# Turn a Long Video into Shorts (Long Video to Shorts)

Source: [Turn a Long Video into Shorts (Long Video to Shorts)](<https://chatcut.io/docs/long-video-to-shorts>)

Documentation index: [llms.txt](<https://chatcut.io/docs/llms.txt>)

Last updated: 2026-11-04

Long Video to Shorts cuts one long podcast, interview, course, livestream, or other video into standalone social shorts. Each short is planned to open with a hook, keep enough context to make sense on its own, and end after its payoff. You choose it from the Skills menu in ChatCut Web or ChatCut Desktop, then give it the video as a link, an upload, or a clip already in your project.

Demo

![Video poster](<https://chatcut.io/skill-demos/long-to-shorts/poster.jpg>)

[Video](<https://chatcut.io/skill-demos/long-to-shorts/loop.mp4>)

From the Long Video to Shorts Skill page: one long video link becomes a set of captioned vertical shorts.

## When should I use Long Video to Shorts?

Use it when one long video should become one or more shorts, Reels, highlights, cutdowns, or clip timelines. It fits talking-head videos, interviews, podcasts, lessons, and other long videos that cover several topics. Each clip focuses on one key idea.

Do not use it in these cases:

-   **You have many raw clips and no single long video.** The Agent switches to a workflow that combines several clips into Reels.
-   **You want a full polish of one talking-head video.** That is not a shorts request unless you ask for shorts, clips, highlights, or cutdowns. See [Talking Head Edit](https://chatcut.io/docs/talking-head-edit) instead.

## What do I need before I start?

-   **The long video.** Upload one recording in the Skill’s form, paste a video link there, or use a video already in your project.
-   **A transcript, if you have one.** The Agent uses transcript ranges when available. If the transcript is missing or unreliable, it inspects the picture and sound instead, and may ask you for context.
-   **A few goals, if you know them.** Useful ones are the platform (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Xiaohongshu, or ads), clip count, target length, and audience or content goal. The Agent asks only about gaps that would change the edit.
-   **Credits.** Messages to the built-in Agent use credits, and the amount varies with the request. Transcription, uploads, manual editing, and export do not. See [Credits](https://chatcut.io/docs/credits-policy).

## How do I run it?

1.  Open a project that contains the long video. In the AI composer, select **Skills** and choose **Long Video to Shorts**. You can also select **Browse all skills** and choose **Use this Skill**. In ChatCut Desktop, you can type `/` and search for it.
2.  Confirm that the Skill appears as an attachment in your draft.
3.  Write your request, mention the video with `@`, and add your platform, clip count, and length. Selecting the Skill alone does not start the work, so send the message.
4.  Answer the Agent’s questions. If more than one missing detail would change the edit, it asks for them together in one form, with text fields for open-ended details such as topic, spoken language, audience, or goals, and choices for details such as platform, count, duration, captions, or music.
5.  Review the clip plan: source range, opening hook, payoff, target length, and risks for each short. Ask for changes before it cuts.
6.  Review the first short on its timeline. If you gave enough detail and asked it to create directly, the Agent goes ahead after stating its plan. For a very long source, a vague request, or a high clip count, it makes or previews the strongest clip first.

### Fill in the form

This is the same form you see on the [Skill page](https://chatcut.io/skills/long-video-to-shorts) and in ChatCut. Try it here: it opens ChatCut with your choices filled in.

Try the form

Try the Long video to shorts form on its [Skill page](https://chatcut.io/skills/long-video-to-shorts).

[](https://chatcut.io/skills/long-video-to-shorts)

| Field | Options | What it changes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Long video** | **Link** (paste a YouTube, Instagram, or other video link) or **File** (upload one recording) | The long video the shorts are cut from |
| **Number of clips** | Auto, or 1 to 10 | An upper limit. The Agent may return fewer if there are not enough strong moments |
| **Length of each clip** | Auto, 15, 30, 45, 60, or 90 seconds | The target length of each short. Auto lets the Agent pick per moment |
| **Format** | Vertical 9:16 or Landscape 16:9 | Vertical for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts; landscape for YouTube or the web |
| **Packaging** | Captions, Title text, Background music, Motion graphics | Extras added to each short. Captions and Title text start selected; turn them all off for clean cuts |

Select **Start editing** to send it.

