How I edited a video 100% with Claude (no editing software)
Cuts, captions, cutout, animations and sound: the 5-step method and the exact prompt to edit a vertical video with Claude, without editing skills.
Idriss Laouali
Co-founder, Karatou Academy
I never touched any editing software. Claude edited 100% of my video.
- editing time
- 2 h → 20 min
- filmed on a phone
- 1 take
- editing software
- 0
What Claude did
Word-by-word transcription (down to the millisecond)
Cuts of filler words, silences and failed takes
Pixel-by-pixel cutout (sticker effect)
Animations (a 3D hourglass following my hand, code falling behind me)
Captions and sounds synced to the words
Fact-checking (it spotted an error in a previous video)
The 5-step method
- 1
Film on your phone in a single take. You don’t need to be perfect: the hesitations will be cut.
- 2
Open the Claude desktop app (Cowork mode) and give it access to the folder containing your video.
- 3
Send the starting prompt (below).
- 4
Claude proposes the cuts before cutting: you approve or correct them.
- 5
Watch the result and request tweaks in one sentence (examples: “the code should fall behind me”, “make me spin like a sticker”).
The exact prompt
Here is my video [file path]. Transcribe it word by word and propose the cuts (silences, hesitations, failed takes) before cutting. Then edit it in vertical 9:16 with word-by-word captions, animations on key words and subtle sound effects that never cover my voice. Also fact-check what I say.My 4 tips
- 1.
Speak clearly and leave a second between each idea.
- 2.
Always ask for proposed cuts before cutting.
- 3.
One tweak = one precise sentence.
- 4.
Always double-check facts and figures before publishing.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need editing skills?
- No, you need to make clear requests and check the result.
- What equipment do I need?
- A phone to film and a computer with the Claude app.
- How long does it take?
- About 20 minutes of instructions and approval for a one-minute video, compared with 2 hours editing manually in my case.
- Does Claude replace a video editor?
- It does the technical work; the vision, the message and the verification remain yours.
Get my prompts and what comes next
Join the WhatsApp channelOr comment EDIT under the video.