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Guide
How to make a vertical video for Instagram, TikTok and Shorts
A vertical video is 9:16: taller than wide, filling a phone held upright. Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts all use it. Compose for the middle of the frame, and keep text out of the bottom third.
What vertical video is
Vertical video has an aspect ratio of 9:16. The frame is taller than it is wide and fills a phone held upright. Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are built for it. A landscape video shown in those feeds ends up small, with empty bars above and below.
The opposite holds on a website. A web page is wide, so a 9:16 video sits in a narrow column. For a homepage or a normal YouTube upload, the right format is landscape, 16:9.
The specs, from the platforms themselves
Many spec lists online contradict the platforms. The table below uses each platform’s own help pages, checked on 30 September 2026.
| Platform | Aspect ratio | Resolution | Length | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels (ads) | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 pixels recommended | Up to 15 minutes | Meta Ads Guide |
| TikTok (in-feed ads) | 9:16 recommended | At least 540 × 960 pixels | Up to 10 minutes | TikTok Ads Manager help |
| YouTube Shorts | Square or vertical | Not stated in the definition | Up to three minutes | YouTube Help |
| LinkedIn (video ads) | 9:16 supported, with 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5 | 360 × 640 to 1080 × 1920 pixels | Three seconds to 30 minutes | LinkedIn Marketing Help |
These are upper limits, not targets. Short videos suit these feeds, and a company message fits in 10 to 30 seconds.
Safe zones: where the apps cover your video
Each app lays its own buttons and captions over the video. Anything important under them is lost.
Meta publishes exact numbers for Reels ads. Keep about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% at each side free of text and logos. The bottom zone is the largest, because the caption, the account name and the buttons sit there.
TikTok does not give one number. Its help page says the safe zone depends on the format and the caption length, and it offers template files to download.
The practical rule is the same for every platform. Keep faces, products and text in the middle of the frame, and leave the bottom third empty of anything that matters.
What a good vertical video looks like
A vertical frame is not a cropped landscape frame. A good vertical video meets five criteria.
- One subject. A tall frame suits one person or one product, not a wide group.
- Close framing. The subject fills the height, because a phone screen is small.
- Action in the first second. The video opens with the person or the product already doing something.
- The middle third carries the message. The top and bottom are covered by the app.
- It works without sound. Subtitles carry the words when the sound is off.
16:9 or 9:16 for a company video
Choose the format by the main place the video will run.
| Where the video runs | Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Stories | Portrait 9:16 | These feeds are vertical and full screen |
| Website, product page | Landscape 16:9 | A page is wide |
| YouTube, as a normal upload | Landscape 16:9 | The standard player is wide |
| Presentation or pitch deck | Landscape 16:9 | Slides are wide |
| Either | Landscape suits desktop; portrait takes more of a phone screen |
If the video runs in both kinds of place, make the version for the main channel first. A second format is a second video.
How to make one in GetReelCom, step by step
GetReelCom offers two formats: Landscape (16:9) and Portrait (9:16).
- Click New video and choose Portrait before anything else.
- Select one or two characters. One works best in a tall frame.
- Write the scene for the frame: one person, close, doing one thing. Avoid wide shots of a whole room.
- Keep the narration to about 25 words, and put the point in the first sentence.
- Click Save & draw the frame for 1 credit. Check that the subject sits in the middle of the frame.
- Click Looks good, make the video for 10 credits, and download the MP4.
The format is fixed once the frame is drawn. To get the same scene in landscape, create a new video and copy the text from the finished one. Details are in Landscape or portrait.
A worked example
The example series on the examples page are landscape, so this guide shows the difference in words. Take a product scene for an espresso machine supplier, written twice.
| Landscape version | Portrait version | |
|---|---|---|
| Scene text | “Noor, a café owner, pulls an espresso at the counter while two guests wait at the bar.” | “Noor, a café owner, close up, pulls an espresso and looks up with a smile.” |
| What fills the frame | The counter, the machine and the guests | Noor and the machine |
| Where it runs | The product page | Reels and TikTok |
| Narration | The same 25 words | The same 25 words |
The portrait text drops the guests and the wide counter. It names one person and one action, so the subject fills the height. The narration can stay the same, because the message did not change.
Subtitles in a vertical video
Subtitles matter in vertical feeds, because a viewer with the sound off still gets the message. GetReelCom can burn subtitles into a finished scene, so they are part of the picture. That matters because an MP4 posted to Reels, TikTok or Shorts carries no separate subtitle file.
In a portrait video, GetReelCom places the subtitles about 20% above the bottom edge. That keeps them above the caption and the account name on an ordinary post. Meta’s guidance for ads asks for a larger free zone of 35%. Check the ad preview before you run a portrait video as a Reels ad.
Switch subtitles on or off with the Subtitles switch on the finished video.
Cost and time
A portrait scene costs the same as a landscape one: 11 credits for ten seconds. A 30-second vertical video is three scenes, or 33 credits.
Both formats of one scene cost 22 credits, because each format is a separate video. A new account starts with 40 free credits.
A frame takes about 30 seconds and a scene about a minute, in either format.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the format at the end. The format is fixed with the first frame. Decide before you draw.
- Writing a wide scene for a tall frame. “The team in the open-plan office” wastes the height. Write one person, close.
- Putting the point at the bottom. The app covers the bottom of the frame. Keep the action in the middle.
- Opening slowly. An establishing shot loses the viewer. Start with the person or the product.
- Cropping a landscape video. A crop cuts off the sides and the subject with them. Make a portrait version instead.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a vertical video for Instagram, TikTok and Shorts?
The aspect ratio is 9:16 on all three. Meta recommends 1440 × 2560 pixels for Reels ads, and TikTok asks for at least 540 × 960. YouTube counts a square or vertical video of up to three minutes as a Short. A 9:16 MP4 works on all of them.
Can I use the same vertical video on Reels, TikTok and Shorts?
Yes. All three accept a 9:16 video, so one file serves all three feeds. Keep the important content in the middle of the frame, because each app covers different parts of the edges. Shorts must be three minutes or shorter.
Should a company video be 16:9 or 9:16?
It depends on the channel. Use 9:16 for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Stories. Use 16:9 for a website, a normal YouTube upload and a presentation. LinkedIn plays both. If you need both, make the version for your main channel first.
Can I convert a landscape video to vertical?
Only by cropping, and a crop cuts off the sides. A scene composed for a wide frame rarely survives that. In GetReelCom the format is fixed per video, so you create a new video in Portrait and reuse the text. That costs 11 credits per scene.
Where should subtitles go in a vertical video?
In the lower middle of the frame, above the app’s own caption and buttons. Meta asks advertisers to keep the bottom 35% of a Reel clear. GetReelCom places its burned-in subtitles about 20% above the bottom edge of a portrait video.
Sources
Platform pages were checked on 30 September 2026.
- Meta, Ads Guide: Instagram Reels video: 9:16, 1440 × 2560 pixels, up to 15 minutes, safe zones of 14%, 35% and 6%.
- TikTok, Video ads specifications: 9:16 recommended, at least 540 × 960 pixels, up to 10 minutes, safe zone by format.
- YouTube Help, three-minute Shorts: square or vertical, up to three minutes.
- LinkedIn Marketing Help, Video ads specifications: supported ratios and sizes, three seconds to 30 minutes.
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