🔹 YouTube Unveils Updates for Shorts
On its Creator Insider channel, Johanna Voolich, Chief Product Officer at YouTube, revealed to content creator Rene Ritchie several new features for Shorts, YouTube’s short, vertical videos. These updates aim to strengthen the connection between short and long-form content on a channel, engage audiences more effectively, and introduce new visual effects.
While some of these features are unique to YouTube, others draw inspiration from competitors like Instagram and TikTok (and its associated app CapCut). This approach isn’t new for YouTube, which had already incorporated many features inspired by TikTok in 2023, such as collaboration mode, Q&A stickers, and the integration of live videos into the feed.
🔹 Six New Features for YouTube Shorts
YouTube is adding six new features to its Shorts:
Automatic Layout for Long Videos: Complementing the tool introduced in 2023 for creating Shorts from long videos, an automatic layout option is now available on Android. “The automatic layout tool dynamically pans, zooms, and crops,” YouTube explains on its blog.
Voiceover: Users can now add automatic narration after recording a video by inputting text and clicking the Add Voice icon. Four voice-over options will be available.
Add Yours Sticker: Familiar from Instagram, the Add Yours sticker has now made its way to YouTube Shorts. It invites other users to respond to your video with related content, creating a chain reaction.
Minecraft Effects: To celebrate Minecraft’s 15th anniversary, YouTube Shorts is adding two animations inspired by the game. One of them, Minecraft Rush, is an interactive game users can play directly within the player.
Automatic Captions: Auto-generated captions will soon be available and can be customized and styled according to users' preferences.
Remix of a Remix: On Shorts, remixes allow users to create new videos using segments of other videos. Now, it will be possible to remix already-remixed videos. “Remixing a remix lets you have fun with other creators while adding your own twist to the remixed content,” YouTube explains.