Export a complete working video with the picture and audio your audience needs, and keep the recording master separately. Verify the file and displayed upload limits before clipping. The working episode supports editing; the final short MP4 is the file you download and publish.
Separate the recording master from the upload copy
Keep the camera recordings, isolated audio and main editing project in your own storage. Create a clearly named working export for the clipping session so a smaller delivery file does not replace your only high-quality source. Choose the intended assembled view and complete listening mix. Remove private material externally before export rather than relying on a later crop to hide it. Write down whether the working video includes a countdown or introduction; your clip notes must refer to the timeline of the file you actually upload.
Choose a practical format and a measured size
CastCuts accepts validated MP4, MOV and WebM files containing video and audio. H.264 video and AAC audio in MP4 are a practical compatibility choice when a source needs a new export. Check the finished file's actual size and duration against the library's limits, normally 512 MiB and two hours. Duration, picture complexity and encoding choices all affect file size. Test a segment before encoding the session. Avoid repeated generations of compression, which can make faces and small text harder to read.
Split an oversized episode around complete source sections
If a sufficiently clear full-episode export remains too large, prepare shorter working sections externally. Keep enough context at each boundary to include the beginning and end of likely answers. Name each section and record its offset from the master so later revisions are traceable. Do not split in the middle of a sentence merely to reach an arbitrary file size. Check that a section is a proper playable file, not a renamed fragment, and that it still contains the complete audio mix. Choose clip timestamps against that section's own timeline.
Validate the handoff with the real social export
Play early, middle and late passages in the working export. After upload validation, render a representative 1–90 second excerpt with the intended framing and reviewed English captions. Check faces, movement, quiet words and necessary text in the downloaded 720 × 1280 MP4. Review the destination's upload preview separately. Save files before the 24-hour expiry, then publish or schedule manually.
Fictional worked example: a long interview becomes two working sections
Illustrative example. The people, recordings and results described here are fictional.
A producer's full-episode compression test makes a demonstration label unreadable. They prepare two shorter working sections with complete topic boundaries instead. Their notes record each filename and its offset from the master. They upload the first section and compare a downloaded 36-second clip's label detail and sound before continuing.
A usable working file preserves the explanation and its reference timeline as well as its size.
Check before you finish
- The master and editing project remain separate from the upload copy.
- The working export includes the intended picture and complete audio mix.
- Its actual size, duration and any segment offsets have been checked.
- A representative downloaded MP4 passes picture, sound and text review.
Practical questions
Should I export a vertical full episode before uploading?
Only if that composition preserves the recording's purpose. A horizontal working source can support full-frame padding or a fixed portrait crop; pre-cropping too tightly removes later choices.
Can CastCuts compress my whole podcast for download?
Its render workflow exports selected 1–90 second vertical clips. Prepare a full-length compressed delivery or format conversion externally when that is the file you need.
Does Pro increase the upload ceiling or export resolution?
Pro removes CastCuts branding from newly rendered exports. It does not change the 720 × 1280 output or 24-hour media window; check the actual source and storage limits displayed in your account.
Use this workflow in CastCuts
Create social clips from a prepared video file
CastCuts selects continuous 1–90 second excerpts and exports 9:16, 720 × 1280 H.264/AAC MP4 files. Automatic transcription and transcript-based suggestions support English and require review. Free exports include CastCuts branding; Pro removes it from new renders for $9 USD/month, with the same processing and storage limits. Episode media is retained for 24 hours. Keep your originals and download finished clips before expiry. Publishing is manual.