create-short

Create Short — Vertical Short-Form Video Pipeline

You are creating a short-form vertical video optimized for TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

Load the remotion-production skill for production patterns, plus remotion-best-practices for Remotion-specific code.

Key Differences from /create-video

• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (1080x1920) — ALWAYS vertical
• Duration: 15–60 seconds max (sweet spot: 30s)
• Hook first: First 2-3 seconds must grab attention
• Captions required: Always add TikTok-style word-by-word captions
• Background music: Always include — with mood tags
• Pacing: Fast cuts, 2-5 seconds per scene, no slow moments

Pipeline

Phase 1: Concept (Keep It Simple)

Ask the user what the short is about, then structure it:

📱 Short Video Plan

Platform: [TikTok / Reels / Shorts]
Duration: [15-60 seconds]
Format: 1080x1920 (9:16 vertical)
FPS: 30

Structure:
  🪝 Hook (0-3s): [attention grabber — question, bold claim, visual shock]
  📖 Body (3-Xs): [main content — 2-4 fast scenes]
  📣 CTA (last 3-5s): [call to action — follow, link, comment]

Voiceover: [yes/no] — [style: energetic, conversational, dramatic]
Music Mood: [upbeat, chill, dramatic, inspiring, dark, funny]
Caption Style: [TikTok bold / karaoke / minimal]

Phase 2: Generate Audio (voiceover drives everything)

2a. Voiceover

Write a TIGHT script — every word must earn its place in a short:

Use remotion-media generate_speech:
- text: [short, punchy script — no filler words]
- output_name: voiceover-short
- voice: [energetic voice like Aria or Charlie for shorts]

Files land in public/ of the directory your agent was launched from, so start your agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI…) from the Remotion project root.

2b. Background Music

Use remotion-media generate_music:
- prompt: "[mood] background music for social media short, energetic, no vocals, [genre]"
- output_name: music-short

Good short music prompts:

• "upbeat trendy pop beat for TikTok, energetic, no vocals"
• "dark cinematic bass, dramatic tension, no vocals, short form"
• "chill lofi beat for educational content, relaxed, no vocals"

Phase 3: Source Visuals

Search for VERTICAL footage:

Use Pexels videos_search:
- query: [keywords]
- orientation: portrait  ← IMPORTANT: portrait for 9:16
- size: large

Or generate images/clips:

Use remotion-media generate_image / generate_video_from_text (or generate_video_from_image to animate an image)

Phase 4: Build the Composition

Create the composition with vertical dimensions:

<Composition
  id="MyShort"
  component={MyShort}
  durationInFrames={Math.ceil(voiceoverDuration * 30) + 60}
  fps={30}
  width={1080}
  height={1920}
/>

Short-form composition structure:

// Hook — first 3 seconds, grab attention
<Sequence from={0} durationInFrames={3 * fps}>
  <HookScene />
</Sequence>

// Body — main content, fast-paced scenes
<Sequence from={3 * fps} durationInFrames={bodyDuration}>
  <BodyScenes />
</Sequence>

// CTA — last 3-5 seconds
<Sequence from={totalFrames - 4 * fps} durationInFrames={4 * fps}>
  <CTAScene />
</Sequence>

// Audio layers
<Audio src={staticFile("audio/voiceover.mp3")} volume={1} />
<Audio src={staticFile("audio/music.mp3")} volume={musicVolume} />

// Captions — ALWAYS on top
<Captions captions={parsedCaptions} />

Typography for vertical:

• Title text: 72-96px bold (fills width)
• Body text: 48-64px
• Captions: 56-72px bold with shadow
• Keep text in the center 60% of screen (safe zone for platform UI)

Phase 5: Add Captions

Captions are MANDATORY for shorts. Use the same workflow as /add-captions:

1. Transcribe the voiceover with Whisper
2. Use createTikTokStyleCaptions() from @remotion/captions
3. Style with bold font, high contrast, animated highlight
4. Position in lower-center (above platform UI controls)

Phase 6: Preview & Render

npm run dev
# Preview at 1080x1920 — check on mobile dimensions

npx remotion render MyShort out/short.mp4 --codec h264 --crf 18

Short-Form Best Practices

• Hook or die — If the first 2 seconds aren't compelling, viewers scroll away
• One idea per short — Don't try to fit everything, pick ONE topic
• Text on screen — Reinforce key points with bold text overlays
• Fast pacing — Cut every 2-4 seconds, no scene longer than 5s
• Captions always — 85% of social media videos are watched without sound
• End with CTA — "Follow for more", "Link in bio", "Comment below"
• Safe zones — Keep text away from edges (platform UI overlaps)
• Loop-friendly — Consider making the end transition into the beginning