One spec, four sizes: stop rebuilding videos for every channel
How Video draws the same video at 1080p, 720p, square and vertical from one spec, and how to resize a whole collection in a batch.
Every channel wants a different shape: wide for a site, square for a feed, vertical for stories and shorts. Most people rebuild the video for each. It is the same words and the same pictures, laid out three more times.
Layout as a function#
In Video a scene is described in percent of the frame and text sizes are tokens. A layout is therefore a function of the frame: the same spec draws at 1920 by 1080, 1280 by 720, 1080 by 1080 and 1080 by 1920. Components adapt: a phone showcase stands beside the text in a wide frame and below it in a tall one.
Do it in two steps#
- Make the video at the size you care about most.
- Change the size. The preview updates at once. If a scene needs a nudge for the new shape, edit that scene.
Batch it#
A collection can be re-sized as a whole. Put the four videos of a launch in one collection, choose resize to vertical, and get four vertical drafts. A video that cannot follow is listed with the reason, for example an imported film, which is never resized. Duplicate the collection first, as a new version, if you want to keep the wide set.
What to watch for#
- Text length. A vertical frame is narrow; long lines wrap more. The quality bar warns when text sits outside the safe area.
- Pictures. A wide picture cropped to vertical may lose the subject. Choose pictures with room around them.
- Pace. Vertical videos are watched on a phone: shorter scenes read better.
And the render#
Each size is a separate render, made in your browser. Render the wide one, then the vertical one, and you have a set from one spec.
A checklist before you render each size#
- Read the first scene aloud. If the title does not fit on two lines in the vertical frame, shorten it.
- Look at the last scene. Outros with a logo and a line of text are the usual casualty of a narrow frame.
- Check the safe area warning. It is the cheapest way to find text that the platform's interface will cover.
- Play the sound. The mix is the same at every size, but a vertical short is often heard on a phone speaker: dialogue and effects matter more than a music bed.
When to make a separate version#
Resizing is right when the content is the same. Sometimes it is not: a vertical teaser might need a different first line, or only three of the six features. In that case duplicate the video, resize the copy and edit it. Because every scene has a stable id and every edit is atomic, the copy stays a clean document and the original is untouched.
Keep the set together#
Put the wide, square and vertical versions of one video in one collection with a name that says what they are. When the content changes, you change the wide one, duplicate the collection as a new version, and redo the sizes in a batch.