How to Convert A Portrait Video to Landscape

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It is no secret that you'd probably be expelled from a film school if you filmed a scene vertically, but the emergence of powerful Smartphone cameras has enabled a lot of unskilled cinematographers to record videos. Unfortunately, some of them tend to forget to hold their phones horizontally and end up with the footage in an aspect ratio that is supported by a handful of video editing programs.

Once you end up with a portrait video you are basically in the damage control mode and in this article will show you how to convert your portrait videos to the landscape format.

• Method 1: Cropping
• Method 2: Add a blurry background
• Method 3: Use Auto-Reframe

How to Convert A Portrait Video to Landscape

The Best Video Editor for converting a portrait video to landscape - Wondershare Filmora

Filmora is one of the rare video editing programs on the market today that allows you to export horizontally oriented videos, and this video editing software also enables you to export 1:1 aspect ratio videos that are perfectly suited to Instagram. You can customize the aspect ratio to fit the demands of your project and Filmora also provides superb video editing tools that will enable you to create amazing videos.

Method 1: Cropping

The common way to convert vertically oriented videos to landscape format is to simply crop the video, but if you choose to use this method be aware that you'll probably lose around two-thirds of the shot.

Step 1:

Double click on Filmora's desktop icon on your PC or Mac to start the program. Once the welcome screen appears, click New Project to start to convert the video to the landscape.

Step 2:

Import the portrait video you want to edit into the Filmora video editing software by clicking on the Import drop-down menu and then select the Import Media Files option. Drag and drop the video clip from Filmora's media panel to the timeline. Once you place the clip on the timeline you'll be able to see black bars on both sides of the video in the preview window.

Step 3:

Right-click on the video clip and select the Crop and Zoom option. Once the new window appears on your screen you'll be able to see five different cropping options: Custom, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1 and 9:16. The 9:16 option will be checked and you need to change that to 16:9 and then readjust the position of the rectangle in the left preview window. The image in the right preview window will show you how your footage will look like after you crop it. Hit Ok to complete the cropping process.

Step 4:

If you want to edit your footage further you can do so by applying transitions, effects or creating end credits. Once you've finished editing your video clip, click on the Export button. You can choose the file format in which the file will be exported and then click Export to start exporting your video. Alternatively, you can choose to export your video directly to Facebook or YouTube account. The video will have a 16:9 aspect ratio once the Export is complete.

Method 2: Add a blurry background

If you would like to preserve the quality of your video clip than blurring the background of your vertically oriented video is the best option.

Step 1:

Open the Filmora video editing software on your Mac or on your PC and click on New Project.

Step 2:

Click on the Import menu and then select the Import Media Files option. After you drag and drop the portrait video to the timeline (choose DON'T MATCH), you'll be able to see black bars on both ends of your video clip.

Step 3:

Head over to the Filters menu where you select the blur effect you want to use. Filters like Blur Bars, Basic Blur, Rings or Diamonds in the Background Blur can be used effectively to cover the black bars in your vertically oriented video. You can also use the search bar to avoid roaming aimlessly through Filmora's huge collection of filters.

Click on the effect to see how it looks like when applied to your video clip. Drag and drop the effect you like the most to the editor's PIP track and adjust its duration so it fits the duration of the video. Black bars in your videos should be covered with a smooth looking filter. Proceed to edit your video in any way you like. You can apply more filters, add text or add music to your video clip.

Step 4:

Click on the EXPORT button, and then select the video file format you want to use. Filmora offers support for a large number of different file formats such MP4, AVI, MOV or MKV. You can also export your video to YouTube directly from Filmora.

Method 3:

The Auto-Reframe feature will detect the focal point of your video and crop it automatically. Follow the steps below to convert a portrait video to a landscape video.

Step 1:

Open Wondershare Filmora and then click the Auto-reframe feature on the start interface. Or, you can create a new project first, import the video to media library, and then select Auto-reframe.

Step 2:

In the Auto-Reframe interface, you will see aspect ratio, motion speed, and analyze menu. Since we need to convert a protract video to landscape, select the 16:9 aspect ratio first, and then keep the motion speed auto, click Analyze button to start converting. Filmora will convert the video to landscape automatically. Click Export to save the landscape video on local.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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