Vander Labs

Skills / Video

Short-form edit rhythm

Vertical videos people watch to the end

Your AI turns a script or a pile of clips into a beat-by-beat edit plan the way a short-form editor would: the hook in the first 1.5 seconds, cut timing, captions in the safe zone, B-roll, sound levels and the steps in your editor.

By Vander Labs. A Vander Labs Original, written by the Vander Labs team with AI assistance. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Claude Code.

What your AI learns

  • Writes a hook for the first 1.5 seconds with no preamble
  • Builds an edit decision list with timings that add up
  • Gives build steps for CapCut, Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut

How it works

  1. Find the payoff: Pulls the single moment the video exists to deliver and builds everything toward it.
  2. Write the hook: Three options for the first 1.5 seconds showing the result or the problem; one is chosen with a reason.
  3. Set the rhythm: A visual change every 1 to 3 seconds, a pattern interrupt every 6 to 8, every pause over 0.3 seconds removed.
  4. Edit decision list: Time, duration, visual, audio, on-screen text and the cut for every beat, summing to the target length.
  5. Captions: Two to four words per line, inside the safe zone, one emphasized word by weight rather than color.
  6. B-roll: What the viewer sees for every line, with missing shots written as phone-friendly capture notes.
  7. Sound: Voice near -14 LUFS, music 14 to 18 dB under, effects only on real visual events.
  8. The ending: Ends on the payoff, with the last frame matching the first for a seamless replay.

Limits and safety

  • Flags that trending or commercial music may need a license for business use.
  • Keeps captions and key visuals out of the areas platform UI covers.

Topics: shorts, reels, tiktok, capcut, editing