Crop
Close ups crop cleanly
A close up of one face fills a vertical frame with almost nothing lost. These are the easiest Shorts to make: take the shot from the film, crop it to 9:16 and caption it.
Shorts from your filmTurn your film
Turn your film
into Shorts that sell it.
A good Short does one job for a story channel. It stops someone scrolling, shows them the best moment of your film, and sends them to watch the rest. ShowMaker gives you the pieces: the film itself, vertical versions of its shots, captions, and upload to YouTube.
- Hook moments
- 9:16 versions
- Captions
- Link to the film
Full film · 16:9Short 1
Short 2
Short 3In ShowMakerHow the studio
How the studio
does it.
Reframe
A 9:16 version for the wide moments
A wide shot with two people loses one of them when you crop it. In Settings, make a 9:16 version of the project. It shares the film's lines, voices and cast, and you frame those few shots again for a phone.
Captions
Captions for muted viewers
Many people watch Shorts with the sound off. Captions can be burned into the video with the spoken word lit up as it is said, and with a second line in another language.
Publish
Upload as a Short
The Post tab uploads to YouTube as a video or a Short. Post the film first, then release the Shorts over the following days.
Step by step01 02 03
Three steps in ShowMaker.
Pick the moments
Watch the film and mark five to eight moments that work alone: a reveal, a threat, a slap, a secret.
Make them vertical
Crop the close ups. Reframe the wide shots in a 9:16 version of the project. Caption every one.
Point them at the film
Pin a comment with the film's link, set the related video, and post them over several days.
Which moments make good Shorts
The best Short is a moment that makes the viewer ask a question. Who is that man? Why did she say that? What is in the envelope? If the Short answers its own question, the viewer has no reason to find the film.
Look for moments with a clear face and a clear line. Shorts are watched on a phone, often with no sound, so one strong line with a caption beats a quiet wide shot every time. Keep most Shorts between 15 and 40 seconds.
- A reveal the viewer does not understand yet.
- A threat or a line that changes the scene.
- A reaction close up that shows something is wrong.
Cropping a wide film to vertical
A 9:16 crop keeps about a third of a 16:9 frame. A single face in the middle of the frame survives that well. Two people talking at the edges of the frame do not, because one of them is cut out.
For those shots, make a 9:16 version of the project from Settings. The new project takes the same lines, beats, voices and cast and stays in step with the film. You only frame and render the few shots your Shorts need.
Every Short should lead to the film
A Short with no path to the film builds views and nothing else. Give each one three links: a pinned comment with the film's link, the film set as the Short's related video, and a line in the caption saying the full story is on the channel.
Ask for the subscribe in every Short. A subscriber sees your next film in their feed, which is how a channel that grew on Shorts starts to earn watch hours.
How many Shorts to make from one film
Five to eight is a good number for a 20 to 30 minute film. Post the film first so the links work from day one, then release a Short every day or two. Watch which ones bring subscribers and cut more like them from your next film.
More in this playbook
- Long AI moviesMake a full-length AI movie for your channel.Make a 10 to 40 minute AI movie for YouTube: write and trim it in the Screenplay editor, keep one cast, watch a free animatic, then render only what you need.Read the guide →
- Shows in any languageMake shows for viewers in their own language.Make AI YouTube shows in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and more: read every line in your own language, give each character a fitting voice, and caption in two languages.Read the guide →
- Start hereGrow a YouTube channel with AI moviesWhy the long video comes first, and how Shorts bring viewers to it.Read the playbook →
Questions
What people ask first.
Can I turn a 16:9 video into a YouTube Short?
Yes. Crop it to 9:16 and keep it under the length YouTube allows for Shorts. Close ups crop well. Wide shots with two people usually need to be framed again for a vertical screen.
Do Shorts views help my long videos?
Not directly. Shorts views do not count toward the 4,000 watch hours. They help by bringing in subscribers and sending viewers to the full film through the links you add.
How long should a Short be?
Most work best between 15 and 40 seconds. Long enough to set up one moment and short enough that people watch it to the end.
Do I need captions on Shorts?
You should add them. Many people scroll with the sound off, and a caption is what makes them stop. ShowMaker burns captions into the video for you.
Should the Short give away the ending?
No. End on the question and let the full film give the answer.
Your first film
starts free.
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