How to make a horizontal video vertical on iPhone
TikTok, Reels and Shorts are 9:16, but plenty of great footage is shot sideways. There are two ways to make it vertical: crop it and keep only the middle of the picture, or fit the whole picture into the tall frame and fill the space above and below. Here's how to do both on iPhone.
Step by step
Start a 9:16 project
Open Video Grid Collage (free on the App Store). In the Format section of the start screen, tap 9:16 and pick your horizontal video.
Give it the whole frame
If the video fills only the top half, tap Grid → Layout and choose the first layout — a single frame. The whole horizontal video now fits the vertical frame, with space above and below.
Fill the space
Tap Background to pick a color, or Insert → Background → Image or Video to put a photo or another clip behind your video.
Or zoom in
Prefer less empty space? Pinch the video to zoom in and drag it to keep the subject in the frame — the more you zoom, the more of the sides is cut off.
Add a title (optional)
Tap Text and put a headline in the space above the video, so the empty area becomes part of the design.
Export
Tap the share icon, keep 1080p or choose 4K, and export. The video is saved in 9:16, ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Tips for vertical video
- Three horizontal clips stacked on top of each other fill a 9:16 frame almost perfectly — choose a three-frame layout under Grid → Layout.
- A background photo or clip in matching colors looks more polished than plain black bars.
- Keep important details away from the bottom and right edges: TikTok, Reels and Shorts put captions and buttons there.
- Need the opposite? Tap Aspect and choose 16:9 to turn a vertical clip into a horizontal video for YouTube.
Try it yourself — free
Video Grid Collage · 4.9 on the App Store · 100 layouts, up to 100 clips in one collage