> An AI editor can help select supporting shots from your clips. The useful part is matching each shot to the point being made, so the viewer sees evidence instead of a random montage. Source: https://shortyedit.com/guides/choose-b-roll-from-your-own-clips --- # Better B-roll is probably already in your camera roll An AI editor can help select supporting shots from your clips. The useful part is matching each shot to the point being made, so the viewer sees evidence instead of a random montage. The Shorty team · Updated 24 September 2026 ## Give each cutaway a job A person says the jacket folds into its own pocket. The next shot shows the jacket folding into that pocket. That is useful B-roll. A beautiful shot of trees might fit the mood, but it does not explain the claim. Sort your supporting clips by what they show: the action, the detail, the place, or the result. You do not need an elaborate tagging system. A small selection with obvious jobs is easier to direct than a folder where every file is called final-final. ## Tell Shorty what belongs beside the words Supply the main footage and the supporting clips, then ask Shorty to assemble the edit. Specify the connection you want: show the clasp when the speaker discusses fastening, and show the packed bag when they discuss capacity. This gives the editor a reason to choose a shot. Keep the instruction honest. A clip of a different model, an earlier prototype, or an unrelated location may look right while showing the wrong thing. Exclude those files before the edit. A source-only instruction is especially useful for product demonstrations. ## Review for meaning, then rhythm Watch once with the sound on and ask whether the pictures support the words. Watch again with the sound off. Can you follow the action, or are you seeing a collection of nice-looking fragments? Let a useful demonstration breathe. Cutting away before the zip closes removes the very information the shot was meant to provide. If the first version moves too quickly, request one precise change: hold the packing shot until the last item goes in. Review the revision rather than assuming the timing is exact. ## A brief to adapt to your footage Example direction. Replace the subject, shots, and wording with your own. Use my interview as the main thread. When the speaker describes the bag pockets, cut to my pocket close-ups. When they explain packing, show my packing demonstration. Keep the original speech meaning intact. Use only the supplied supporting footage. ## Keep the ideas coming ### You filmed it yourself. Your AI editor should use it. Yes. Shorty can build an edit from footage you upload, guided by a brief or reference. Make the source rule explicit: use the supplied clips, and leave out stock or invented scenes. ### Hours of footage, no time: make the first selection smaller First separate long recordings from loose clips and choose the kind of short video you need. Highlight extraction can suit a long conversation; a directed assembly can suit selected shots. A huge archive still needs a clear assignment. ### 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/choose-b-roll-from-your-own-clips