AutoCut Football - Help Documentation
Overview
AutoCut Football is an AI-powered video analysis tool that automatically detects and clips individual plays from your sideline football game footage. Using advanced machine learning and OCR technology, it identifies play boundaries, reads game information graphics, and helps you create individual play clips with minimal manual effort.
Key Features
- Automatic play detection using machine learning
- Broadcast graphics OCR for score, down, distance, and game clock
- Team name auto-detection from broadcast graphics
- Flexible play editing with precise boundary controls
- Export as individual clips
- Full length video processing for Pro subscribers
- iCloud sync for Pro subscribers
Getting Started
Loading a Video
- Click the Open Video button (or press Cmd+O on macOS)
- Select a football game video file (MP4, MOV, or other standard formats)
- Wait for the video to load and analysis to begin automatically
- Note: First time use after installing a new version may take a few minutes to complete the machine learning model for your device
Setting Team Names
The app attempts to automatically detect team names from broadcast graphics to assist with score detection. You can also manually edit them:
- Find the Away Team and Home Team fields in the toolbar
- Click to edit and type the correct team names
- If there are no team name/score graphics in the video then just leave the fields blank
Analysis Process
Once a video is loaded, the app automatically begins analyzing it:
- A progress bar shows the analysis status
- Plays appear in the sidebar as they are detected
- You can cancel analysis at any time using the Stop button
- Analysis results are cached for faster re-opening of the same video
Understanding the Interface
Main Layout
The app uses a split-view layout with two main areas:
Sidebar (Left)
- • Play list with all detected plays
- • Gaps between plays (timeouts, replays)
- • Play count and total duration header
- • Multi-selection support for batch operations
Main Area (Right)
- • Video player
- • Playback controls and speed selector
- • Play editing toolbar
- • Game info bar with scoreboard data
Play List Information
Each play in the list shows:
- Play Number - Sequential number (e.g., Play 1, Play 2)
- Timestamp - Video start time in MM:SS format
- Duration - Length of the play
- Down & Distance - Current down and yards to go (e.g., "2nd & 7")
- Quarter & Clock - Game quarter and time remaining
- Score - Score at the time of the play
Visual Indicators
- • Yellow duration - Plays 30 seconds or longer - check for potential issues with the play detection
- • Red down/distance - Invalid down progression detected - check for potential missed play
- • Gap items - Show 30+ second gaps between plays in case a play was missed
Playback Controls
- Play/Pause Button - Start or stop video playback
- Speed Selector - Choose from 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, or 2x
- Scrubber - Drag to seek within the current play
- Time Display - Shows current position and duration
Play Detection
How It Works
AutoCut Football uses a machine learning model trained to identify when plays start and end. The detection process is not always perfect due to the variable nature of football plays. However it should get your really close to your desired play cuts most of the time requiring only minor manual adjustments which the UI is designed to make easy.
What Gets Detected
Play Boundaries
- • Tries to include lining up to the ball
- • Tries to end shortly after the play is over
- • If you prefer more time before or after the play you configure how many seconds to always add
Graphics Data
- • Down and distance
- • Quarter and game clock
- • Home and away scores
- • Replays
Gaps Between Plays
Gaps longer than 30 seconds are listed separately on the off chance that a play was missed. If needed you can quickly scrub through it and delete it if there isn't a play in it or create a new play at the appropriate spot in the gap.
Editing Plays
Adjusting Play Boundaries
Fine-tune where each play starts and ends using these buttons or keyboard shortcuts:
| Action | Toolbar | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Extend start earlier | Start left chevron button | Shift+[ |
| Shrink start later | Start right chevron button | Option+[ |
| Extend end later | End right chevron button | Shift+] |
| Shrink end earlier | End left chevron button | Option+] |
Creating New Plays
Create plays from gaps or split existing plays:
- From anywhere in video: Use the timeline scrubber in the video to navigate to a missed play, press [ to set start, then ] to set end
- From a gap: Navigate to the start of a play, press [ to set start, then ] to set end
- Split a play: Seek to the split point and press S or click Split in toolbar
- Create to next play: Press I when in a gap
- Create from previous play: Press O when in a gap
Deleting Plays
Remove unwanted plays from your list:
- Select the play(s) you want to delete
- Press Delete or Backspace
- Or click the Delete button in the toolbar
- Multi-select is supported for batch deletion (useful for multiple incorrect plays from pre-game, halftime, or post-game footage)
Keyboard Shortcuts
Press / or ? at any time to show the keyboard shortcuts overlay (macOS).
