How to prompt Eddie well

Eddie is directed like an editor, not configured like a tool. The clearer the brief, the better the cut.

Describe the outcome, not the mechanics

Say what you want to end up with:

• Good: "A punchy 90-second recap of the launch, captions on, upbeat."
• Vague: "Edit this."

Give the details that shape a cut

• Length — "under two minutes", "a 30-second teaser".
• Platform / aspect — "vertical for TikTok", "16:9 for YouTube".
• Tone — "fast and energetic", "calm and documentary".
• Must-keeps and cuts — "keep the demo, drop the small talk".

Start with the rough cut, then layer

The reliable path is a rough cut first, then one pass at a time. A canonical starting prompt (Alok's):

"Build a rough-cut sequence from these interviews. Pull the strongest soundbites from each person and put them in an order that tells a clear story."

Then layer: clean up filler, tighten, add b-roll, add titles, add music — one change at a time is easier to judge (and reverse) than a paragraph of instructions.

How much detail to give

You can prompt at three levels of detail — all valid, pick what suits the job:

• Light — a one-liner that names the outcome: "Make the rough cut." Eddie brings the editorial judgement (this is what the suggested-prompt chips do).
• Medium — add the shape you care about: "Cut this to a 2-minute highlight, start on the introduction, keep the product demo, drop the small talk."
• Detailed — spell out the passes: "Rough cut of the best answers → remove filler and long pauses → add b-roll on the product mentions → name bars for each speaker → upbeat music, ducked under the talking."

More detail means more control; less means Eddie makes more of the calls. Both work because it edits the same cut you keep steering.

Refer to things by content

Eddie knows the transcript, so point with words: "the part where she talks about pricing", "the second time he says 'the key thing is'".

Ask it to explain or undo

• "Why did you cut that section?"
• "Put the intro back."

For the full menu of what you can ask for, see What you can ask Eddie to do.