What it does
You drop in a video file (up to 2 GB, 60 minutes max) or paste a YouTube URL. Sonnet reads the transcript, picks 1-4 scroll-stopping 30-second moments, and ffmpeg trims them straight from the source video. The output is ready-to-post Shorts on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
This is the original use case Track Reels evolved past. Track Reels GENERATES b-roll from a song; Highlight Reels EXTRACTS clips from existing material. Different tools, different flows.
When to use Highlight Reels vs Track Reels
| You have | Use |
|---|---|
| A song you want to wrap b-roll around | Track Reels |
| A long-form podcast / livestream / interview | Highlight Reels |
| A YouTube URL of someone talking | Highlight Reels |
| An audio-only file | Track Reels |
Pricing
60 credits per output Short. Pick 1-4 reels:
- 1 reel = 60 cr
- 2 reels = 120 cr
- 3 reels = 180 cr
- 4 reels = 240 cr
No b-roll generation cost (we don't pay any image/video API). Pricing covers Whisper transcription + Claude moment-pick + ffmpeg compute.
How Sonnet picks moments
Selection is HOOK-FIRST. The criteria, in priority order:
- Hook strength. Does this moment open with a phrase or claim that grabs in the first 5 seconds?
- Self-contained. Will it make sense to a viewer with zero context? Picks where the speaker SETS UP THE IDEA inside the first 3 seconds.
- Emotional voltage. Surprise, disagreement, vulnerability, hot takes, comedic peaks.
- Quotability. Specific phrases a viewer would screenshot or quote.
- Brevity-friendly. Where the speaker is already concise.
Each pick comes back with a hook (the actual phrase from the transcript) and a reason (one-line "why this stops a scroll").
Source limits
- File size: up to 2 GB.
- Duration: up to 60 minutes. Longer sources require chunking which we haven't built.
- Formats: mp4, mov, webm, mkv, m4v.
- YouTube: any public video URL. yt-dlp downloads the best mp4 under 2 GB, single-file (no playlists).
Captions
Off by default. When ON, captions are burned in 2-word UPPERCASE chunks centered at the bottom (same style as Track Reels). The SRT file is also saved alongside the MP4 if you want to bring captions into your own editor.
Resume + Cancel
Same gear as Track Reels v3:
- Navigate away during render → come back, the page picks up exactly where it was
beforeunloadconfirm dialog warns you before you close the tab during a job- Cancel button refunds credits and resets the UI so you can change inputs and start fresh