Help center
Everything you need to make a clean text match cut, and what to do when something does not work.
Getting started
Make your first cut in four steps.
Settings explained
What every control does.
Troubleshooting
Sound, export and speed problems.
Getting started
- Type your word. In step 1 enter the word or short phrase to highlight. A name, a place or a single feeling works best. You can also type it in the box at the top of the home page and press Make my cut.
- Pick a look. In step 2 tap a thumbnail in the strip, or choose a preset from the list. Further down the page, Your word in all 18 looks shows your word in every style at once: press Animate to play every card, hover a card on a computer to animate just that one, and tap a card to use it.
- Fine-tune. In step 3 open a section to change the highlight and blur, the paper and colors, frame effects, clipping layouts, number of clippings and speed. Use the Format menu above the preview for Vertical 9:16 (Reels, Shorts, TikTok), Square 1:1 or Portrait 4:5 (feeds) or Wide 16:9 (YouTube).
- Export. Press Export video, choose HD, 2K or 4K, then keep the tab open while it records. Press PNG instead if you only want a still image.
Settings explained
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Format | Canvas shape: 1:1, 9:16, 4:5 or 16:9. Found above the preview. |
| Preview quality | 540p is the fastest and is the default on phones; 720p and 1080p are sharper but need more memory and time while you edit. This only affects the on-screen preview. Exports are always rendered again at the HD, 2K or 4K size you choose. |
| Preview controls | Play or pause, restart, mute and a timeline slider sit under the preview. The speaker icon silences the preview only and remembers your choice. It does not affect the exported video, which still includes your chosen sound. Choose No sound in step 4 for a silent video. |
| Sound, Shuffle, Reset, PNG | Sound plays the preview with sound. Shuffle builds a new random set of clippings. Reset puts every setting back to how the page first loaded (the word you typed is kept). PNG saves the current frame as an image. |
| Export video | Choose HD (1080p), 2K (1440p) or 4K (2160p). Sizes above the preview are rendered again at full detail before recording, so 2K and 4K take longer and use more memory. Options your device cannot handle are greyed out. Because recording runs in real time, a 4K export takes as long as the video itself plus rendering time. |
| On a phone | The preview stays pinned at the top while you scroll through the steps, and Sound, Shuffle, Reset, PNG and Export sit in a bar at the bottom of the screen while you are in the studio. |
| Newspaper font and Word size | The typeface used in the clippings, and the size of the text and the highlight around your word. |
| Look strip and preset list | The scrolling strip of thumbnails in step 2 shows every look, blur, highlight, paper, shape, backdrop, frame effect and layout. Tap one to switch it on (a red frame marks the active ones). The preset list sets paper, font, colors, highlight, blur, layout and effects together, such as crumpled white, dark crumple, vintage newsprint, kraft typewriter, torn graph sheet, website with marker, newspaper page, street poster, torn clippings or ransom note. |
| Highlight style | Solid box, rounded box, hand-drawn marker, underline, outline, ransom-note letters or no highlight. The highlight always stays in the same spot. |
| Blur style and Edge blur | Soft edges, vertical smear, horizontal smear, zoom blur or no blur, and how strongly the text away from the center is blurred. |
| Paper texture and strength | Plain, crumpled, soft wrinkles, folded, aged, newsprint, kraft, lined notebook, graph paper or linen behind the text, and how strong the texture is. |
| Your own paper image | Use a photo of any paper, card or fabric as the background. It stays on your device. |
| Colors | Highlight color, paper color and ink color. |
| Paper shape and backdrop | Keep the paper full-frame, or show it as a torn sheet or a torn clipping lying on an aged, black, white or kraft backdrop. |
| Frame effects | Camera shake and flash on each cut, vignette, film grain and RGB colour split. They are included in the exported video. |
| Frame zoom | Zoom the whole frame in (up to 200%) or out (down to 50%). It applies to the preview, PNG and exported video. |
| Clipping styles | Mix of body text, headlines, pull-quotes, web-article (with a nav bar), newspaper-page and poster layouts. |
| Number of clippings and Time per clipping | How many different frames the video has, and how long each is shown in milliseconds. Lower is faster. |
| Speed up, Longer last frame, Slow push-in, Loop | Frames get shorter toward the end; the final frame is held a little longer; a gentle zoom runs during each frame; and the preview repeats. The exported video plays once. |
| Sound and Volume | Tick track, synthesized paper ticks, or no sound, and how loud. |
| Use your own sentences | Replace the built-in placeholder text with your own lines. |
Exporting and editing
- Video is recorded in real time from the preview, so a 6 second cut takes about 6 seconds.
- For the cleanest result, export at HD or 2K for YouTube or Wide 16:9, and HD for quick social posts. Use 4K only if you will edit or upscale the clip further.
- Import the file into any video editor to trim it, add captions or add your own music.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
The preview is playing but I hear no sound.
Browsers block sound until you interact with the page. Press the Sound button under the preview (or the play button). Then check that Sound is set to Tick track or Paper ticks, that Volume is above 0%, that your device and browser tab are not muted, and that your phone's silent switch is off. If you see a message about a missing sound file, choose Paper ticks (synthesized) instead and contact us.
The sound does not match the frame changes.
A tick is played at every frame change, whatever the speed, so it should stay in step. If you hear a delay on a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, that is the device's own audio lag. It does not affect the downloaded file. Wired headphones or the phone speaker show the true timing.
Export does nothing, or the file is empty.
Video is recorded in real time, so keep the tab open and visible until the status says Done. Switching tabs, locking the phone or minimizing the window can pause recording in some browsers. If it keeps failing, use a recent Chrome or Edge on a computer, choose HD (1080p) instead of 2K or 4K, or reduce the number of clippings.
The downloaded video is a WEBM file, not MP4.
The file type depends on what your browser can record. Chrome and Edge can usually save MP4. Some browsers only record WEBM. Most editing apps and social platforms accept WEBM, and any free video converter can turn it into MP4.
The preview is slow or choppy.
Set Preview quality to 540p, reduce Edge blur, use fewer clippings, and close other heavy tabs. Generation is done on your device, so older phones are slower. The exported video is rendered separately and is smooth, even if the preview stutters.
The highlighted word is not in the exact center.
The word is always placed at the same spot in every clipping, and that is what makes the match cut work. Very long phrases take up more room and can crowd the frame, so keep the highlight to a word or two and lower Word size in step 1 if needed.
Can I use my own text for the background clippings?
Yes. In step 1, open Use your own sentences and paste sentences, one per line. The generator will use them in place of the built-in placeholder text.
Can I use my own paper or background image?
Yes. In step 3, open Paper and colors and press Choose image and pick a photo of paper, cardboard or fabric. It is cropped and flipped differently on each clipping so the background changes a little with every cut. The image is read by your browser only and is never uploaded. Press Remove to go back to the built-in paper.
Can I add my own music?
Yes. In step 4 set Sound to No sound, export the video, and add your track in your video editor. Make sure you have the rights to the music.
Is anything uploaded? Is there a watermark?
Nothing is uploaded. Everything runs in your browser. There is no watermark and no sign-up. See our Privacy Policy.
Which browsers work best?
The latest Chrome and Edge on a computer give the best results. Recent Firefox and Safari also work for most features, but video export options vary. If export is not supported, you can still save a PNG frame with the PNG button.
Still stuck?
Tell us your browser, device and what happened, and we will help. Contact us