Blog
Notes from the edit.
Practical lessons on picking moments, framing and packaging shorts, drawn from the actual work.
When to keep the full 16:9 frame inside a vertical short
A 9:16 crop keeps under a third of a widescreen picture. Here’s how I decide when the whole 16:9 frame has to stay, and how to make it work on a phone.
What our first pilot taught us about clip length
My first pilot clips ran 11 to 23 seconds and missed. Here is how the length moved from 30–45 to 61–85 seconds as one creator reacted, and what I take from it.
Writing short titles in the creator’s voice
A generic title could sit on any channel. Here’s how I study a creator’s own titles, copy their pattern, and write titles that sound like them and sell the moment.
Shorts for MMA and fight-analysis channels
Fight analysis is opinion on top of footage. Here’s how I’d cut shorts for an MMA channel: pick the verdict, protect the replay, and be careful with the footage.
How to brief a shorts editor in 5 minutes (free template)
Most first-round edits miss because of one missing line in the brief, not bad editing. Here’s the short template I wish every creator sent, and why each line is there.
Centred vs. offset captions: designing around the Reels/TikTok UI
Reels, TikTok and Shorts cover parts of your video with buttons and text. Here’s why I stopped shifting captions off-centre, and how I place them now.
Which words to highlight in captions (and which not to)
A coloured word in a caption tells the viewer what matters. Here’s how I choose which words get the colour, which never do, and when a short is better with none at all.
Shorts for business podcasts: finding the one-sentence lesson
A business podcast short works when a stranger can repeat its lesson in one sentence. Here’s how I find that sentence, back it with a story or a number, and package it.
Two-speaker podcasts: layouts that keep both people in frame
A vertical crop of a podcast two-shot keeps one person and loses the other. Here’s how I choose between following the speaker, a stack and a band.
Why I started Content Octopus
A friend’s long-form channel, a question about whether clipping tools already solved this, and why I ended up building a small, hands-on shorts service instead.
Captions that don’t lie: getting names and slang right
Auto-captions get names, slang and accents wrong in ways your audience notices straight away. Here’s how I check every caption before a short goes out.
The cold open: why your short should start with the payoff
The first seconds of a short decide whether a stranger stays. Here’s how I open clips on the strongest line, and why a cold open is a tool, not a rule.
OpusClip vs. a human editor: the same video cut both ways
I ran one long-form video through OpusClip and cut the same video myself. Here’s where the tool did well, where it fell short, and what I changed afterwards.
How long should a YouTube Short be? What 30–45 seconds buys you
Shorts can now run up to three minutes, but longer isn’t automatically better. Here’s why I default to 30–45 seconds, and when I break that rule.
Shorts covers without AI slop: why real frames win
AI-redrawn covers with fake glow and speed lines are easy to spot, and viewers notice. Here’s how I build Shorts covers from real frames instead.
AI clipping tool or done-for-you editing: which fits your workflow?
An honest look at when a self-serve clipping tool is enough, when it isn’t, and what you’re really paying for either way.
How to find short-form moments that work without the full episode
A clip has to make sense to someone who has never heard of you. Here’s how to pick moments with a setup, a payoff and a clean ending.
Why a vertical crop isn’t always the right edit
Cropping a 16:9 video to 9:16 can cut out the other speaker, your graphics or the thing you’re demonstrating. Here’s how to choose a layout that keeps what matters.