How to Convert a Horizontal Video to Vertical With Auto Reframe in CapCut

Auto reframe changes a video's aspect ratio while using AI subject tracking to keep the important action inside the new frame, so faces do not drift off the edge. This is how you take a widescreen YouTube edit and make it work as a vertical Reel without re-shooting.

What you need

• CapCut desktop or mobile, signed in
• A horizontal (16:9) clip with a clear main subject
• A target platform in mind (most want 9:16)

Step 1: Set the project aspect ratio

With your clip on the timeline, open the Ratio menu (often near the player) and choose 9:16. The canvas becomes tall and narrow, and your widescreen footage no longer fills it.

Step 2: Find Auto reframe

Select the clip, then look for Auto reframe in the toolbar or the clip's properties. On desktop it sits in the top toolbar; on mobile it is in the editing tray. Open it to choose how the subject is tracked.

Step 3: Pick a motion speed

Auto reframe offers tracking speeds, usually slow, medium, and fast. Slow gives smooth, gentle pans; fast snaps quickly to a subject who moves a lot. For a single talking head, slow is almost always right.

Step 4: Review the tracking

Scrub through the result. If the frame jumps to the wrong person or chases a background object, lower the motion speed or fall back to a manual keyframed crop for that section.

Step 5: Export vertical

Export at 1080x1920. The output is a true vertical file, not a letterboxed widescreen clip with bars.

Result: a 16:9 desk-build tutorial becomes a 9:16 vertical clip where the host stays centered the whole time, ready for a vertical feed.