Workflow: social short (Reels, TikTok, Shorts, vertical clips)

Docs / Choose your path / Social short

Read this when the user wants a vertical or short-form video: a reel, a TikTok, a YouTube Short, a 9:16 clip, a vertical explainer, a cut-down of a longer video ("make a 15 s reel announcing v2", "a vertical explainer with voice-over", "cut this into a TikTok"). Two starting points: made from scratch (the short template) or cut from existing material (a longer render or real footage). Real talking-head footage, even for a reel: follow footage-edit.md with the vertical settings below; several clips from a long recording (a talk, a panel, a podcast): footage-edit.md § Highlights from a long recording. An audiogram (podcast or interview audio with animated captions) is the from-scratch path with the recording as the voice track (section below).

See it done: 05 Vertical short · 16 Podcast audiogram

Essentials#

A video to match ("same style as this"): showtime reference <video> --job <job> first; its brief and style.css override the defaults below (reference §2)
Defaults: 9:16 at 1080x1920, 30 fps, 12-20 s; hook readable by 0.3 s, first change by 2 s; karaoke captions (clean-pop, bold-pop for hype) whenever there is speech; loopable ending; -14 LUFS (§ Defaults)
Nothing important in the bottom 25 % or right 15 %; captions hang from 62 % height, never past 75 %. No voice-over unless implied (say so) (§ Defaults)
1: showtime job init <name>-short --goal "..." --platform reels. 2: 3-5 beats, the first 2 s carry the promise. 3: showtime new short <job>/project --duration <len> (§ Steps (from scratch))
4 (voice): showtime voice script <job>/project/narration.md --fit <seconds> --estimate first (cut words until it fits), then showtime voice script <job>/project/narration.md -o <job>/project/voice --fit <seconds> (<len> minus 0.3 s per narrated scene and any end card), then showtime retime <job>/project --from-voice <job>/project/voice/timeline.json; never edit data-dur, sections or effect times by hand (§ Steps (from scratch))
5: showtime check <job>/project (0 errors, no safe-zone warnings), showtime look <job>/project; show it and carry on (§ Steps (from scratch))
6: "poster" on the strongest frame, "expect" with platform, duration and "captions": true; showtime render <job>/project --job <job>, showtime qa <job> (§ Steps (from scratch))
7: showtime deliver exports <final> --targets reels,tiktok,shorts for several platforms; one-line share copy, one CTA (§ Steps (from scratch))
Cut-downs: re-lay out, never just crop 16:9; same edit, other shape: showtime check <project> --size 9:16, then showtime render <project> --job <job> --size 9:16 (§ Steps (cut-down of a longer video))
No logo sting, fade from black or "Introducing" at the start; emphasis on 3-5 words only; music composed to the exact length (§ Pitfalls)

Section	Lines
Inputs	49-52
Defaults	54-61
Steps (from scratch)	63-98
Audiogram (audio clip with captions)	100-112
Steps (cut-down of a longer video)	114-128
Pitfalls	130-139
Read next	141-144

Inputs#

The message (or the long video / footage to cut down), the platform, a length.
Helpful: a voice-over script or a recording, brand kit, a hook idea.

Defaults#

9:16 at 1080x1920, 30 fps; 12-20 s; hook readable by 0.3 s and a first change by 2 s; 3-5 beats of one idea each; karaoke captions (clean-pop; bold-pop for loud hype pieces) whenever there is speech; a loopable ending (the last frame flows into the first); -14 LUFS; safe zones respected: nothing important in the bottom 25 % or the right-hand 15 % (platform UI), captions hanging from 62 % height (they grow down, never past 75 %). Ask at most: the platform, only when nothing hints at it and it changes length or safe zones. Voice-over: none unless the request implies one; say so in the opening line.

