If you create YouTube videos or record horizontal footage, repurposing it for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Shorts is one of the smartest ways to grow your audience. The problem? Cropping a 16:9 video into 9:16 usually cuts off important parts of the frame.
Thankfully, you don’t have to choose between bad cropping and re-filming everything. In this guide, we cover the best ways to turn horizontal videos into vertical format.
Method 1: AI Frame Extend (Best Quality, No Cropping)
This is the most modern and effective method. AI tools analyze the existing image and generate new content to extend the top and bottom of the frame, filling the vertical space naturally.
The best tool for this right now is Wondershare Filmora 15 with its AI Extend feature.
Learn more about AI Extend in our full Filmora 15 review.
How to do it:
- Import your horizontal 16:9 video into Filmora 15.
- Create a new 9:16 (vertical) project.
- Select your clip on the timeline and open the AI Tools menu.
- Choose AI Extend. The tool will automatically generate additional image content above and below the original frame.
- Adjust the position of your original footage to center the most important part.
- Preview the result. The extended edges will blend naturally with the original video.
- Export your finished vertical video.
This method works incredibly well for landscapes, interiors, talking heads, and most casual footage. It preserves 100% of your original content instead of cutting half of it away.
Method 2: Blurred Background Fill
This is the classic method you’ve seen on many social media videos. You place the original horizontal video in the center of a vertical frame, and fill the empty top and bottom space with a blurred copy of the same footage.
How to do it:
- Duplicate your video clip and place one copy on a lower track.
- Zoom in on the lower clip until it fills the entire vertical frame.
- Apply a heavy blur effect to the background clip.
- Keep the original clip centered and at full clarity on top.
It’s simple and works with almost any editor, but it doesn’t look as clean as AI extend. It also doesn’t add any new visual information — it just repeats what’s already there.
Method 3: Manual Cropping & Reframing
If your subject is small and centered, you can simply crop the sides of the video to fit vertical format. This works best for close-up talking head videos where the person is in the middle of the frame.
The downside is obvious: you lose all the content on the left and right sides of the original video. For wide shots or scenes with multiple people, this usually ruins the composition.
Which Method Is Best?
| Method | Quality | Preserves original content | Effort required |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Extend (Filmora) | Excellent | 100% preserved | 1 click |
| Blurred background | Decent | Partial | Low |
| Manual cropping | Poor | 50%+ lost | Very low |
For anyone repurposing content regularly, AI extend is a game-changer. It takes the same amount of time as cropping but produces far more professional results.
You can test the AI Extend feature yourself by grabbing a free trial — see pricing and plans in our full review.