How to Make a Horizontal Video Vertical (Easily & Effectively)

With the popularity of videos in the format of Reels and TikTok videos, it’s clear that the future of video is vertical. This is mostly due to the fact that over 70% of digital content consumption in the U.S. is on mobile devices, thanks to their affordability, portability, and widespread availability.

But what if your best video footage is shot horizontally? Does that mean you lose out on quality or valuable traction? Well, yes and no. You don’t lose out on quality, but people are less likely to check out horizontal videos due to the mental friction of switching to landscape modes or adjusting their positions.

So, in this post, we’ll discuss how you can make a horizontal video vertical to ensure that your video footage receives the reach it deserves!

Why Convert Horizontal Videos to Vertical?

While we mentioned briefly about the problems the audience has with horizontal videos, let’s understand this problem a little better.

Vertical video is the easiest for people to consume. Due to the ubiquitous nature of Reels and TikTok videos, it’s become the default format for video-based engagement. So, if you’re a small business whose videos are shot horizontally, you’re losing out on potential engagement and conversions.

You could produce the best testimonial, behind-the-scenes, and product videos, and with a vertical format, these will seem natural in the audience’s feeds.

Here are some of the benefits of vertical video conversion:

• Uses the entire screen space for mobile devices
• Easier to consume, thereby increasing the watch times
• Can be shared on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok
• No need to reshoot, just repurpose

Methods to Convert a Horizontal Video to a Vertical Format

Although it might seem like quite a task to convert your horizontal video into a vertical format, we assure you that it’s not as technical as it sounds. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to approach this, and we’ve outlined these below:

• Beginner Video-editing Tool: You can use a beginner-friendly video editing tool like Canva to reformat your video based on frame and size. The best part? It’s done manually with just a few clicks! Some tools even provide background blur features to ensure that the attention is always on the speaker.
• Professional Editor Tools: If you’re someone who has a decent grasp of tools like Adobe Premiere Pro (or find someone who does), you can use the tool to manually reframe the video. Bear in mind that the ideal aspect ratio is 9:16. You can then add more effects or overlays to give the video a much-needed polish.
• AI-based Tools: Tools like Descript come with face detection features that automatically detect the speaker’s face and keep them centered. The rest of the video frame can be smartly cropped into a mobile-friendly format.

We also recommend using this video editing time to add vertical and mobile-friendly branding elements to your video. This will give the video a professional look and make it look like the video was originally shot in the vertical format!

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Converting Videos

While it isn’t too difficult to convert horizontal videos into vertical ones, there are a few issues that you’d want to avoid at the outset. Otherwise, your video will look unprofessional.

• Cropping Faces or Key Visual Elements: This is a rather obvious one, but don’t crop out any human faces that are participants in the original video. You’ll also want to keep any branded visuals, if they can be accommodated in the 9:16 aspect ratio.
• Ignoring Text or Logo Placement: The logos and texts that were present in the horizontal format may not be placed correctly once you’ve converted the video into a vertical format. Ensure that you change the placements of these elements during the video’s reframing.
• Experimenting with the Aspect Ratio: While it’s good to try out different things, mobile-friendly vertical videos work in the 9:16 aspect ratio, and nothing else. If you try changing it into another aspect ratio, you’ll most likely end up with a video that doesn’t fit the usual mobile screen.
• Captionless Video: Most people prefer captions on their vertical videos. This could be simply for accessibility or to watch the video without audio (due to their environments). If you upload the video without properly synced captions, you miss out on engagement and watch times.
• Overlooking Guidelines: Each platform, whether it’s LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, has its own guidelines for videos. You’ll have to check if there are different sizes for buttons, overlays, and other UI elements. Check out the guidelines before publishing the video to ensure that you’re not violating any of the requirements.

You’ve Made Your Vertical Video. What’s Next?

So, now that you’ve converted your horizontal video to a vertical format, the hard part is done. But just changing the format doesn’t mean an immediate increase in engagement, watch times, or conversions.

To take it a step further, turn your vertical video into an interactive vertical video. Interactive videos have interactive elements embedded into the videos that turn your viewers into active participants, instead of just passive observers. Their input is required to move the video’s narrative forward, and this ensures a huge boost in engagement!

And, with Life Inside, you can convert your new vertical video into an interactive video in just a few minutes. Our platform allows you to create, collect, and automate the distribution of interactive videos, all through an easy-to-use dashboard!

Plus, it gives you a detailed analysis of your videos’ watch time and engagement, making it ideal for A/B testing your video campaigns. Apart from this, the platform seamlessly integrates into your current marketing tech stack.

With 93% of marketers believing that interactive video is excellent in educating buyers, you emphatically increase your chances of conversion!

To redefine your video marketing strategy, join Life Inside today and experience the power of interactive vertical videos!

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Can I make a horizontal video vertical without cropping?

Yes, you can make a horizontal video vertical without cropping. All you need to do is blur the background or add brand-related background color above and below the video. This ensures that in the 9:16 aspect ratio, the original video is still visible.

2. How can I add interactive elements to my vertical videos?

To add interactive elements to your vertical videos, you can try out interactive video platforms like Life Inside. This platform allows you to add multiple interactive elements like polls, quizzes, forms, and CTAs.

3. How can I optimize vertical videos for better engagement?

To get better engagement on your vertical videos, add interactive elements and perfectly synced captions.