Reframing and aspect ratios
Ask “make it 9:16” and Valmera finds the subject in your footage and crops to it. When the content runs to the edges (screen recordings, gameplay, wide shots), it fits the whole picture over a blurred backdrop so nothing is cut off. Choose 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 or the source shape, aim the crop yourself in the framing panel, or change the ratio mid-video.
Make a video vertical
- Ask for the shape
Type “Make it 9:16 for TikTok” (or 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9).
- Let Valmera measure the footage
It samples frames across the kept footage, finds faces (or the most detailed area) and measures how much of the picture a crop would keep.
- Check what it chose
Footage with a clear subject gets a crop aimed at it; edge-to-edge content such as screen recordings and gameplay is fitted over a blurred backdrop so nothing is cut off. The reply says which it used.
- Review the preview
Watch moments where the subject moves, a second person speaks, or text sits near the edge.
- Adjust in plain words
Ask “keep both speakers in frame with blurred bars” or “aim the crop at the person on the left,” or set it yourself in the framing panel.
- Make it 9:16 for TikTok.
- Make a square 1:1 version and keep the product on the table in frame.
- Make it 9:16 but keep both speakers visible, with blurred bars.
- Make it 4:5 for the Instagram feed and aim the crop at the person on the left.
Type these in Studio chat, or ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another assistant connected to Valmera’s MCP server. More in the prompt library.
Captions and text are laid out again for the new frame; see caption placement. To deliver several shapes, export each one from the same project, as described in exporting several versions.
Use the framing panel
Prefer to set it yourself? The framing panel shows the real crop before anything renders.
- Click the frame button next to the player. It shows the current shape, such as Source or 9:16 · Fill.
- Pick a ratio: Source, 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 or 4:5.
- Choose Fill, Fit or Blur.
- With Fill, drag the crop box to choose what stays in the frame.
- Click Apply. Valmera renders once, with your choice.
Choosing Source returns to the original shape and keeps your other edits.
Fill, Fit and Blur
| Panel | In chat | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill | crop | Fills the frame. Anything outside the crop box is cut off. | Talking heads, a single clear subject |
| Fit | pad | Keeps the whole picture with black bars in the gaps. | Slides, documents, deliberate letterboxing |
| Blur | pad_blur | Keeps the whole picture and fills the gaps with a blurred copy of the footage. | Screen recordings, gameplay, wide and group shots |
Ratios and output sizes
| Ratio | Use for | From a 1920×1080 source |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 | TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts | 1080×1920 |
| 1:1 | Square feed posts | 1080×1080 |
| 4:5 | Portrait feed posts on Instagram and Facebook | 1080×1350 |
| 16:9 | YouTube and other landscape players | 1920×1080 |
| Source | Keep the original shape | Unchanged |
The output’s short side matches your source’s short side. Cropping 16:9 footage to 9:16 keeps a window about 608 pixels wide out of 1920, enlarged to fill the frame, so a 4K source gives a noticeably sharper vertical than a 1080p one. Fit and Blur keep the whole picture instead, scaled down to fit.
Different framing per shot
Each shot or time span can have its own crop position or mode: a wide two-person shot can be fitted while the close-ups are cropped to the speaker. Auto reframe writes per-shot framing when the footage calls for it, and you can ask for a span directly.
- From 1:10 to 1:30, fit the whole frame with blurred bars.
- In the close-ups, keep the crop on the guest’s face.
The crop position changes between shots or spans, not continuously within one. If someone walks across the frame, use Blur for that stretch so they stay visible.
Keep a wide picture inside a vertical frame
Ask to place the full landscape picture in the middle of a 9:16 frame on black, leaving room above for a headline and below for captions: “Show the whole 16:9 picture in the middle of the vertical frame with space for a title above.”
Change the ratio mid-video
Ask “go vertical for this bit” and the frame closes in smoothly to the new shape (0.8 seconds by default, anywhere from 0.1 to 4 seconds) and stays until the next change. Add another shift back to the source shape to open out again. The file keeps one resolution throughout, so audio and captions never fall out of sync. Shifts can go to 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3 or the source shape.
- At 0:30, squeeze to square for the product close-up, then back to the full frame at 0:45.
- Go vertical when the phone screen appears, over about one second.
Type these in Studio chat, or ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another assistant connected to Valmera’s MCP server. More in the prompt library.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| A head or product is cut off | Ask to aim the crop (“frame the person on the left”) or drag the crop box in the framing panel. |
| Text in a screen recording is cut off | Switch to Blur or Fit so the whole picture stays in frame. |
| One of two speakers is out of frame | Ask for per-shot framing: crop to each speaker in their close-ups and use Blur on the wide shots. |
| The vertical version looks soft | A crop enlarges part of the frame. Upload a higher-resolution source, or use Fit or Blur. |
| Captions sit too low or cover a chin | Ask to move the captions or make them smaller, then check each ratio. |
| You need several ratios | Export one, ask for the next ratio, review it and export again. |
Limits
- The crop doesn’t follow movement continuously inside a shot; it changes between shots or spans. Use Blur for moving subjects.
- Reframing can’t add detail: the output’s short side matches the source’s short side.
- One output ratio per export; export again for each extra ratio.
Tools behind this page: auto_reframe set_frame add_aspect_shift remove_aspect_shift look_at · Full toolset reference
Frequently asked questions
Can Valmera make a vertical version automatically?
Yes. Ask “make it 9:16” and Valmera finds the subject and crops to it, or fits the whole picture over a blurred backdrop when the content runs to the edges, such as screen recordings, gameplay or wide group shots.
Will reframing cut off my subject?
Valmera aims the crop at faces it detects in the footage and can set a different position for each shot. If something important sits near the edge, ask for Fit or Blur, or drag the crop box in the framing panel.
Can I make 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9 versions from one upload?
Yes. Export one version, ask for the next ratio, review it and export again. Each ratio is a new version of the same project, so you never re-upload.
Does reframing reduce quality?
Exports render from your original at full resolution. A vertical crop of landscape footage uses part of the frame, about a third of the width for 16:9 to 9:16, so start from the highest-resolution source you have, or use Fit or Blur to keep the full picture.
Can I change the aspect ratio partway through a video?
Yes. Ask “go vertical for this section” and the frame morphs smoothly to the new shape and stays there until you change it back.
What's the difference between Fill, Fit and Blur?
Fill crops to fill the frame. Fit keeps the whole picture with black bars. Blur keeps the whole picture and fills the bars with a blurred copy of the footage.