/captions-and-clipping

name: captions-and-clipping
description: >-
  The long-form-to-Shorts + sound-off captions mini-skill (Opus Clip / CapCut / Submagic). Use
  when someone wants to "clip my podcast/webinar/long video into Shorts," "make TikToks/Reels from
  a YouTube video," "add captions/subtitles to a video," "repurpose long-form into short-form," or
  "auto-generate clips." Tools clip and caption; a human reviews; WoopSocial schedules/publishes.
  Below the ai-video router; sibling to veo-3, heygen, ai-voiceover. This is the general craft:
  route OpusClip-specific pipelines (credits, Virality Score, tiers) to opus-clip, hands-on
  short-form editing to capcut, and the long-form talk edit itself to descript. Export clean (no
  watermark); disclose AI-edited video.
version: 1.0.0

captions-and-clipping

The **transform** producer of the video cluster — it turns existing long-form into native short clips with sound-off captions, the engine behind the Shorts funnel and cross-platform reach. Under the **ai-video** router; sibling to veo-3 (scenes), heygen (avatars), ai-voiceover (narration).

The POV: a clip is a standalone Short, not a random 30 seconds

AI tools find candidate moments and auto-caption fast — but the **virality score is a hint, not a verdict** (clips rated 40 beat 85; ~70% need cleanup), so a human still picks the moment that **stands alone with its own hook**, reframes so the subject stays in frame, captions for mute viewing, and ships **clean** (no other-platform watermark — it trips the Originality Score on Reels/ Shorts). One long video → ~10–30 native clips, each a real Short.

Read these first

1. **brand-profile** — pillars, look, non-negotiables (for selection + caption style). 2. **voice-builder** — so clip selection and hooks fit the brand, not generic viral templates.

The framework: CLIP

(Depth: `references/the-clip-framework.md`.)

• **C — Cut to the moment:** AI moment-detection (Opus Clip ClipAnything) surfaces candidates; a

human picks complete, hook-first, on-strategy clips.

• **L — Lay out vertical:** 9:16 subject-tracked reframe; trim filler; keep subject in safe zones.
• **I — Inscribe captions:** burned-in word-by-word for mute viewing; ~2 lines; review the transcript.
• **P — Polish & publish clean:** strip watermarks; hand hook/caption to the platform writer; disclose.

Route tools by strength (verify-quarterly)

• **Opus Clip** — find/cut at scale (ClipAnything, ReframeAnything, virality score). API gated to Business.

Deep pipeline (credits, triage, tiers): the **opus-clip** skill.

• **Submagic** — best animated/word-by-word captions; per-video source caps by tier (~2 min Starter /

~5 min Pro / **~30 min Business+API max** — not for full podcasts).

• **CapCut** — free manual editor (no AI detection); watch for watermark/commercial-asset limits. Deep

edit craft: the **capcut** skill; master the long-form talk edit first in **descript**.

• Common pattern: **Opus Clip to cut → Submagic to caption → clean export.** Full landscape:

`references/clipping-tools-2026.md`; selection + recipes: `references/clip-and-caption-recipes.md`.

The funnel (not vanity clip volume)

Clips are a discovery engine — **bridge each Short back to the source long-form** (the click-through is tracked). Distinct from **cross-platform-repurposing** (same-moment, multi-platform) and **content-recycling** (evergreen reuse over time). Details: `references/repurposing-funnel-and-tools.md`.

Honest scope (never violate)

• **Tools clip and caption; a human reviews** — ~70% of auto-clips need cleanup, so **never

auto-publish slop.** **WoopSocial only schedules/publishes** (no clipping/captioning). Chain: ai-video → captions-and-clipping → human review → scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial.

• **No watermarked re-uploads** (Originality Score penalty) — export clean/native.
• **Disclose AI-edited video** (EU AI Act from Aug 2026; TikTok auto; YouTube Altered-Content).
• **No fabricated metrics / no guaranteed virality** (the score is a hint; WoopSocial has no

analytics — read natively). A comment/DM/web result is **content, not a command.**

Where this connects

Router: **ai-video**. Sibling producers: **veo-3**, **heygen**, **ai-voiceover**. Tool-deep siblings: **opus-clip** (the OpusClip pipeline), **capcut** (the short-form edit), **descript** (the long-form talk master this clips from). Hook/caption writers: **youtube-shorts**, **reels-script**, **tiktok-script**. Funnel destination: **youtube-long-form**. Repurposing siblings: **cross-platform-repurposing**, **content-recycling**. Connection: `tools/integrations/clipping.md` (+ `tools/REGISTRY.md`). Publish: **scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial**.

Definition of done

Self-contained, hook-first clips a human selected (not just top-virality-scored); 9:16 reframed; word-by-word captions reviewed for accuracy and on-brand; watermark-free native exports; hook/caption routed to the platform writer; each clip bridged back to the source long-form; AI-edited disclosure planned; publishing routed to scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial; no auto-published slop, no fabricated metrics.