video-to-shorts

# Video → Shorts Turn a long talking-head video into one or more polished vertical shorts (≤ 60s, 9:16, burned-in subtitles). The skill transcribes the source, **auto-suggests the best moments**, then cuts, crops, and subtitles a clip you approve. The deliverable is a finished `*-en.mp4` ready to upload by hand. No YouTube account, API key, or upload CLI needed. ## When to use - "Make shorts/reels/clips out of this podcast / interview / talk" - "Find the best moments in this video and cut vertical clips" - "Transcribe this and pull out quotable soundbites" - Any long-form talking footage that needs to become short vertical content Best for **static, single- or two-person talking footage**. Fast-cut montages, music videos, or heavy on-screen graphics need a human editor — flag that and stop. ## One-time setup (cross-platform) You need three tools: **ffmpeg with libass** (cut/crop/burn-in), **Whisper** (transcription), and optionally **yt-dlp** (only if the source is a URL). ### ffmpeg — must include libass (for subtitle burn-in) Check first: `ffmpeg -version | grep -o libass`. If it prints `libass`, you're done. | OS | Install | |----|---------| | **Linux** | `sudo apt install ffmpeg` (Debian/Ubuntu builds include libass) — or `brew install ffmpeg` on Linuxbrew. | | **Windows (WSL2)** | Inside Ubuntu-on-WSL: `sudo apt install ffmpeg`. Do everything from the WSL shell, not PowerShell. | | **macOS** | ⚠️ Default Homebrew `ffmpeg` **omits libass** — the `subtitles` filt...