Here is the workflow I’d use in Kdenlive to get a vertical 9:16 short (Shorts, Reels, TikTok) out of normal landscape footage. Text only; menu names are from recent versions and may be slightly different in older ones.

1. Start a vertical project File > New (or Project > Project Settings for an existing project) and pick a 1080x1920 profile. Recent versions list these as “Vertical HD”. Match the frame rate of your footage so motion doesn’t stutter.

2. Put the landscape clip on the timeline Kdenlive fits it to the width, so you’ll see black bars above and below. That’s expected.

3. Reframe with the Transform effect Add the Transform effect to the clip and raise the size until the image fills the full height. With 16:9 footage that’s roughly 3x (around 316%). Then drag the image in the project monitor, or change X, until the subject sits in the middle.

4. Follow the subject with a few keyframes If the person moves around, add a keyframe where they start, move the playhead to where they’ve moved, add another keyframe and adjust X. Two or three per clip is usually enough; a lot of tiny keyframes makes the framing wobble.

5. Reuse it on the next clips Once one clip looks right, copy it and use Paste Effects on the other clips from the same camera, or save the Transform as a custom effect so the zoom is ready next time.

6. Leave room for the app’s interface Keep faces and any on-screen text away from the bottom and right edges, where the apps place their own buttons and description.

7. Render MP4 (H.264/AAC) in the render dialog. It uses the project size, so the file comes out at 1080x1920.

If anyone has a faster way to reframe a whole batch of clips, I’d like to hear it.

  • fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk
    1·
    9 hours ago

    1) You can save your default “starting point” transform (like 316%, centred) as a custom effect - and it’ll add it to the effects in Kdenlive.

    So next time you do one of these, you can just drop those onto the files as a starting point. you already mentioned this, sorry

    1. You can apply a looser “default” zoom transition to the video track rather than the individual clip.

    Then every clip is 90% done.

    You then add a small secondary tranform to each clip, for minor adjustments from that point.