Shorts Maker: turn a long video into a vertical short
Pick the best part of a long horizontal video and turn it into a 1080 × 1920 short for TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts in one flow: trim, reframe to 9:16, add captions from the speech, cut silences, add a hook title and export an MP4. Everything runs in your browser — your video is never uploaded.
Free · No sign-upHow to use Shorts Maker
- 1. Drop, choose or paste a video. It opens on your device — nothing is uploaded.
- 2. Drag the purple window on the timeline to pick the clip (max 60, 90 or 180 s), or press Suggest highlights for the loudest, most speech-dense stretches.
- 3. Choose 9:16 (or 1:1 / 4:5) and either crop — drag the preview to move the focus — or fit the whole frame on a blurred background. Press Transcribe the clip for captions, edit the lines, pick a style and the app whose buttons to avoid.
- 4. Optionally remove silences, change the speed, add a hook title for the first 3 seconds and a progress bar, then press Make my short and download the MP4.
Frequently asked questions
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video is opened, transcribed and encoded inside your browser with WebAssembly (ffmpeg.wasm and the Whisper speech model). Only the program files and the speech model are downloaded, once; your video never leaves your device.
What size is the finished short?
1080 × 1920 pixels at 30 frames per second in an MP4 file with H.264 video and AAC audio — the format TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts recommend. A 720 × 1280 option encodes faster, and 1:1 and 4:5 are available for feed posts.
How are the highlights chosen?
It is a simple heuristic, not an AI prediction of views: the tool measures how much of each stretch has sound and how loud it is, and adds words per second when you have transcribed that part. It suggests up to three windows; you always decide.
How long can the video and the short be?
It depends on your device's memory. On a computer, source videos up to about 1.5 GB or 90 minutes and shorts up to 180 seconds usually work; on a phone, about 300 MB or 20 minutes and 60-second shorts. Only the chosen clip is encoded.
Where do captions go so the app buttons don't cover them?
Pick TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts and the captions are placed inside that app's approximate safe zone, above the caption area and left of the side buttons. Turn on 'Show app safe zones' to see it in the preview. Apps change their layout, so check once in the app.
How long does the export take?
It runs on your device's processor, so it depends on the device and the footage. On a recent laptop a 30-second 1080 × 1920 short takes about one to three minutes; 720p is about twice as fast, and phones and older computers are slower. You can cancel at any time.