Vertical videos are videos shot primarily to be viewed in portrait mode. This is usually achieved by shooting videos on mobile phones or cameras in portrait mode, as well as shooting in landscape and cropping out the edges. However, the latter is unadvisable!
Vertical videos are chiefly targeted at mobile phones, and with IGTV and Snapchat heavily endorsing this video format over the years, it has become really popular even with advertisers.
Recently, YouTube updated its system to accept vertical videos for its teeming mobile users. Thus, vertical videos are no longer shown with annoying black bars when viewed on desktop. However, since the widescreen (16:9) format reigns on YouTube, uploading vertical (9:16) videos on the platform may be tough on user experience since YouTube subscribers are still used to watching videos in 16:9.
So, you’ve decided to own a YouTube channel, but the videos you have are vertical videos shot on your mobile phone. Chill.
Here’s an easy guide on how to upload vertical videos to YouTube and start your vlogging journey.
Contents
How to convert your vertical video to horizontal
Step 1: Download a Video Editor
Before you beginning life as a YouTuber, it is essential that you take video editing (A.K.A post-production) seriously.
You need to edit your raw footage to make it more fascinating while giving it an overall professional flair. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through a sophisticated video editing course to become an expert. This is because there are several easy-to-use video editing software that you can use to take your videos to another level.
One of the best video editors in this category is Animotica. Animotica’s fantastic features can help you turn your regular footage into a masterpiece in just a few minutes! Get it for free here.
Once downloaded, open the software and hit on Edit Video.
Step 2: Upload Your Video
On the pop-up window, click on Select a Video File. Navigate to where you’ve stored your video, select the file, and you’ll be taken to the project window.
Usually, you’d notice that your video is shown in the YouTube format within the project window. This might make your video look awkward because some parts will become invisible.
Don’t freak out, you only have to change your aspect ratio to 9:16 since the default aspect ratio is 16:9 (YouTube). Simply click on the Aspect Ratio button and select IGTV. Easy!
However, the point of this tutorial is to help you tweak your video to fit YouTube’s 16:9 ratio without hurting your video’s quality. So, the first step is to set your video’s aspect ratio back to YouTube (16:9).
If you’d like to reveal specific parts within the video, click on Transform, then adjust the vertical offset.
If you’d like to make the entire picture visible, you simply click on the Fit/Fill button. In this case, you’re selecting Fit.
Fit allows the entire picture to fit into the viewing area, usually filling the remaining space with a black or blurry background. Fill expands the picture to fill up the viewing area, this usually results in some parts of your picture being ‘hidden.’ Play around with these to see what I mean.
You can also choose what style of blurry background you want. Simply click on Background, and you’ll find a slew of options you’ll like!
Step 3: Edit Your Video (Optional)
Here, there’s a ton of things you can do to make your video more presentable. If you click on the video clip, you will reveal a bunch of editing options you can use. You can trim, speed up/down, add effects, overlays, and much more!
Check out our blog for some cool videos you can make. You’ll be surprised how easy it is.
Step 4: Export
After tweaking your videos, it is time to export and upload to YouTube. Click on Save.
On the new window, you can adjust your video resolution. Animotica is designed to give you hints about each resolution, just play along with the slider and see what works for you.
You can also adjust the bitrate to set the video quality.
After that, go on and hit Save As. Choose your desired filename and hit Enter.
You can now relax while Animotica finishes it up.
Step 5: Upload to YouTube
Once the video gets rendered, you can now upload it to your YouTube channel. Uploading to YouTube is pretty straight forward. If you already have a YouTube account, you can just click on Upload to YouTube within Animotica.
The next page will require you to sign in to YouTube and also allow Animotica to have access to your YouTube channel.
After that, you should see a page like the one below. That is your upload page.
Fill in your title, description, and tags. You can also set your privacy to public or private and also set your category. Hit upload when you’re done and Animotica will take over the rest.
If you see this page, congratulations! You can now share with your friends!
How to Create a YouTube account and Upload videos in 9 steps
If you don’t have a YouTube account yet, here’s how you can create one and upload your first video.
- Sign in to your regular YouTube account. If you have a Google account (a Gmail address), you already own a YouTube account. If not, then you should create one here.
- Once you’ve signed in, click on the upload button. Select Upload Video. Now, since you don’t have a channel yet, you will be prompted to create one using your default name or a custom name. YouTube makes this pretty straight forward so you can be done creating a channel in a jiffy. Once you’re done, you’ll have to click the Upload Video button again.
- Hit Select File and move to where you have your video stored, select the video, and hit enter.
- On the next page, enter the title of the video along with a brief description. Adding keywords here is beneficial to your video’s visibility.
- Set the age restriction and check the boxes under paid promotion if applicable.
- Input appropriate tags with respect to the type of video you’re posting.
- Set subtitles if you want. Also, go ahead and set the category. Hit Next until you’re at Visibility.
- Under Save or Publish, select Public if you’re ready to share it with everyone. You can select schedule if you want to publish it later.
- You can now hit Publish!
Conclusion
Uploading videos to YouTube is pretty straight forward, no matter what type of videos you’re uploading. We believe this quick guide will be helpful to you as you begin your journey as a YouTuber. It is important to note that YouTube, unlike IGTV and Snapchat, is still having a bit of trouble with vertical videos. So, it would be wise to ensure your videos are in the regular YouTube widescreen format.
