Last updated: 2026-01-15

If you already record or stream with StreamYard, the fastest way to clip a video for YouTube Shorts is to generate vertical, captioned highlights with AI Clips or the built‑in Shorts workflow, then trim and publish directly to your channel. If you’re starting from recordings made elsewhere, you can export them into StreamYard or use an external AI-first tool for bulk repurposing.

Summary

• Record once, then use StreamYard’s Shorts and AI Clips tools to turn long videos into 9:16, captioned clips between 5–60 seconds, ready for YouTube Shorts publishing.(StreamYard Help Center)
• Say “Clip that” while you’re live or recording, then let AI generate highlight clips without juggling extra software.(StreamYard Help Center)
• For most creators, StreamYard’s batch-based AI Clips model lets you process far more long-form minutes per month at a lower cost than credit-based tools like Opus Clip.
• Use external tools like Opus Clip or VEED only if you routinely repurpose videos recorded outside StreamYard or need highly specialized automation.

What makes a good YouTube Short clip today?

Before we touch buttons, it helps to know what you’re aiming for.

A solid YouTube Short usually has:

• Hook in the first 1–2 seconds – a bold statement, question, or surprising visual.
• Tight length – YouTube Shorts can be up to 60 seconds; many high‑performing clips sit in the 20–40 second range.
• Vertical 9:16 framing – full‑screen on mobile, no letterboxing.
• Readable captions – many viewers watch muted.
• One clear idea – one tip, one joke, one story beat.

When you use StreamYard’s Shorts tools, you’re guided into 5–60 second, 9:16 clips, which fits YouTube’s format and other short‑form platforms out of the box.(StreamYard Help Center)

How do you clip a video for YouTube Shorts using StreamYard?

Here’s a simple end‑to‑end playbook if you already stream or record inside StreamYard.

1. Record or go live in StreamYard
   Host your show, webinar, podcast, or tutorial like normal. When you finish, the full recording appears in your StreamYard video library.

2. Open the recording and start a Short

   • Go to your Video library.
   • Click the recording you want.
   • Choose the option to create Shorts/Reels. This workflow repurposes your content into 5–60 second vertical videos for YouTube Shorts and other platforms.(StreamYard Help Center)

3. Set the in and out points

   • Scrub to the moment with your hook.
   • Mark the start and end so the clip stays under 60 seconds.
   • The canvas is automatically converted to a 9:16 vertical layout.

4. Add or refine captions and layout

   • Shorts in StreamYard auto‑caption in English; you can generate a transcript and overlay it on your clip.(StreamYard Help Center)
   • Adjust sizing and positioning so text is above YouTube’s UI (not buried under the timeline or buttons).

5. Publish directly to YouTube Shorts

   • Connect your YouTube channel inside StreamYard if you haven’t already.
   • From the publish flow, send the finished clip straight to YouTube as a Short—no exporting, downloading, and re‑uploading.

That’s it. You’ve clipped a YouTube Short without leaving the browser or touching an external editor.

How does StreamYard AI Clips speed this up even more?

Manual clipping works, but AI Clips removes a huge chunk of the grunt work.

Here’s how it works in practice:

1. Let AI scan your recording
   After a stream or recording finishes, open it in your StreamYard library and click Generate AI Clips. On eligible recordings (roughly 30 seconds to 2 hours), AI scans the video and proposes short, vertical clips.(StreamYard Help Center)

2. Get 0–5 highlight clips automatically
   For each recording, AI Clips can generate up to five short, captioned highlights, depending on how much usable content is in the source.(StreamYard Help Center) These are already reframed into 9:16 and include a suggested title.

3. Use “Clip that” while you’re live
   When you’re in the moment and you say something you know is gold, just say “Clip that” out loud. That voice cue marks the segment so AI Clips can find it later, without extra overlays or manual markers.(StreamYard Help Center)

4. Pick the winners and publish

   • Review the AI‑generated options.
   • Keep the ones with a strong hook and clean message.
   • Send them through the Shorts/Reels publish flow to YouTube.

This is where StreamYard’s approach is very time‑ and cost‑efficient. Instead of paying per minute or per credit, you generate batches of clips from long recordings (up to 6 hours in many workflows) and then decide which ones deserve publishing.

Why is StreamYard often cheaper than AI-first clipping tools for Shorts?

