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VideoOpenAlt AI Labs

Film, edit and publish your first Short, with a thumbnail

A free starter challenge. Film a 30 to 60 second vertical video on your phone, edit it in CapCut with captions and music, design a thumbnail, and publish it on YouTube Shorts or TikTok.

  1. 1Learn
  2. 2Do
  3. 3Submit
  4. 4Results
Category
Video
Lesson
20 min
Effort
~4h
Prize
Free
Closes in
 

Learn

20 min lesson

What you'll learn

How to film a 30 to 60 second vertical video on your phone, edit it in CapCut so people keep watching, and make a thumbnail that makes them tap. You need no camera and no money.

Pick one small idea

Shorts work when they do one thing. Show how to make boorsok in 45 seconds. Three places in Bishkek to study for free. What a day at your summer job looks like. Before and after cleaning a room. Write the idea in one sentence. If you cannot, it is too big.

Plan the first three seconds

Most viewers decide in the first three seconds. Open with the result, a question or a surprise, not with "Hi everyone". "This cost me 50 som and it tastes better than the bazaar." Then deliver.

Film it

  • Hold the phone vertically, 9:16.
  • Face a window. Daylight beats any lamp.
  • Clean the lens with your shirt.
  • Record sound close to the phone, in a quiet room, or plan to use text and music instead.
  • Shoot short clips of three to five seconds each, more than you need. Editing is choosing.

Edit in CapCut

  1. Import your clips in order. Cut every pause and every "umm".
  2. Keep each shot short; change something every two or three seconds.
  3. Add captions with auto captions, then fix every mistake by hand. Many people watch with the sound off.
  4. Add music from CapCut's library at low volume under your voice. Use only sounds the app or platform licenses for you.
  5. Check the length: 30 to 60 seconds. Export in 1080×1920.

Make the thumbnail

On YouTube, a Short's cover is usually picked from a frame of the video, so choose a sharp frame with a clear face or result. Then design a thumbnail image as well: in CapCut or Canva, a 1080×1920 vertical image with a big, readable photo and two to four words, high contrast, nothing in the edges where buttons sit. Export it as PNG. You will use it as the cover where the platform allows, and you will hand it in either way.

Publish

Upload to YouTube as a Short, or to TikTok. Write a title that says what the video is about, not "video 1". Set it to public. Check that it plays on another phone.

Before you submit

Submit the public video link and a link to the thumbnail PNG on Google Drive. Do not film people who did not agree to be in your video, and do not use songs or clips you do not have the right to use.

Finish the lesson to unlock submitting.

Sign in to start learning

Do

about 4h of work

The task

Short vertical video is how most people your age find anything, and every business in Bishkek now needs someone who can make it. In this challenge you make one complete Short from idea to publish: one small idea, a hook in the first three seconds, clips filmed on your phone in good light, an edit in CapCut with captions and licensed music, a 1080×1920 thumbnail you design yourself, and a public upload to YouTube Shorts or TikTok.

Deliverables

  1. 01The public link to your Short on YouTube or TikTok
  2. 02Your thumbnail as a PNG, at a public Google Drive link
  3. 03Two or three sentences in the write-up: the idea and how you planned the first three seconds

Acceptance criteria

Judged against exactly these

  • The video is vertical and between 30 and 60 seconds long
  • The first three seconds open with a hook (the result, a question or a surprise), not a greeting
  • It has accurate captions throughout
  • The thumbnail is 1080×1920, with a clear image and no more than four words of text
  • The video is public and plays for someone who is signed out

Rules

  • Complete the lesson first. The submit form unlocks once you mark it done.
  • Submit a link to your work: a public GitHub repo or PR for code challenges; YouTube, Google Drive or Docs, Figma, Notion or a live site for everything else.
  • AI tools are allowed and encouraged. Plagiarised or copied work is disqualified.
  • The work must be made during the challenge window. For code, the commit history must show it.
  • An AI reviewer pre-scores every entry against the acceptance criteria. A human makes the final decision.
  • On payout, Alt AI Labs receives a licence to use the winning work (MIT for code). Non-winning entries stay yours.
  • Do not include secrets, API keys or anyone's personal data.
  • Film only people who agreed to be in your video. Use only music and clips you have the right to use.
video-editingcapcutstorytellingthumbnails

Submit

Sign in and complete the lesson to submit. Entry is free.

Sign in

Results

  1. 01

    AI pre-score

    AI reviews your write-up against the acceptance criteria. It cannot open your link, so explain your work clearly.

  2. 02

    Human decision

    A human reviews the work itself and makes the final call. The AI score is advisory.

  3. 03

    Win

    There is no cash prize. Winning work is shown to the organization behind the challenge.

Posted by

Alt AI Labs