A video shot vertically on a phone shows a big black area on either side on a TV; a horizontal video in an Instagram Story has black above and below. The bars aren't a fault; the video's shape simply doesn't match the screen's. This page explains why and what to do.
One term first: aspect ratio
Aspect ratio is the shape of the video. TVs and YouTube are horizontal, 16 wide by 9 high, written 16:9. A phone held upright is 9:16. Instagram posts often use square 1:1 or 4:5. When the video's shape differs from where it's played, the leftover space is filled with black: those are the bars.
Four ways to handle it
- Keep the bars: do nothing. The picture is complete but looks small. For a vertical video in a formal setting or a slide deck, this is actually the safest choice.
- Crop: enlarge the video to fill the screen, cutting off the top and bottom or the sides. Bigger picture, but content at the edges disappears; heads or subtitles may get cut.
- Blurred background: enlarge and blur a copy of the same video to fill the bars, with the original in the middle. Many news and social videos do this; it looks better than plain black.
- Relayout: shrink the video into part of the frame and use the rest for titles, logo and subtitles. Good for a proper vertical or horizontal version.
Which to use when
- Vertical video on a horizontal screen (TV, projector): blurred background or relayout.
- Horizontal video into a vertical social version: crop if the subject is centred; otherwise relayout with subtitles. See turning one video into ten shorts.
- Wedding or ceremony playback: ask what shape the venue's screen is, then decide.
How to avoid it when filming
The best method is to decide before shooting where the video will be shown. TV and YouTube: shoot horizontal. Shorts: shoot vertical. If you need both, shoot horizontal with the subject dead centre, so a later vertical crop is less likely to cut anything important.
Frequently asked questions
Can a vertical video just be stretched to horizontal?
Possible but not advisable. People get wider, text distorts, and it's obviously wrong. Use a blurred background or a relayout instead.
There are bars at the top and bottom. Was it shot wrong?
No. Usually the video itself is a wider ratio (such as the cinematic 2.35:1) shown on a 16:9 screen, which is normal.
Can we get both horizontal and vertical versions?
Yes. Tell us the platforms on the form and we export both, with subtitles and layout adjusted separately for each ratio.
