How to Make a Horizontal Video Vertical for TikTok

You have an amazing horizontal video that deserves a bigger audience, but it's just not built for TikTok's vertical world. Don't worry, converting that widescreen footage into an engaging, full-screen vertical clip is easier than you think. This guide will walk you through the three best methods for reframing your horizontal video, explaining exactly when and how to use each one to get professional-looking results every time.

Why You Can't Just Upload a Horizontal Video to TikTok

While you can technically upload a horizontal (16:9 aspect ratio) video directly to TikTok, it's one of the fastest ways to tell your audience you don't understand the platform. TikTok is designed for an immersive, full-screen experience. When you upload a horizontal video, it gets placed onto a vertical (9:16) canvas with massive black bars above and below it.

Here's why that's a problem:

• It breaks the user experience: People scroll through TikTok expecting edge-to-edge content. A tiny video floating in a black void feels jarring and out of place, breaking the seamless flow of the "For You" page.
• It looks unprofessional: Showing up with letterboxed content makes your brand or account look amateurish. It signals that you're simply dumping repurposed content without tailoring it for the platform.
• The algorithm notices: Low engagement is a signal to TikTok's algorithm. Videos that get skipped quickly because they're formatted poorly are less likely to be shown to a wider audience, limiting your reach before you even get started.

Taking a few extra minutes to properly format your video for vertical viewing isn't just about aesthetics, it's a fundamental part of playing by the rules of the platform and respecting the viewer's experience.

Three Great Ways to Make a Horizontal Video Vertical

Rather than a one-size-fits-all solution, the best way to convert your footage depends on what's actually in the original horizontal video. You have three primary conversion methods at your disposal. We'll go over the step-by-step instructions for each one, but first, here's a quick overview to help you decide which is right for your content.

1. The Blurred Background Method: The quickest and simplest solution. You place your original horizontal video over a zoomed-in, blurred version of itself. This is perfect for talking-head videos or clips where you need to preserve the full horizontal frame.
2. The Stacked Clip Method: Ideal for videos featuring two distinct subjects on opposite sides of the screen, like podcast interviews or two-person commentary. You essentially stack the left and right halves of the video on top of each other.
3. The Pan & Scan Method (Reframing): The most professional and dynamic option, but also the most time-consuming. You "reframe" your shot by zooming in and using keyframes to follow the action in the video. This works wonders for cinematic footage, sports highlights, and action sequences.

You can do all of these methods in popular video editing apps like CapCut and InShot on your phone, or with more professional software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve on a desktop.

Method 1: The Blurred Background Method (Quick & Easy)

This is the go-to technique for many creators because it's fast, simple, and gets the job done cleanly without cropping out any important details from your original footage. It fills the entire vertical screen (a big plus for the algorithm) while keeping your original horizontal clip as the main point of focus.

When to use this method:

• Videos where the subject is centered and you want to maintain the original wide shot (like tutorials, product demos, or certain landscapes).
• Talking head videos or presentations where context on both sides of the speaker is helpful.
• When you're short on time and need a reliable way to make any horizontal video look presentable.

How to do it step-by-step:

1. Create a new project in vertical format (9:16). In your video editor, make sure your project or sequence settings are set to a 9:16 aspect ratio (e.g., 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels tall).
2. Add your horizontal video to the timeline. It will appear in the center with black bars above and below it. This is normal.
3. Add the same video clip again on a separate layer. Most editors let you stack layers or tracks. Place the second copy either on the track directly below the first one (in desktop editors) or as a separate layer (in mobile apps).
4. Scale up the bottom layer. Select the background (bottom) layer and increase its size until it fills the entire 9:16 screen. The sides will extend beyond the frame, but that's what you want.
5. Apply a blur effect to the background layer. Look for a blur effect, often called "Gaussian Blur" or just "Blur" in your editor's effects panel. Apply it to the background layer. Adjust the intensity of the blur until it's noticeable enough to act as a background texture but not so blurry that it becomes distracting.
6. Voila! Add text or captions. Your original, unblurred horizontal video now sits perfectly atop a full-screen, blurred version of itself. You can use the extra space above and below the main video frame for adding an engaging headline or burned-in captions.

