Turn a prompt into a narrated, captioned short video.
r/Shorts takes a text prompt, writes a reddit-style story, narrates it with an AI voice, transcribes word-timed captions, and renders it over a gameplay background as a 1080 × 1920 MP4, ready for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Everything runs in the browser; there is nothing to install.
Free while in beta · 700+ videos made so far · Built by one person
Three unedited exports, straight from the renderer. Click to play.
Overview
A small tool that does one thing well
r/Shorts is one focused pipeline: story → narration → captions → background → render. It makes one specific format — the narrated reddit-story short — and every stage is editable before you commit to the next, so you can lean on the defaults or adjust everything.
It is built and run by one person (hi, I'm Andy), and it is free while in beta. If something is broken, confusing, or missing, send me a message and I will usually get back to you quickly.
What you get from a single run
- An editable reddit-style script, AI-written from your prompt or pasted in yourself
- A choice of 14 AI voices at adjustable speaking speed
- Word-level captions transcribed from the actual narration
- Gameplay and scenic background clips
- An optional title card, intro, and background music
- A 1080 × 1920 MP4, saved to your clips library for re-download
How it works
Every step of the wizard, explained
This is the actual flow you go through: five steps, each one editable before you commit to the next.
Step 1 · Story
Type a one-line prompt and the model streams a reddit-style script, a title and a body, live into the editor as it writes. Nothing is locked in: edit any word, regenerate with a different prompt, or skip the AI entirely and paste a story you already have.
You can choose between several AI writers, from a fast default to premium options. Stories cap at 4,096 characters, and the editor enforces it up front rather than letting a render fail later.
HOA fined me $500 over trash cans, so I read the bylaws cover to cover.
Turns out the president's house alone had fifteen violations: an unapproved fence color, a shed on the property line, dead landscaping. I documented every single one with photos and filed them all the same afternoon.
Step 2 · Narration
Pick from 14 voices and set a speaking speed. Every voice has a playable demo, and the title and body are narrated separately so the intro sounds right.
The finished narration is then transcribed with word-level timestamps. Captions come from what was actually spoken, not from an estimate, so each word lands on screen exactly when it is said. Narration is optimized for English.
Step 3 · Background
Choose a gameplay or scenic loop to play behind the narration: the familiar split-attention format where the visuals keep eyes on screen while the story carries the video.
The clips are provided for convenience. You are responsible for making sure your final upload follows each platform's rules on reused footage.
Step 4 · Preview
A live player runs the real video composition in your browser. What you preview is what renders, frame for frame, because both use the same code.
This is where the knobs live: the title card, caption styling (highlight color, pop, stroke, placement), the intro, background music, and timing. The defaults are sensible if you just want to hit render.
Step 5 · Finish
Rendering happens in the cloud, with a progress bar while it runs. A typical short takes on the order of a minute, sometimes longer during busy periods. When it is done, download the MP4.
One honest mechanic to know: keep the finish step open until the render completes, because that is what saves the clip to your library. Download links expire after an hour, but anything in your library can be re-downloaded anytime from the clips page.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Give it a try
It is free while in beta, and your first video takes about two minutes end to end. If it is not what you expected, tell me why.
Questions first? Message me →