One Size Doesn’t Fit All: How to Edit Video for Social Media
One size does not always fit all when it comes to social media and video. Each social platform has specific requirements and recommendations for aspect ratios and resolution. Knowing these specs is a vital part of getting your content to play correctly across multiple social media channels so your marketing team gets the most out of their videos.
*Note: this information was taken from the official social media websites. TikTok did not have specific information readily available for posts, so we have included the assumed recommended aspect ratio.
Aspect ratio (x:y) is defined as the ratio of the width (x) to the height (y) of an image or screen, usually calculated using the resolution your video is filmed. Most video is shot at a horizontal aspect ratio of 16:9, which for Full High-Definition (Full HD) video, is 1920x1080. If you’re shooting with your phone, however, you are most likely shooting at the vertical aspect ratio of 9:16, which for Full HD video is 1080x1920.
So do you have to shoot one video 3-4 different ways to get your message on all your socials? Absolutely not! Here are some tips and tricks from our video production experts to make sure your video works across all of your social media channels.
Aim high, edit low.
Shoot in a higher resolution (typically 4K or UHD) than you edit in. This gives more wiggle room (aka pixels) to play with during editing without losing quality. You can zoom in or pan to adjust the image to a smaller frame size or aspect ratio.
Go wide.
This video was shot in 16:9 but our editor was easily able to repurpose the shot in different aspect ratios for various social media platforms.
Filming your content with more room on all four sides, especially for interviews, gives you flexibility during editing when you may need to crop or push in.
Fix it in post.
When you shoot your content 16:9, your editor can crop it to fit the recommended formats for each social media site. The most recommended are 9:16 and 1:1, apart from the standard 16:9.
Change it up.
It’s important to remember that for certain aspect ratios like 9:16, you may have to adjust your video to make it work for a vertical format.
We created this video for social media to showcase the work Production Craft has done all over the world. We also “changed it up” so that it worked just as well in a vertical aspect ratio, despite the original video being 16:9.
Graphics and titles usually have to be redone to work within the new dimensions.
If you have a clip of two people talking, consider replacing it with two shots of each person speaking head-on instead of having your audience stare at one person’s side or back.
Split screens work well in horizontal videos but can be trickier to execute when vertical. Use your best judgment, but think about replacing it with a standard cut and an interesting transition to keep the momentum going.
Mind the heads of your speakers! You’ll want some extra space between the head and the top of the screen when someone is watching on their phone. This is one place where shooting wide can come in handy.
In vertical format, some static shots work better with a pan. If you want your audience to see the whole shot, pan across in post so the clip retains its full effect.
Production Craft’s video crews and production teams are well versed in corporate, commercial and marketing videos for a variety of industries. You can see featured examples of our work here.
Production Craft, Inc. is a video production company based in Chicago, serving markets worldwide.
We are proud to be a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) certified by the State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and the National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC).
