OpusClip is NOT Great at Gaming Clips - Here is Why I use it Anyways

Let me start off by stating that I am a brand partner for Opus, as I think that is relevant. However I was using CrossClip WAY before OpusClip even came out, and I knew about JoinCombo as well. Not to mention the various other tools on the market, most of which I list out in this post if you want to find more tools: https://polyinnovator.substack.com/p/how-do-i-create-my-gaming-clips

I'm making this post a bit out of frustration of tools across the board. Whether I like them or not, there needs to be better innovation in the space.

The "godfather" of GAMING repurposing tools I would say is JoinCombo, to my knowledge they came out first for gaming clipping. Then CrossClip copied, and eventually sold to Streamlabs. Then Eklipse, Streamladder, Clipbot, all came on the scene too.

I couldn't ever get combo to work properly, it would crash, and it never could import my ultrawide footage. Despite all of its competitors being able to. Crossclip happened to be the easiest and cheapest for a long time. Not to mention I could save various layouts for different games, which works different than OpusClip's brand templates.

Now that Opus came onto the market they've added a lot of features. One in particular I want to show case is the quick action buttons.

The one in particular I am using is the AI Reframe, which allows me to just upload the clip without it trying to "find clips" or go through the whole normal process. I should note too that the clips are too short anyways, so Opus would default to reframing. But this button makes it quicker.

I've thrown TONS of clips into it, and I have had a lot of luck. Although there has been a few instances of it getting stuck at 99% and then "project failed" for full disclosure. However it only happens 5-10% of the time, and you can just rerun the clip (the process only costs 1 credit btw).

I select the Gaming reframe option, but I also sometimes do the "FILL" option which is a simple one viewport crop of the gameplay. For some games this is actually all you need. I just like using the gameplay one because sometimes you want the full viewport to be seen (that way you can see the hud too).

The process takes very little time, even technically less than Crossclip. Which happens to have my custom layouts I pre-made.

For context I've used CrossClip to a large degree:

For something as complex visually as Apex Legends I would argue that perhaps Crossclip would be more prudent. Although it is really clip dependent. I have been using both Videobolt and OpusClip for my clips, and it all depends on the context of the clip.

Crossclip has a bit too many clips to apply a layout, but you can set one as default. Meaning you can just drop clip after clip and it would follow the same format.

I created one specifically for Apex and one for State of Decay. Which I really wanted to include details like which guns I was using, or my health bar/plague infection. As some clips are seconds away from dying, and I wanted to showcase that.

The problem is that I don't want to pay for another tool, and the free plan is only 720p plus logo and end screen ad for crossclip. I often would do clips in big sprints, and so I pay for a month of crossclip then forget about it for a year.

Hence why I started using Opus a lot more too.

How does it compare to OpusClip?

While you have more nuanced viewport control of the screen. You can have more than 2 viewports in Crossclip. For most clips you honestly only need 1-2 viewports. It is more about the actual process of making the clip 9:16 instead of landscape.

As well as, the gameplay reframe is pretty good too for most clips to get all the information you need. Or if you want to include your facecam.

It is frustrating that there are a few extra steps. Such as going through a pop up instead of just quickly adjusting on the fly. Also Crossclip lets you see BOTH canvases, so you can see how the horizontal changes on the vertical.

Giving you color coded comparison viewframes.

Would I use OpusClip if I wasn't already a partner or using it for my podcast?

Yes and no, it would depend on how I wanted to make clips. I would argue that Opus does a decent job at FINDING clips, depending on the game. There is even an option to let you choose what type of clip you want to focus on upon upload.

For the games I've put in I've gotten about a 60% usage rate. That is much lower than my roughly 80-85% usage rate I get from podcast interview videos. Which is what it was originally designed for. However over the last couple years they've refined their AI models more and more, and even came out with the ClipAnything model (the first of its kind) that can also watch the video itself. Not just the transcript.

However if I already had a ton of clips simply from clipping from Xbox or using a tool on my pc to just clip while I'm gaming, or OBS replay buffer. Etc. Then I wouldn't need Opus to FIND the clips.

At that point you could drop the stream into Opus to find MORE clips than what you already had, or you could use it to reframe the clips more easily (if they weren't already framed in OBS for example).

So there is still a use-case there, but it is nuanced on how you are getting your content.

Why don't I use Eklipse, Streamladder, or insert "X" tool here?

First and foremost is PRICE! Yes OpusClip is rather expensive to a lot of creators, but they often have a lot of deals (like the 50% yearly plans right now as of the time of this writing). Also I am already using it for my Podcast clipping, so it is a two in one use-case for me. Streamladder doesn't do well enough for podcast clips to be useful, and Nexus either.

Although I do plan on trying out Nexus Clips here soon, as I keep hearing about it from various streamers.

Nexus Clips

Artificial Intelligence that turns your content into eye-catching, animated clips optimized to go viral. We edit, subtitle and publish your clips.

As for Eklipse it has such an awful interface, that is almost the worst I've ever used in any website. It is clunky, and even if the actual features work well. There is just too many steps from point A to point B that it makes it completely NOT-worth it.

Streamladder is good, and I think that they have some potential. Even if they are only a fraction of the userbase size of Opus.

However one thing that really keeps me back is that I can't drag and drop my clips in. I'm telling you that one bit can make a huge difference. It may seem like I'm being nitpicky, and I will mention that Opus sometimes fails to "tell" that I'm moving a clip over. Then I have to click the box, and then drag.

However when you are doing HUNDREDS of clips, this small detail adds up in the amount of time you are spending working on repurposing.

Where to go from here?

If you want to check out OpusClip this here is my link:

OpusClip: #1 AI video clipping tool to create viral shorts

OpusClip turns long videos into high-quality viral clips, and publishes them to all social platforms in one click. We help 10M+ creators create and grow faster.

Lewis Howes

Here is a tool I have been using alongside Opus, as it is quicker for simple "FILL" based clips. As in I don't need the multiple viewport canvas, like in Opus I have the full 16:9 view (or this could be facecam too), and then the main view in the bottom.

Instead if I just simply need to crop the video into a tiktok format, as the HUD info is not needed for the clip. I use this one! It is a lot quicker in the bulk editing that I am doing.

Videobolt

If you want more tools to go down the rabbit hole check here:

How do I create my Gaming Clips?

Here are a few tools I use to create gaming clip from my gaming channel content.

The Content PolymathDustin Miller - PolyInnovator