Can I make a horizontal video vertical without cropping?

Yes, by letterboxing or adding a blurred background, but the video appears smaller.

Will cropping reduce quality?

It reduces the pixel count. Detail in the kept area is unchanged.

How do I keep a moving subject in frame?

Trim into centred sections, or use auto-reframe in a full editor.

Is the video uploaded?

No. Cropping runs in your browser.

Can I crop to 4:5 instead?

Yes. Choose 4:5 for Instagram feed posts.

Can I make only part of a video vertical?

Trim that part first, then crop the trimmed clip to 9:16.

What if my subject is at the edge of the frame?

Trim to sections where it's central, or reframe in an editor with keyframes.

Can I go from vertical to landscape?

Yes, by cropping to 16:9 (losing top and bottom) or by padding the sides.

Does Videozify upscale after cropping?

No. It keeps the cropped pixels, and you can resize separately if a platform needs exact dimensions.

What's the difference between cropping and resizing?

Cropping changes the shape by removing edges; resizing changes the pixel count and keeps the shape.

Can I crop to 9:16 on a computer?

Yes, in any browser with Videozify, or with Clipchamp on Windows.

Will captions survive cropping?

Burned-in captions near the edges may be cut. Add captions after cropping.

Is 9:16 the same as 1080×1920?

1080×1920 is the standard 9:16 resolution.

Can I make a vertical video on Windows?

Yes. Use Videozify in Edge or Chrome, or Clipchamp with a 9:16 project.

Do I need to resize after cropping?

Only if a platform demands exact dimensions; they generally scale uploads automatically.

Guide

How to make a landscape video vertical

By Mohamed Laghbar · Updated 10 October 2026

To make a landscape video vertical, crop it to 9:16. That keeps a vertical slice of the frame, usually the centre, and fills the phone screen. The alternatives are letterboxing (the whole frame with bars above and below) or a blurred background behind the original. Cropping looks most native on Reels, TikTok and Shorts if the subject is near the centre.

The crop video tool centre-crops any clip to 9:16 in your browser. If the clip is sideways rather than wide, use rotate video instead.

How to make a video vertical with Videozify

Check whether the subject stays near the centre of the frame. If not, trim to the part where it does.
Open Crop video and drop in the landscape clip.
Choose 9:16 (vertical).
Press Crop video and wait for the progress bar.
Preview the result. If it's below 1080 pixels tall and looks soft, that's the limit of the source; shoot 4K landscape next time if you plan to crop.
Download the MP4 and post it, or add captions with Burn subtitles first.

Open the crop video tool →

Crop, letterbox or blurred background?

Crop: fills the screen and looks native, but throws away the sides of the frame. Best for single subjects such as talking heads, products and people walking towards the camera.

Letterbox: keeps the whole picture with black bars above and below. The video appears small on a phone, but nothing is lost. Best for wide scenes where the sides matter, like landscapes, group shots and slides.

Blurred background: places the full landscape frame in the middle over a blurred, zoomed copy of itself. It looks more polished than bars and is popular for repurposed podcasts and gameplay. It needs an editor with layers, such as CapCut, Premiere or DaVinci Resolve.

What resolution do you end up with?

A centre crop from a 1920×1080 landscape video gives a 608×1080 vertical frame, about a third of the width. Platforms then display it at 1080×1920, so it's upscaled, which looks fine on a phone but softer than native vertical footage. From a 4K (3840×2160) source, the crop is 1215×2160, which is more than full 1080×1920 resolution. If you know footage will be used vertically, shoot 4K landscape or shoot vertically.

Keeping the subject in frame

A fixed centre crop works when the subject stays in the middle. If someone walks from left to right, they leave the frame. Options: trim the clip into sections where the subject is centred, re-frame each section in a full editor with keyframes, or use an editor's auto-reframe feature (Premiere's Auto Reframe, DaVinci's Smart Reframe, or CapCut's auto-reframe), which tracks the subject.

