How to turn a long YouTube video or podcast into Shorts, Reels and TikToks with AI
Upload a 1-30 minute MP4 or MOV; the price (1 credit per started minute, minimum 3) is shown before you start, and clips that can't be made are refunded.
Upload a long video to clipRepurposing is the cheapest content you can make: the recording already exists. The hard part is finding the 30 seconds that work without the other 29 minutes, and reformatting a horizontal frame for a vertical feed. This guide covers how AI clipping works, the settings that matter, how to get the source file (including from your own YouTube channel), and what to check before posting. To change the shape of a single finished video instead, see reframing for TikTok, Reels and YouTube.
Coaches and trainers with recorded classes can follow the fitness coach workflow, which pairs Long to Shorts with AI hooks and B-roll.
How AI clipping works
Every AI clipping tool does roughly the same four things. On Viralance's Long to Shorts:
- Transcribe. The speech is transcribed with word-level timestamps and speaker changes.
- Pick highlights. A language model reads the transcript and chooses segments that stand on their own, with a clear start and a payoff, then those picks are checked against your chosen length.
- Cut and reframe. Each segment is cut from the source and rendered as a 1080×1920 vertical clip.
- Caption and score. Captions are burned in word by word, and each clip gets a hook title, a virality score out of 100 and a short reason for the pick.
Because the picks come from the transcript, the tool works best on talking content: podcasts, interviews, talks, tutorials, commentary and vlogs. A cooking video with little speech, a music performance or gameplay without commentary gives it little to choose from.
What you need before you start
- The video file, MP4 or MOV, 1 to 30 minutes, up to 1 GB. There's no link import, so you need the file itself.
- Your own YouTube video? In YouTube Studio, open Content, then the video's options menu, and download it. Recording tools such as Riverside, Zoom or OBS also give you the original file, usually at better quality than a re-download.
- Longer than 30 minutes? Split it into parts (for example by segment or guest question) and upload each. You'll also get better picks from a focused 20-minute section than from a whole two-hour episode.
- Rights. Only clip what you own or have permission to use. If a guest appears, make sure your agreement with them covers short clips on social media.
The four settings and what to choose
| Setting | Options | What to pick |
|---|---|---|
| Clips | 3, 5 or 8 | 5 is the default. Use 8 for a long, dense episode; 3 for a short talk |
| Clip length | 15–30 s, 30–60 s, up to 90 s | 30–60 s for most podcasts; 15–30 s for punchy tips; up to 90 s for stories that need setup |
| Layout | Fill or Fit | Fill for one speaker on camera; Fit for wide shots, two people side by side or screen recordings |
| Captions | On/off, Bold, Clean or Boxed | Leave on: many people watch with sound off |
Fill vs Fit, in detail. Fill is a center crop to 9:16: it fills the screen and works when one person sits in the middle of the frame. It doesn't follow faces, so if your podcast shows two people at the edges of a wide shot, Fill will cut them off. Fit keeps the whole frame and places it on a blurred background, so nobody gets cropped; it suits two-shots, slides and screen shares.
Caption styles. Bold is big uppercase with the active word in yellow, Clean is sentence case with the active word in green, Boxed is white text on a dark box (easiest to read over busy backgrounds).
The price doesn't change with clip count, length or captions: it is 1 credit per started minute of source, with a 3-credit minimum. The total appears as soon as you upload, before you start.
What it costs
| Source length | Credits |
|---|---|
| 1–3 minutes | 3 |
| 10 minutes | 10 |
| 20 minutes | 20 |
| 30 minutes | 30 |
A 30-minute episode is 30 credits, the size of the $9 Mini pack; on larger packs the per-credit price drops (pricing). If some clips can't be made, the share of credits for the missing clips is refunded; if none can be made, the whole job is refunded. Credits are one-time purchases with no subscription and they don't expire.
Step by step
- Open Long to Shorts and drop in your MP4 or MOV.
- Choose the number of clips, the clip length, the layout and a caption style.
- Check the price and press Make clips.
- You can leave the page while it works; clips appear in the results and in My Videos, usually within a few minutes.
- Sort by score, watch each clip, and download the ones that work. Use the wand icon to open a clip in Edit Video for further changes.
How to tell a good clip from a bad one
The virality score is a ranking hint, not a promise. Watch every clip and check:
- Does the first sentence make sense cold? Clips that open with "So, like I said..." or "And that's why..." lose new viewers. The best first lines are a claim, a question or a number.
- Is there a payoff? The clip should end on the answer, punchline or takeaway, not halfway through the setup.
- Are names and terms spelled right in the captions? Transcription misses brand names, guest names and jargon more than ordinary words.
- Does the framing hold? With Fill, check that nobody important sits at the edge of the frame.
- Is anything sensitive in it? Clips strip away context; a joke or opinion can read differently on its own.
If you want an extra opinion on a clip, Analyze Video scores hook strength and other signals before you post (viral prediction guide).
Posting: one clip, three platforms
- YouTube Shorts accepts vertical videos up to 3 minutes (YouTube Help), so every clip length here fits.
- TikTok and Instagram Reels both take 9:16 clips of these lengths; the exact maximums depend on the account and change often, so check the upload screen.
- Write a separate title and caption per platform. The hook title each clip gets is a good starting point for the first line, not a finished caption. The caption generator on the create page writes a short post caption with hashtags at no credit cost; the Instagram Reels guide has more on Reels copy.
- Link back to the full episode in the description or a pinned comment; that's the point of clipping a podcast.
- Spread clips out. Posting five clips from one episode over a week or two gives you five chances to reach new people, and the scores tell you which to post first.
Viralance doesn't post for you: download the clips and upload them in each app.
When to edit further
Long to Shorts gives you finished clips. A few cases need one more step:
- A different shape for one clip: use Reframe on Edit Video.
- Captions only, or a different caption look on an edited clip: Subtitles on Edit Video (3 credits per render, clips up to 5 minutes; see the subtitles guide).
- A cold open, logo or end card: add it in your editor, or apply your Brand Kit.
- Trimming a word or two: any phone or desktop editor will do; Viralance has no timeline editor.
Frequently asked questions
Can I paste a YouTube link instead of uploading? No. Long to Shorts works from the video file. For your own channel, download the original from YouTube Studio and upload it.
How long can the source video be? From 1 to 30 minutes, MP4 or MOV, up to 1 GB. Split longer recordings into parts.
Does it follow the speaker's face? No. Fill is a center crop to 9:16, which works for one centered speaker. For two people or wide shots, choose Fit, which keeps the whole frame on a blurred background.
How many clips can I get from one video? 3, 5 or 8 per run. The price is the same whichever you choose, so pick 8 for long, dense episodes.
How much does it cost to turn a podcast into shorts? 1 credit per started minute of source video, with a 3-credit minimum: 20 credits for a 20-minute episode. Credits for clips that can't be made are refunded.
Will the clips go viral? No tool can promise that. The score ranks clips by how well they seem to stand alone and hook a viewer; post the top ones first and let real views decide.
