specific moments across your footage. [Search Your Footage: Text Search and Scene Search →]
Add from the transcript
In the transcript panel on the right, select any sentence or paragraph and drag it onto the timeline to add that segment to your draft.
You can also edit at the word level using text-based editing.
→ Learn more about Text-Based Editing
Scrub through the preview
Toggle on [Compare with source] to show the original footage in the preview.
Scrub through the original footage to find the section you want.
Select the section you want by clicking and dragging in the preview timeline, then drag it onto the timeline.
Tip: Select the preview timeline when you want to browse your original footage. Sections not included in your draft are grayed out. If the draft timeline is selected, the transcript only shows what is in the draft.
Add B-roll and audio
Drag B-roll or audio clips directly onto the timeline. You can also click [Auto add] to let Selects automatically place B-roll for you.
When to use this
Manual editing is the right choice when:
You have a specific creative vision that AI suggestions would not capture.
You want to explore the footage yourself before deciding on a structure.
Your content is too specialized or unconventional for AI to structure effectively.
You still have AI tools
Starting manually does not mean giving up AI assistance. All cleanup tools are still available: remove silence, cut filler words, and apply automatic camera switching. Search works the same way, too. You are simply building your timeline yourself instead of starting from an AI-generated draft.