# Shortify > Turn ONE long-form video (timestamped transcript + screen recording) into 3 distinct short-form vertical cuts — proof, contrarian, and transformation — each with its own hook and b-roll, then write per-platform captions ready to publish to YouTube Shorts / Instagram Reels / TikTok / Facebook (and LinkedIn as a story lane). Use when the user wants shorts from a long-form video, says 'shortify this… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-duncan-buildroom-profit-room-skills-shortify` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [duncan-buildroom](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/duncan-buildroom) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Content & Media](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/content-and-media) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [duncan-buildroom](https://github.com/duncan-buildroom) - **Source:** https://github.com/duncan-buildroom/profit-room-skills/tree/main/skills/shortify ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-duncan-buildroom-profit-room-skills-shortify ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Shortify — long-form → short-form (produce → caption → publish) Take ONE long-form video and cut it into 3 angle-distinct vertical shorts, each with its own hook and b-roll, then write per-platform captions. The screen recording of the real product/result is the STAR; generated b-roll is a spice used only for conceptual openers. ## Personalization This skill works in *your* brand voice. Before running, load the brand profile at `~/.claude/brand-profile.md`. - If it doesn't exist, run the **personalize** skill first (or just tell me your name, niche, offer, and audience — I'll create it). - If a field this skill needs is blank, I'll ask one or two quick questions and save the answers back to the profile so you only answer once. - Never invent facts or results about the user — use only what's in the profile, or ask. Fields this skill uses: **Tone** + **Words-to-avoid** (script voice), **Proof/wins** (the on-screen proof stat — never invent one), **Offer** + **Default-CTA** (the end-card + caption CTA), **Main-platforms** (where to publish). ## Requirements This skill orchestrates several media tools. It degrades gracefully — if one isn't available, I'll tell you exactly what to add or hand you the files to finish manually. - **ffmpeg** — trimming, compositing, audio extraction (required). - **Whisper** (local, no API key) — karaoke captions from the audio + finding caption-safe trigger words. Whisper mishears some product names (e.g. "Claude" → "cloud"/"quad"); correct these in the captions. - **A talking-head avatar tool** (e.g. HeyGen) — optional; only if you want a synthetic presenter bottom-frame instead of your own footage. - **An image/video generator** (e.g. Higgsfield, or Gemini image gen) — optional; for the conceptual cold-open and a few canonical b-roll scenes. - **A social scheduler** (your platform's native scheduler, or any third-party scheduling tool) — optional; only needed for the auto-publish step. Without one, this skill still produces the finished cuts + captions and you upload them yourself. Never hardcode account IDs or keys — read them from your environment. Never embed API keys. Read any keys the tools need from environment variables or a local `.env`. ## Inputs (from the argument / message, else ask) - **transcript**: the long-form timestamped `.txt` - **screencap**: the long-form screen recording `.mp4` (1080p ideal) - **angles** (default `proof, contrarian, transformation`) - **slug**: a short name for the output folder ## Steps 1. **SCRIPTS FIRST — review gate.** Write just the 3 scripts (cheap, no render) and show the user to approve/edit BEFORE spending any avatar/render budget. For each angle check: - The spoken hook matches a proven pattern (swap only the variables — tool, number, outcome — never invent a new hook shape). - On-screen `hook_title` is 3-4 words (hard max 4 words per line; break longer titles onto a second line so the card never spans the full frame). - Distinct, angle-specific openings; a concrete number in the first sentence; result before mechanism. - Name the real tool/feature, not a generic "AI" or "a new mode". Fix wording before rendering. 2. **B-ROLL plan (the make-or-break step — build carefully and VERIFY).