The rewatch curve

The rewatch curve is the data YouTube measures and shows above its progress bar: the passages viewers watched again. When it exists, ClipHeat reads it and puts it to use.

What it does

It steers the search. The passages around the peaks are examined first by the analysis.

It helps you choose the portion. On the Generate screen, it appears in the Part to analyse selector: a peak is visible, and you can place the portion on it. See The portion and the number of clips.

What it does not do

It does not set clip bounds. A peak is not a cut: a clip starting at the peak would start mid-sentence. ClipHeat examines a widened passage around the peak, and the analysis of what is said decides where the clip starts and ends.

It does not set the score on its own. A clip’s score comes first from the analysis of the moment (hook, payoff, clarity). A clip that overlaps a peak only gets a small, capped bonus: viewers also replay intros and confusing passages.

When it does not exist

It exists only on YouTube, and only on videos with enough views: YouTube does not publish the data below a certain view count.

Without a curve — another platform, an imported file, a recent or little-watched YouTube video — the analysis relies on what is said and on the video’s sound peaks (laughter, applause, shouting). On a monitored Twitch live stream, the chat flaring up plays the same role.

Note

Clips are no worse without a curve: they are found another way. The curve is a shortcut when it exists, not a requirement.

Reading it

In the Part to analyse selector, the horizontal axis spans the whole video. Each bar marks a replayed passage: the taller and warmer it is, the more it was watched again.

Without a curve, the track shows a grey wave, the same for every video: it is only decoration, and the caption under the track says so.