Playback Control
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play / Pause |
| L | Play or increase speed (1x → 1.25x → 1.5x → 1.75x → 2x) |
| K | Pause playback |
| J | Decrease speed or pause and reset to 1x |
| Up Arrow/Swipe Down | Previous play |
| Down Arrow/Swipe Up | Next play |
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| ← | Seek back 2 seconds |
| → | Seek forward 2 seconds |
| ↑ | Previous play/gap |
| ↓ | Next play/gap |
In/Out Points
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| I or [ | Set start / Create play to next |
| O or ] | Set end / Create play from previous |
| Shift+[ | Extend start 2 seconds earlier |
| Option+[ | Shrink start 2 seconds later |
| Shift+] | Extend end 2 seconds later |
| Option+] | Shrink end 2 seconds earlier |
Editing
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| S | Split play at current position |
| Delete | Delete selected items |
General
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Cmd+O | Open video |
| Cmd+E | Export clips |
| Cmd+, | Open settings |
| / or ? | Show keyboard shortcuts |
Exporting Clips
Export Modes
Separate Files
Each play is exported as an individual MP4 file.
- • Files named "Play_001.mp4", "Play_002.mp4", etc.
- • Great for individual play review
Single File
All plays are combined into one continuous video.
- • Easy to share as a single file
Export Process
- Click Export or press Cmd+E
- Choose your export mode (Separate Files or Single File)
- Select an output directory
- Review the play count and total duration
- Click Export to begin
- Monitor progress with the real-time progress bar. Video is not re-encoded during export so it will be ready fairly quickly.
Export Notes
Settings
Clip Settings
| Setting | Description | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-roll Seconds | Extra time added before each clip starts | 0-10 seconds (0.5s increments) |
| Post-roll Seconds | Extra time added after each clip ends | 0-10 seconds (0.5s increments) |
Subscription
Free Plan
- • Limited to 10 plays per analysis
- • Local storage only
- • All basic features included
Pro Subscription
- • Unlimited plays per analysis
- • iCloud sync across devices
- • Analysis cache persistence
Subscription Management
- Upgrade: Tap "Upgrade to Pro" to view subscription options
- Manage: Access "Manage Subscription" to modify or cancel through the App Store
- Restore: Use "Restore Purchases" to restore a previous subscription on a new device
Tips for Best Results
Video Quality
- • Use the highest quality video available for better detection accuracy
- • Wide-angle sideline views provide the most consistent results
Efficient Workflow
- • Use keyboard shortcuts for faster navigation and editing
- • Review plays at 1.5x or 2x speed to save time
- • Use multi-select to delete multiple non-plays at once
Play Boundaries
- • Fine-tune start points to capture the snap
- • Extend end points to include the whistle and player reactions
- • Use the 2-second adjustment shortcuts for quick tweaks
Troubleshooting
Scoreboard information is missing or incorrect
- OCR works best with clear, high-contrast overlaid graphics
- Non-standard graphic layouts may not be recognized
- You can manually edit team names in the toolbar
iCloud sync is not working
- Verify you have an active Pro subscription
- Check that iCloud is enabled in your device settings
- Ensure you're signed into the same Apple ID on all devices
- Wait a few minutes and try again – sync may take time
App crashes or becomes unresponsive
- Force quit and restart the app
- Try with a smaller video file
- Update to the latest version of the app
- Restart your device
Quick Reference Card
Essential Shortcuts
Play/PauseSpace
Next/Prev Play↓ / ↑
Seek ±2s← / →
Set In/OutI / O
Split PlayS
DeleteDel
Quick Actions
Open VideoCmd+O
ExportCmd+E
SettingsCmd+,
Show Shortcuts/
Speed UpL
Slow DownJ
Typical Workflow
1. Open Video→2. Review Plays→3. Edit Boundaries→4. Export
AutoCut Football - AI-Powered Football Video Analysis
Available on iOS and macOS