# Find the best 30-second clip for a Short

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/find-the-best-short-in-a-long-video
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Type "Find the best 30-second clip for a Short" and Vidiyo reads your long recording, scores moments that work on their own, and shows you the top few with times and opening lines. It builds the one you pick, makes it vertical if you ask, and saves the others as cards on your board.

## What to say

> Find the best 30-second clip for a Short

Category: Cuts

## What Vidiyo does

1. Reads the transcript and splits a long recording into ranges to score.
2. Scores candidate moments for a standalone hook, one idea and a payoff.
3. Shows you the top three to six with times and opening lines, and waits for your pick.
4. Cuts everything outside the chosen moment and tightens it.
5. Switches to vertical and reframes on your face when you ask for a Short.
6. Saves the other candidates as content cards with their exact source ranges.

A podcast, a talk or a long demo usually holds a few moments that could stand alone as Shorts or Reels. Finding them means rewatching the whole thing. This prompt makes Vidiyo do the reading and bring you a ranked shortlist.

## What does Vidiyo do when you say this?

Vidiyo reads the transcript of your recording, scores moments for short-form, and shows you the strongest three to six with their times and opening lines. A good candidate opens on a line that works without context, makes one point and pays off before it ends. You pick one and Vidiyo builds it.

For a long recording, the assistant can split the reading into ranges and score them in parallel with read-only helpers, then merge and rank the results. Once you choose, it cuts everything outside that moment, tightens the pauses, and switches to vertical if you asked for a Short. The candidates you didn't pick are saved as cards on your content board with their exact source ranges.

## How do you phrase it?

Give the length and platform, and any topic you care about:

- "Find the best 30-second clip for a Short"
- "Pull three Reels out of this podcast"
- "Find the moment where I explain pricing and make it a 45-second Short"
- "What are the strongest standalone moments in this talk?"
- "Make a vertical clip from the story about the launch"

Naming a topic narrows the search. Asking "what are the strongest moments" gets you the shortlist without any edit.

## How would you do this by hand?

By hand, you watch or skim the full recording, note timestamps of moments that might work, duplicate the project for each one, trim, reframe for vertical, and caption. Picking the moment is the slow part, because you have to judge each one without context. Here you review a ranked list with opening lines and decide.

## What should you check afterwards?

Watch the Short as someone who never saw the full video. If the first line refers to something earlier ("like I said"), ask Vidiyo to start one sentence later or pick another candidate. Then add captions and check they stay clear of your face and the Reels buttons. The saved cards are there when you want the next one.

## Honest limits

- Projects hold up to 30 minutes of imported footage, and timelines max out at 5 minutes.
- Output is 1080p at 30 fps.

## Frequently asked questions

### What makes a good Short, according to Vidiyo?

A moment of about 20 to 60 seconds that makes one point, opens on a line that works without context, pays off before it ends, and doesn't depend on visuals the viewer can't see.

### Can Vidiyo build all the candidates at once?

One project holds one timeline, so it builds the one you choose and saves the rest as board cards with their source ranges, ready to cut in their own projects.

### How long can the source recording be?

A project can hold up to 30 minutes of imported footage. The timeline you export is up to 5 minutes, which is plenty for a Short.

## Related

- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Vertical video](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/vertical-video)
- [Video hook](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/video-hook)
- [How to repurpose one video for every platform](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/repurpose-one-video-for-every-platform)
- [Make it vertical for Reels](https://getvidiyo.app/prompts/make-it-vertical-for-reels)

Download Vidiyo for Mac (free during the beta): https://getvidiyo.app/download