# Recycling

> Derives further uses from existing raw footage or a video that's already run – a second cut, a story sequence, a carousel, a quote graphic. Use when you want to get more out of a shoot, repurpose content, or reuse a successful video.

- Skill: `bendemartin97/recycling` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add bendemartin97/recycling`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/bendemartin97/recycling/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: bendemartin97 (https://skillmd.com/u/bendemartin97)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/bendemartin97/recycling

---


# One Shoot, Multiple Uses

The cheapest reach lever isn't a new shoot, it's a second cut. The material already exists; the work is in the selection.

## Approach

1. Determine the source material: script, raw footage list, and – if available – the numbers from the video that already ran.
2. Check **why** the original worked or didn't. Without that answer, any repurposing is a guess.
3. Select the fitting reuse formats. Don't suggest every one that's conceivable – only the ones the material genuinely supports.
4. State the effort honestly for each suggestion.

## Reuse Formats

| Form | When It Works | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Second cut, different hook | Video performed middlingly but the content is solid – the opener was the problem | 20 min |
| Clip as its own post | A single beat works on its own | 15 min |
| Story sequence | There's material that didn't fit in the video – prep, bloopers, in-between steps | 15 min |
| Carousel | The content has several equal-weight points that read individually | 45 min |
| Quote graphic | A line from the script stands on its own without context | 10 min |
| Counterpart | The original raised a question it doesn't answer | new shoot |
| Re-post | Video is older than four months and performed well, the audience has grown since | 5 min |

## Rules

- **The second cut needs a genuine second hook**, not the same one with a different overlay. If there's no second hook in the material, say so.
- **Don't mirror platforms.** The same cut with a visible foreign watermark gets deprioritized on both sides.
- **Keep distance.** At least ten days between two uses of the same material, four months for a re-post.
- **Not everything is recyclable.** A video that performed poorly because the topic didn't land won't get better through a second cut. Say so instead, and suggest what to learn from the result.

## Output Format

Per suggestion:

```
## <Form> · <Platform> · <Effort>
Material:   <which beats, which takes>
New hook:   "<spoken or as text>"
Why:        <one sentence on what makes this version different>
Earliest:   <Date>
```

Sorted by impact-to-effort ratio, the most worthwhile first. End with one sentence on which reuse you'd do first and why.