Introduction
You finished the episode. Sixty seconds, three scenes, a cliffhanger. You post it as a Reel and it gets four seconds of watch time, because the first four seconds are a girl walking down a hallway. The episode works as an episode. It does not work as a Reel, and the fix is not a better episode.
A Reel is one beat with the setup removed. The viewer arrives mid-problem, gets the turn, and either taps through to the series or scrolls on. This guide shows how to cut AI drama reels from an episode you already made in ArcLoop: which beats survive on their own, how to re-cut them on the Edit timeline so the first frame is already the conflict, and how to caption and post them so they feed the series instead of replacing it.
Which beats survive as a Reel
Not every scene can stand alone. The ones that can share a shape: a visible problem in the first frame, a turn within ten seconds, and an exit that leaves a question. Look through the episode for:
- The confrontation. Two characters, one accusation, one reaction. The Reel starts on the accusation.
- The discovery. A hand finds the thing — the ring, the message, the second phone. The Reel starts on the hand.
- The reversal. The character everyone trusted does the thing. The Reel starts one shot before.
- The cliffhanger. The last eight seconds of the episode, with two seconds of context in front.
A beat that needs the previous scene to make sense is not a Reel. It is a clip.
For the hook rules that apply to the first three seconds of anything, the first-three-seconds guide covers the writing; this guide assumes the episode is done and works on the cut.
Rules for the Reel cut
- First frame is the problem. No establishing shot, no walk-in. If the episode's establishing shot is beautiful, it goes at the end of the Reel, not the start.
- One beat, 12–25 seconds. Longer Reels are episodes with the wrong ratio.
- Captions on every spoken line. Most Reels play muted. If the line is not on screen, it did not happen.
- 9:16 from the source, not from a crop. If the episode was generated 16:9, the Reel needs its own 9:16 shots; a center crop cuts off the second character.
- Exit on the question. End before the answer. The answer is in the series.
- Same character asset, same look. The Reel is a trailer for the character; it must be unmistakably the same person as the episode.
How to cut a Reel in ArcLoop, step by step
- Open the episode's Edit timeline in ArcLoop and watch it once with the sound off. Mark the moments where you would keep watching anyway. Those are the candidate beats.
- Duplicate the cut for each Reel. Keep the episode master untouched; each Reel is its own arrangement of the same clips.
- Trim to the beat. Delete everything before the problem is visible. Trim the tail so the last frame is the question, not the answer.
- Check the frame. If the Story Brief was 9:16 you are done. If it was 16:9, generate the two or three shots the Reel needs as new 9:16 shot cards with the same
@references — do not crop. - Add captions on the Captions tab. One line per spoken line, positioned where they do not cover the face; the subtitle placement guide has the rules.
- Cut on the beat if there is music. Re-time the trims to the downbeats the way the beat-cutting guide does for dance.
- Export each Reel and name it by episode and beat: "EP2-confrontation," "EP2-cliffhanger."
- Post in cadence. Cliffhanger Reel the day the episode drops, confrontation Reel two days later, discovery Reel two days after that. Every caption ends with where the full episode lives.
Example 1: Confrontation Reel, re-cut from three existing shots
Reel cut, 9:16, 18 seconds. Open on Shot 7 (medium, @Mira slams the divorce agreement on the table, no lead-in). Cut to Shot 8 reverse (@Leo, silent, jaw tight) trimmed to 3 seconds. Cut to Shot 9 close-up on Mira's line "You signed it before you asked me." Hold one beat on Leo's face, cut to black before he answers. Captions on both lines, bottom third, clear of faces.
Example 2: Discovery Reel that needs one new 9:16 shot
Reel cut, 9:16, 14 seconds. New shot card for the opener: close-up of @Mira's hand pulling the hospital bracelet from the bouquet, 9:16, camera static, warm hallway light, same time of day as Shot 4. Then existing Shot 5 (her face, reading the name) trimmed to 4 seconds, and existing Shot 6 (she looks toward the door) trimmed to 3. Caption only her whisper: "That's not my name." End on the door.
Example 3: Cliffhanger Reel with two seconds of context
Reel cut, 9:16, 12 seconds. Open with the last 2 seconds of Shot 11 (@Leo's phone lighting up on the counter) as context, then the full final Shot 12: Mira reads the message over his shoulder, the camera pushes in on her expression, she does not react. Caption the message text as it appears on the phone. Cut on her blink. No music sting; let the silence ask the question.
The most common ways drama Reels die
- Opening on the walk-in. Four seconds of hallway before anything happens. Cut to the problem.
- Posting the whole episode as a Reel. It is not a Reel; it is a 60-second ask.
- No captions. Muted autoplay, silent argument, scroll.
- Center-cropped 16:9. Half a face at the edge. Generate the 9:16 shot.
- Answering the question in the Reel. Nothing left for the series.
- Different look from the episode. A Reel re-generated with a different style reference reads as a different show.
Compare two AI drama Reels cuts from the same scene
Try this editing exercise with an existing scene: a courier returns a sealed letter, the recipient notices that the seal has already been broken, and the courier refuses to explain. The timings below are a starting plan, not a platform requirement or a claim about retention.
| Time | Cut A: discovery first | Cut B: accusation first |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 seconds | Close-up of the broken seal as the letter changes hands | Recipient asks, “Who opened this?” while holding the letter |
| 3–7 seconds | Recipient notices the damage and looks toward the courier | Close-up of the broken seal gives the accusation context |
| 7–11 seconds | Recipient asks, “Who opened this?” | Courier hesitates, looking toward the exit |
| 11–15 seconds | Courier hesitates; end before the explanation | Recipient blocks the exit; end on the courier's reaction |
Arrange and trim the chosen clips in Edit. Keep the character assets, dialogue wording, and final question consistent so you are comparing opening choices rather than two unrelated stories. If either cut needs unseen backstory to make sense, add the missing visual information before shortening it further.
Watch both versions without sound and check whether the damaged seal is visible. Then listen without picture and check whether the accusation still makes sense. Choose the cut that communicates the conflict clearly; neither version is guaranteed to perform better. This guide is for creating and editing drama Reels. For the initial project workflow, start with the AI short drama generator.
FAQ
How many Reels per episode? Two to four. Fewer than two wastes the episode; more than four repeats beats and trains viewers to skip.
Should the Reel have a title card? No. Title cards are the walk-in in text form. If you need a hook line, put it in the first caption.
Can I cut Reels before the episode is finished? Yes, and it is a good review pass: if no 15-second beat stands on its own, the episode probably has a structure problem.
What about the vertical drama that was already 9:16? Same rules, less work — no new shots needed. The cut still has to open on the problem; a 9:16 walk-in is still a walk-in.
Next step
Open the last episode you finished on the Edit timeline in ArcLoop, mute it, and find the one moment you would keep watching. Duplicate the cut, delete everything before that moment, caption the lines, export 9:16. That is the first Reel; the second and third are the same job on different beats.
