Short-Form Video Clip Pipeline — Skill

Preamble (runs on skill start)

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python3 telemetry/telemetry_init.py 2>/dev/null || true

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Extract viral short-form clips (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) from long-form YouTube videos. Handles download, transcription, AI segmentation, cutting, vertical cropping, and caption burn-in.

Prerequisites

• yt-dlp and ffmpeg installed
• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable set
• Python dependencies from requirements.txt installed
• Optional: mediapipe and opencv-python for face-detected smart crop

Quick Start

Single video → clips

python3 scripts/shortform_pipeline.py \
  --url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" \
  --max-clips 3 \
  --output-dir ./output

Standalone clipper (no Claude, heuristic scoring)

python3 scripts/video_clipper.py --url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

Pipeline Overview

1. Download — yt-dlp fetches video + auto-generated VTT captions
2. Transcribe — Whisper generates word-level timestamps (falls back to YouTube captions)
3. Segment — Claude identifies 2–5 best 30–60s moments with hook scoring ≥7/10
4. Cut Verification — Second Claude pass verifies each clip ends on a complete thought
5. Cut — FFmpeg extracts each clip from the source video
6. Vertical Crop — Layout-aware 16:9 → 9:16 conversion with face detection
7. Caption Burn — TikTok-style word-highlighted captions (ASS format) burned in

Key Files

File	Purpose
scripts/shortform_pipeline.py	Full pipeline: download → segment → cut → crop → caption
scripts/video_clipper.py	Standalone clipper with heuristic scoring (no Claude needed)
scripts/clip_sender.py	Helper for clip delivery and review workflow

Layout-Aware Cropping

The pipeline handles four video layouts differently:

• talking_head — Face-detected center crop using MediaPipe; audio panning fallback
• screen_share_overlay — Stacks screen content on top, webcam bubble on bottom
• side_by_side — Stacks screen on top, presenter face on bottom
• gallery_view — Crops to active speaker quadrant

Claude outputs a layout_hint for each segment during segmentation.

Customization

Voice patterns

Edit VOICE_PATTERNS in video_clipper.py to match your creator's speech patterns. These boost clip scoring for authentic-sounding segments.

Segmentation prompt

The Claude prompt in shortform_pipeline.py can be customized:

• Adjust hook_strength minimum (default: 7/10)
• Change target duration range (default: 30–60s)
• Modify layout hint options

Crop tuning

In video_clipper.py:

• scale_factor — Zoom level for single face (default: 1.08)
• desired_face_y — Target face position in frame (default: upper 35%)

Output

Each clip is output as:

• 1080×1920 resolution (9:16 vertical)
• H.264 + AAC encoding
• Word-highlighted captions burned in
• Ready for direct upload to TikTok, Reels, or Shorts

Troubleshooting

• FFmpeg filter_complex error: Don't use -c:v copy with -filter_complex. Only -c:a copy is safe.
• Wrong output resolution: Always crop before scaling. Verify with ffprobe -show_entries stream=width,height.
• Caption sync issues: Run Whisper on the cut clip, not the source episode.
• TikTok upload fails: Ensure H.264 + AAC encoding. Add -c:v libx264 -c:a aac if needed.
• Clip too long: Claude sometimes overshoots. The pipeline auto-trims clips >90s to 75s.