Anything the form does not cover, such as your audience or a topic to focus on, goes in the message you send with it.

## Prompts you can copy

Prompt

```text
Use Long Video to Shorts on @podcast-episode. Find the 5 strongest standalone moments for TikTok and Reels, about 30 to 60 seconds each, with captions and no music. Show me the clip plan with source ranges and hooks before you cut anything.
```

Prompt

```text
Turn @course-lesson into 3 Shorts for beginners. Topic: spreadsheet basics. Spoken language: English. Create only the first short and let me review it before you make the others.
```

Prompt

```text
Cut @livestream-replay into up to 8 vertical clips for Xiaohongshu. Create them directly after you state the plan. If fewer than 8 moments work on their own, give me fewer rather than filling the count with weak clips.
```

## What does ChatCut do for me?

The Agent handles selection and the first edit. You supply the video and goals, answer questions, and review the results.

1.  **Reads your project.** It identifies the long video, its length, language, speakers, timeline, transcript state, and aspect ratio.
2.  **Fills only the gaps.** It infers or asks for platform, count, length, audience, style, captions, music, and whether you want options or direct creation.
3.  **Finds moments that stand alone.** It looks for a clear setup, hook, claim, proof, emotional turn, lesson, conflict, demonstration, or payoff, and removes overlapping candidates. In a very long video, it scans overlapping sections so moments near boundaries are not missed.
4.  **Cuts the clips.** It cuts at clean word, phrase, or beat boundaries, and tightens filler, false starts, and dead time only when meaning and tone stay intact.
5.  **Adds packaging when it helps.** That can include cropping to the platform, title text, styled captions, music, light motion graphics, zooms, speed changes, or transitions, used only when they support the moment.
6.  **Checks the result.** It checks the hook, payoff, boundaries, meaning, platform fit, timeline names, and export readiness.

## What do I get?

You get each short built from your own footage on the timeline. When there are several outputs, each has a clear timeline name. The Agent reports the timeline names, durations, packaging applied, assumptions it made, and what to review first.

You can keep editing by hand, or ask the Agent for revisions in the same project. See [Transcript and Captions](https://chatcut.io/docs/transcript-and-captions) for caption editing. Export when you are happy with a short.

## What are the limits and tips?

-   **You may get fewer clips than you asked for.** The Skill does not add weak clips to reach a count, and it favors distinct hooks and angles over filling the number.
-   **Clips are usually 20 to 75 seconds.** The exception is when your platform or request calls for something different, so state your target length.
-   **Quotable lines need context.** A line that only makes sense with missing context is skipped, and a clip may start slightly before the key line when the setup is needed.
-   **Your meaning stays intact.** The Skill does not invent spoken claims, make the speaker appear to say something they did not mean, or use misleading title text to prop up a weak moment.
-   **Review the first clip before the batch.** If the style is not established, the Skill makes or previews the first strong clip before repeating it.
-   **Check the cuts yourself.** Play each short with sound on and look for mid-word or mid-thought cuts, a hook in the first seconds, and a payoff before the end.

## What related pages can I read?

-   [Long Video to Shorts Skill page](https://chatcut.io/skills/long-video-to-shorts)
-   [Skills and Skill Marketplace](https://chatcut.io/docs/skills-overview)
-   [Talking Head Edit](https://chatcut.io/docs/talking-head-edit)
-   [Transcript and Captions](https://chatcut.io/docs/transcript-and-captions)
-   [Credits](https://chatcut.io/docs/credits-policy)
-   [All Skills](https://chatcut.io/skills)