How to Turn Long-Form Video Into Short-Form Content

1. Selecting moments that stand alone

A short clip has no room to establish context, so the only moments that work are the ones a stranger can understand cold. That usually means a complete thought with its own setup and payoff inside forty to sixty seconds. The test is simple: play it to someone who has not seen the source and see whether they need you to explain anything. If they do, either the clip starts too late or the moment is not self-contained.

• A claim plus its reasoning, contained in one stretch of speech.
• A story with a beginning and a punchline.
• A specific, surprising number or result.
• A disagreement or a correction of something the audience believes.

2. Generate the candidate clips

Open Social Clips and add your recording. Choose Auto or request a count up to 10, then choose a target length. Cubix returns separate candidates you can preview and edit. A requested count guides the pass; review whether each candidate contains enough useful material.

3. Reframe to vertical

Choose a frame for where you will publish. For a vertical clip, check that the speaker or demonstration stays visible throughout. Reframing is useful when the source is wider than the final frame; an inset layout can preserve details that should not be cropped away.

• Fill crops to cover the vertical frame — the standard choice for full-bleed short-form.
• Reframe follows the subject, which matters most on handheld or wide interview footage.
• Frame keeps the whole shot in an inset card, useful when nothing can be cropped away.

4. Fix the first two seconds

Review the opening without the original recording for context. Start with a clear line that introduces the subject or a useful question. Remove unnecessary waiting, but keep the setup the viewer needs to understand the answer.

5. Caption and finish

Review the generated captions so viewers can follow the speech without sound. Correct names and technical terms, then choose a readable treatment. Check text placement over the actual footage and keep effects or music at a level that suits the message.

• Choose short, readable phrases that follow the voice and fit the frame.
• Keep captions inside the middle of the frame so platform UI does not sit on top of them.
• Loud boxed caption styles suit entertainment hooks; keyword accents and clean styles suit business and education.

6. Variants per platform

Use the destination's upload preview to check the exported version. Review the crop, important text and opening for the audience you want to reach. Keep variants when a different frame or treatment helps the same idea.

• Check the vertical crop and important text in the uploaded preview.
• Make the opening clear to someone who has not seen the long recording.
• Choose captions and a visual treatment that suit your audience.
• Keep an exported version for each frame or treatment you decide to publish.