Find an answer that survives outside the full video
Imagine a six-minute tutorial showing a cup-making session. The full video covers setup, the demonstration and what happens afterwards. A useful short might explain one hand position. Another might answer whether participants take the cup home after class.
Write down the question before choosing the timecode. Then watch the proposed clip without the previous minute. If it starts with 'like this' and the viewer cannot tell what 'this' is, include more context or record a new opening.
The worksheet includes an example edit list. Its timecodes are invented to show the method; replace them with points from your own footage. Hub does not find highlights or edit long videos into clips.
| Example source | Keep | Change for the short |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 to 00:25 · introduction | The subject and intended result | Cut the long welcome; open on the action |
| 01:20 to 01:55 · demonstration | The complete hand-position explanation | Add a sentence naming what the viewer should watch |
| 04:10 to 04:40 · after class | The real answer about finishing and collection | Remove references to information outside this clip |
Move the crop to the action
In this teaching image, the instructor's hands sit on the right. A central vertical crop keeps too much wall and loses part of the demonstration. Try moving the frame below; the portrait preview uses the same image.
In a real edit, inspect the whole shot. Hands move. A crop that works at the beginning may fail seconds later. Reposition it over time, cut to a closer shot, or keep a wider composition when the action cannot fit.
Put captions where they remain readable without covering the hands. Leave room for the destination's controls and preview the export on a phone. There is no universal safe-area measurement that this still can guarantee.
Keep the action in the frame
The outlined area becomes the vertical version.
9:16 previewWrite an opening for each version
The full video can introduce the class. The first short should name the demonstration immediately: 'Watch where the instructor puts their hands.' The follow-up clip can begin with the practical question: 'Do you take the cup home after class?'
These are example openings, not tested performance claims. Choose wording your footage actually answers. Do not paste a new hook over an unrelated shot just because the sentence sounds punchy.
Match the file to the version
hand-position-vertical-v2.mp4Short clip
Opening: “Watch where the instructor puts their hands.”
Caption: One action from our beginner cup demonstration. Session details are on the booking page.
after-class-vertical-v1.mp4Follow-up question
Opening: “Do you take the cup home after class?”
Caption brief: Explain your studio's actual firing and collection process before inviting people to book.
Check the exported files, not just the timeline
For standard YouTube channels, new square or vertical uploads up to three minutes fall under YouTube's Shorts classification rules. YouTube recommends a wider format such as 16:9 when you want long-form classification. Check its current guidance for account-specific and music conditions.
A format choice is not a delivery guarantee. Hub's network reference describes supported inputs; each destination still controls processing and account eligibility.
- Keep the landscape master. Export the vertical edits as separate files with clear version names.
- Watch each export from beginning to end. Check the crop at the start, during movement and at the end.
- Read every subtitle against the speech. Correct names, measurements and any automatically guessed words.
- Listen for an abrupt cut, missing audio or music that competes with the explanation.
- Check reuse permissions for the actual destination and use. Music available in one social app does not establish permission to distribute it elsewhere.
- Record the approved file beside its destination, opening line and caption in the worksheet.
Bring the finished versions into Mellow Hub
When two destinations need different files, make separate posts. If one destination fails, inspect that result before retrying; do not resend the destinations that already succeeded.
Hub handles preparation, validation and publishing of your finished media. Do the clipping, subtitles and reframing in your video editor before this step.
- Choose the correct profile and check the exact account names in Accounts.
- Open Compose and upload one finished video version. Select the destinations that can use that file and caption.
- Complete the required destination fields. A YouTube title needs its own attention; a generic caption is not a substitute.
- For a landscape YouTube video, create or upload an appropriate cover. In Studio, Use as video cover transfers it to the composer's thumbnail field while retaining the video in the draft.
- Resolve validation issues, then review the selected accounts, exported file, text and time. Authorize scheduling or publication.
- Keep the post reference. After delivery, open each platform link and check the actual crop, audio, captions and cover.
Decide what to change in the next edit
Keep the same review window when comparing your own posts. Different platforms count views differently, so their raw totals are not a clean experiment.
Save the source footage and edit notes. If the clip needs a clearer opening, you can fix that one decision without reconstructing the whole project.
| What you observe | What to inspect next |
|---|---|
| The post failed to arrive | Destination error, permissions and media availability |
| The demonstration is hard to follow | Missing context, crop movement and subtitle placement |
| People ask a question the clip should answer | Whether the explanation is complete and the language is clear |
| People visit but do not take the next step | Whether the linked page matches the clip's promise |
Common questions
Can I post the same file to Reels, TikTok and Shorts?
Sometimes. It needs to meet each destination's requirements and make sense to its audience. Use separate versions when framing, audio rights, titles or context differ.
Does Mellow Hub automatically cut clips from a long video?
No. Edit and export your clips first. Hub helps prepare, validate, schedule and publish the finished versions.
How many clips should I make from one video?
As many complete, useful ideas as the footage supports. The example has two short versions. It is better to leave a weak excerpt unused than to split one explanation until none of the clips makes sense.
Keep going
Sources for the platform details
Checked September 21, 2026. Consult the current documentation before publishing.
About the examples: Mellow prepared this guide with AI assistance and checked product instructions against the current implementation. The ceramics studio, briefs and timings are teaching examples. The photos are generated illustrations, not customer work or evidence of publishing results.