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Creative direction

How to turn a reference video into clear editing instructions

Separate the reference into pace, framing, captions, transitions and sound. Choose the traits that suit your own material.

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The short answer

Key takeaways

  • Describe a fast first shot, short detail inserts and a longer final reveal separately.
  • Upload your clips to Shorty and describe the result you want.
  • Check the result against those selected traits rather than expecting every frame of the reference to be reproduced.
  • Name the moment, say what should change and describe what you want to keep.

Start with a clear direction

Describe a fast first shot, short detail inserts and a longer final reveal separately. State which traits to keep and which would distract from your message.

Put it into your edit

Upload your clips to Shorty and describe the result you want. Add a reference if it helps show the pace or visual treatment. Play the first cut, then use chat to shape the next version.

An instruction to make your own

Use this direction for my video: Describe a fast first shot, short detail inserts and a longer final reveal separately. State which traits to keep and which would distract from your message. Check the result against those selected traits rather than expecting every frame of the reference to be reproduced.

Check the detail that matters

Check the result against those selected traits rather than expecting every frame of the reference to be reproduced.

Keep the next change focused

Name the moment, say what should change and describe what you want to keep. For a title, supply the replacement words. For pacing, identify the shot that needs more or less time. Play the surrounding sequence after the revision to hear and see how the change fits.

Keep the ideas coming

Edit your footage to match a reference video

Reference editing

Add your raw clips and the video you want to copy, write “like the reference”, and Shorty edits your footage to match it: where the captions sit and which words light up, how fast it cuts, cuts locked to the beat in music edits, transitions, framing and colour. Ask for a one-to-one recreation and Shorty rebuilds the reference’s opening and titles with your own clips. You get a finished MP4 and revise it by message.

Write a clear editing prompt

Creative direction

Describe the source footage, audience, format, story order and constraints. Tell Shorty what must remain accurate, which shot should lead and what the viewer should understand at the end. A reference video is optional; a clear written brief can supply the direction.

Refine your edit

Feature

Shorty is an AI video editor you can revise by chat. Open an existing edit and describe the change in plain language, such as a new opening, different shot timing or corrected title text, or select an editable title or graphic in the preview and say what should change. Shorty renders a new version to compare with the previous cut.

Find an example brief

Explore

Explore this editing workflow in Shorty.

Questions, answered.

How do I apply this in Shorty?

Upload your clips to Shorty and describe the result you want. Add a reference if it helps show the pace or visual treatment. Play the first cut, then use chat to shape the next version.

What should I look for in the result?

Check the result against those selected traits rather than expecting every frame of the reference to be reproduced.

Ask an assistant

Take this page into your chat.

Open it in ChatGPT or Claude with the page already loaded, or read the plain-Markdown version.

Ask ChatGPT Ask Claude Read as Markdown

Make it with Shorty

Your next video starts here.

Bring the footage. Tell us the idea. Shape the edit.

Start editing