> Shorty accepts an optional reference to guide an edit from your own media. Add a few words about the parts you want to carry over, such as pacing or text treatment, and review how those choices translate to your footage. Source: https://shortyedit.com/guides/ai-editor-following-a-style-reference --- # Give your AI editor a reference—and tell it what to notice Shorty accepts an optional reference to guide an edit from your own media. Add a few words about the parts you want to carry over, such as pacing or text treatment, and review how those choices translate to your footage. The Shorty team · Updated 24 September 2026 ## A reference contains more than one instruction A short film might have fast cutting, warm colour, handheld shots, large captions, and a particular song. If you only want the pacing, say so. Otherwise the reference leaves several possible interpretations. Write a short “take this, leave this” note. Take the quick setup and longer reveal. Leave the text style and soundtrack. This is a practical way to direct an edit without trying to describe every visual choice from scratch. ## Bring enough source material The reference can guide treatment, but your clips still need to support the sequence. If it shows a reveal, an action, and a reaction, look for equivalent moments in your own footage. You can change the structure when an equivalent does not exist. Use an uploaded or built-in reference through the options available in Shorty, or describe the direction in words. Use material you are allowed to use and check any reference audio in the output. The reference should help explain the work, not introduce an accidental soundtrack or borrowed claim. ## Check the translation Compare the result with the choices you named, not with every pixel of the reference. Is the reveal given enough time? Is the text restrained? Does the colour still represent the product accurately? If one part is wrong, ask for that change specifically. “Keep the sequence, but make the text less prominent” is easier to assess than “closer to the reference.” Your final video should make sense to someone who has never seen the example that inspired it. ## A brief to adapt to your footage Example direction. Replace the subject, shots, and wording with your own. Use the reference for its quick opening and patient final reveal. Keep my footage and product colours accurate. Use the plain caption style I supplied instead of the reference typography. Do not use the reference soundtrack unless I approve it. ## Keep the ideas coming ### Borrow the rhythm of a reference, not just its cut speed Shorty can use a reference to guide an edit from your footage. Describe the rhythm you want: where it starts quickly, where it pauses, and how the ending lands. Matching pace does not mean cutting every shot equally short. ### What you like about that creator’s videos is probably a few repeatable choices Break the reference into observable choices: opening, shot length, framing, text, sound, and ending. Use those ideas to direct your own footage. A useful reference explains a treatment; it does not replace your story. ### Turn a reference clip into a useful edit direction Give Shorty your source footage, the optional reference, and a short note explaining the treatment you want. Use the reference to guide choices such as pacing and reveals while keeping your own subject, facts, and approved audio. ### More ways to finish your footage Practical answers for the part after the shoot: find the story, choose an editor, write a useful brief, and get the finished video out the door. ### Shorty product facts and limits Shorty turns your own video clips and photos into an edited MP4 from a written brief or optional reference. You can review the result and request revisions. This page collects current product facts, fit, limitations and canonical sources. ### Current plans and allowances Explore this editing workflow in Shorty. ## Your next video starts here. Bring the footage. Tell us the idea. Shape the edit. --- Published by Tools Products FZ-LLC. Canonical HTML: https://shortyedit.com/guides/ai-editor-following-a-style-reference