> 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. Source: https://shortyedit.com/guides/raw-footage-to-reference-guided-short --- # 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. The Shorty team · Updated 24 September 2026 ## Write a translation note The reference has a glossy reveal, a quiet pause, and very little text. Your footage shows a handmade lamp. The useful direction is not “make these identical”; it is to build toward the lamp turning on, pause on the lit result, and keep the text restrained. A translation note connects the reference to your actual material. It tells the editor why you chose the example and which parts should survive when the subject changes. ## Match the available moments Choose source clips that can carry the setup, action, and reveal. If the reference uses a sweeping camera move and you only have still close-ups, change the approach rather than forcing a movement the footage cannot provide. Shorty can assemble the supplied media using the brief and reference. Review the source selection and use reference material you are allowed to use. Specify whether reference audio is approved, and check the finished soundtrack before sharing. ## Polish means resolving distractions After the first version, look for the moment where attention slips. It might be a shot held too long, a title covering the object, or a reveal that happens before the viewer understands the setup. Ask for the most useful correction first. Keep product colours and details accurate while refining the look. A dramatic treatment should not make the item misleading. The successful result is a clear short film about your material, with the reference helping the decisions in the background. ## A brief to adapt to your footage Example direction. Replace the subject, shots, and wording with your own. Use the reference’s quiet setup and longer reveal for my lamp footage. Start with the unlit desk, show the switch, then hold the lit scene. Keep the lamp colour accurate and the text minimal. Use only the audio I have approved. ## 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. ### 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. ### 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/raw-footage-to-reference-guided-short