👀 How to Turn Long Videos into Social Clips in Minutes!

Introduction

I hate editing videos. It’s tedious, slow, and if you’re doing it manually, it can take hours—sometimes a whole day—to turn one long video into something actually usable for social media. AI video editing is supposed to help with that, but not every tool gets it right.

That’s where OpusClip comes in. Instead of scrubbing through footage, cutting clips, and trying to make them fit different social platforms, this tool does the heavy lifting. It finds the best moments, formats them perfectly, and even adds captions—without you touching a complicated video editor.

I used OpusClip on a 56-minute video and got polished, social-ready clips in under 25 minutes. No wasted time, no frustration. This guide walks you through the exact steps to go from a long, unedited video to short, engaging clips you can post instantly.

Because, honestly, AI video editing should make life easier—not turn into another full-time job.

Step 1: Upload Video and Set Clip Parameters

AI video editing is supposed to make life easier, not turn into another thing that drains your time. If I wanted to sit there manually trimming a 30-minute video into short clips, I wouldn’t be looking for an AI tool in the first place.

So, here’s how this works. Go to OpusClip. Upload your video. That’s it.

For this, I uploaded a 56-minute workshop recording, which is the kind of video that usually makes me want to give up before even starting. But AI video editing means I don’t have to deal with the annoying parts.

Once the video is in, you set up the clip parameters:

• Clip Model: I picked "ClipAnything", which, despite the name, is actually a higher-quality AI cutting model (requires a paid plan, but worth it).

• Clip Length: Set it to 30s-59s because TikTok doesn’t need a full speech—just the highlights.

• Genre: This one was Informative & Educational since it’s a workshop, but pick whatever fits your content.

• Preset Style: I chose "Deep Diver" since it matches the format, but if you want your own, you can create a custom template.

At this point, I did not add any extra prompts. I’ve learned that forcing AI video editing tools to look for specific moments too early just messes up the flow. Let it do its thing first—you can always refine the results later.

Once everything is set, click "Get clips in 1 click" and walk away. That’s it. The AI video editing magic happens while you do literally anything else.

Step 2: Select and Rate Clips

AI video editing is supposed to feel effortless. You click a button, go do something else, and when you come back, your clips are ready. At least, that’s the hope. In reality, sometimes AI picks up pure gold, and other times, it grabs moments that make no sense.

When my 56-minute video was done processing (which took about 25 minutes—faster than I expected but still long enough to grab a coffee), I opened OpusClip and saw all the clips laid out in a grid format. Each one had a "viral score" next to it, but honestly, I don’t put too much trust in those. AI video editing tools love ranking things, but virality depends on too many factors for a simple score to mean much.

The real work starts now: going through the clips and deciding what’s actually worth keeping.

• The quick way: Watch everything in grid view. If it looks good there, it’s worth checking out. Saves you from clicking in and out of the editor a million times.

• The smart way: Like the clips you actually want to use. It trains the AI and makes filtering easier later. Dislike the ones that don’t make sense—no need to keep extra clutter.

• The targeted way: If you’re looking for something specific (like “AI Marketing Strategies to Read your customers Minds” or any key topic), you can prompt the AI to find those moments. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s worth trying.

Find moments about AI Marketing Strategies to Read your customers Minds.

Once I sorted through my clips, I picked the ones I actually wanted to edit. Click "Edit clip" and move on. That’s it. AI video editing isn’t perfect, but at least it saves me from scrubbing through footage for hours.

Step 3: Edit Clips with Built-in Video Editing Tools

AI video editing is supposed to save time, but if the end result looks messy, what’s the point? The AI does a decent job, but sometimes, it needs a little fixing.

When I opened the OpusClip editor, the AI had already applied a layout based on the number of speakers and content. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t perfect.

• First thing I did: Cropped the frame. I only wanted one speaker in focus, so I adjusted the layout manually.

  

• Next: Resized the video elements. Dragged things around until the vertical layout looked clean. AI video editing can guess, but it doesn’t always know what works best.

Then came captions—because let’s be honest, no one watches short-form videos with sound on anymore.

• OpusClip auto-generated captions, which is great.

• But I went into AI Enhance and clicked:

  • "Remove filler words" (because no one needs to hear “uh” and “um” in a 30-second clip).

  • "Remove pauses" (for that fast-paced, social-friendly feel).

Once I was done tweaking, I hit "Save changes." Simple. No exporting to another editor. No messing around with complicated tools.

And if you want to go further? There are AI-powered effects too—transitions, B-roll, music. I didn’t use them this time, but they’re there if you need them. AI video editing is about speed, and these features can help if you don’t want to do everything manually.

Done editing? Move on. No need to overthink it. The video is ready to post.

Step 4: Export, Schedule, and Post Clips to Social Media

AI video editing is great, but if your clips just sit in a folder, they’re useless. Posting them should be just as easy as editing them.

I clicked the Calendar Icon next to a clip, and OpusClip pulled up a simple posting interface. No extra steps, no exporting and re-uploading—it connects directly to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and whatever else you use. I linked my accounts, and that was that.

The AI also auto-generates the video description, which is nice, but I tweaked mine. I don’t trust AI video editing tools to write captions that sound like me. Too generic. Too robotic. Fixing it took less than a minute.

Then came the best part: scheduling. I could post immediately, but I wanted to space out my content, so I set my clips to go live at different times. No need to be online when it happens. Just set it, forget it, and move on.

If you post a lot, OpusClip’s brand templates help too. They keep everything looking consistent without extra effort. No messy fonts. No weird layouts. AI video editing should save time, and templates make sure you’re not fixing the same things over and over.

And that’s it. Clips edited, scheduled, and posted. AI video editing without the frustration.

Conclusion

That’s it. One long video, cut into short, polished clips. No wasted time. No staring at a timeline for hours, trying to guess what works. Just AI video editing doing exactly what it’s supposed to do—saving time without sacrificing quality.

I used to dread this process. The trimming, the formatting, the captions—too much work for something that disappears in 24 hours. But now? Upload. Edit. Post. Done.

Could I do more? Sure. Brand templates make things even faster. AI-generated captions save an extra few minutes. Scheduling posts means I don’t have to think about it once it’s done. AI video editing is supposed to make things easier, not create more steps.

So here’s my advice: stop overthinking. Get your clips out there. They don’t have to be perfect. They just have to be seen.

If you are interested in other topics and how AI is transforming different aspects of our lives, or even in making money using AI with more detailed, step-by-step guidance, you can find our other articles here:

• 15 AI Startups Raise Over $770M (Jan 3, 2024 - Jan 9, 2025)*

• How to Build a Powerful Voice AI Agent in Minutes*

• These 10 ChatGPT Prompts Might Just Change Your Life

• Using AI Influencers in Boring Niches to Make Money for You*

• DeepSeek V3 vs. GPT-4—The AI Battle No One Saw Coming!

*indicates a premium content, if any