Steps (from scratch)#

Job. showtime job init <name>-short --goal "..." --platform reels (or tiktok, shorts: qa then checks the aspect, length cap and loudness for it). The printed folder is <job>.
Hook and beats. Pick the hook (story.md section 3) and write 3-5 beats; the social-short structure is in story.md section 4. Done when: the first 2 s carry the whole promise.
Project. showtime new short <job>/project --duration <len> (the whole timeline, music and caption words scale to it; later changes: showtime retime <job>/project -d <len>). Replace the chat demo with the real content (captured 9:16 shots: showtime site capture <url> <job>/work/capture --aspect 9:16).
Voice (if any). Write <job>/project/narration.md with one ## <scene id> heading per scene (the template's scenes are hook, demo, close; voice.md has the format), then:
- First showtime voice script <job>/project/narration.md --fit <seconds> --estimate: it prints "cut about N words" and synthesizes nothing, so cut words until the estimate fits (a real run costs 1-4 minutes, and a slow voice at x1.12 sounds rushed). Then showtime voice script <job>/project/narration.md -o <job>/project/voice --fit <seconds>: the length minus 0.3 s per narrated scene (the next step puts that much picture before each scene's first line) and minus any unnarrated end card; about <len> - 1 for three scenes. The lines change speed together (0.85-1.15x), then pauses shrink; if it prints "cut about N words", cut them and rerun.
- showtime retime <job>/project --from-voice <job>/project/voice/timeline.json: each scene becomes 0.3 s plus its lines' slots, each line is placed as its own voice track on its scene, the bed ducks under it, music sections, effects and the poster move with their scenes, and the caption layer reads voice/captions.words.json. Line ids that are not scene ids: match in order, or --map hook=open,demo=demo. --dry-run first shows the plan. Never edit data-dur, sections or effect times by hand from the slots. Without a voice, delete the caption layer or feed it on-screen words.
First look. showtime check <job>/project (reports safe-zone, short-text and still-hold problems at 9:16), showtime look <job>/project (looking.md), show it and carry on (quick mode does not wait). Done when: 0 errors, no safe-zone warnings.
Final and verify. Set "poster" to the strongest frame (Reels shows it as the cover), add "expect": {"platform": "reels", "duration": <len>, "captions": true}, then showtime render <job>/project --job <job> and showtime qa <job> (the latest final, checked against the job's platform; --platform overrides).
Deliver. showtime deliver exports <the final qa checked> --targets reels,tiktok,shorts when more than one platform is wanted; one-line share copy with one CTA; the delivery card.

Audiogram (audio clip with captions)#

showtime transcribe <audio> --edit-dir <job>/edit (--speakers 2 for two voices), then showtime pack <job>/edit and pick the range a-b (15-60 s) from takes_packed.md.
Trim it (the footage editor needs a video stream, so use the mixer): write <job>/work/clip.json as {"duration": <b-a>, "tracks": [{"kind": "voice", "file": "<audio>", "start": 0, "offset": <a>}]}, run showtime audio mix <job>/work/clip.json -o <job>/work/clip.wav, then showtime transcribe <job>/work/clip.wav --edit-dir <job>/work so word times start at 0.
showtime new short <job>/project --duration <b-a>. Copy clip.wav and its transcript (<job>/work/transcripts/clip.json) into the project; point caption-karaoke at the transcript, add clip.wav as the voice track in audio/mix.json with "duck": {"under": "voice"} on the bed (or drop the bed), and show the speaker's name in a lower-third over their photo or the show's art.
First look, final and verify as in steps 5-7 above.

Steps (cut-down of a longer video)#

Decide what survives: the hook, the single strongest beat, the close (platforms.md section 6: 60 s to 30 s to 15 s to 6 s, shortening from the middle).
From a showtime project: build a 9:16 variant (--aspect 9:16 layouts re-flow; the dom and data templates pass check at 9:16), then showtime retime <project> -d <len> (scenes, poster and the bed's sections move together), render. Re-lay out, never just crop a 16:9 layout. Same length and edit, only another shape: no copy needed, showtime check <project> --size 9:16, then showtime render <project> --job <job> --size 9:16 (writes <job>/1080x1920.mp4, a variant; qa it with --platform reels).
From a rendered 16:9 file with no project: showtime deliver exports <video> --targets reels --fit blur (whole frame on a blurred fill) or --fit crop --focus 0.4; check framing fast with --preview.
From footage: showtime edit cut <transcript> --aspect 9:16 --captions bold-pop --keep-time <a-b> (face-tracked reframe by default), preview, view, final (footage-edit.md).
showtime qa <job> (the job's platform, or --platform reels|tiktok|shorts), showtime look <job>.

Pitfalls#

A 16:9 layout cropped to 9:16: tiny type and cut-off UI. Re-lay out.
Captions under the platform's buttons or description: keep them in the safe band; qa checks sidecars, check audits burned data-caption text.
Emphasis on every term (data-emphasis with 9 words): the accent stops meaning anything. Pick the 3-5 words that carry the message; one shows per card and check warns past that.
A slow start: no logo sting, no fade from black, no "Introducing".
Music that fades mid-phrase at the end: compose to the exact length; the composer ends on a hit.
Emoji in captions: libass draws them with each OS's own font, so burned captions drop them by default.