Method 2: The Stacked Clip Method (For Interviews & Podcasts)

Have you seen those viral podcast clips where the host is on the top half of the screen and the guest is on the bottom? That's the stacked clip method. It's a brilliant way to handle horizontal video where the action is split between two sides of the frame. Instead of awkwardly trying to fit both people into a small central window, you give each person their own dedicated space.

When to use this method:

• Podcast interviews recorded with hosts and guests side-by-side.
• Debate-style content or split-screen reaction videos.
• Any video featuring two points of focus that can be separated cleanly.

How to do it step-by-step:

1. Start a new project in vertical format (9:16). Just like before, set your project settings to 1080x1920 or a similar 9:16 resolution.
2. Add your video clip twice on two separate layers. Put one clip on Layer 1 and the same clip on Layer 2, stacked on top of each other.
3. Crop the top layer. Select the video on the top layer. Use your editor's "Crop" or "Mask" tool to crop the video so only one subject (for example, the person on the left) is visible. Leave a good amount of buffer space around them.
4. Position the top layer. Move this newly-cropped layer up so it fills the top half of the vertical screen.
5. Crop and position the bottom layer. Now select the bottom layer and do the opposite. Crop the video so only the other subject (the person on the right) is visible. Move this layer down to fill the bottom half of the screen.
6. Add a middle ground for captions. You should now have a small gap between the two stacked videos. This is the perfect spot for adding subtitles since both speakers' faces remain fully visible. This format is incredibly effective for dialogue-heavy content.

Method 3: The Pan & Scan Method (The Most Professional Look)

This is the technique that transforms nice-looking horizontal video into something that feels truly native to TikTok. By scaling up the footage and creating artificial camera movements to follow the action, you create a direct, focused, and dynamic clip. It requires more effort, but the results speak for themselves.

When to use this method:

• Cinematic shots where a subject is moving around the frame.
• Sports clips to follow the player or the ball.
• High-action sequences or videos with lots of movement where the focal point changes over time.

How to do it step-by-step using keyframes:

1. Create a new vertical (9:16) project. Get your canvas ready for your vertical video masterpiece.
2. Add your horizontal clip. Place your video on the timeline.
3. Scale it up. Instead of leaving it in the middle, scale up the video until its width perfectly fits the width of the vertical frame. This focuses on the action and gets rid of the black bars for good. A lot of your original shot will now be invisible, sitting outside the left and right edges of the vertical screen.
4. Set your first keyframe. Move the timeline playhead to the very beginning of your clip. Adjust the video's horizontal "Position" so that your main subject is perfectly in focus. Once you have it framed up, set a keyframe for the "Position" property. This tells the editor "at this point in time, the video should be in this exact spot."
5. Follow the action. Play the video or scrub through the timeline. When your subject starts to move out of the frame, pause the video. Without creating a new keyframe yourself, simply adjust the video's "Position" again to re-center the subject. Your editor will automatically create a second keyframe at this new point in time.
6. Continue the process. Repeat this any time the subject moves. You're essentially creating a custom "pan" with your keyframes. The editor will automatically generate smooth motion between each keyframe you set, making it seem like the camera operator was following the action all along.

Final Thoughts

Each of these three methods - the blurred background, the stacked clip, and pan-and-scan reframing - provides a strong solution for turning horizontal video into compelling vertical content. Choosing the right one empowers you to repurpose your best footage for TikTok without sacrificing quality or engagement.

Running a brand today often means creating content for drastically different formats, from widescreen YouTube videos to vertical TikToks and Reels. We built Postbase from the ground up to handle this exact challenge. Our visual calendar lets you plan all your content in one place, while our scheduling tools are specifically designed for video-first workflows, allowing you to upload once and publish perfectly formatted video to every platform without encountering formatting issues.