** Per angle, align visuals beat-by-beat: - The screen recording of the real result is the STAR — show it EARLY (right after the cold open) and cut through its panels as the script names them. - Reserve generated art for the conceptual opener and a few shared canonical scenes (generate each once, reuse across angles via a cache). - A LIST line ("watch every line / approve every step / catch every mistake") gets one rapid-fire word card per item — a WORD card (≤4 words), never a full sentence. - Subagents can draft the b-roll plan, but do NOT trust it blindly — sanity-check that it's screencap-dominant with no sentence text-cards, and verify the actual frames. 3. **RENDER each cut.** Composite: presenter (your footage or an avatar) bottom, screen recording top, karaoke captions throughout, cold open, and a WIDE result payoff at the end. Trim silences/pauses so the presenter is present on frame one. 4. **CAPTIONS — per platform.** Write angle-distinct titles + first lines for each cut (never reuse the same caption across angles). Adapt the soft CTA by video type using the brand profile: tutorial → "Learn to build like this…"; showcase → "Get [your offer]…". Respect any platform hashtag limits (e.g. Instagram caps meaningful hashtags — keep it tight). 5. **PUBLISH (optional).** If a scheduler is configured, upload each cut and schedule the 3 angles into open future slots (stagger them several days apart, rotating post times). Publish to the user's Main-platforms. If no scheduler is set, output the finished files + captions and tell the user to upload them. 6. **Verify + auto-repair.** Extract frames (hook ~2s, the conceptual opener, a mid beat, the wide ending) from each cut and show the user. If any on-screen b-roll trigger didn't fire, transcribe that cut's audio with Whisper to see what was actually said, pick a plain adjacent word as the trigger (never a number or a dotted filename like `CLAUDE.md`, which Whisper writes as "claude .md"), and re-render just that cut. ## Rules baked into the method (do not override) - **FORMATS (3 distinct shapes, never homogenized):** proof = RESULT-LED (result + number, then proof line, what, how, stakes); contrarian = BELIEF-FLIP (the wrong belief FIRST, then the result as the mic-drop proof *after* it); transformation = BEFORE/AFTER (old-world cost, then new world + result). - **HOOKS (the most important part):** always instantiated from a proven hook pattern — keep the shape, swap only the variables; distinct per angle; end on an intrigue-building payoff description; name the real tool/feature, never "AI". A contrarian hook may be a pattern-interrupt ("STOP DOING X"). On-screen `hook_title`: 3-4 words ideal, hard max 4 words per line. - **OPENINGS:** angle-specific and distinct (proof = the result; contrarian = the belief it breaks; transformation = the shift); the FIRST SENTENCE carries the headline number; one PROOF stat line after the payoff (use a real number from the brand profile — never invent one); a conceptual generated b-roll opens contrarian/transformation before the screen recording. - **SCRIPTS:** obey the brand-profile words-to-avoid; name the model + feature specifically; ANSWER WHY (the pain it removes), not just what; result before mechanism; natural thought-line pauses; no spoken hard CTA. - **B-ROLL:** per-beat source (screen recording / infographic / illustration / presenter / library clip / word card); the REAL result is the STAR, shown EARLY and carrying most beats; a LIST line gets one rapid-fire word card per item (≤4 words — a sentence is NEVER a word card); shared canonical scenes generated once; end on a WIDE result payoff; never a plain-editor/notes frame when the line isn't about that; motion variety (no camera move more than twice in a row; pan infographics, zoom illustrations). - **CAPTIONS / TRANSCRIPTION:** auto-correct product names Whisper mishears in the karaoke captions. - **CTA:** use the brand-profile Offer + Default-CTA. Adapt by video type: tutorial → "Learn to build like this…"; showcase → "Get [offer]…". Prefer "link in bio" with the real link in the description. Per-angle end-card text is allowed. ## Output An output folder per run containing, per angle: the script, the b-roll plan, the rendered cut, and the caption set — plus a short summary of where each cut will publish (or a note to upload manually). ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [duncan-buildroom](https://github.com/duncan-buildroom) - **Source:** [duncan-buildroom/profit-room-skills](https://github.com/duncan-buildroom/profit-room-skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** yes - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-duncan-buildroom-profit-room-skills-shortify - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/duncan-buildroom - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. 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