Account No. 0001 · TimeBolt · Est. 2019
Zero to one is what you subtract.
Addition takes a video from one to many. B-roll, graphics, music, color. Subtraction takes it from zero to one. A raw recording is a zero. The first cut makes it a one. Whether your audience is one person or one million, the minimum viable edit is the cut.
THE A-ROLL LEDGER.
| −Subtract | +Earned |
|---|---|
| DEAD AIR | THE PACE |
| FILLER WORDS | EVERY WORD THAT MATTERS |
| BAD TAKES | THE KEEPER TAKE |
The books balance: 18:31 − 15:48 = 2:43. Same recording published at The Cut Test.
CARRIED FORWARD → THE ADDITIVE EDIT. B-roll. Design. Depth.
A different book, and it opens with a clean cut. First subtract the boring. Then add the depth.
Outstanding balances.
Eight editors, identical footage. What each failed to remove is a balance paid by hand.
| Account | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| TIMEBOLT | 100% filler removal · paid in full | 0 |
| DESCRIPT | Filler words outstanding, per hour | 448 |
| RECUT | Filler words outstanding, per hour | 934 |
| GLING | Filler removal accuracy | 82% |
| CAPCUT | Filler removal accuracy | 76% |
| PREMIERE | Filler removal accuracy | 74% |
| LOOM | Filler removal accuracy | 35% |
| BLITZCUT | Failed to process the file | — |
| Noted debts, words owed to a human editor | 1,382 | |
Receipt: raw SRT / JSON published at the AI Editor Showdown. Memo: autonomous first pass $0.93; repairing one known word $1.58 · The Cut Test.
Exhibits
TimeBolt is a desktop A-roll video editor for Mac and Windows, built around a three-layer cut: the waveform finds the silence, the transcript targets filler and bad takes, and the waveform corrects every boundary to 0.01 seconds so words never get clipped. Every cut lands on an editable timeline. Review at 4x, reverse anything, export to Premiere, Final Cut, Resolve, or straight to MP4.
0 → 1
The minimum viable edit is the cut.
One viewer or one million. First, make the one.
Get TimeBoltNotes to the account
What is the best A-roll video editor? +
The one that leaves the least behind. On identical footage, TimeBolt removed 100% of filler words with zero manual cleanup; the next best tool left 448 words on one hour of talking. Judge editors by the balance outstanding, not the demo.
What is the difference between A-roll and B-roll editing? +
A-roll editing is subtractive: cut silence, filler, and bad takes from the primary talking footage while keeping every word intact. B-roll editing is additive: overlay footage, graphics, and music on a cut that already works. The A-roll cut comes first. The full definition lives at timebolt.io/a-roll-prep.
Can transcript editors handle A-roll? +
Partly. Transcript timestamps can find a word but cannot hear where a consonant ends, which is how words get clipped at cut boundaries. TimeBolt cuts on the waveform and uses the transcript only for targeting, then corrects every boundary against the audio.
How long should A-roll editing take? +
Minutes, not hours. An 18-minute raw recording reached a publishable 2:43 cut in a single automated pass, with the human pass done at 4x preview speed. Editors report publishing 5.5x faster than with other tools on hour-long footage.
TimeBolt, LLC · Mac + Windows · local-first · 11,700+ paid customers since 2019 · Keep It Real
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