How to Use Claude Opus 5.5 High in Claude Code to Edit Videos

Claude Code edits video by running editing tools, mainly FFmpeg, on your files. It does not work inside a visual timeline.

Claude cannot watch video files directly. It works from information about the video:

• Transcripts with timestamps
• Still frames extracted as images
• Silence and loudness measurements
• File details from ffprobe
• Your written notes and timecodes

From that information it can plan cuts, write the commands, run them, and check the results.

Think of Claude Code as an assistant editor that works from the transcript and never gets tired of repetitive cuts.

Claude plan

Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or a Console account. The free plan does not include Claude Code.

Claude Code

v2.1.280 or later for Opus 5.5.

FFmpeg

The engine for cutting, joining, encoding, captions, and audio.

A transcription tool

Such as OpenAI’s open-source Whisper or whisper.cpp, which run locally.

Your footage

Plus a separate backup of every original file.

Start Claude Code in your project folder with:

claude --model opus --effort high

Or switch inside a session with /model opus and /effort high.

High effort helps with multi-step edits such as transcript-based cutting, where Claude has to reason across timestamps, files, and commands. Use medium for simple conversions.

Before any editing:

• Back up every original file somewhere Claude is not working
• Keep originals in a raw folder
• Tell Claude never to modify or delete files in that folder
• Write every output to a new file
• Name versions clearly, such as edit_v1, edit_v2

Add the rule “Never modify, move, or delete anything in raw/” to CLAUDE.md.

Ask Claude to create a simple structure:

raw/

Original footage, untouched

proxies/

Smaller copies for fast work

transcripts/

Text and timestamp files

frames/

Still images for visual checks

cuts/

Cut lists and edit decisions

exports/

Finished videos

A clear structure makes every later step easier to automate.

Prompt:

Use ffprobe to inspect every file in raw/. Report duration, resolution, frame rate, codec, audio channels, and anything that could cause problems when joining clips, such as mixed frame rates or variable frame rate.

Mismatched clips are a common cause of broken joins and audio drift. Find them first.

For long or high-resolution footage, ask Claude to make lower-resolution proxy copies.

Use proxies for transcription, frame checks, and test cuts. Apply the final cut list to the original files at export.

This keeps experiments fast without lowering final quality.

Ask Claude to transcribe each clip with word-level or segment-level timestamps.

A good transcript lets you:

• Edit by reading instead of scrubbing
• Find filler words and false starts
• Spot repeated takes
• Generate captions
• Find strong quotes for short clips

Correct names, brands, and technical terms in the transcript before using it for captions.

Prompt:

Read the transcript. Mark sections to remove: filler words, false starts, repeated takes (keep the best or last full take), and long pauses. Do not remove any content that changes meaning. Write the cuts as a table with start time, end time, transcript text, and reason.

Read the cut table before anything is rendered. This is where your editorial judgment matters most.

Ask Claude to detect silences with FFmpeg’s silencedetect filter and propose cuts.

• Choose a silence threshold that fits your recording
• Leave a little padding so words are not clipped
• Keep pauses that add emphasis
• Test on a short section first

Tight cuts feel energetic. Cuts with no breathing room feel robotic.

Ask Claude to build the edit from the approved cut list.

Important: cutting with stream copy is fast but can only cut cleanly at keyframes, so cuts may be off by a few frames. Re-encoding gives frame-accurate cuts.

Prompt:

Apply the approved cut list to the original files with frame-accurate cuts. Keep audio in sync. Export edit_v1.mp4 to exports/ and do not overwrite anything.

Ask Claude to extract a frame just before and just after each cut, then review the images for:

• Jarring jump cuts
• Black or frozen frames
• Mid-blink or awkward expressions
• Visual mismatches between takes
• Text or graphics cut off

Then watch the whole edit yourself at normal speed.

Ask Claude to create an SRT caption file from the corrected transcript, timed to the final edit.

Sidecar captions

Upload the SRT file separately. Viewers can turn them on or off.

