Pay for footage in, not for minutes out.

Does a media hour mean my raw footage or my finished cut?

Your raw footage. If you import a 2-hour interview and cut it down to a 4-minute piece, that used 2 media hours — the 4 minutes doesn't enter into it. We meter the input because transcribing the input is the cost.

Does re-cutting the same footage cost more media hours?

Not for three months. Footage is charged once, when it's first imported; after that its transcript belongs to the file and gets reused, so only AI cuts move when you re-cut. We hold that transcript for three months from import, and for as long as your subscription runs, whichever ends sooner. Import the same file again after that and it's transcribed again — which costs a media hour again.

What happens to footage after those three months?

We delete the extracted audio and the transcript, and the sequences built from that footage aren't guaranteed past the same point — they're kept for at least as long as the footage they came from, and after that they're no longer something we undertake to hold. Inside the three months everything is there; outside it, treat an export as the thing that makes a cut yours to keep. An export is a file on your machine and keeps working whatever we hold, because a cut is timecodes into video that was always on your own disk.

Re-importing the file costs a media hour again. FirstCut isn't a storage service (terms §8) — your footage lives on your machine, and so should the work you care about.

What happens when I hit a limit?

Hitting a limit deletes nothing and stops nothing working — your existing sequences, transcripts and exports stay as they are. You just can't import new footage or run new generations until the month rolls over, or until you add a top-up.

Do unused hours roll over?

No — each month starts fresh, and that includes top-ups. A top-up is the answer for one uneven month: it covers the rest of that billing period, or seven days if that's longer, and then ends — rather than banking credit you carry forward.

Can I cancel?

Any time, yourself, from your account. Cancelling stops the next charge and your paid period runs to the end — and so does the free-re-cut window on footage you imported under it. See the terms for the specifics.

What happens to a top-up if I cancel?

It runs to the end of the paid period you're in, exactly like the plan itself — and if you bought it in the last few days, you keep it for a full seven days from purchase, cancellation or not. After that it's done: a top-up extends the month you're in, it isn't a way to bank hours and keep cutting without a subscription.

What if I pay and it isn't for me?

Your first subscription payment is refundable for 14 days — ask and we'll return it. After that, renewals and top-ups aren't refundable — a top-up ends when it's spent or when it expires, whichever comes first — and cancelling stops the next charge rather than refunding the period you're in. There's also a free tier, so you can see what a cut looks like on your own footage before paying anything. Full detail in refunds and cancellation.

Do you upload my video?

No — and that's not a plan feature, it's how the product works on every tier. Your browser extracts the small audio track locally and uploads only that; the video file never leaves your machine, and playback runs from your own disk. More in privacy.

Is there a plan for teams?

Not yet. A plan covers one account today. If you need several editors on shared footage, tell us — it affects what we build next.