Learn how to make a highlights video that captivates viewers. This guide covers smart planning, AI-powered editing, and optimization for TikTok and Reels.
FlowVid Team
Want to know how to make a highlights video that stops the scroll? It all boils down to a clear game plan, your absolute best footage, and a smart tool that can stitch those killer moments together in a flash. The real secret is to tell a compelling story in under 60 seconds, using only your most exciting clips to hook viewers on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Ever notice how some highlight reels are completely mesmerizing, while others just fall flat? That's not a coincidence—it's strategy. In the lightning-fast world of vertical video, you have about three seconds to make an impression before someone thumbs past your content.
A great highlights video does more than just show off your best clips. It tells a story, sparks conversation, and works as a powerful teaser for your brand. Think of it as your digital elevator pitch, all wrapped up in the 9:16 video format that now rules social media.
Before you even touch an editing app, ask yourself one simple question: what’s the point of this video? A well-planned vertical video can wear many hats, and each one requires a slightly different creative touch.
The aim is to create something that’s not just slick but also directly supports your bigger content goals. This kind of thinking is the backbone of any short-form video marketing that actually works.
The days of spending hours manually scrubbing through footage are over. Using an AI video generator lets you turn a mountain of raw footage into a shareable, scroll-stopping video without the headache of traditional editing.
This move toward quick, punchy video isn’t just a passing trend. Video is projected to make up 82% of all internet traffic by 2025. And for marketers, 90% report a positive ROI from their video efforts. You can dig into more video marketing statistics that show why this is a must-have skill.
Before you upload a single file, a little prep work goes a long way. This is where you map out your game plan, giving your entire vertical video creation process a solid foundation from the start.
Think of it like this: you wouldn't start cooking without a recipe, right? The same goes for creating a highlight video that actually connects with your audience.
First things first: what's the point of this video? Your answer will steer every decision you make, from the clips you pick to the music you layer on top.
Are you trying to:
When you have a clear goal, your video becomes a powerful tool built to get results. This is the secret sauce behind any good YouTube Shorts strategy or TikTok campaign.
Your goal isn't just to show highlights; it's to tell a cohesive story. Even in 60 seconds, you need a beginning, a middle, and an end that guides your viewer and leaves them wanting more.
Once you've figured out your "why," it's time to zero in on the "who." Who are you making this for? What makes them stop scrolling on TikTok or Instagram? Your tone, style, and clip choices should all be filtered through what your specific audience loves.
With that in mind, start rounding up your raw footage. This could be a two-hour webinar recording, a bunch of clips from a live stream, or even B-roll from a recent project. Do yourself a huge favor and dump everything into one dedicated folder. This simple step will save you headaches later, especially when you let an AI video generator find the golden moments for you.
This is where you get your time back. Forget the old days of manually scrubbing through hours of footage and second-guessing every cut. It's time to let tech do the heavy lifting for you.
Using an AI video generator like FlowVid means the tool automatically pinpoints the best moments from your longer videos. You can take a lengthy podcast or webinar and let an AI instantly find and clip the most engaging scenes. This is your practical guide to getting from raw footage to a polished draft in a fraction of the time.
Your first move couldn't be simpler: just upload your long-form video file into FlowVid. Once the upload is complete, the AI gets to work, analyzing your content for key moments like changes in vocal tone, visual action, or specific keywords.
This AI video generation is what separates modern workflows from the grind of traditional editing. Instead of you searching for needles in a haystack, the AI presents you with a curated platter of potential highlights. For a deeper dive into the tech, check out our guide on how to create AI videos.
Here's a look at the core editing flow: trimming clips, arranging them into a cohesive story, and adding those final polished effects.
As you can see, this AI-first approach boils down complex editing into a few manageable stages. It makes video creation accessible to anyone, regardless of experience.
Once the AI has served up its suggestions, you step in as the director. FlowVid lays out these clips in an easy-to-use interface, letting you quickly preview each one. Your job is to simply pick the clips that best fit the story you want to tell.
This part of the process is interactive and built for speed:
The AI provides the raw materials, but you are the storyteller. The magic happens when you combine AI’s efficiency with your creative vision to craft a narrative that truly connects.
The entire process is optimized for the 9:16 vertical format, so you never have to worry about awkward framing. The platform ensures your content looks completely native and professional on every social media feed.
