Veedio
How-to guides · Updated 30 October 2026

How do you turn a long YouTube video into Shorts?

There are two ways. Clipping cuts a vertical moment out of your own footage, using YouTube’s own editor, a video editing app or an AI clipper. Retelling takes the video’s strongest point and makes a new narrated short about it, with fresh visuals, a voiceover and captions. Clip when the moment on camera is the point; retell when the idea matters more than the footage. Only repurpose videos you own.

  • YouTube Shorts can be up to three minutes long, according to YouTube Help.
  • Veedio’s YouTube Video to Shorts Generator writes a new short from the video’s captions or pasted transcript; it does not cut or download footage.
  • For a YouTube link, Veedio reads the captions and falls back to the title and description if captions cannot be read.
  • YouTube’s monetization policies restrict reused content that adds no significant original value.
  • A five-scene short costs 13 credits with still images on Veedio.
Open the YouTube Video to Shorts GeneratorMore how-to guides

Clipping versus retelling

MethodWhat you getGood forWatch out for
YouTube’s own editor in the appA section of your upload, cropped to verticalQuick clips of moments already on cameraWide shots crop badly to 9:16
A video editing app such as CapCutFull control over the cut, crop and captionsCreators who already edit their videosTime per clip
An AI clipping toolSuggested highlight clips from your footageTalking-head and podcast footageSuggestions still need a human pick
A new narrated short (Veedio)A fresh short about the video’s best point, with new visuals, voice and captionsTalk-heavy, screen-heavy or landscape footage that does not crop wellIt is not your face or voice unless you use a presenter or your cloned voice on Pro or Studio

When to retell instead of clip

Clipping is the obvious move, and it works when the best minute of your video is visually good on its own: a reaction, a reveal, a demonstration filmed close up. It works badly when the footage is a wide shot of two people at a desk, a screen recording, or a landscape tutorial where the useful detail sits at the edge of the frame and vanishes in a vertical crop.

Retelling suits those videos. The point you made at minute twelve of a woodworking tutorial, or the one sentence of a podcast episode everyone quotes, can become its own short with a voice, a picture per line and captions, and still send viewers to the full video.

Many creators do both: a clip of the moment that looks good on camera, and a retold short for the idea that does not.

How to retell a video as a short

  1. 1

    Find the one point worth a minute

    Open the video’s analytics and look for the part where viewers rewatched or stayed. Or ask yourself which sentence people quote back in the comments.

  2. 2

    Give the tool the transcript or the link

    Paste the video’s link in the composer’s Link tab and its captions are read for you, or paste the part of the transcript with the point into the YouTube Video to Shorts Generator. For a point near the end of a long video, paste that part, since links are read from the start.

  3. 3

    Check the script against what you said

    The script is built only from the transcript. Make sure it keeps your meaning, keep phrases that sound like you, and remove anything you would not say.

  4. 4

    Choose a voice, or your own

    Eric is the default, steady and trustworthy. On Pro and Studio you can clone your own voice so the short sounds like the channel.

  5. 5

    Render and upload as a Short

    Publish from the app to your channel, or download the vertical MP4 and upload it in YouTube Studio. Vertical video up to three minutes is treated as a Short.

  6. 6

    Link the Short to the full video

    In YouTube Studio, set the long video as the Short’s related video so viewers can tap through to it, and mention it in the last scene.

  7. 7

    Set the disclosures

    Answer the made-for-kids question honestly, and turn on the altered or synthetic content disclosure if any generated scene looks like real footage of a real event or person.

Worked example: a 45-second short retold from a woodworking tutorial

6 scenes · about 45 seconds

  1. Scene 1

    If your saw cuts keep wandering off the line, it is probably not the saw.

    Visual: Documentary-style close shot of a hand saw mid-cut on a pine board, the cut drifting away from a pencil line, workshop light.

    On screen: Crooked cuts?

  2. Scene 2

    It is where you are standing.

    Visual: A woodworker seen from behind at a workbench, standing off to one side of the board, sawdust on the floor.

  3. Scene 3

    Line up your shoulder, your elbow and the blade, like a piston, so your arm moves straight back and forth.

    Visual: Side view of a forearm and saw moving in a straight line over a workbench, motion blur on the blade.

  4. Scene 4

    Then let the saw do the work. Pushing hard is what twists the blade.

    Visual: Close shot of a relaxed grip on a wooden saw handle, the teeth gliding through the wood with fine dust rising.

  5. Scene 5

    Start the cut with a few slow pull strokes to set the groove.

    Visual: Macro view of saw teeth resting in a shallow starter groove right on a pencil line.

  6. Scene 6

    The full tutorial covers the whole bench setup. It is linked right below.

    Visual: A tidy small home workshop with hand tools hung on a pegboard, warm evening light through a window.

    On screen: Full tutorial linked below

Turn this script into a video

Choosing moments that make good Shorts

  • Pick a point that stands alone. If it needs the previous ten minutes to make sense, it is not a Short.
  • Look for a correction of a common mistake; it gives you a natural hook.
  • Prefer one sharp claim over a summary of the whole video.
  • Use the moment people quote in the comments; they have already told you it landed.
  • Make several Shorts from one long video, each on a different point, rather than one that covers everything.

Mistakes

  • Repurposing someone else’s video. Reused content from other channels is restricted from monetization and can break copyright.
  • Cropping a wide landscape shot to vertical so the subject ends up half out of frame.
  • Opening with “In my last video…”. Start with the point itself.
  • Forgetting to link the Short to the full video, so interested viewers have nowhere to go.
  • Expecting a retold short to show your face. Without a presenter or your own clips, it will not.

FAQ

Questions people ask next

Does Veedio cut clips out of my YouTube video?

No. It is not a clipper or a downloader. It reads the video’s captions or a pasted transcript and writes a new narrated short about the point, with generated visuals. For the actual clip of you on camera, use YouTube’s editor or an editing app.

Can I turn someone else’s YouTube video into Shorts?

Not safely. Reposting or lightly reworking other creators’ videos risks copyright claims and falls under YouTube’s reused content restrictions for monetization. Use your own videos, or ones you have permission to use.

What if my video has no captions?

The composer falls back to the video’s title and description, which is usually too thin. Paste the part of the transcript you want instead, or turn on YouTube’s automatic captions first.

Can the short sound like me?

On Pro and Studio you can clone your own voice and use it for the narration, and you can make a presenter from your own photo. On Starter, choose one of the 20 stock voices.

How many Shorts can I get from one long video?

As many as it has standalone points. A tutorial with five distinct tips is five Shorts; a story-driven video may only have one or two moments that work alone.

What does it cost?

Full videos need a paid plan: Starter $19 monthly with 600 credits, Pro $49 with 2,000. A five-scene short with stills is 13 credits. There is a 7-day money-back guarantee on the first payment.

Sources, checked 30 October 2026:

Platforms change their rules, so check them before you rely on them.

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