10 Claude Prompts to Edit Videos

1 · Set up safely

Create these folders: raw, proxies, transcripts, frames, cuts, and exports. Move my original files into raw. Never modify, move, or delete anything in raw. Save every output as a new, version-numbered file. Add these rules to CLAUDE.md.

2 · Inspect the files

Run ffprobe on every file in raw. Report duration, resolution, frame rate, codecs, and audio channels. Flag anything that could break clip joins, such as mixed or variable frame rates.

3 · Transcribe the clips

Transcribe every clip with word-level timestamps into the transcripts folder. List any names, brands, and technical terms you are unsure of so I can fix them.

4 · Build a cut list

Read the transcripts. Mark what to remove: filler words, false starts, repeated takes (keep the best complete take), and long pauses. Remove nothing that changes the meaning. Save a table with start, end, text, and reason to cuts/cutlist.md. Wait for my approval.

5 · Trim the silences

Find silences with FFmpeg’s silencedetect filter. Propose cuts for pauses over [seconds], with a little padding so no words get clipped. Test on the first two minutes and show me before you apply it everywhere.

6 · Assemble the edit

Apply the approved cut list to the original files, re-encoding for frame-accurate cuts. Save the result to exports/edit_v1.mp4. Keep the audio in sync and report the final duration.

7 · Check every cut

Save a frame just before and just after every cut into frames. Review them and list any jarring jump cuts, black or frozen frames, or awkward expressions, with timestamps.

8 · Add captions

Build captions from the corrected transcript as an SRT file, with at most two lines and 42 characters per line. Then burn them into a copy of the video in our caption style, inside the platform’s safe zone.

9 · Fix the audio

Measure the loudness of the edit. Normalize the voice to about -16 LUFS for online video, lightly reduce background noise, and keep music below the voice. Save a new file and report levels before and after.

10 · Pull short clips

Using the transcript, find the five strongest standalone moments between 20 and 60 seconds long. Give each one’s start and end times and opening line. Once I approve, export each as a 9:16 captioned clip to exports/clips.