What it is and why
Opus Clip takes your long video (a podcast, a live stream, a webinar, an interview) and cuts it into short vertical clips on its own for Shorts/Reels/TikTok — it finds the catchy moments, adds automatic subtitles, resizes to 9:16 and keeps the face in frame. Take it when you have long-form content and need to churn out clips from it without spending hours on manual editing.
How to do it (step by step)
- Sign up at opus.pro — there is a free plan (a limit on processing minutes). Billing is in foreign currency.
- Upload the source: paste a YouTube link or upload a file. You can hand it a full-length video as is.
- Set the parameters: language, the clip length range (say, 30-60 seconds), the topic/keywords to prioritize moments by.
- AI processing. Opus finds the highlights itself and gives each one a Virality Score — a hint about what to publish first.
- Edit the clip. Open a clip → fix the boundaries (the AI often cuts imprecisely — check that the point still makes sense!), the subtitle style and placement, and add a hook headline on screen.
- Branding. Set up a template: subtitle font, colors, logo, auto emoji, B-roll (on higher plans).
- Export in 9:16, then download or publish.
- Posting. Load the finished clips into SMMplanner/Publer on a schedule (see the posting card).
A ready-made recipe/combo
The "one live stream → 10 Shorts for the week" pipeline: you run an hour-long stream/podcast → drop the link into Opus Clip → get ~10-15 cuts with Virality Scores → pick the top 7 by score, check that each moment is complete in meaning, and sharpen the hook in the first 2 seconds → export in 9:16 → upload them in a batch to SMMplanner scheduled one per day → a week of content out of a single shooting day.
What it costs (honestly)
The logic: a free plan with a monthly limit of processing minutes (with a watermark/restrictions). Paid plans give you a package of processing minutes plus branding/B-roll/watermark-free export. Billing is in foreign currency. Exact amounts and minute limits are on Opus's site and they change.
When it fits / when it doesn't
- Fits: you have long-form content (podcasts/streams/webinars); you need lots of clips fast; a talking head on camera; you are fine reviewing the cuts by hand.
- Doesn't fit: you have no long source (nothing to cut); you need precise frame-by-frame authored editing (take a pro editor); Russian speech with bad audio (subtitles and cuts come out worse).
Risks and responsibility
AI cutting does not always land on the meaning — always check that a thought is not left hanging (that is your reputation). If third parties or someone else's material appear in the content, you need the rights. If the clips are promotional (you are pushing a product/service for money), that is advertising, and marking through Russia's ORD system happens on the publishing side. See the section disclaimer.
🤖 Prompt helper
You are a short-form video producer. I have a long video on "{topic}", and the audience is {who}. Help me: (1) which keywords/topics to feed Opus Clip so it hunts for the right moments; (2) how to rewrite the auto-generated clip titles into strong hooks (the first 2 seconds); (3) a checklist for reviewing the cuts before publishing (meaning/cut-offs/subtitles); (4) a posting schedule for 7 clips across a week.