Unspool Studio Documentation

Unspool Studio is the fastest way to turn podcast episodes into shareable video clips. AI handles the heavy lifting — transcription, speaker identification, clip suggestions, and export — so you can go from episode to published clip in minutes, not hours.

What is Unspool Studio?

Unspool Studio is an AI-powered podcast clip generator built for speed. Instead of scrubbing through hours of audio to find the best moments, you let AI transcribe the episode, identify speakers, and suggest the most compelling clips automatically. Pick the ones you like, customize the look with color palettes and fonts, and export video with animated subtitles for any social platform — all from your browser.

No software to install. No audio files to upload. No waveform editing required.

Whether you're a podcaster promoting your show, a social media manager repurposing content, or a creator building an audience, Unspool Studio removes the bottleneck of podcast clipping.

Quick Links

• Quick Start Guide — Go from zero to your first clip in minutes
• Create Your First Clip — Step-by-step tutorial with AI-suggested clips
• Export Formats — Export video for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more
• AI Transcription — How transcription, speaker identification, and clip suggestions work
• Editing Clips — Fine-tune clips on the visual canvas
• AI Clip Agent — Automatic clip suggestions for every new episode
• Changelog — Latest features and updates

How fast is AI podcast clipping?

Unspool Studio offers two ways to create clips — fully automatic or hands-on — depending on how much control you want.

Automatic: AI Clip Agent (zero manual steps)

The fastest way to clip podcasts. Subscribe to a podcast, and the AI Clip Agent automatically transcribes new episodes, identifies speakers, finds the best moments, and delivers ready-to-export video clips. You just review and post.

Manual: On-Demand Clipping (under 5 minutes)

For one-off episodes or more hands-on control:

1. Search & Subscribe — Find any podcast instantly using the built-in iTunes search
2. Transcribe with AI — One click triggers transcription with automatic speaker identification
3. Get AI-Suggested Clips — The AI analyzes the transcript and suggests the most shareable moments — scored by hook strength and viral potential
4. Review & Export — Pick the clips you want, customize the look, and export as video with animated subtitles

Either way, the AI does the work of finding the best moments so you never have to listen through an entire episode.

What makes Unspool Studio different?

AI-Suggested Clips with Scoring

Other tools make you listen through episodes and manually select segments. Unspool Studio's AI reads the transcript and surfaces the moments most likely to resonate — strong opinions, surprising insights, funny exchanges, and key takeaways. Each clip is scored on hook strength and viral potential, and labeled by content type (Quote, Insight, Story, Debate, Funny).

Automatic Speaker Identification

The AI identifies who's speaking throughout the transcript using podcast metadata — host names, guest info, and episode descriptions. No manual tagging required.

Built for Social Media

Every export is designed for where podcast clips actually get shared — Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, and X. Choose your aspect ratio, pick from 16 color palettes and 9 font presets, and get video with animated subtitles.

Transcript Export in 5 Formats

Download transcripts as plain text, Markdown, HTML, SRT subtitles, or WebVTT — for show notes, blog posts, newsletters, and accessibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a podcast clip with AI?

Three steps: search for any podcast, add an episode to a canvas, and pick from AI-suggested clips. Transcription starts automatically. The AI transcribes the episode (often under a minute for shorter episodes), identifies speakers, and suggests the most shareable moments. Export as video with subtitles or download the transcript. See our step-by-step tutorial for a full walkthrough.

How does AI clip suggestion work?

After transcription, the AI analyzes the full episode and identifies 3–5 of the most compelling moments — strong quotes, surprising insights, funny exchanges, and emotional beats. Each suggestion includes a title, content type label, transcript preview, and shareability score. You can accept, skip, edit, or create your own clips manually.

Do I need to upload audio files?

No. Unspool Studio streams audio directly from podcast RSS feeds — no downloads, uploads, or format conversions needed. You can also upload your own audio files (MP3, M4A, WAV, and more, up to 200MB) for content that isn't in the podcast directory.

Can I export clips as video with subtitles?

Yes. Export clips as MP4 video with animated transcript subtitles using the Gravitas template — customizable with 16 color palettes and 9 font presets. Choose 9:16 for Reels/TikTok, 16:9 for YouTube, or 1:1 for X. See Export Formats for all options.

Does Unspool Studio identify who's speaking?

Yes. Speaker identification runs automatically after transcription. The AI uses podcast metadata to label speakers by name when confident. Labels appear in the transcript, in clip subtitles, and in transcript exports.

What's the fastest way to clip a podcast episode?

The AI Clip Agent — subscribe to a podcast and clips appear automatically whenever a new episode publishes. Zero manual steps. For one-off episodes, search for a podcast, add an episode to a canvas, and pick from AI-suggested clips in under 5 minutes total.

Need help? Join our Slack Community or share feedback.