YouTube Shorts Aspect Ratio
Shorts are vertical. 9:16 is the default frame for Reels, Shorts and TikTok, and anything wider gets cropped or padded to fit it.
The question behind the question is usually what happens to a 16:9 recording. OpusClip reframes it to 9:16 by tracking the subject rather than cropping blind.
Why a 16:9 recording does not become a Short on its own
Fill crops, Fit pads
Fill focuses on the speaker and crops them to fill the 9:16 screen. Fit crops your original to 4:3 and adds opaque padding at the top and bottom instead. Two very different looking Shorts.
Speakers move out of a static crop
Auto Reframe tracks moving and active speakers on screen so the vertical frame follows them, rather than locking to the centre of the original footage.
The Shorts feed is where the reach is
If your views come mostly from profile visits, search results or shared links, the video is not being picked up by the Shorts feed, which is where the majority of organic reach happens.
Turn one landscape upload into vertical Shorts
Clipping finds the moments worth posting and scores each one, then reframes the cut so it is already in the 9:16 frame when you open it.
Clip settings cover video length, clip length, clipping mode, aspect ratio and caption preset, so the vertical frame is decided before anything renders.
Turn one landscape upload into vertical Shorts
Clipping finds the moments worth posting and scores each one, then reframes the cut so it is already in the 9:16 frame when you open it.
Clip settings cover video length, clip length, clipping mode, aspect ratio and caption preset, so the vertical frame is decided before anything renders.
Choose how the crop behaves
AI Reframe handles 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9. Subject Tracking follows a person or object and keeps them centred and in focus instead of cropping around a fixed point.
When a shot needs a human eye, open Manual Reframe and drag the frame exactly where you want it.
Choose how the crop behaves
AI Reframe handles 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9. Subject Tracking follows a person or object and keeps them centred and in focus instead of cropping around a fixed point.
When a shot needs a human eye, open Manual Reframe and drag the frame exactly where you want it.
Schedule Shorts without leaving the project
Post now or schedule for later from the project page, through YouTube's official API. Scheduled posts can be cancelled before they publish.
When posting or scheduling we use the 4K asset automatically if your source was genuinely 4K, though the quality YouTube finally displays depends on its own limits.
Schedule Shorts without leaving the project
Post now or schedule for later from the project page, through YouTube's official API. Scheduled posts can be cancelled before they publish.
When posting or scheduling we use the 4K asset automatically if your source was genuinely 4K, though the quality YouTube finally displays depends on its own limits.
How to make a 9:16 Short from a landscape video
Bring in the long video
Upload a file or paste a link. Longer recordings give clipping more candidate moments to pull a Short from.
Set the clip layout to 9:16
In Editor, open Clip Layout Settings and pick 9:16 Vertical, then save changes. You can also preset 9:16 in a brand template so new clips start vertical.
Check the reframe shot by shot
Auto Reframe tracks active speakers, but scan the result. Double-click any shot to open Manual Reframe and adjust the framing by dragging the corners or edges.
Add captions and publish
Animated captions run at 97%+ accuracy. Export the Short, or post and schedule it to YouTube from the project page.
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Built for vertical output
9:16 vertical by default
9:16 is the default frame for vertical video, with 1:1 for square posts and 16:9 for landscape when you need them.
Auto Reframe
Tracks moving and active speakers on screen so the vertical crop follows them across the cut.
Subject Tracking
Follows a person or object through the video, adjusting the frame to keep them centred and in focus.
Manual Reframe
Open the crop window from the Crop icon or by double-clicking the video, then drag the four corners or edges.
Animated captions
Captions at 97%+ accuracy, with a caption preset saved alongside the clip's aspect ratio.
Virality Score
Every clip is scored from 0 to 99 on Hook, Flow and Trend, so you can pick which cuts to post as Shorts.
YouTube scheduling
Schedule Shorts to YouTube alongside TikTok Feed, Instagram Reels, Facebook Page, LinkedIn, X (beta), Pinterest, Threads and Bluesky.
Brand templates
Preset 9:16 ahead of time and apply it to your clips with a single click.
What people are saying
"I love that it's AI can find the best moments from a podcast or livestream instead of having to ask my client for specific timestamps, and will even add subtitles, effects and media to the videos as well."
Anonymous
"Simple and easy. Just upload the video and everything else is taken care of. Generally it picks great snapshots to use a YouTube shorts."
Erik-Jon M.
"OpusClip is AMAZING! I love how quickly it deconstructs longer videos into short clips with ratings and descriptions. It has made me more thoughtful in my speeches."
Steve W.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the YouTube Shorts aspect ratio?
9:16 vertical. It is the default frame for vertical video including Shorts, Reels and TikTok, so a 16:9 recording has to be cropped or padded to fit it.
Can I upload a 16:9 video as a Short?
You can, but it will not fill the 9:16 frame. Reframing to 9:16 either crops to fill around the speaker, or fits the whole frame with padding at the top and bottom.
Does OpusClip reframe Shorts automatically?
Yes. Auto Reframe tracks moving and active speakers on screen, and AI Reframe covers 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9, with Manual Reframe there for shots that need adjusting.
Can I schedule Shorts to YouTube from OpusClip?
Yes, on plans that include social scheduling. You post or schedule from the project page through YouTube's official API, and scheduled posts can be cancelled before they publish.
Frequently Asked Questions
What languages does your video transcription tool support?
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