Make Shorts

A Short cut from a long video is a new video for a stranger who swipes. It carries one idea from its first line to a payoff, and it is not a trailer: "watch the full video to find out" leaves the viewer with nothing. The rules, the platform facts and their sources are in $SKILL/references/shorts-rules.md.

The flow, one gate at a time:

pick → the creator approves the cuts → cut → check → render-auditor → upload-checker → upload-private (private)

$SKILL below is this skill's folder. Start from a finished long video: script.md, the narration's word-timed transcript (qa/voice-check-transcript.json from check-voiceover) and the final render.

1. Pick

python $SKILL/scripts/shorts_pick.py <video> [--retention qa/retention.json] [--min 20 --max 60] [--count 5]

Runs of whole sentences are scored on measurable signals: the pocket rule (the first line works with no context: no "And ...", "So ...", "This is why ...", no intro or "subscribe"; a window that breaks it never passes), a number or a named thing first, a question the window answers, a short last line that loops back, one script section, a length near 25-45 s. Times snap to word boundaries and sentence ends. Exit 1: no self-contained moment exists, so write one rather than force a cut. After 72 hours, pick again with --retention (retention-by-scene's --json report): rewatch bumps rank up, windows opening in a steep drop rank down.

Show the creator the table and let them choose. Cut nothing before they approve: a line is cheap to change, a re-uploaded Short is a new video.

2. Cut

python $SKILL/scripts/shorts_cut.py render/final.mp4 --candidate 1 --words qa/voice-check-transcript.json \
    [--mode fit|crop] [--fill 0.2] [--x 640] [--burn] [--out PATH]

• fit (default): the whole picture on a blurred copy of itself; --fill trims the sides so it grows. Use it for charts and slides. crop: a 9:16 slice (--center or --x); use it when one face or object carries the shot.
• Captions are a separate .srt, re-timed to the cut (--srt re-times the long video's captions, --words builds short cues). Read them: transcripts mishear names and numbers. --burn draws them above YouTube's UI zones (needs ffmpeg with libass; without it the script stops and says so).
• Writes shorts/<name>.mp4 and never touches the source. --out writes straight into the Short's own folder.

3. Check

python $SKILL/scripts/shorts_check.py shorts/<name>.mp4 --srt shorts/<name>.srt --words shorts/<name>.words.json \
    [--burned] [--ocr] [--profile live]

All of render_check.py's measurements (loudness, silence, black and frozen picture, the motion band, captions against the words) with the whole Short as the hook and no end-screen allowance, plus:

Resolution under 1080x1920 warns; the loop and music over 60 s are information. Writes qa/shorts-check-<name>.json bound to the video's SHA-256. Exit 1: fix the Short. Exemptions work as in check-render, except for aspect and duration.

4. Review and upload

Each Short is its own video, so it gets its own project folder for the reviews and the upload: render/<name>.mp4 (cut there with --out, or copy it), upload.json with "short": true, qa/. Run shorts_check.py there again.

1. render-auditor: the same contract (VERDICT: and Video: lines, saved as qa/RENDER-AUDIT-<date>.md). Tell it this is a Short: judge the first 2 seconds muted and with sound, the payoff and the loop, text in the UI zones, and expect no end screen. Give it qa/shorts-check-<name>.json instead of render-check.json.
2. upload-checker: title and description for a stranger (no "Part 2", no long-video chapters).
3. upload-private: the dry run checks the Short is square or vertical and at most 180 s and reads the Shorts gate; the thumbnail is not sent (Studio on a computer only). Then --upload: private, as always.

Then tell the creator what is left in Studio: the Short's thumbnail, the related video that links it to the long video (Studio only), and when to publish. Spread Shorts over days, never several on one day, and publish a cut only after its long video is public. Cadence and testing advice: references/shorts-rules.md.

What to report back

The candidates table (or the approved cut), the path of each Short, its check verdict, and the single next action.