How to reframe horizontal video for instagram reels
- Step 1Open auto-reframe and add your horizontal clip — Go to the auto-reframe tool and drop in your 16:9 video. It accepts
.mp4,.mov,.mkv,.webm,.avi,.m4v, and.ts. A quick<video>probe reads the dimensions so the crop is computed against your real source size. - Step 2Set the Ratio to 9:16 for a Reel — Reels are 9:16, which is the default. The Ratio dropdown also offers
1:1and4:5— use4:5only if you're actually making a feed post, since the feed crops 9:16 into bars. For a Reel, keep9:16. - Step 3Check your subject is centre-frame — The crop takes the centre strip, so confirm your subject sits near the middle of the 16:9 frame. A guest in the left or right third will be cropped out. If so, re-frame with the video cropper to slide or place the keep-region over them before reframing.
- Step 4Run the reframe — The tool applies
crop=<w>:<h>:(in_w-w)/2:(in_h-h)/2thenscale=<outW>:<outH>:flags=lanczos, capping width at 1080. A 1080p source becomes a 608×1080 vertical; a 4K source becomes 1080×1920. Encode is libx264-preset medium -crf 20, AAC 128k. - Step 5Save the MP4 and trim if needed — Download or stream the
.mp4to disk. Reels supports clips up to a few minutes; if your reframed clip is too long, cut it with the lossless trimmer (no re-encode) before upload. - Step 6Add captions, then publish — Reels relies heavily on on-screen captions. Burn them onto the finished 9:16 clip with the subtitle burner so they survive Instagram's re-encode, then upload. Burned captions also guarantee the text sits inside the visible frame after the crop.
Reels vs feed: which ratio to pick
Instagram treats Reels and the feed differently. Auto-reframe offers 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5 — match the surface you're publishing to.
| Instagram surface | Best ratio | Auto-reframe setting | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reels (Reels tab + full-screen) | 9:16 | 9:16 | Fills the vertical Reels canvas edge-to-edge; 1080×1920 is the target spec |
| Feed post (in-grid scroll) | 4:5 | 4:5 | 4:5 is the tallest the feed shows without cropping; 9:16 gets barred in the feed |
| Grid aesthetic / carousel | 1:1 | 1:1 | Square keeps a uniform grid; centre square crop from 16:9 |
| Stories | 9:16 | 9:16 | Same vertical canvas as Reels |
Centre-crop result from a 1920×1080 Reel source
All three ratios keep the full 1080 height and crop the sides. Output width is capped at 1080; dimensions forced even.
| Ratio | Centre crop | Output | Sides removed |
|---|---|---|---|
9:16 | 608×1080 | 608×1080 | ~656 px each side |
4:5 | 864×1080 | 864×1080 | ~528 px each side |
1:1 | 1080×1080 | 1080×1080 | ~420 px each side |
Cookbook
Real horizontal-to-Reel conversions, with the crop you should expect for each framing. Assumes a 1080p source unless stated.
Centred talking-head to a Reel
A creator framed centre against a backdrop is the ideal centre-crop case. The sides are background; cropping them loses nothing.
Source: 1920x1080, creator centred Ratio: 9:16 Crop: 608x1080 centre strip (x=656) Scale: lanczos -> 608x1080 Output: .mp4 H.264 CRF 20 / AAC 128k Result: subject fills the Reel, no bars
Overhead recipe shot to vertical
Top-down cooking footage keeps the action (the pan, the hands) in the centre. A 9:16 centre crop keeps the cooking and drops the empty counter edges.
Source: 1920x1080 overhead, pan centred Ratio: 9:16 Kept: centre 608-wide strip (the pan, hands) Dropped: counter edges left/right Output: 608x1080 vertical .mp4
Two-person interview where the guest is screen-left
A side-by-side interview puts each person off-centre. The centre crop lands between them and cuts both partly off — the classic failure for a centre-only tool.
Source: 1920x1080, host LEFT / guest RIGHT
Ratio: 9:16 -> crop window centred (x=656..1264)
Result: both people half-cut, dead centre shows the gap
Fix: video-cropper -> place a 9:16 box over whoever
is speaking, or cut to single-speaker segments firstFeed post instead of a Reel
If the destination is the in-grid feed rather than the Reels tab, 9:16 gets barred. Switch to 4:5 — the tallest the feed displays uncropped.
Source: 1920x1080 Ratio: 4:5 (feed, not Reels) Crop: 864x1080 centre block Output: 864x1080 .mp4 Note: for feed presets use instagram-feed-formatter
4K phone clip to a sharp Reel
A 4K MOV from a recent phone gives the Lanczos downscale plenty of detail to work with, yielding a crisp 1080×1920 Reel.
Source: 3840x2160 .mov Ratio: 9:16 Centre strip: 1215x2160 Width cap: 1080 -> output 1080x1920 Output: 1080x1920 .mp4, crisp downscale
Edge cases and what actually happens
Side-by-side interview guests get cut
By designThe crop is centred, so two people on opposite sides of a 16:9 frame both fall partly outside the 9:16 strip — the centre shows the gap between them. There is no subject tracking. Cut the clip into single-speaker segments and use the video cropper to place the crop over whoever is talking, then stitch.
