1. Add the video
Upload an MP4, MOV, or WebM, or paste a YouTube link. Footage can be any length, up to 4K. Podcasts and talking-head tutorials are the ones this path is built for.
YOUTUBE CLIP MAKER
Turn a YouTube video into Shorts
A podcast, interview, or tutorial already has the clip. Pull out one complete idea, caption it, and keep the edit open so you can fix the cut before you post.
LONG FORM TO SHORT FORM
One clear idea per Short
A Short has to work for someone who never saw the full video. Keep the hook, the point, and the payoff in the same clip.
2. Pick a moment that stands alone
Look for a useful answer, a strong opinion, or a story with a start and an end. If the viewer needs the previous ten minutes, it is not a Short yet. Cut that setup into the clip or choose a different moment.
3. Cut the dead air
Take out pauses and tangents. Leave the sentence that carries the point. Null shows the cuts on a timeline, so you can move the in and out points by hand before anything exports.
4. Reframe and caption
Set the frame to 9:16 and add word-timed captions. Read the first two seconds: the idea should be obvious before the viewer scrolls. A brand kit keeps the type and colors the same across a series.
5. Export, then post it yourself
Null exports the file. It does not publish to YouTube. A 40-second Short is 15 credits at 1080p. A 3-minute video is 45. Exports cost 15 credits per minute at 1080p and 30 at 4K, rounded up to the next minute. Cuts, captions, and previews spend nothing. Starter exports are 1080p only.
AFTER THE EXPORT
Send viewers back to the full video
End the Short when the idea lands, and say which video it came from in the title you write on YouTube. The timeline stays editable if the opening is slow or a caption is wrong. The Studio editor is where you make that change.
To run the same cut from Claude, Codex, or Cursor, connect Null MCP. The same steps work on a Twitch VOD or a Kick broadcast.
Null Motion
Ready to crash-test your next edit?
Drop your email for launch news, new features, and editing tips. We’ll tell you the moment Null opens.