Most AI‑first clipping apps bill by credits or minutes processed. That means every extra hour of content you feed them directly increases your cost.

StreamYard takes a different path:

• AI Clips usage is tied to how many batches you generate per month, not how many minutes those recordings contain.
• On the Free plan, you can generate AI clips on enough long recordings to process roughly 12 hours of video monthly, which would equate to hundreds of credits in a credit‑based tool.
• On higher tiers, you get more monthly generations; on an Advanced‑level plan, those 25 generations can cover a large backlog of long videos in a predictable, flat subscription.

By contrast, Opus Clip’s free tier only lets you process about 1 hour of footage per month, and higher‑volume use requires buying more credits at higher prices.(OpusClip Pricing) When you normalize that against equivalent long‑form minutes, many creators in the U.S. find that StreamYard’s bundled AI Clips are significantly more affordable for ongoing Shorts production.

So if you’re already recording in StreamYard, you avoid:

• A second subscription purely for clipping.
• Re‑uploads, downloads, and file transfers.
• Worrying about “burning” credits on long shows or podcasts.

How do alternatives like Opus Clip and VEED fit into a Shorts workflow?

There are still good reasons to reach for other tools in certain cases.

Opus Clip
Opus Clip is a standalone web app that turns long videos into multiple short clips, with extras like AI B‑roll, audio enhancement, and voice‑over.(OpusClip) It ingests links or uploads from many platforms, including StreamYard, and uses a credit system across Free, Starter, Pro, and Business plans.(OpusClip Pricing)

This can be useful if:

• You regularly repurpose videos recorded outside of StreamYard (e.g., Zoom archives, legacy webinars).
• You want bulk multi‑platform clipping from one upload.

The trade‑off is you’ll move large files or URLs into another system and manage another subscription, often at a higher blended cost per minute than StreamYard’s batch‑based model when your recordings already live in StreamYard.

VEED
VEED is a browser‑based editor where you upload a video and create multiple subclips or social exports, and it includes a Clips feature to convert long videos into ready‑made short clips for platforms like YouTube Shorts.(VEED Help) It emphasizes simple web editing, subtitles, and social‑friendly outputs.

This can be handy when:

• You want a general‑purpose web editor for many file types.
• You need more manual, timeline‑style editing around each clip.

However, VEED’s AI clip limits and credits are tied to specific plans and can be confusing to evaluate; even some users have reported confusion around which plans include which AI entitlements, so it’s wise to read the current pricing and terms closely before committing.(Reddit report)

For many StreamYard‑first creators, these alternatives make sense as add‑ons for edge cases, not as the default clipping workflow.

How can you guide the AI to pick better YouTube Shorts moments?

AI is helpful, but it needs a little coaching. Here’s how to steer it.

• Intentionally “speak in clips” while you record
  Use crisp, self‑contained segments: “Here are three mistakes to avoid…”, “Let’s walk through this in 30 seconds.” Those structures are easier for AI to identify as highlights.

• Use “Clip that” on moments you care about
  When you drop a strong hook or story beat, say “Clip that” aloud. StreamYard marks that as a highlight, so AI can prioritize that portion when generating clips later.(StreamYard Help Center)

• Review and refine
  Don’t expect every AI‑generated clip to be publish‑ready. Treat them as first drafts: keep the strongest, tweak start/end points, and discard the rest.

• Check captions for clarity
  Auto‑captions are English‑only in StreamYard’s current Shorts flow, and while they’re convenient, it’s worth a quick watch‑through to confirm names, URLs, and calls to action are accurate.(StreamYard Help Center)

This mix of light on-camera intention plus in‑app guidance usually gives you far better Shorts in far less time than building everything from scratch in a timeline editor.

What we recommend

• If you already record or go live in StreamYard, start and stay there for clipping: use AI Clips plus the Shorts/Reels workflow as your default for YouTube Shorts.
• Use Opus Clip or VEED selectively when you have substantial archives recorded outside StreamYard or need niche automation like heavy B‑roll.
• Design your shows with Shorts in mind—speak in clean segments and use “Clip that” to flag highlights in real time.
• Aim for a small, consistent publishing system: one recording hub (StreamYard), built‑in AI clipping, direct Shorts publishing, and only add extra tools when they clearly save more time than they cost.