Burned-in captions

Render captions into the video. Best for social feeds that autoplay without sound.

Keep lines short, readable on a phone, and away from platform buttons.

FFmpeg can help Claude:

• Normalize loudness with the loudnorm filter
• Reduce steady background noise
• Remove low rumble with a high-pass filter
• Lower music under speech
• Match levels between clips
• Fade audio in and out

Around −14 LUFS is a common loudness target for online video. Check your platform’s guidance.

Bad audio loses viewers faster than imperfect visuals.

For basic corrections, FFmpeg can apply:

• Brightness and contrast changes
• Saturation changes
• A color lookup table (LUT)
• Cropping and scaling
• Sharpening

For detailed color grading, use a dedicated editor such as DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro.

Ask Claude to crop a 16:9 edit to 9:16 for Shorts, Reels, or TikTok.

• Keep the speaker’s face inside the frame
• Move captions to a safe area
• Check frames from the start, middle, and end
• Adjust the crop where the subject moves

Automatic center crops often cut people off. Always check frames.

Options:

Simple text

FFmpeg’s drawtext filter for titles and lower thirds.

Animated graphics

Build overlays with Remotion or HyperFrames, then composite them onto the edit.

Keep graphics in your brand colors and fonts, saved as rules in CLAUDE.md.

Prompt:

From the transcript, find the five strongest standalone moments between 20 and 60 seconds. Each must make sense without context and start with a strong first line. List start and end times, the opening line, and why each works.

Approve the list, then let Claude cut, reframe, and caption each clip.

Some edits need hands-on finishing. Ask Claude to export your cut list as an EDL, which DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro can import.

Claude does the repetitive cutting. You do the final creative polish in your editor.

In the Claude apps, the Adobe for Creativity connector, released on April 28, 2026, connects Claude to more than 50 tools across Creative Cloud apps, including Photoshop and Premiere.

Use Claude Code for file-based automation and the connector when your work lives inside Adobe apps.

If you edit the same kind of video every week, ask Claude to turn the workflow into a script or a Claude Code skill that:

• Transcribes new footage
• Proposes cuts for your approval
• Applies your audio settings
• Adds branded captions
• Exports every format you need

Keep the approval step. Automation should prepare edits, not publish them.

Before publishing, confirm:

• Audio stays in sync to the end
• No words are clipped at cuts
• Captions match what is said
• Names and numbers are correct
• Loudness is consistent
• Resolution and frame rate are correct
• The file plays on a phone

Protect

Back up originals and work on copies.

Inspect

Check every file’s format first.

Transcribe

Turn speech into editable text.

Decide

Approve a written cut list.

Cut

Apply frame-accurate edits.

Check

Review frames and watch the edit.

Finish

Add captions, audio fixes, and graphics.

Export

Render every format you need.

Copy, paste, and fill in the brackets:

Act as my assistant video editor in this project. Never modify, move, or delete files in raw/. Write all outputs to new files. 1. Inspect every clip with ffprobe and flag format problems. 2. Transcribe each clip with timestamps. 3. Propose a cut list as a table that removes filler words, false starts, repeated takes, and long pauses without changing meaning. Wait for my approval. 4. Apply the approved cuts with frame-accurate edits and keep audio in sync. 5. Extract frames around each cut and check for jump cuts, black frames, and awkward moments. 6. Normalize loudness, add [burned-in / sidecar] captions in our brand style, and export a [aspect ratio] H.264 MP4 to exports/. Report every change you made and anything you were unsure about.

• File inspection
• Transcription
• Proposed cut lists
• Repetitive cutting
• Frame checks
• Caption files
• Audio normalization
• Format exports

• Story and pacing
• Approving cuts
• Creative polish
• Accuracy of captions
• Rights to footage and music
• Final viewing
• Publishing

• Do not let Claude work on your only copy of footage
• Do not render without reviewing the cut list
• Do not trust automatic crops without checking frames
• Do not publish captions you have not proofread
• Do not use stream copy when cuts must be frame-accurate
• Do not skip watching the final file