How does Crisp decide what the highlights are?

It analyses the footage on-device — motion energy, audio loudness, speech, on-screen faces and sharpness — and rewards moments where several line up (a real event, not just a loud-but-static or shaky-but-silent frame). It also spreads the picks across the whole clip so one hot stretch can't fill the reel.

Can I combine several clips into one reel?

Yes. Drop in multiple videos and Crisp builds a single reel from the best moments across all of them — great for turning a folder of clips into one recap.

Yes — pick the Music style and choose a song, and Crisp lands the cuts on the beat, with the montage running the length of the track.

Is my footage uploaded anywhere?

No. The whole analysis and edit run on your Mac — nothing is uploaded, so there's no queue, no size cap, and your footage never leaves the device.

Guide · Highlight reel on Mac

How to make a highlight reel on a Mac

Scrubbing through a long clip to find the good bits — the goal, the laugh, the drop — is the tedious part of editing. Crisp does it for you. Here's how to turn a long video into a highlight reel on a Mac, 100% offline: the on-device auto-editor finds the best moments and cuts them together. Pick Highlights, a smart condense, or a cut-to-the-beat music montage — no account, no upload, no watermark.

Updated July 2026 · step-by-step

The fastest way: just ask

Crisp has a plain-English box ("Or just tell Crisp what to do…"). Drop your video in and type it:

make a highlight reel — the best moments, cut together
make a 30-second highlight reel — sets the length
condense this — trims the dead air, keeps the story
cut it to the beat of this song — a music montage
best moments — same idea, fewer words

Crisp reads the request, switches to the Montage lane and sets the style + length — you just press the button.

The three montage styles

Highlights — finds the strongest moments across the whole clip and cuts them into a punchy reel.
Smart Condense — keeps the flow but removes the dead air, so a long clip gets shorter without feeling chopped.
Music — pick a song and Crisp lands the cuts on its beats, running the montage for the length of the track.

Step by step: the Montage lane

Open Crisp and drop in your video

Get the free Crisp app for Mac and drag your long clip — or several clips — onto the window. Nothing is uploaded; the whole job runs on your Mac.
Pick the Montage lane and a style

Choose Montage in the task row, then Highlights, Smart Condense or Music.
Set the length

Pick how long the reel should be (a 15s, 30s or 60s recap). For a music montage, the song's length sets it.
Press Montage

Crisp analyses the footage on-device and cuts the best moments into a reel beside your original — watermark-free.

How it picks the highlights

Crisp scores every moment on-device using motion, audio loudness, speech, on-screen faces and sharpness — and rewards moments where several line up (a whoop and a jump), so a loud-but-static or shaky-but-silent frame can't dominate. It then spreads the picks across the whole clip, so one hot stretch doesn't eat the whole reel. Drop in several clips and it builds one reel from the best of all of them.

Crisp vs iMovie vs online auto-editors

	Crisp	iMovie	Online auto-editors
Finds the best moments for you	Yes — on-device AI	No — you cut it	Yes (cloud)
Cut to the beat of a song	Yes	Manual	Varies
Combine several clips into one reel	Yes	Manual	Varies
Plain-English request	Yes	No	No
100% offline, nothing uploaded	Yes	Yes	Uploads your footage
Price	Free during beta	Free	Subscription

iMovie makes you find and cut every moment by hand; the cloud auto-editors do the finding but upload your footage and charge a subscription. Crisp does the finding and keeps it on your Mac.

Why offline matters for auto-editing

Your footage stays yours. Cloud auto-editors upload everything first. Crisp analyses and cuts it entirely on your Mac.
No queue, no size cap. It works on the whole file locally, however long it is.
No subscription. The auto-edit is free during the beta — no monthly fee to make a reel.
Stack it. Make the reel, then upscale, reframe for vertical, or grade it — all on-device.

Make your first highlight reel — offline

Free to try on your Mac. Drop in a long clip, pick a length, and let Crisp find the best moments — no account, no upload, nothing leaves your device.

Download Crisp for Mac

Apple Silicon · macOS 12+ · Notarized

FAQ

How do I make a highlight reel on a Mac for free?

Use Crisp: drop your long clip in, pick the Montage lane (or type "make a 30-second highlight reel"), choose a style and length, and press Montage. It finds the best moments and cuts them together on your Mac — no account, no upload, no watermark.

How does it decide what the highlights are?

It scores moments on-device by motion, sound, speech, faces and sharpness, rewards moments where several line up, and spreads the picks across the whole clip.

Can I combine several clips?

Yes — drop in multiple videos and Crisp builds one reel from the best of all of them.

Can it cut to music?

Yes — pick the Music style and a song, and the cuts land on the beat for the length of the track.