Prompts

Montage video rough cut prompts

These prompts cut raw footage into a montage video (15-45s, 5 beats in order), with the pacing and the usual mistakes written in.

By Sulan Zhang, co-founder of Vyra · Updated 2026-09-24

Format: Montage video
Step: Rough cut
Length: 15-45s
Aspect: 9:16
Platforms: TikTok, Reels, Shorts, YouTube

Real examples from @sulansart

At a glance


Target length	15-45s
Beat order	0-3s: two strongest clips, quiet part of the track; 3-20s: build, cuts on each beat; 20-25s: one held clip, 3 seconds; 25-40s: peak, cuts on half-beats; 40-45s: last clip on the final hit
Pacing	0.5-2 seconds per clip, faster as the music builds
Hook	Your best two clips first, before the beat drops
Avoid	Cuts that ignore the music; Every clip from the same distance; No change of speed

Prompt it in Vyra

Minimal:

Make a 45-second montage video from these clips. Best takes only.

Standard:

Cut my clips into a 45-second montage video for TikTok. Follow this order.
- 0-3s: two strongest clips, quiet part of the track
- 3-20s: build, cuts on each beat
- 20-25s: one held clip, 3 seconds
- 25-40s: peak, cuts on half-beats
- 40-45s: last clip on the final hit
Pacing: 0.5-2 seconds per clip, faster as the music builds.
Keep the strongest clip for each part. Time the cuts to the track I uploaded called "[file name]". No captions yet.

Full:

Cut my clips into a 45-second montage video for TikTok. Follow this order.
- 0-3s: two strongest clips, quiet part of the track
- 3-20s: build, cuts on each beat
- 20-25s: one held clip, 3 seconds
- 25-40s: peak, cuts on half-beats
- 40-45s: last clip on the final hit
Pacing: 0.5-2 seconds per clip, faster as the music builds.
Keep the strongest clip for each part. Time the cuts to the track I uploaded called "[file name]". No captions yet.
Open with this. Your best two clips first, before the beat drops.
Avoid these. Cuts that ignore the music. Every clip from the same distance. No change of speed.
Export 9:16. When you're done, list what you cut with timestamps so I can check.

Why these settings

A numbered beat list gives the agent an order to follow. Leave it out and it picks one for you.
Montage videos usually run 15-45s on TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and YouTube.
The pacing line (0.5-2 seconds per clip, faster as the music builds) sets how long each clip stays on screen.
The full prompt names the common mistakes up front, so you're less likely to see them in the first cut.
Asking for a list of cuts with timestamps makes the first pass quick to check.

Fixes

Too long. "Cut it to 35 seconds. Drop the weakest part first."
Parts out of order. "Follow the order from my first message exactly."
Wrong clip in a part. "For the 3-20s part, show me other clips I could use, with timestamps."
Something you wanted got cut. "Put back the part where [describe it]." It can find the moment from a description.

FAQ

How long should a montage video be? Short versions run 15-45s. Put the number in the first sentence of the prompt so the cut is built around it.

Do I need to trim my clips before uploading? No. Upload the raw clips. Vyra transcribes and describes every scene on upload, so it can find the part that fits each beat.