How to set the best AutoCut Silences parameters

What is AutoCut Silences?

AutoCut Silences is an AI-powered tool that automatically detects and removes silent parts, and pauses from your timeline — without touching your actual video cuts. It’s available directly inside Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve through the AutoCut panel.

Step 1 – Open AutoCut Silences

To launch AutoCut:

• In Premiere Pro → Window → Extensions → AutoCut
• In DaVinci Resolve → open the AutoCut panel from the workspace

Then click on AutoCut Silences. Select the section of your timeline you want to clean, and click 'validate' to confirm the analysis zone.

Step 2 – Adjust the noise level

The Noise Level parameter defines what AutoCut considers a “silence.” It’s measured in decibels (dB) — any audio quieter than this threshold will be treated as silence.

👉 AI tip: Use AutoCut’s AI detection to automatically set the perfect dB value. It analyzes your audio and picks the right threshold for you.

• Increase the threshold → removes more background noise.
• Lower it → keeps soft sounds like breathing or ambience.

For most talking-head videos, a slightly higher threshold gives cleaner results.

Step 3 – Set pacing and silence duration

These parameters shape the rhythm of your final cut.

You can either use pacing presets like Calm, Measured, or Paced — or manually tune the values.

• Remove silences longer than → defines the minimum pause length to cut (e.g., 0.5s).
• Keep talks longer than → skips very short sounds (e.g., breaths or clicks).

💡 Tip: A combination of 0.3–0.5s is ideal for natural speech and YouTube-style edits.

Step 4 – Add padding for natural transitions

Padding makes your cuts sound smooth and human.

• Padding before: keeps a few milliseconds before speech starts.
• Padding after: leaves a short tail after speech ends.

This prevents cutting off words and ensures your dialogue flows naturally.

Step 5 – Choose how AutoCut handles silences

AutoCut lets you decide what happens once silences are detected:

• Remove silences: Deletes all silences completely.
• Keep silences: Detects them but doesn’t modify the audio.
• Mute silences:Mutes audio during silent parts (ideal for noise cleanup).
• Remove but keep spaces: Cuts audio but preserves clip timing.

Most editors use Mute silences for interviews and podcasts — it removes noise without shifting clips.

Step 6 – Apply automatic audio transitions

Smooth transitions matter when editing dialogue. AutoCut Silences lets you apply transitions between clips automatically:

• No transition (default)
• J-Cut – next audio starts earlier
• L-Cut – previous audio overlaps
• J & L-Cut – dynamic pacing
• Constant Power – soft crossfade for seamless sound

💡 Recommended: “Constant Power” avoids harsh audio cuts and works best for speech.

Step 7 – Use the sequence preview

Before cutting, check your Sequence Preview:

• Red = silences to be removed
• Dark green = short pauses kept
• Light green = padding before/after speech

Always preview before applying — it ensures your speech remains natural.

Step 8 – Apply the result

Click 'Cut silences' to clean your video. AutoCut will instantly clean your timeline — no need for manual trimming or external plugins.

Watch AutoCut Silences in action

Watch the full Youtube tutorial: