Podguy Clip Cutter

podguy Clip Cutter

Use this skill when the user asks to cut, export, render, or prepare short-form/social clips from a podcast or video podcast.

This skill complements podguy-post-production:

• pi does editorial judgment and chooses candidate moments
• scripts/cut_clips.py does deterministic ffmpeg cutting
• generated media stays under gitignored dist/analysis/

Sample media

When a real video-podcast fixture is useful, run:

scripts/download_sample_media.sh

This downloads a local excerpt from Cordkillers 572 under dist/test-fixtures/open-license/cordkillers-572/ with attribution. The default 00:08:00-00:11:50 excerpt includes a three-person podcast layout, lower thirds, chat/sidebar graphics, a Patreon bumper, and an outro/interstitial card.

Inputs to gather

Identify:

1. Source media path: original recording, draft export, or preview export.
2. Episode slug: e.g. ep006.
3. Clip candidate file:
   • default: dist/analysis/<slug>/clips.md
   • also supported: .txt, .csv, or .json with start/end ranges
4. Output intent:
   • review cuts in original aspect
   • vertical Shorts/TikTok/Reels exports
   • square or horizontal variants

If the user has not selected clip candidates yet, run the normal clip workflow first and write dist/analysis/<slug>/clips.md.

Clip candidate format

The cutter accepts ranges in Markdown/plain text, CSV, or JSON.

Markdown example:

## Why this market flipped

- 00:12:14 - 00:13:08 — Strong contrarian claim with a clean payoff.

CSV example:

title,start,end
Why this market flipped,00:12:14,00:13:08

JSON example:

{
  "clips": [{ "title": "Why this market flipped", "start": "00:12:14", "end": "00:13:08" }]
}

Commands

Original-aspect review cuts:

uv run python scripts/cut_clips.py \
  <input-media> \
  dist/analysis/<slug>/clips.md \
  dist/analysis/<slug>/clips/cuts

Vertical review exports for TikTok/Reels/YouTube Shorts:

uv run python scripts/cut_clips.py \
  <input-media> \
  dist/analysis/<slug>/clips.md \
  dist/analysis/<slug>/clips/shorts \
  --aspect vertical \
  --pad-start 1 \
  --pad-end 1

Useful options:

• --limit N cuts only the first N parsed clips
• --pad-start SECONDS and --pad-end SECONDS add review handles
• --aspect source|vertical|square|horizontal controls simple framing
• --copy is faster for original-aspect cuts but may be less frame-accurate
• --dry-run writes/prints commands without producing media

Output locations

Recommended paths:

• dist/analysis/<slug>/clips.md — selected candidates
• dist/analysis/<slug>/clips/cuts/ — original-aspect review exports
• dist/analysis/<slug>/clips/shorts/ — vertical review exports
• dist/analysis/<slug>/clips/*/manifest.json — machine-readable export manifest

Quality guidance

For social/short-form exports, prefer candidates that:

• start with a hook or clear tension
• make sense with minimal prior context
• contain a payoff, reversal, punchline, or memorable phrase
• land in roughly 20-90 seconds for Shorts/TikTok, unless the user asks otherwise
• have a clean ending or can be padded slightly for handles

Avoid exporting moments that:

• depend heavily on an earlier setup
• are mainly housekeeping or sponsor reads
• require lots of visual context that a center crop will lose
• contain unresolved cross-talk or dead air

Caveats

• The script can center-crop vertical/square versions, but it does not track speakers or intelligently reframe shots.
• Treat outputs as review exports, not final mastered social edits.
• If vertical crop might cut off slides or side-by-side speakers, explicitly warn the user and suggest manual reframing in the editor.

References

• Cutter: ../../scripts/cut_clips.py
• Open-license sample downloader: ../../scripts/download_sample_media.sh
• Clip prompt: ../../prompts/clips.md
• Cut-clips prompt: ../../prompts/cut-clips.md