Having Reels Created from Existing Video Material: How It Works

Many companies have more video material than they realise: recorded interviews, explainer videos, webinars, trade fair footage or recordings of talks. If you want to have reels created from it, you do not necessarily need a new shoot. Often it is enough to review the existing material carefully and turn it into short, vertical clips. In this article you will learn what this process looks like in practice, which decisions you make along the way and where the limits are.

What video repurposing means for companies

Video repurposing means preparing existing recordings for a different format. A 40-minute interview becomes several short sequences, each carrying one idea on its own. Short videos for companies work differently from long formats: they are mostly watched on a smartphone, often without sound, and they need to make clear within a few seconds what they are about. That is why it is not just about cutting things shorter, but about selection, structure and clean preparation.

Step 1: Review the existing material

It starts with an honest inventory. Three questions are clarified:

• Content: Are there statements that can be understood without the rest of the context?
• Image and sound quality: Is the image sharp enough to be cropped to vertical format, and is the speech clearly intelligible?
• Usage rights: May the recordings, the people shown, music and embedded content be used for social media clips?

The question of rights in particular is often underestimated. If, for example, an agency produced the video or guests appear in the interview, it should be clear in advance whether use in short videos is covered. Only when quality and rights fit is further planning worthwhile. If that is the case, no new shoot is needed.

Step 2: Choose statements and find a clear opening

Not every good passage is suitable for a reel. What you are looking for are moments where an idea is expressed compactly and completely: an answer to a common customer question, a concrete practical tip, a short explanation of a technical term. Every clip needs a clear opening. The first seconds should show immediately what it is about, rather than starting with a greeting or a long lead-in. Sometimes this means cutting the start of a sentence differently or adding a short text overlay at the beginning that names the topic.

Step 3: Vertical format, subtitles and design

Reels for companies are usually played in vertical 9:16 format. When cropping from landscape material, care must be taken that the speaker stays well in frame and important image elements are not cut off. This is where it becomes clear whether the source quality is sufficient.

Subtitles are almost always useful for short videos, because many people watch clips without sound. They should be easy to read, correctly spelled and well timed. Beyond that, design elements such as fonts, colours, a logo or a consistent frame can be used. Exactly what is included is defined beforehand within the agreed scope, so that both sides know what will be delivered.

Step 4: Set length and timing

How long a clip should be depends on its content. A short tip can be complete in 20 seconds, an explanation may need a minute. What matters is that the clip has no dead time: pauses, filler words and repetitions are cut without distorting the statement. The rhythm of the cuts and the timing of the subtitles also help make a clip pleasant to watch.

Step 5: Corrections and approval

Before clips are used, you review them at your own pace. In a correction round you can request changes, for example to the choice of statement, to spellings in the subtitles or to the design. How many correction rounds are included is agreed in advance. A clip is only considered finished after your approval. This way you stay in control of what appears under your name.

Step 6: File handover

The finished clips are handed over in the agreed formats, for example as a vertical MP4 file, and on request with a separate subtitle file. Publishing itself or connecting to a platform is a separate matter: whether and how clips are scheduled or uploaded directly is checked and agreed separately. If you would also like to have TikTok videos created, you should mention this early as well, so that format and design work for both platforms.

Why the number of clips depends on the material

A common question is: how many reels come out of one video? There is no general answer. A lively interview with many clear statements yields more usable clips than a talk with long slide passages. Sound quality, framing and how often an idea is expressed completely also play a role. That is why the number, length, editing scope and delivery date are only agreed after the material has been reviewed. Sound planning starts with what is actually there.

What you can realistically expect

Carefully prepared short videos make existing content usable in a format that is common on mobile platforms. Whether a clip reaches many people, however, depends on factors nobody can reliably control, including topic, timing, platform and your existing audience. Viral reach cannot be promised. What can be planned is a clean, understandable and consistent result that fits your company.

Having reels created: how the collaboration works

Du First works with companies across Germany. Coordination happens online by video call, phone or email, and the material is shared digitally. No on-site meeting is required. Packages start from 149 euros net per month plus VAT; the exact scope depends on your material and is defined after the review.

If you would like to check whether your existing video material is suitable for reels, the Services and Packages pages give you an overview of the process and the possible scopes.