1. The all-in-one short-form pass
Short-form has a narrow and well-understood set of requirements: vertical, gapless, captioned, and opening on the point. One request covers all four, and it is the right starting point for any clip destined for TikTok, Reels or Shorts. Adjust the caption style to match the content and you are close to finished.
2. Extracting clips from long-form
When the source is a long recording, the first request is about selection rather than styling. Ask for the clips as a set and review them before editing any of them. A stated number is binding, so give one only when you actually need it — left open, you get as many clips as the material genuinely supports.
- 'Cut this into short clips for social.' — let the recording decide the count.
- 'Cut this into 5 short clips, under 45 seconds each.' — count and length both binding.
- 'Find the moments that would work as standalone clips, with timestamps.' — a shortlist, no editing.
- 'Make one highlight clip from the best moments, about 60 seconds.' — a single assembled piece.
Plural and singular mean different things here. Asking for 'clips' produces a set to browse; asking for 'a clip' or 'the best moment' produces one assembled video.
3. Hook and opening prompts
A clip cut from long-form inherits the wrong opening almost every time, because it starts wherever the source happened to start. These prompts fix the first two seconds, which is the highest-leverage edit in short-form.
- 'Start this on the strongest line and cut everything before it.'
- 'Trim the opening so the first words are the interesting ones.'
- 'Add a short text hook at the top for the first two seconds.'
- 'Cut the introduction — start straight on the claim.'
4. Vertical framing prompts
Widescreen footage has to be converted rather than letterboxed, and how you phrase the request changes what you get. Ask for the subject to be kept in frame when they move, and for two-person footage, say so explicitly — the default handling of a two-shot is the one thing most likely to go wrong.
- 'Make this 9:16 and keep me in frame the whole way through.'
- 'Convert to vertical, crop to fill, no black bars.'
- 'This is a two-person interview — keep the frame on whoever is talking.'
- 'Make it 1:1 for LinkedIn.'
- 'Keep the captions clear of the bottom of the frame.'
5. Energy, captions and audio
Short-form tolerates more energy than any other format, but it still punishes anything that looks like an advert. Ask for the caption style by name, keep transitions off by default, and treat the full high-energy treatment as one thing you can dial down rather than a stack to assemble by hand.
- 'Add captions in a bold boxed style with a yellow highlight.'
- 'Show one or two words at a time so they land with my delivery.'
- 'Keep it hard cuts — no transitions.'
- 'Add an upbeat track underneath, quiet enough that my voice stays clear.'
- 'Make it high energy with shake and zoom punches.' — then 'make it less intense' if it is too much.
- 'Add a freeze frame with a reaction at the end.'
✖ Asking for a specific clip count out of habit
Why it fails: A binding number forces the set to hit a target, which can pad it with moments that are not strong.
✔ Better approach: Give a number only when you genuinely need one.
✖ Forgetting to fix the opening
Why it fails: A clip that inherits the long-form opening spends its decisive two seconds on setup.
✔ Better approach: Always trim to start on the interesting line.
✖ Asking for transitions on a fast social edit
Why it fails: Visible transitions read as template work and eat the pacing you just built.
✔ Better approach: Ask for hard cuts and leave transitions for real scene changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions around this editing workflow.