Sideways is not the same as landscape

If a phone video was recorded vertically but plays sideways, it doesn't need cropping; it needs rotating. Rotating keeps the full frame. Use the rotate video tool and pick 90° clockwise or counter-clockwise until it's upright.

Native options

iPhone: Photos > Edit > Crop, then tap the aspect ratio icon and choose 9:16. Drag to reposition the crop. It's simple and keeps quality high, but the crop is fixed for the whole clip.

Android: Google Photos > Edit > Crop offers free-form and preset ratios for videos. Samsung's gallery editor has a 9:16 preset.

Windows: Clipchamp lets you change the project to 9:16 and then choose Fit (letterbox) or Fill (crop) for each clip.

Mac: iMovie can't make vertical projects. Final Cut Pro supports vertical projects and Smart Conform, which reframes automatically.

Repurposing a landscape podcast or interview

Two-person podcasts are often filmed in wide shots, with both people in frame. A single centre crop cuts one person out. Options: crop each speaker's half into separate vertical clips and alternate between them when they speak (an editor with multicam or manual cutting is needed), stack the two speakers vertically in a split-screen layout, or use a blurred-background layout that shows the whole wide shot. For short highlight clips featuring one speaker, a simple crop on that person works well.

Gameplay and screen recordings

Screen recordings and gameplay rarely crop well to 9:16, because important information sits at the edges: maps, menus, health bars, chat. Common approaches are a split layout with the facecam above and a cropped gameplay area below, or a letterboxed full frame with a title above and captions below. For tutorials, zooming into the active area of the screen keeps text readable on a phone.

Checking the result on a phone

Before posting, send the cropped video to your phone and watch it full screen. Check that faces aren't cut at the forehead, text isn't clipped at the edges, and nothing important is hidden behind where the platform puts buttons. It takes a minute and catches most framing problems.

Resolution after cropping

After a vertical crop from 1080p landscape, the video is about 608 pixels wide. Platforms upscale it to fill the screen, which is acceptable but soft. Upscaling yourself before upload doesn't add detail. If sharpness matters, shoot 4K landscape or vertical from the start; a 4K crop yields more than full 1080×1920 resolution, so nothing needs upscaling.

Captions and text in vertical video

After cropping, any text that was in the landscape frame, such as lower thirds or slide text, may be cut off at the edges. Plan for this by adding captions after cropping. Burned-in captions should sit in the lower third, above the area where Reels, TikTok and Shorts put their own captions and buttons.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a horizontal video vertical without cropping?: Yes, by letterboxing or adding a blurred background, but the video appears smaller.
Will cropping reduce quality?: It reduces the pixel count. Detail in the kept area is unchanged.
How do I keep a moving subject in frame?: Trim into centred sections, or use auto-reframe in a full editor.
Is the video uploaded?: No. Cropping runs in your browser.
What's the best resolution for vertical video?: 1080×1920.
Can I crop to 4:5 instead?: Yes. Choose 4:5 for Instagram feed posts.
Can I make only part of a video vertical?: Trim that part first, then crop the trimmed clip to 9:16.
What if my subject is at the edge of the frame?: Trim to sections where it's central, or reframe in an editor with keyframes.
Can I go from vertical to landscape?: Yes, by cropping to 16:9 (losing top and bottom) or by padding the sides.
Does Videozify upscale after cropping?: No. It keeps the cropped pixels, and you can resize separately if a platform needs exact dimensions.
What's the difference between cropping and resizing?: Cropping changes the shape by removing edges; resizing changes the pixel count and keeps the shape.
Can I crop to 9:16 on a computer?: Yes, in any browser with Videozify, or with Clipchamp on Windows.
Will captions survive cropping?: Burned-in captions near the edges may be cut. Add captions after cropping.
Is 9:16 the same as 1080×1920?: 1080×1920 is the standard 9:16 resolution.
Can I make a vertical video on Windows?: Yes. Use Videozify in Edge or Chrome, or Clipchamp with a 9:16 project.
Do I need to resize after cropping?: Only if a platform demands exact dimensions; they generally scale uploads automatically.