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A clip has about two seconds to earn the next ten. Here is how to cut podcast moments people actually finish, and how to get five of them out of one episode.

What you get

Five captioned 9:16 clips from one episode.

Time to read

About 4 minutes. Each step works with any toolset.

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What you need

  • A recorded episode, video or audio-plus-video
  • A transcription tool that returns word timestamps
  • An editor that can crop to 9:16 and burn in captions

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Steps

1

Transcribe with word timestamps

Run the episode through a transcription model that returns a start and end time for every word. You will cut on words, not on a waveform, so this is the step that makes everything after it fast.
2

Pick moments that stand alone

Read the transcript like an editor. Mark lines that make sense to someone who never heard the episode. A strong clip has a clear claim or a turn in the first sentence and finishes its own thought.
3

Reframe to vertical

Crop the 16:9 recording to 9:16 and keep the frame on whoever is speaking. With two people on camera, switch the crop when the speaker changes instead of squeezing both into one frame.
4

Caption every word

Burn in captions two or three words at a time, with the current word highlighted. A lot of people watch on mute, so the captions carry the clip.
5

Batch the week

Cut five clips in one sitting and schedule one a day. Working in batches keeps the style consistent and turns one recording into a week of posts.

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Try it

Paste a line from your transcript to see how it reads as two- and three-word captions. Step through it the way a viewer on mute would.
Lead with the payoff. Start the clip on the punchline, not the setup. If the setup matters, it can come second.
Avoid this: clips that need the episode. A great line that only makes sense two minutes later will lose people. If a clip needs the full episode to land, skip it.

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Before you publish

  • Transcribe with word timestamps
  • Pick moments that stand alone
  • Reframe to vertical
  • Caption every word
  • Batch the week

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Two ways to go further

Let Vinci make it

Send us the episode and we return captioned vertical clips in your brand style, ready to schedule. Book a demo to get started.

Free and open source Vinci

Run the Vinci studio on your own machine with your own model keys. It shows the price before every job.

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Run this workflow in the open source studio

These skills cover this guide: @tryvinci/podcast-to-shorts, @tryvinci/clip-select, @tryvinci/reframe-9x16, @tryvinci/captions-burn.
1

Install and start in demo mode

Demo mode uses practice providers, so it costs nothing and needs no key.
2

Open a skill

Open the studio at http://127.0.0.1:4310/studio and pick podcast-to-shorts.
3

Connect your own keys when ready

Add provider keys under Connect. Live spend stays off until you set VINCI_ALLOW_LIVE_SPEND=1, and every job shows its price first.

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