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User Manual & Reference Guide

ApexCut Studio Documentation

Master timeline editing, GPU acceleration, 3D LUT color science, AI vocal tools, and workflow shortcuts.

Quick Navigation: 1. Getting Started 2. Timeline & Editing 3. AI Speech & Audio 4. Color & 3D LUTs 5. Export & Codecs 6. Keyboard Shortcuts
Chapter 1

Getting Started & Setup

ApexCut Studio is packaged as a standalone Windows 64-bit installer executable (ApexCut-Setup-v2.5.0.exe).

System Verification on First Launch:

Upon launching for the first time, ApexCut automatically probes your system's hardware decoders (NVIDIA NVENC, AMD VCN, or Intel QuickSync) and selects the lowest-latency Vulkan presentation engine.

  1. Create a Project: Select File → New Project (or press Ctrl + N). Set timeline resolution to 1080p, 4K, or vertical 9:16.
  2. Import Media: Drag files directly into the Media Pool bin, or press Ctrl + I to open the Windows file explorer.
Chapter 2

Magnetic Timeline & Trimming Engine

ApexCut provides a non-linear magnetic timeline designed for maximum editing speed:

Ripple Trimming

Trimming head or tail of a clip automatically shifts downstream clips forward, avoiding black gaps.

Blade Split (Razor)

Press Ctrl + B to slice across selected tracks precisely at the playhead position.

Speed Ramping Curves

Right-click any clip → Retime Curve to edit velocity bezier handles with optical flow smoothing.

Chapter 3

AI Neural Audio, Stem Separation & VST3

Studio audio tools designed for crystal-clear dialogue and punchy sound design:

  • AI Voice Isolation: Select an audio clip and toggle Inspector → AI Clarity. The neural model isolates speech frequencies and deletes air conditioning hum, street traffic, and reverb.
  • VST3 Hosting: Go to Preferences → Audio Plugins to scan standard Windows VST3 directories (C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3).
  • Broadcast Loudness Radar: Master your mix to YouTube's standard -14 LUFS with integrated True Peak limiters.
Chapter 4

3D LUTs & Color Grading Science

ApexCut uses a 32-bit floating-point color pipeline supporting Rec.709, sRGB, DCI-P3, and Rec.2020 HDR.

  1. Applying a 3D LUT: Select your clip → in the Inspector, click Import 3D LUT → choose any standard .cube or .3dl file.
  2. Color Wheels: Adjust Lift for deep shadow tinting, Gamma for skin tone balance, and Gain for highlight rolloff.
Chapter 5

Exporting & Hardware Codecs

Export options engineered for maximum quality at minimal file sizes:

• AV1 (GPU Accelerated): 40% smaller file size than H.264 at identical visual quality. Ideal for YouTube 4K.
• Apple ProRes 422 HQ: Lossless 10-bit editing intermediate for client deliveries and archiving.
• HEVC (H.265): High efficiency for drone, GoPro, and mobile video distribution.
Chapter 6

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Speed up your editing workflow with the official keyboard shortcut map:

Action Shortcut Key Description
Play / Pause Spacebar Toggle timeline playback
Shuttle Left / Stop / Right J / K / L Reverse, pause, and fast-forward 1x / 2x / 4x speed
Razor Blade Cut Ctrl + B Slice clips at current playhead
Ripple Delete Shift + Delete Delete clip and close the gap automatically
Mark In / Out Points I / O Set in-point and out-point for timeline render selection
Zoom Fit Timeline Shift + Z Fit entire project into view horizontally
Snapping Toggle N Toggle magnetic timeline snapping on or off
Export Project Ctrl + M Open Render & Deliver dialogue