How to Turn a Long Video into Shorts and Reels
Updated November 5, 2026
A good Short is a complete idea in under a minute. To make one from a long video, find a moment that makes sense on its own, crop it to vertical 9:16, add captions, and open with a line that makes people stay.
Find moments that stand alone
Look for a clear claim, a story with an ending, a surprising number, or a strong opinion. If a clip needs “as I said earlier”, it won't work on its own. Reading the transcript is faster than watching, which is why transcript-based tools find these moments quickly.
Make it vertical
Shorts and Reels use 9:16, commonly 1080×1920 pixels. A centered crop works when the speaker sits in the middle of the frame. Interviews with two people usually need separate crops.
Add captions and a hook
Many people watch with the sound off, so captions matter. Bold word-by-word styles hold attention well. Put a short title on screen for the first few seconds so people know why they should keep watching.
- 1Keep it short. YouTube Shorts can run to 3 minutes, but the hook still has to land in the first seconds.
- 2Start at the most interesting line, not the setup.
- 3End right after the payoff.