Long video in, short clips out
Turn a YouTube video into Shorts
Before you start: MomentCut works from the video file (MP4, MOV or WebM, up to 60 minutes), uploaded from your device (up to 30 GB, 20 GB on the free trial) or through a direct link to that file (up to 2 GB). YouTube, Vimeo or other platform links are not accepted.
Your twenty-minute video did its job the week it came out. A forty-second vertical clip, posted as a Short, reaches people who have never subscribed to your channel. The clean way to get there is simple: grab the file of your own video from YouTube Studio, upload it to MomentCut, and leave with clips ready to post.
Why you start from the file
YouTube’s Terms of Service only allow downloading a video through the means YouTube itself provides. For your own videos, that means exists: the download option in YouTube Studio. It is the route MomentCut offers for a video that is already published, which is why it works from a file rather than from a page address.
If you still have the original export from your editing software, use that instead: it is usually sharper than the copy YouTube hands back.
What the download gives you
YouTube gives you an MP4 file in 720p or 360p depending on the video, and caps downloads of the same video at five a day. MomentCut exports clips in Full HD 1080p, but a clip can never be sharper than its source: one more reason to keep your edit files.
- Only your own videos, or ones whose creator has given you permission
- An MP4 file in 720p or 360p, ready to upload as it is
- Five downloads a day at most for the same video
From 16:9 to 9:16 without wrecking the shot
Simply chopping the sides off a horizontal frame loses half the scene and pushes the speaker out of shot the moment they move. MomentCut follows the face across the shot and moves the crop with it. When a scene does not suit that, you can keep the whole frame or set the horizontal position yourself.
Choosing what to pull out
The passages that work as Shorts need no setup: a clear answer, a demonstration, a surprising number, a disagreement. MomentCut looks for exactly those in the transcript, scores them, and leaves you the final call. You can name the topics you care about before running the analysis.
Posting as a Short, and elsewhere
YouTube treats a vertical or square video of up to three minutes as a Short. Under a minute is still the safest length: past that, a Short with a copyright claim on it gets blocked. The same vertical file works for TikTok and Instagram Reels; just adapt the caption and hashtags to each platform.
Captions are not optional: a large share of plays start with the sound off. MomentCut burns them into the picture and suggests a title, description and hashtags for every clip.
Step by step: from your YouTube video to a Short
Download your video from YouTube Studio
Sign in to YouTube Studio, open Content in the left menu, then the video’s ⋮ menu, and choose Download. You get an MP4 file in 720p or 360p. If you still have the original export from your edit, use that instead: it is sharper.
Upload the file to MomentCut
On the “Your video” screen, click “Choose a video” and pick the file (MP4, MOV or WebM, up to 30 GB and 60 minutes; 20 GB on the free trial). Split a longer video into parts under an hour first. A free account is enough to run the analysis.
Set the selection up for Shorts
In “Settings”, pick a “Target length” of 30 seconds or 1 minute, and how many clips you want, “Up to”. Under “Topics to focus on”, list the themes of the video you want to push. Keep the 9:16 format; as you open each clip, the studio offers “Face tracking”.
Run the analysis
Click “Next: find my clips”. Once the upload is done you can close the page: the result waits for you in “My projects”.
Sort and adjust the clips
In “Results”, every clip shows an “AI score” out of 100 and the reason it was picked. Keep the ones that hook from the first second, fix the edges with “Start (seconds)” and “End (seconds)”, then check the text in “Edit subtitles”.
Export and post as a Short
Click “Create video file” and grab the “Post text” (title, description, hashtags). Then post the file from the YouTube app or from YouTube Studio: a vertical video of up to three minutes is treated as a Short.
Recommended settings for a Short
- Target length: 30 seconds or 1 minute. YouTube accepts Shorts of up to three minutes, but under a minute is still the safest length.
- 9:16 with “Face tracking” for one person facing the camera; “Fit entire frame” for a group shot or a shared screen.
- “Karaoke · word by word” preset: many Shorts are watched with the sound off.
- Advanced settings: set the “Export resolution” to 1080p.
- “Show the title” adds a banner at the top of the clip, handy when the clip starts mid-thought.
What to know before you start
- Only your own videos, or ones whose creator has given you permission.
- Accepted formats: MP4, MOV and WebM, 30 GB (20 GB on the free trial) and 60 minutes at most per file. YouTube links are not accepted: MomentCut works from the file.
- YouTube Studio gives you an MP4 in 720p or 360p and caps downloads of the same video at five a day.
- The free plan gives you 15 minutes of video once and 3 Full HD exports, with a watermark. Paid plans remove the watermark.
- Minutes are counted on the length of the source video, once per project.
Upload your video file and see which clips come out.
Common questions
Why can’t I just paste the video’s address?
Because YouTube only allows downloads through its own tools. So MomentCut works from the file: for your own video, download it from YouTube Studio, then upload the file to MomentCut (up to 30 GB and 60 minutes; 20 GB on the free trial). A direct link to an .mp4, .webm or .mov file in your own cloud storage works too.
Can I use a video from someone else’s channel?
Only with the creator’s permission. Reposting a clip from another channel without it exposes you to a copyright claim, and a Short over one minute with a claim on it gets blocked.
How long should a Short be?
YouTube accepts Shorts of up to three minutes, but under a minute is still the safest length. In MomentCut, pick a target length of 30 seconds or 1 minute before the analysis, then fine-tune each clip to the second.
What resolution do clips export at?
Clips export in Full HD 1080p, vertical 9:16. The final sharpness depends on the file you start from: an original 1080p export will look better than a 720p download.
What if two people are on screen?
Tracking locks onto the face you pick for each clip as long as that person keeps their place in the shot. For a two-person frame you can also keep the whole image so both speakers stay visible.