This Free Claude Skill Edits Your Talking Head Videos for You

Jerad Larkin

4 hours ago

7 min read

Can Claude edit a video for you? Yes. This free Claude skill takes a raw talking-head video from your phone and returns a finished Reel with captions, b-roll, sound effects and music in your own brand colors.

Download the video editor skill and the install guide

Both files are free. Grab them here, then keep reading for how it works and how to film for it.

The skill (one .md file): Click here to download the video editor skill
The 2 page install guide (PDF): Click here to download the install guide
On Instagram: comment EDIT on the Reel and my account will send both to you

The skill is white labeled. The first time you run it, it asks about your business, how you write and your brand colors, so every video comes out looking like yours, not mine.

I did not edit my last Reel. Claude did.

I filmed a 41 second video on my phone in a glass atrium in downtown Denver. I set the phone on the ground, walked up to it talking, picked it up and finished the video handheld. No tripod, no mic check, one take.

Then I handed the raw file to Claude and typed one line: edit this video.

What came back was a 31 second Reel. The dead air was gone, the shaky handheld part was stabilized, captions highlighted every word as I said it, a headline was on screen from the very first frame, and four b-roll cutaways broke up the single shot. There were sound effects, background music that stayed under my voice, and a comment call to action at the end.

I did not open CapCut once. I have written a lot about editing Reels in CapCut on this blog, and I still like it. But this is a different thing. You are not learning an editing app. You are describing what you want and letting Claude do the timeline work.

What the skill does to every video

Every edit gets the same checklist, without you asking for it:

Trims the start and end so the video opens on your first word and ends right after your last one
Cuts dead pauses between sentences. On my video that alone removed about 8 seconds
Removes retakes and filler words when you restart a sentence or say um, and it lists every cut so you can veto one
Cleans up background noise like wind, traffic and air conditioning, then makes your voice sound closer to a real mic
Stabilizes shaky footage, but only after measuring whether it actually needs it
Keeps your lips and audio in sync, which is the most common thing that breaks in AI edited video
Adds two line karaoke captions that stay on screen long enough to read, with each word turning your accent color as you say it
Puts a hook headline on screen at frame zero, so the video makes sense on mute and in the autoplay preview
Places every graphic away from your face, above your head or on your chest depending on how you framed the shot
Cuts in b-roll built from what you are talking about, so a single shot does not feel like one long stare into the camera
Mixes sound effects and music under your voice so nothing competes with you

It asks about your brand once, then remembers

The first time you run it, Claude asks about 10 quick questions. You can answer them in a couple of minutes:

What you do and who watches your videos
How your name, company and local neighborhoods are spelled
Your brand colors, or your website so it can pull them for you
Your fonts, or let it pick
Caption style: two line karaoke, big pop captions or minimal
Energy level: clean and professional, upbeat, or calm
How you write, plus any phrases you never want on screen
Your call to action, like comment a keyword, DM me or link in bio
Anything that must or must never appear, like disclaimers or license numbers
Music style, or no music

Your answers get saved into the skill. After that, every edit is just attach the video and say edit this video.

How to install it

Skills are instruction files Claude reads when it does a specific job. Claude's help center has the official overview of skills if you want the background, and I walked through them in more depth in Claude Skills for Real Estate Agents.

The easiest way to install this one:

Download the .md file from the top of this post
Open Claude Cowork, attach the file, and type: install this as a skill
Click Save on the skill card Claude shows you
Attach a video and say edit this video. Claude will run the brand questions first

Not using Cowork yet? Attach the file in any Claude chat and ask Claude to install it. It will package it and walk you through the upload. Code execution needs to be turned on in your Claude settings for skills to run. If you are setting Cowork up for the first time, start with every setting I change first.

How to film so the edit looks great

The skill cleans up a lot, but a few habits make the finished video noticeably better:

Film vertical with your eyes in the top third. Leave about a hand's width of space above your head. That is where the headline and graphics go
Start talking right away and do not stop for mistakes. Just restart the sentence. Claude keeps the last clean take
Point at things. Say "right here" while you point up or to the side, and the graphic lands where you are pointing
Keep it to 30 to 60 seconds with one idea per video
Face a window or open light. Noise gets removed, but bad light cannot be fixed later

What I learned editing the first video

Two things came up on my own Reel that are now built into the skill, and both are worth knowing before you run it.

The music has to follow the voice, not sit at one volume

My first cut used one flat volume for the music. It sounded fine at the start, but when the track built and the beat picked up, it started to compete with my voice. The fix was to have Claude measure the music's loudness several times a second and keep pulling it back down, so it holds about 24 decibels under my speaking level no matter what the song does. That rule is in the skill now.

Music sites usually cannot be reached from where Claude does the editing, so the reliable move is to download a royalty free track yourself and attach it. I use Mixkit's free music library. Only use music you have the rights to.

Only show edits that actually happened

In my script I said Claude cut "the three times I messed up that last line." I actually nailed it in one take, so there was nothing to cut. The skill will now tell you when a line in your video claims an edit that did not happen, and offer to remove it. If you are using a video to prove what a tool does, that matters.

What it will not do

Worth knowing before you try it, so nothing surprises you:

It takes a few minutes. Claude is transcribing, cleaning audio, tracking your face and rendering every frame. It is not instant
It uses a real chunk of your Claude usage. Save it for the videos you actually plan to post
It cannot hear the result. Watch the finished video on your phone with the sound on, then give notes by timestamp, like "0:12, that card comes in too early"
B-roll is generated, not stock footage. It builds on brand graphics that illustrate what you said. If you screen record the real tool or listing, that beats any mockup
Very long videos are a different job. It is built for short form Reels, Shorts and TikToks

Why I build these

I am an Account Executive with Chicago Title of Colorado, and a big part of my job is handing the agents I work with across Denver Metro the tools, data and marketing systems that help them win listings. Video is where most agents get stuck. Not because they cannot talk to a camera, but because the editing eats the afternoon.

This skill is my answer to that. Film on your phone, hand it to Claude, and spend your time on the next conversation instead of the timeline.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Claude video editor skill free?

Yes. Download it, use it and change it however you like. You do need your own Claude account, and the edit uses your Claude usage.

Do I need Claude Cowork to use it?

Cowork is the best experience because Claude can pull videos straight from a folder on your computer. It also works in a regular Claude chat for short clips you can attach, as long as code execution is turned on.

Will my branding be on the videos?

Yes. The skill asks for your colors, fonts, call to action and writing style the first time, then uses them on every edit. My name and company are not in the skill or on your videos.

Why is the skill a .md file?

A skill is just a set of written instructions, so a single markdown file is all it needs. When you ask Claude to install it, Claude handles any packaging the upload needs.

Can I change the edit after it is done?

Yes. The skill saves an edit plan, so notes like "move that card up" or "less music" are quick fixes instead of a full re-edit.

Get the skill

Click here to download the video editor skill and the install guide, or comment EDIT on my Reel and I will send both to you.

If you run it and want a second set of eyes on your first video, or you are looking for more marketing ideas for your listings, reach out to me.

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