YouTube is adding the "Edit in a Short" tool for creators

YouTube is trying its best to make it even easier for creators to turn their longer videos into short ones formatted for the platform's competitor TikTok by adding a new "Edit in a Short" tool to its Android and iOS app. It will allow creators to select up to 60 seconds of one of their videos and bring the clip into the Shorts editor directly from the YouTube app on iOS or Android. Creators can add things like text, filters, as well as additional videos taken with Shorts' camera or pulled from his photo library.

In an announcement post for the latest feature, YouTube says the finished short will tie into the full video from which it was pulled, which could help make the shorts an ideal promotional tool for the creator's longer content, a key incentive. for them to dive in as YouTube continues to test monetization options for the feature. If viewers enjoy a short created with this tool, they would not have to go to the creator's channel and search for the full video.

Unlike other tools like Cut, which allows you to use five seconds of a longer video in a Short, or Clips, which can be converted into Shorts, the Edit in a Short tool cannot be used on other users' uploads. It will only appear in the Create menu if you watch a video uploaded.

YouTube has been very focused on shorts since it started rolling out the feature in 2020. It has tried incentivising creators to use the format by creating a fund that pays creators if they upload shorts. As TechCrunch points out, the company has also been expanding its library by converting existing videos into short ones, as long as they're shot vertically and are under 60 seconds long. Last month, YouTube said that more than 1.5 billion people watched Shorts each month.

YouTube's post says that the "Edit in a Short tool "will allow you to breathe new life into your classic content" and that access to it is currently being rolled out. While it likely won't completely replace more traditional video editing software when it comes to creating Shorts (such as in an instance where a creator wants to stitch together multiple clips of the same video), it might encourage creators to take a look at look at his back catalogue and see if there is something that works well as a short.