Course Lesson Into Study Shorts

A recorded lesson cut into short study clips, one idea per clip.

Pipeline: Basic edit (cut): cuts, captions, looks, speed, split screens, stock, voices and music.
Format: 9:16
Upload: A recorded lesson or lecture.

The prompt

Type your own words into the fields: the [BLANKS] fill in as you go. Copy it and send it to Claude or ChatGPT with Cut Express connected.

Prompt

I uploaded a lesson on [TOPIC]. Make a transcript and find the [NUMBER OF CLIPS] ideas that can each be explained on their own in under [LENGTH IN SECONDS] seconds.

For each clip:
- Title text for the first 2 seconds: the idea as a question, top third.
- Cut the pauses and side remarks. Cover crop on me, or fit blur if I'm writing on a board.
- Captions from the speech, boxed preset, the key term in [CAPTION COLOR].
- End with the part number ("Part 2 of 5") for a second.
List the ideas with their times first.

The blanks

[TOPIC]: What the video is about, in one sentence.
[NUMBER OF CLIPS]: How many separate videos you want out of the footage, for example 3 or 5.
[LENGTH IN SECONDS]: How long the finished video runs, as a number of seconds. Reels and Shorts hold best between 15 and 60.
[CAPTION COLOR]: The color of the highlighted word in the captions, as a name or a hex code like #FFD23F.

Tips

One idea per clip. If an idea needs the one before it, ask for them as a numbered series.
Fit blur keeps a whiteboard readable in a vertical frame.

New to prompting video? How to write a good prompt for Cut Express covers the story, the hook, captions, sound, pace and how to iterate with versions.

Paste it in Claude. Get the MP4.

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Basic edit16:9

Tutorial With Zooms and Arrows

A screen tutorial with zooms on each click, arrows and captions.

Upload: A screen recording of the task, with you talking or silent.

Make a [LENGTH IN SECONDS]-second 16:9 tutorial: "[HOW TO DO WHAT]", from my screen recording. Inspect it (contact sheets, and a transcript if I talk).

- Cut the waiting and the mistakes; speed up the boring parts (typing, loading) to 2x or more.
- A punch-in zoom on each important click, focused where the click happens.
- An arrow pointing at [THE THINGS TO POINT AT] when they appear, in [CAPTION COLOR].
- A lower third at the start with the title, and a step number text for each step ("Step 1", "Step 2"...).
- Captions from my speech, clean preset. A progress bar at the bottom.
Show me the steps with their times before you render.

Fill in Tips

Motion graphics16:9

Explainer With a Voice, Stock and Charts

An explainer with a voice-over, stock shots and animated charts.

Upload: Nothing, or your own footage and voice.

Make a [LENGTH IN SECONDS]-second 16:9 explainer: "[QUESTION IT ANSWERS]", for [AUDIENCE].

1. Write a script of about [NUMBER OF WORDS] words first and show it to me. When I approve it, make the voice with audio: [VOICE].
2. Picture: stock footage for each idea (look at the previews), with motion graphics where numbers come up: [THE NUMBERS], as a chart or a counter cued on the spoken words.
3. Captions from the voice, clean preset. [MUSIC] low under the voice.
4. End with a summary card of the three key points.
Brand colors for the graphics: [BRAND COLORS]. Show me the timeline before you render.

Fill in Tips

Basic edit9:16

Shorts From One Long Video

Several vertical Shorts cut from one long video, each with captions.

Upload: One long video with speech (a podcast, a talk, a stream, a course lesson).

I uploaded [LONG VIDEO], about [TOPIC]. Inspect it with moments and a transcript, then find the [NUMBER OF CLIPS] strongest moments that make sense on their own, each about [LENGTH IN SECONDS] seconds.

Before you render, list them for me: the in and out times, the first line said and why it works as a hook. Wait for my pick.

For each one I pick:
- Start on the hook line, no warm-up. Cut the silences and the false starts on the speech.
- 9:16, cover crop kept on the speaker's face. A slow punch-in on the key sentence.
- Captions from the speech: bold preset, 3 words per line, the key word in [CAPTION COLOR], bottom third.
- Clean the voice (denoise and enhance). No music unless I ask.
Render each as its own video titled "[SERIES NAME] 1", "2", and so on.

Fill in Tips