AI video editing
Shorty AI video editor.
Your footage, edited.
Shorty AI video editor turns your own footage into an edited MP4 from a written brief or optional reference video. Add your clips, describe the result, then review the first cut and request changes. It analyses the source clips, builds a shot plan, applies cuts, reframing, captions, transitions and colour treatment, then cloud-renders a downloadable MP4. If a reference contains music, its analysed soundtrack may be used in the render.
01 / Workflow
How reference-driven video editing works
The reference is the creative target for the edit. Shorty studies its visual editing characteristics and makes new visuals from your footage rather than reusing the reference's video frames. If the reference contains music, Shorty may analyse and use that soundtrack in the rendered output, so upload a reference only when you have permission to use its audio. If you do not have a reference, a written brief can set the direction instead. Explore editing workflows for the footage you have.
Set the direction
Upload an MP4, MOV or WebM reference up to 256 MB, choose a built-in style, or describe the desired pace, captions, mood and destination.
Add your footage
Add your video clips or supported photos. Uploaded videos can be up to 1 GB each. See the current picker for accepted files and the processing estimate.
Render the cut
Shorty analyses, plans and processes the edit, then delivers a downloadable MP4 in the output canvas you selected.
From footage to result
What does a Shorty edit look like?
In our recorded fragrance example, six supplied clips became a silent, 10-second vertical video with four shots. A follow-up instruction kept the shot order and changed their lengths from 2.5 seconds each to 2, 2, 2 and 4 seconds. You can inspect the source clips, exact instructions and both MP4s in the complete first-cut and revision example.
This is one first-party test, not a promise of typical processing time, cost or results. For your next version, learn how to request a specific timing, caption or shot change.
02 / Product facts
What Shorty accepts and produces
- Direction
- Optional reference video, built-in reference, or written editing brief
- Source
- Up to 150 of your own video clips or supported photos per edit; videos up to 1 GB per file
- Reference
- MP4, MOV or WebM; up to 256 MB
- Import
- Local files
- Revisions
- Follow-up instructions and targeted requests for editable elements in supported compositions
- Output
- Cloud-rendered, downloadable MP4
- Canvas
- 9:16, 4:5, 3:4, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 and 21:9
- Account
- Required to upload, save projects and render
Review & revise
Shape the next version
Shorty supports follow-up revision requests. In supported editable compositions, select an editable element and describe the change. Review the new version before sharing. Objects flattened into source footage are not automatically separate editable layers; the timeline supports playback and inspection rather than full manual frame-by-frame authoring. Explore the Revisions demo or read the revision guide.
03 / Comparison
Shorty, Captions, OpusClip, Descript and timeline editors
These products overlap around video, but their primary workflows begin in different places. Choose by the job you need done—not by the broad label “AI video editor.”
| Product | Primary starting point | Best fit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shorty | Your footage plus a reference video or written brief | Producing a complete, style-directed cut without building it manually on a timeline | Less appropriate when you need to control every frame, layer or keyframe yourself |
| CapCut | Templates, AI generation tools or a conventional multi-track editor | A broad editing toolkit with templates, effects and manual customisation | You still choose and operate the workflow; reference-style reconstruction is not the core job described by CapCut |
| Adobe Premiere | Footage placed in a professional timeline | Precise manual editing, layered sequences, colour, audio and production workflows | More control also means more editing decisions and hands-on work |
| Captions AI Edit | Raw footage and an AI Edit style | Applying a complete visual treatment, then refining it with chat or manual controls | Compare the preset style workflow with Shorty’s optional reference and written brief |
| Descript Underlord | A recording and editing instructions | An AI co-editor with transcript and scene controls | Test both the automatic cut and the transcript corrections your workflow needs |
| OpusClip and AI Producer | A long recording for highlights, or raw talking-head footage for AI Producer | Extracting clips or directing an automatic edit of a speaker recording | Choose the relevant product workflow; AI Producer is an editor, not just a long-video clipper |
Captions, OpusClip AI Producer and Descript Underlord descriptions checked against the linked official pages on 17 September 2026. CapCut and Premiere descriptions retain their 13 August 2026 review. This is Shorty’s editorial comparison, not a hands-on performance ranking.
04 / Fit
When Shorty is—and is not—the right editor
Shorty is a good fit when…
- You already have footage and a clear visual reference or written direction.
- You want the system to make editorial choices and deliver a finished first cut.
- You publish creator, marketing or social video across vertical, square and landscape formats.
- You want a consistent editing grammar without starting from an empty timeline.
Use another workflow when…
- You need exact, frame-by-frame control over layers, masks, keyframes or effects.
- Your main job is cutting a dialogue recording by editing its transcript.
- Your main job is extracting many highlights from one long podcast or webinar.
- You need text-to-video generation without providing source footage.
05 / Privacy and rights
What happens to uploaded media
Uploaded media is stored privately to your account. Shorty uses AI service providers, including Google Gemini and Anthropic, to process reference media, footage, derived media samples, analyses and instructions as needed to plan and render the requested edit. You must own or have permission to use every file, soundtrack and visible likeness you upload. Shorty does not transfer ownership of someone else's footage, music, brand or identity.
06 / FAQ
Shorty AI video editor questions
What is Shorty?
Shorty is a browser-based, reference-driven AI video editor. It analyses raw footage plus an optional reference video or written editing brief, creates an edit plan, and cloud-renders a downloadable MP4.
Do I need a reference video?
No. A reference is optional. You can upload one to target a specific editing style, choose a built-in reference, or describe the desired edit in writing.
Is Shorty a text-to-video generator?
No. Shorty's core workflow edits footage you provide. A written brief directs the edit, but it does not replace the source footage.
Can Shorty replace a timeline editor?
Shorty can replace the first complete edit when the goal is defined by a reference or brief. A timeline editor remains the better fit when you need exact manual control over every frame, layer and effect.
Can I revise a finished edit?
Yes. Request a follow-up revision and, in supported editable compositions, select an editable element for a targeted change. Review the new version. Objects flattened into source footage are not automatically separate editable layers.
What does Shorty export?
Shorty exports a downloadable MP4 and supports 9:16, 4:5, 3:4, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 and 21:9 canvases.
Guide introduction and worked example updated 24 September 2026. Product facts reviewed 15 September 2026. Captions, OpusClip and Descript descriptions updated 17 September 2026; other competitor descriptions reviewed 13 August 2026.