9:16 looks barred in the feed
Wrong surfaceA 9:16 Reel-shaped clip is correct for the Reels tab but the in-grid feed crops it. If you're posting to the feed, use the 4:5 ratio (or the instagram-feed-formatter). 9:16 is for Reels and Stories.
Free tier blocks the job
Upgrade requiredAuto-reframe requires Pro tier or higher; Free tier has video streaming disabled so it won't run. Pro: 10 GB / 5 files. Pro+Media: 100 GB / 50 files. Developer: 100 GB / unlimited batch. No minutes limit — only file size and batch count.
Dimensions not detected
ErrorIf the FFmpeg probe can't read width/height it throws Could not determine video dimensions. Usually a corrupt or unusual container. Transcode first with the video transcoder, then reframe.
Output is 608 wide, not 1080
ExpectedFrom a 1080p source the 9:16 centre strip is 608 px wide, already under the 1080 cap, so it isn't upscaled. Reels still displays it fine, but for a true 1080×1920 master start from 1440p or 4K source.
Captions near the edges vanish
CroppedLower-thirds or captions hugging the left/right of a 16:9 frame sit outside the 9:16 centre strip and are cut. Reframe first, then burn captions onto the vertical clip with the subtitle burner so they land inside the visible area.
Audio re-encoded to AAC
By designAudio is always re-encoded to AAC 128 kbps; there's no codec/bitrate choice or audio-strip option. For Reels this is inaudible. Handle any specialised audio work as a separate step.
Reel exceeds the length you want
Trim separatelyAuto-reframe doesn't trim — it reframes the whole clip. If your reframed Reel is too long, cut it with the lossless trimmer (stream-copy, no quality loss) at a keyframe before or after reframing.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool keep my subject in frame automatically?
Only if your subject is already centred. The crop is fixed to the middle of the frame — no AI tracking or face detection. A centred creator or overhead shot reframes perfectly; an off-centre guest gets cropped. For off-centre subjects, place the crop manually with the video cropper.
What's the difference between making a Reel and a feed post here?
Reels are 9:16 (the default ratio). Feed posts read best at 4:5 — switch the Ratio dropdown. A 9:16 clip posted to the in-grid feed gets cropped, and a 4:5 clip in the Reels tab leaves space. For feed-specific presets, the instagram-feed-formatter targets 1:1 and 4:5 directly.
What output do I get for a Reel?
A 9:16 MP4 (H.264/AAC). From a 1080p source it's 608×1080; from a 4K source it's 1080×1920 because the width caps at 1080. Both fill the Reels canvas; Instagram re-encodes on upload regardless.
Is my footage uploaded to a server?
No. Everything runs in your browser with FFmpeg.wasm. The video never leaves your device — useful for brand or client clips before they're published. Only an anonymous usage counter is recorded server-side, never file content.
Which files can I drop in?
MP4, MOV, MKV, WEBM, AVI, M4V and TS, plus generic video/*. Output is always MP4. A phone MOV and a desktop screen-capture MKV reframe identically.
Will reframing reduce quality?
It re-encodes at CRF 20, which is near-lossless from a good source. Cropping to a narrower strip and re-encoding does compound any existing compression, so start from your sharpest master. A 4K source down to 1080-wide Reel looks markedly better than a 720p one.
Can I crop somewhere other than the centre?
Not in auto-reframe — the crop is centre-only. Use the video cropper to position the crop rectangle anywhere in the frame, or to crop directly to a 9:16 box over an off-centre subject.
How do I add captions to my Reel?
Burn them after reframing with the subtitle burner. Captions placed near the edges of the original 16:9 frame would be cropped out, so it's safest to add them to the finished 9:16 clip — and burned-in captions survive Instagram's re-encode where soft subs may not.
Is there a length limit?
No duration cap in the tool — video tiers limit by file size and batch count, not minutes. Pro is 10 GB per file; Pro+Media 100 GB; Developer 100 GB unlimited batch. Instagram itself caps Reel length, so trim with the lossless trimmer if needed.
Can I batch several clips into Reels at once?
Auto-reframe processes one file at a time in this tool. Your tier sets how many files you can queue (Pro 5, Pro+Media 50, Developer unlimited), but the video engine serialises encodes through a single WASM instance, so they run one after another.
My guest got cropped — what now?
Switch to the video cropper and drag a 9:16 crop box over them wherever they sit. For a two-shot where both people matter, split into single-speaker segments and crop each, or shoot the source with subjects centred next time.
Should I reframe before or after editing music/effects?
Reframe near the end of your edit, after picking the final clip but before adding burned captions. Reframing re-encodes, so doing it once on the final cut avoids stacking generations of compression. Captions go on the reframed vertical last.
Privacy first
Every JAD Video tool runs entirely in your browser via WebCodecs and FFmpeg (WebAssembly). Your video files never leave your device — verified by zero outbound network requests during processing.