To really appreciate the difference, let's compare the old way of doing things with the new AI-powered workflow. The time and effort saved become obvious when you see it side-by-side.
| Task | Manual Editing Method | FlowVid AI Method |
|---|---|---|
| Finding Highlights | Manually watch the entire video, taking notes on timestamps. Often requires multiple viewings. (1-3 hours) | Upload video and let the AI automatically identify and clip key moments. (5-10 minutes) |
| Creating Initial Clips | Scrub through the timeline to find each highlight, manually cut, and save each segment. (30-60 minutes) | Review AI-suggested clips and select the best ones with a single click. (5-10 minutes) |
| Formatting for Social Media | Manually reframe and crop each clip for vertical 9:16 format, often losing context. (20-40 minutes) | Clips are automatically formatted for vertical video. No extra steps needed. (0 minutes) |
| Assembling the Video | Import all clips into a project, arrange them on the timeline, and adjust transitions. (30-60 minutes) | Drag and drop selected clips onto the timeline to build the story instantly. (5-10 minutes) |
| Total Estimated Time | 2.5 - 5.5 hours | 15 - 30 minutes |
This table isn't an exaggeration. The AI genuinely handles the most time-consuming parts of the process, freeing you up to focus on the creative side of things—telling a great story.
Okay, your AI-generated draft is ready. Think of this as a massive head start, but the final touches are where the magic happens. This is your chance to inject your brand's personality, transforming a good video into a great one.
These final edits aren't just about making things look pretty; they directly impact how your video performs. Adding the right elements can be the difference between someone scrolling past or stopping to watch.
On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, sound is half the experience. The audio you choose isn't just background noise—it's a core part of your strategy and one of the most important TikTok video tips you can follow.
You have a couple of great options:
Whichever you choose, make sure the audio enhances your visuals, not overpowers them. The right soundtrack helps tell your story.
Here’s a hard truth: 85% of users watch videos silently. This makes your text overlays and captions absolutely essential for engagement.
When you're adding text, think about making it clear and impactful. Use it to hammer home key takeaways, ask a compelling question, or draw your viewer’s attention to something specific in the video.
Clean, dynamic captions are a must. They open up your content to everyone and guarantee your message gets across, even if the video is on mute. It’s a small step that makes a huge difference in your video's reach.
The best part is, you don't need complex editing software to do this. Inside a platform like FlowVid, you can quickly add and style captions that are perfectly readable on a small screen, keeping your entire workflow in one place.
You can't just use a one-size-fits-all approach. Each platform has its own quirks. What crushes it on YouTube Shorts might not land the same way on TikTok, so it pays to have a platform-specific game plan.
Before you hit publish, run through a quick technical check. Getting these settings right means your video shows up in the highest quality possible.
Nailing these specs is a simple, foundational step that gives your video a professional sheen right out of the gate.
Once the technical side is handled, it’s all about presentation. Think of these elements as the gift wrap for your content—they're what get people to stop scrolling.
Your caption is where you start a conversation. Don’t just state the obvious; ask a question or drop a slightly controversial opinion to get people talking. We've got more ideas in our guide to Instagram Reels best practices.
Next up: hashtags. The right mix of broad and niche tags will help new audiences discover your video.
And finally, don’t sleep on the cover image. Your thumbnail is your one shot to grab someone's attention. Pick a frame from your video that's dynamic, high-quality, and sparks curiosity.
With a tool like FlowVid, this whole process is a breeze. You can download a perfectly formatted, high-quality 9:16 video with a single click, taking all the technical guesswork off your plate.
You're not alone. When you're trying to create something great, a few questions always pop up. Let's tackle some of the most common ones I hear from creators.
Think of this as your quick-start guide to making highlights that really work.
There's a sweet spot, and it's shorter than you might think. For platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, you want to aim for 30 to 60 seconds.
That’s just enough time to hook someone, show them the best moments, and leave them wanting more, without them getting bored. An AI video generator like FlowVid is perfect for finding just enough killer clips to fill that time.
Absolutely. In fact, you're exactly who tools like FlowVid were built for. Forget about complicated timelines and confusing software.
The whole point of AI-powered platforms is to handle the tedious work for you. The AI finds the best moments automatically. From there, you're just dragging and dropping things into place. You can easily:
Seriously, you can go from a long video to a polished highlight in minutes, even if you’ve never touched editing software in your life.
The best tools are the ones that get out of your way. Your focus should be on telling a great story, not battling with complex settings. That’s the real magic of modern AI video generation.
Highlights are one of the most flexible video formats out there. If your original content has great moments scattered throughout, it's a perfect candidate.
I've seen them work brilliantly for:
Basically, if your long-form content is a gold mine, a highlights video is how you show everyone the nuggets you found.
Yes. One hundred percent. Captions have gone from a "nice-to-have" to an absolute must-have. A huge number of people watch videos on mute, and without captions, your message is completely lost.
Adding them is one of the easiest ways to boost your engagement and make your content more accessible. Tools like FlowVid can auto-generate them for you, so there’s really no excuse to skip this crucial step.
Ready to create viral videos? Try FlowVid's AI video generator today.
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