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What this article shows you

Use Create Cuts to turn a video ad you have already chosen into shorter cut-forward variations. Each variation begins at a later natural opening and keeps the remaining source video intact. In this article, a “winning ad” means an ad you selected using your own account results and business judgment. Create Cuts does not decide whether an ad is a winner.
Creating cuts does not publish them. Publishing can create real ads. Set Launch status to Paused, check the destination, then submit.

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Practical use cases

Remove a slow setup

Start a proven longer ad at a clean later beat while preserving everything that follows the new opening.

Test a proof-first opening

Evaluate whether a demonstration, testimonial, or proof scene can become a clearer opening without rebuilding the full ad.

Turn the offer into the hook

Start on a complete offer or product moment when it creates a coherent new beginning.

Prepare review-ready variants

Generate several playable cuts with the proposed starting point, rationale, expected effect, and matching copy in one result.

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Watch the walkthrough

See how one selected video becomes multiple later-entry trims for review and download. Duration: 3:41.

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How Create Cuts works

Create Cuts looks for later restart points such as a clean scene reset, a new visual beat, a speaker change, or the beginning of a complete phrase. It cuts away the earlier setup and preserves the video from that new start onward. This is a focused variation workflow, not a full video editor. It does not reorder scenes or assemble a new sequence. StefanBrain may return fewer cuts than requested when the source does not contain enough natural restart points. You can start from either place:

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What you will do

  1. Choose one source video worth iterating.
  2. Start Create Cuts from Creative Strategist or Chat.
  3. Let StefanBrain plan and render the variations.
  4. Preview each starting point and rationale.
  5. Download the selected cuts.
  6. Publish only when the result offers it and the destination is ready.

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Before you start

For the Creative Strategist path, you need:
  • A connected ad source and access to the intended account.
  • A video ad with media in a ready state.
  • A clear reason the source is worth iterating, based on your own results.
For the Chat path, prepare one uploaded video or a public video link that StefanBrain can download. Public YouTube videos, Meta Ads Library ads, and direct video-file links are supported. If the link cannot be downloaded, upload the video file instead.

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Follow along from Creative Strategist

1

Open Creative Strategist from the home page

Open Creative Strategist, choose the connected source and account, and set the date range you used to evaluate performance.
2

Open the source video

Select the video ad you already consider worth iterating. Confirm it is the correct creative and that its media is ready.If the action says Preparing media…, wait for preparation to finish, refresh the view, and reopen the ad.
3

Select Create Cuts

Select Create Cuts on the chosen video. StefanBrain finds clean later starting points and renders the cuts.Follow the progress under Cut variations. Do not start another run just because rendering takes longer than expected.
4

Review every proposed opening

Preview each cut from its first frame. Read Why this cut, including the reason, expected effect, and starting words.Keep a cut only when the new beginning is coherent: the first words form a complete thought, the visual makes sense without the removed setup, and the remaining video still supports the promise.
5

Download the useful cuts

Download one selected cut or use Download All when you want the complete review set. Download is the standard handoff when the selected source or result surface does not support publishing.
6

Review the paused launch before publishing

When Publish is available and the intended destination is connected, open the publish dialog and verify the account, campaign, ad set, identity, copy, link, and creative assignment.Open Launch status and choose Paused. Confirm the paused state before selecting Publish to Meta. After submission, verify the created objects in Ads Manager before retrying or changing anything.For the complete launch steps, follow Prepare, review, and launch ads.

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Start the same workflow from Chat

Use Chat when the video is not coming from a connected Creative Strategist account.
1

Add one source video

Open Chat, select Create Video Cuts from Tools, then attach a video file or paste a supported public video link.
2

Describe the cut-forward job

Use a natural request such as:
3

Review and download the result

Let the run finish, preview the variations, compare their proposed starting points, and download the cuts you want to test.

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Choose cuts worth testing

Use the rationale as a review aid, then judge the actual first seconds of each video.
  • Complete opening: The first spoken phrase is not clipped or dependent on a missing sentence.
  • Visual clarity: The first frame gives enough context to understand what is happening.
  • Promise and proof: The remaining video still supports the new opening.
  • Meaningful difference: The cut tests a genuinely different entry point, not only a few frames of timing.
  • Copy alignment: The matching copy accurately represents the cut and does not add unsupported claims.

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Common mistakes and troubleshooting

The selected asset may not be a video, or its media may not be verified as ready. Open a ready video ad. If the interface shows a preparation or media refresh state, complete that recovery first.
This can be intentional. The workflow prefers clean scene resets, visual beats, speaker changes, and complete phrases instead of forcing weak or clipped openings.
Review the source-specific error and use any completed cuts that are valid. Correct the named source issue, then retry only the failed source.
Publishing is available only on supported result surfaces and connected destinations. Download the cuts and use the standard launch workflow.
Check Ads Manager before retrying. Confirm which objects exist and whether they are paused, then follow the recovery state shown in StefanBrain.

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Next steps